he will perchaunce thinke that the lay people of all estates may well and iustly say farewell the one wyth the other and no maruayll for they haue not bene all the children of one father that haue bene in counsels as they haue not bene all sheepe that haue gone in sheepes clothing and oft times the greater part ouercommeth the better Which things gathered by experience and by reading causeth me oftentimes to wishe that they which would be counted sinceere and true ministers of the Gospell eyther might and would cleane abstayne from such counselles that they haue no part in them or els that they would geue no more place to the fruites of infidelitie I meane mans inuentions and carnall interpretations which the fayth in Christ neuer begatte then S. Paule gaue to Peter hys colleague when he left the table of the Gentiles and went to the Iewes which facte of Peter in my iudgement Paule might more conueniently haue approued seeing Peter did it to the entent he would not offeÌ„d his weake brethren the Iewes wyth hys eating then the true and sincere ministers of Christ in the Gospell may winke at many thinges vsed in these dayes among the disciples of the Gospell much lesse may they approue theÌ„ with the fashion of theyr own liuing and confirme them with the auctoritye of a Counsell and with preching they say it is not time to speake against theÌ„ yet is it time to leaue them and no longer to seeme to allow them vnlesse they entend alwayes to walk in them Had the author of this booke looked after a time as some do he had not written against Purgatorye when he did I feare me some maintaine blindnes more with theyr simulation then they open the lyght with theyr preaching But this haue I spoken good Reader besides my purpose which was none other then to admonish the that although Rochester More and Rastell haue all three as thou perceiuest by reading thys former treatise stiffely defended one heresie yet shouldest thou not haue of all three one iudgement or opinion More and Rochester were men of high dignitie in thys worlde the one a Byshop the other Chauncelor of this noble realme of England both auncient in yeares of so great wit and so singular erudition in all kinde of learning esteemed as well of themselues as of many other that no two lyke might in all this land be found it was thought that for theyr dignity no man durst for theyr yeares witte and learning no man was hable to gayâ—â—ayt them wherfore they were perswâ—…d to be the most meete of all other to â—ake in hand the defence of the terrible paynes of purgatory eyther the very â—ouÌ„datioÌ„ or els the chief building seâ— vpoÌ„ y t fouÌ„datioÌ„ of y e church of Rome Rastell had nothing coÌ„mon w t them But onely many yeares and a witte sophisticall which he called naturall reason As appartayning to Gods worde he acknowledged himselfe ignoraunt therof notwtstanding he had such opinion of his witte that he thought he could as well proue purgatory by it as the other two had done by the scriptures wherin I thinke he was not deceiued And as these three persons were not like so tooke they the aunswer made to them not a like More and Rochester thought foule scorne see what the glory of this world and high estimation of our selues doth that a yong man of small reputation shoulde take vppon him so cleane contrary to theyr opinion to write against them and to be short tooke the matter so greuouslye that they could neuer be at quiet in theyr stomackes vntill they had dronken his bloud Rastell though he perceaued his naturall reason to be sore sayd to yet was he not malicious as the other were and therfore wrote he agayne Which worke of Rastell came to his handes when he was prisoner in the Tower of London where he made the aunswere following to the same which aunswer after Rastel had read he was well content to count his naturall reason foolishnes and wyth harty thankes geuen to God became a childe againe and sucked of the wisedome which commeth from aboue and saueth all that be norished therewith In the which he continued to his liues end with the honor and glory of God To whome be prayse for euer Amen ¶ Here foloweth the Preface of this booke BRother Rastell I thaÌ„ke you that it hath pleased you to be so fauourable vnto me a poore prisoner as to shew me a copie of your booke whiche you haue written to confute my reasons and Scripture that I haue alledged agaynst Purgatory for that hath caused me to make a subsidie defeÌ„ce and bulwarke to my booke whiche by Gods grace shal be an occasion to open more light although not to you yet at the lestwise vnto them whose hartes the prince of this world hath not blinded but that the light of the Gospell and glorie of Christ may shyne in them And where as you write and protest that you will bryng no Scripture agaynst me But onely rehearse my Scripture agayne which I haue alledged vnperfeitly and wouÌ„de me with myne owne dartes and will but euen do as one that playeth at tennes with an other tossing the balle agayne I doe verye well admitte your similitude Notwithstanding you know right well that it is not inough for a man playing at tennes to tosse the balle agayne but he must so tosse it that the other take it not For if the other smite it ouer agayne then is the game in as great ieoberdy as it was before besides that hee must take heede that he neither smite to short of the line not yet vnder for then it is a losse and he had bene better to let it goe And finally sometyme a man smiteth ouer and thynketh all won and yet an vngracious post standeth in the way and maketh the ball to rebounde backe againe ouer the corde so loseth the game And that wil anger a man and I assartayne you that ye haue tossed neuer a ball but ye offende in one of these pointes yet besides that some tyme ye playe a touche of legerdemayne and cast me a ball which wheÌ„ it commeth I perceaue to be none of mine and all the court shall iudge the same These poyntes shal be declared when we come to them and now I will aunswere in order IN your Prologue you assigned two causes of the making of your first booke of purgatory with out allegyng any textes of scripture for y e profe therof which are the controuersie of two sortes of people One sorte you say be those that beleue not in Christ but deny Christ and his Scripture as bee the Turkes Paynimes and such other miscreauntes An other sort be they that beleue in Christ his scripture nor wil deny no text of holy scripture but yet they will construe expounde and interprete these texts after theyr owne willes and obstinate mynde c.
onely in number exceedyng but in knowledge also excellyng both by preaching and Printing doe so garnishe the Church in euery respecte that it may seeme and so peraduenture wil be thought this time of ours to stand now in little neede of such bookes and momumentes as these of former antiquitie yet notwithstandyng I am not of that mynde so to thinke For albeit increasing of learning of tonges and sciences wyth quicknes of wit in youth and other doth maruailously shut vp as is to be seene to the sufficient furnishyng of Christes Church yet so it happeneth I can not tell how the farther I looke backe into those former tymes of Tyndall Frith and others lyke more simplicitie wyth true zeale and humble modestie I see wyth lesse corruption of affections in them and yet wyth these dayes of ours I finde no fault As by reading and conferring their workes togither may eftsoones appeare In opening the Scriptures what trueth what soundnes can a man require more or what more is to be sayd then is to be founde in Tyndall In his Prologues vppon the fiue bookes of Moses vppon Ionas vppon the Gospelles and Epistles of S. Paule namely to the Romaines how perfectly doth he hit the right sence and true meaning in euery thing In his obedience how fruitfully teacheth he euery person his dutie In his expositions and vppon the parable of the wicked Mammon how pithely doth he perswade how grauely doth he exhort how louingly doth he comforte simply without ostentation vehement without contention Which two faultes as they cōmonly are wont to folow the most part of writers so how farre the same were from him and he from them his replies and aunsweres to Syr Thomas More doe well declare in doctrine sound in hart humble in life vnrebukeable in disputation modest in rebuking charitable in trueth feruent and yet no lesse prudent in dispensing with the same and bearyng with time and with weakenes of men as much as he might sauing onely where mere necessitie constrayned hym otherwise to doe for defence of trueth against wilfull blyndnes and subtile hypocrisie as in the Practise of Prelates is notorious to be seene Briefly such was his modestie zeale charitie and painefull trauaile that he neuer sought for any thing lesse then for hymselfe for nothyng more then for Christes glory and edification of other for whose cause not onely he bestowed his labours but hys life and bloud also Wherfore not vnrightly he might be then as he is yet cauled the Apostle of England as Paule cauleth Epaphroditus the Apostle of the Philippians for his singular care and affection toward them For as the Apostles in the primatiue age first planted the Church in trueth of the Gospell so the same trueth beyng agayne defaced and decayed by enemies in thys our latter tyme there was none that trauayled more earnestly in restoring of the same in this Realme of England then dyd William Tyndall With which William Tyndall no lesse may be adioyned also Iohn Frith and D. Barnes both for that they togither with him in one cause and about one tyme sustayned the first brunt in this our latter age and gaue the first onset agaynst the enemies as also for the speciall giftes of fruitfull erudition and plentifull knowledge wrought in them by God and so by them left vnto vs in their writinges Wherfore accordyng to our promise in the booke of Actes and Monumentes wee thought good herein to spend a litle diligence in collecting and setting abroad their bookes togither so many as could be founde to remaine as perpetuall Lāpes shyning in the Church of Christ to geeue lyght to all posteritie And although the Printer herein taking great paynes coulde not paraduenture come by all howbeit I trust there lacke not many yet the Lord be thanked for those which he hath gotte and here published vnto vs. And woulde God the like diligence had beene vsed of our auncient forelders in the tyme of Wickliffe Puruey Clerke Brute Thorpe Husse Hierome and such other in searching and collecting their workes and writings No doubt but many thinges had remayned in lyght which now be lefte in obliuion But by reason the Arte of Printing was not yet inuented their worthy bookes were the sooner abolyshed Such was then the wickednes of those dayes and the practise of those Prelates then so craftie that no good booke coulde appeare though it were the Scripture it selfe in Englyshe but it was restrayned and so consumed Whereby ignoraunce and blyndnes so preuayled amonge the people tyll at the last it so pleased the goodnes of our God to prouide a remedy for that mischiefe by multiplying good bookes by the Printers penne in such sort as no earthly power was able after that though they did their best to stoppe the course thereof were he neuer so myghtie and all for the fartheraunce of Christes Church Wherefore receaue gracious Reader the Bookes here collected and offered to thy hand and thanke God thou hast them and reade them whilest thou mayst while time life and memory serueth thee In reading wherof the Lord graunt thou mayst receaue no lesse fruit by them then the harty desire of the setter forth is to wishe well vnto thee And the same Lord also graunt I beseech him that this my exhortation wishe so may worke in all that not onely the good but the enemies also which be not yet wonne to the worde of trueth setting aside all partialitie and preiudice of opinion woulde with indifferent iudgementes bestow some reading and hearyng likewise of these to taste what they doe teach to vewe their reasons and to trye their spirite to marke the expositions of Tyndall the argumentes of Frith the Articles and allegations of Barnes Which if they shall finde agreable to the tyme and antiquitie of the Apostles doctrine and touchstone of Gods worde to vse them to their instruction If not then to myslike them as they finde cause after they haue first tryed them and not before And thus not to deteine thee with longer processe from the reading of better matter I referre and commende thee and thy studies gentle reader with my harty wishe and prayer to the grace of Christ Iesu and direction of hys holy spirite desiryng thee lykewyse to doe the same for mee Iohn Foxe The Martyrdome and burning of William Tyndall in Brabant by Filford Castell Lord opē the K. of Englāds eyes Here foloweth the historie and discourse of the lyfe of William Tyndall out of the booke of Actes and Monumentes Briefly extracted FOr somuch as the lyfe of W. Tyndall author of this treatise immediately folowing is sufficiently at large discoursed in the booke of Actes and Monumentes by reason whereof we shall not néede greatly to intermedle with any new repetition therof yet notwithstanding because as we haue takē in hand to collect and set forth his whole workes togither so we thought it not vnconuenient to collecte likewise some briefe notes concerning the order of his
signification and sought their health and righteousnes in the bodely worke and in the sacrifice it selfe then were they abhominable in the sight of God and then he cryed out of them both by the Prophet Dauid and Esay And likewise it is with our Sacramentes let vs therefore séeke vp the significations and go to the very thing which the sacrament is set to present vnto vs. And there shal we finde such fruitfull foode as shall neuer fayle vs but comfort our soules into life euerlastyng Now will I in order answer to M. Mores booke and as I finde occasion geuen me I shall indeuoure my selfe to supply that thyng which lacked in the first treatise and I trust I shall shewe such lyght that all men whose eyes the Prince of this worlde hath not blynded shall perceiue the truth of the scriptures and glory of Christ And where as in my first treatise the truth was set forth with all simplicitie and nothing armed against the assault of sophisters that haue I somewhat redressed in this booke haue brought bones filte for their téeth which if they be to busie may chaunce to choke them ¶ Thus beginneth the Preface of M. Mores booke IN my most harty wyse I recommende me vnto you and send you by this bringer the wryting againe which I receiued from you Whereof I haue bene offered a cople of copies mo in the mean while as late as ye wot well it was Deare brethren consider these wordes and prepare you to the crosse that Christ shall lay vppon you as ye haue oft bene counsaylled For euen as when the Wolfe howleth y e shéepe had nede to gather thēselues to their shepheard to be deliuered from the assault of the bloudy beast likewyse had you nede to slye vnto the shepheard of your soules Christ Iesus to sell your coates and buye his spirituall sworde which is the word of God to defende and deliuer you in this present necessitie for now is the tyme that Christ tolde vs of Math. x. that he was come by his worde to set variaunce betwene the sonne and his father betwene the daughter and her mother betwene the daughter in lawe and her mother in lawe that in a mans owne householde shall be his enemies But be not dismayde nor thinke it no wonder for Christe those twelue and one of them was y e Deuill and betrayed his master And we that are his disciples may loke for no better than he had himself for the scholer is not aboue his mayster Saint Paule protesteth y e he was in perill among false brethren surely I suppose that we are in no lesse ieopardye For if it be so that hys mastership receiued one copye and had a cople of copyes moe offered in the meane while then may ye be sure that there are many false brethren which pretend to haue knowledge in déede are but pykethankes prouiding for their bellye prepare ye therfore clokes for the weather waxeth cloudy and rayne is like to followe I meane not false excuses and forswearing of your selues but that ye loke substantially vpon Gods worde that you may be able to answere their subtle obiections And rather chuse manfully to dye for Christ and hys worde than cowardlye to deny hym for thys vayne and transitory lyfe cōsidering that they haue no further power but ouer this corruptible bodye which if they put it not to death must yet at y e length perish of it selfe But I trust the Lord shall not suffer you to be tēpted aboue that you may beare but according to y e sprite that he shall poure vppon you shall he also sende you the scourge and make hym that hath receiued more of the sprite to suffer more and him that receiueth lesse thereof to suffer according to his Talent I thought it necessary first to admonishe you of this matter and now I will recite more of M. Mores boke Whereby men may see how gredely these newe named brethren writeit out secretly spread it abroade The name is of great antiquitie although you liste to ieste For they were called brethrē ere our Bishops were called Lordes and had y e name geuen them by Christ saying Math. xxiij all ye are brethren And Luke y ◠xxij Confirme they brethren And the name was cōtinued by the Apostles and is a name that nourisheth loue amitie And very glad I am to heare of their gredy affection in writing out and spreading abroade the worde of God for by that I do perceiue the prophesie of Amos to haue place which sayth In the person of God I will send hunger and thyrste into the earth not hunger for meate nor thurst for drinke But for to here the word of God Now begynneth the kyngdome of heauen to suffer violence Now runne the poore Publicanes which knowledge them selues sinners to the word of God puttyng both goodes and body in ieoperdy for the soule health And though our Byshops do call it heresie and all them heretickes that hunges after it yet do we know that it is the Gospell of the lyuyng God for the health and saluation of all that beleue And as for the name doth nothing offēde vs though they call it heresie a thousand tymes For S. Paule testifieth that the Phariseis and Priestes which were counted the very Church in hys tyme dyd so call it and therefore it foreceth not though they ruling in their rowmes vse the same names Which young mā I here say hath lately made diuers other thynges that yet runne in hoker moker so close amōg the brethren that there commeth no copies abroad I aunswere that surely I can not spynne and I thinke no mā more hateth to be idle then I do Wherfore in such thynges as I am able to doe I shal be diligēt as long as God lendeth me my lyfe And if ye thinke I be to busie you may rid me the sooner for euen as the shéepe is in the butchers handes ready bound and looketh but euen for the grace of the butcher whē he shall shed his bloud Euen so am I bounde at the Byshops pleasures euer lookyng for the day of my death In so much that playne worde was sent me that the Chauncelour of Lōdon sayd it should cost me the best bloud in my body whiche I would gladly were shed to morow if so be it might open the kyngs graces eyen And verely I maruell that any thing can runne in hoker moker or be hyd from you For sith you mought haue such store of copyes concernyng the thyng whiche I most desired to haue ben kept secret how should you then lacke a copye of those thynges which I most would haue published And hereof ye may be sure I care not though you and all the Byshops with in England looke on all that euer I wrote but rather would be glad that ye so dyd
DIEV ET MON DRIOT ¶ THE WHOLE workes of W. Tyndall Iohn Frith and Doct. Barnes three worthy Martyrs and principall teachers of this Churche of England collected and compiled in one Tome togither beyng before scattered now in Print here exhibited to the Church To the prayse of God and profite of all good Christian Readers Mortui resurgent AT LONDON Printed by Iohn Daye and are to be sold at his shop vnder Aldersgate An. 1573. ¶ Cum gratia Priuilegio Regiae Maiestatis ARISE FOR IT IS DAY A Table of the seuerall Treatises conteyned in M. William Tyndals workes A Preface to the Christian Reader The lyfe of Wylliam Tyndall A protestation of the state of the soules departed A preface that he made before the v. bookes of Moses A prologue shewyng the vse of the Scripture Seuerall prologues that he made to the v. bookes of Moses fol. 2. 7. 11. 15. 21. Certaine harde wordes expounded by him in the fyrst second and fourth booke of Moses fol. 5. 10. 16. A prologue vpon the Prophet Ionas 23. Prologues vpon the iiij Euangelistes 32. Prologues vpon the Epistles of S. Paule 39. Prologues vpon the Epistles of S. Peter 54. Prologues vpon the iij. Epistles of S. Iohn 55. The parable of the wicked Mammon 59. The obedience of a Christian man and how Christian rulers ought to gouerne 97. An exposition vpon the v. vj. vij chapters of S. Ma. thewes Gospell 184. An answere to Syr Thomas Mores dialogues 244 The practise of popishe Prelates 340. A pathway into the holy Scripture 377. The exposition vpon the first Epistle of S. Iohn 387. The exposition vpon M. William Tracies will 429. A fruitfull treatise vpon signes Sacraments 436. Two notable letters that he sent vnto Iohn Frith 453. The Supper of the Lord wherein is confuted the letter of M. More sent vnto Iohn Frith supposed to be written by Tyndall 457. ¶ The Epistle or Preface to the Christian Reader AS we haue great cause to geeue thankes to the high prouidence of almighty God for the excellent arte of Printing most happely of late found out and now commonly practised euery where to the singular benefite of Christes Church wherby great increase of learnyng and knowledge with innumerable commodities els haue ensued and dayly doe ensue to the lyfe of man and especially to the fartheraunce of true Religion so agayne of our parte it is both of vs all in generall to be wished and especially of them to be procured who occupie the trade therof rightly to vse the same to the glory of hym which gaue it and to the ende wherefore it was ordayned and not to abuse vnworthely that worthy facultie eyther in thrusting into the worlde euery vnworthy trifle that commeth to hand or hauing respecte more to their owne priuate gayne then regarde to the publike edifiyng of Christes Church or necessary preferment of Religion For therefore I suppose this science of Printing first to be set vp and sent of God to mans vse not so much for temporall commoditie to be taken or mans glory to be sought thereby but rather for the spirituall and inwarde supportation of soulehealth helpe of Religion restoring of true doctrine repayring of Christes Church and repressing of corrupt abuses which had heretofore ouerdarckened the doctrine of fayth to reuiue agayne the lost lyght of knowledge to these blynde tymes by renuing of holsome and auncient writers whose doinges and teachinges otherwise had lyen in obliuion had not the benefite of Printing brought them agayne to light or vs rather to light by them Wherfore such Printers in my mynde are not to be defrauded of their due commendation who in pretermitting other light triflyng pamflets of matter vnneedful and impertinent little seruing to purpose lesse to necessitie doe employe their endeuour and workemanship chiefly to restore such fruitfull workes and monumentes of auncient writers and blessed Martyrs who as by their godly lyfe and constant death gaue testimonie to the trueth in tyme wherein they suffered so by their doctrine and learning geeue now no lesse lyght to all ages and posteritie after them In the number of whome may rightly be accompted and no lesse recommended to the studious Christen Reader these three learned fathers of blessed memory whom the Printer of this booke hath diligently collected in one volume togither inclosed the workes I meane of William Tyndall Iohn Frith and Robart Barnes chiefe ryngleaders in these latter tymes of thys Church of England Wherein as we haue much to prayse God for such good bookes left to the Church and also for such Printers in preseruing by their industrie and charges such bookes from perishing so haue I to exhorte all studious readers wyth lyke diligence to embrace the benefite of God offered and seriously to occupie them selues in markyng and folowing both the valiaunt actes and excellent wrytinges of the sayd godly persons Concernyng the prayse whereof I shall not neede in thys place to bestow much commendation because neither is it the prayse of men but profite of the godly that they doe seeke nor yet the contempt of the vngodly that they doe feare Moreouer what is to be sayde or thought of them rather by their owne workes then by other mens wordes by readyng their bookes then by my preface is to be seene In perusing whereof thou shalt fynde gentle Reader whether thou bee ignoraunt what to learne or whether thou be learned what to folowe and what to sticke to Briefly whatsoeuer thou art if thou be yong of Iohn Frith if thou be in middle age of W. Tyndall if in elder yeares of D. Barnes matter is here to be founde not onely of doctrine to enforme thee of comfort to delyte thee of godly ensample to directe thee but also of speciall admiration to make thee to wonder at the workes of the Lord so mightely workyng in these men so oportunely in stirryng them vp so graciously in assisting them Albeit diuers other also besides these I say not nay as well before them as after through the secrete operation of Gods mighty prouidence haue beene raysed vp both famous in learnyng florishyng in witte and stout in zeale who labouryng in the same cause haue no lesse valiantly and doughtely stoode in the like defence of Christes true Religion agaynst blynde errour pestilent superstition and perillous hypocrisie namely agaynst the Arche enemye of Christ and hys flocke the Byshop I meane of Rome with hys tyrannicall seate as namely here in England Iohn Wicklyffe Rigge Aston Swynderby W. Thorpe Walter Brute L. Cobham wyth the residue of that former age And also after them many other moe freshe wittes faythfull preachers and learned writers haue sprong vp by the Lord of hoastes to furnishe hys fielde Briefly no age nor tyme hath euerlacked some or other styll bayting at the beast but especially nowe in these our present dayes such plenty yea whole armyes the Lord hath powred vppon hys Church of heauenly souldiours who not
his daughter is rauished his wife is defiled and that of his owne sonne Rahell dyeth Ioseph is taken away yea as he supposed rent of wild beastes And yet how glorious was his ende Note the weakenesse of his children yea and the sinne of them and how God thorow their owne wickednes saued them These examples teache vs that a man is not at once perfect the first day he begynneth to liue well They that be strong therefore must suffer with the weake helpe thē in vnity and peace one with an other vntill they be stronger Note what the brethren sayd when they were tached in Egypt we haue verely sinned sayd they agaynst our brother in that we saw the anguish of his soule when hee besought vs and would not heare him and therfore is this tribulation come vppon vs. By which example thou seest how that cōscience of euill doynges findeth men out at last But namely in tribulation and aduersitie there temptatiō and also desperatiō yea and the very paynes of hell finde vs out there there y t soule feeleth the fierce wrath of GOD and wisheth moūtaines to fall on her and to hyde her if it were possible from the angry face of God Marke also how great euils folow of howe litle an occasion Dina goeth but forth alone to see the daughters of the countrey and how great mischief and trouble foloweth Iacob loued but one sonne more then an other and howe greuous murther folowed in their hartes These are examples for our learnyng to teache vs to walke warely and circumspectly in y t world of weake people that we geue no man occasions of euill Finally see what GOD promised Ioseph in his dreames These promises accompanyed him alwayes and went downe with hym euen into the depe dongeon And brought hym vp agayne And neuer forsoke hym till all y t was promised was fulfilled These are examples writtē for our learnyng as Paule saith to teach vs to trust in God in the strōg fire of tribulation purgatory of our fleshe And that they whiche submitte them selues to folow GOD should note and marke such thynges for learnyng and comfort is the frute of the scripture cause why it was written And with such a purpose to read it is the way to euerlasting life and to those ioysul blessings that are promised vnto all nations in the seede of Abraham whiche seede is Iesus Christ our Lord to whom be honour and prayse for euer and vnto God our father thorow him Amen A Table expoundyng certayne wordes in the first booke of Moses called Genesis ABrech tender father or as some will how the knee Arke a shyppe made flat as it were a chest or cofer Bisse fine white whether it be silke or lynen Blesse Gods blessings are his gifts as in the first Chapter he blessed them saying grow and multiply and haue dominion c. And in the ix Chapter he blessed Noe and his sonnes and gaue them dominion ouer all beastes and authoritie to eat them And God blessed Abraham with cattell and other riches And Iacob desired Esau to receaue the blessing whiche he brought hym that is the present and gift God blessed y t vij day that is gaue it a preheminēce that men should rest therin from bodily labour and learne to know the wil of God his lawes and how to worke their workes godly all the weeke after God also blesseth all nations in Abrahams sede that is he turneth hys loue fauour vnto them and geueth them his spirite and knowledge of the true way and lust and power to walke therin and all for Christes sake Abrahams sonne Cain so is it writtē in Hebrue Notwithstandyng whether we call hym Cain or Caim it maketh no matter so we vnderstand the meanyng Euery land hath his maner that we cal Iohn the Welshmen call Euan the Dutch Haunce Such difference is betwene y t Ebrue Greke and Latine and that maketh them that translate out of the Ebrue varie in names from them that translate out of Latine or Greke Curse Gods curse is the takyng away of his benefites as God cursed y t earth and made it barren So now hunger dearth warre pestilence and such like are yet right curses signes of the wrath of God vnto the vnbeleuers but vnto thē that know Christ they are very blessings and that wholsome crosse and true purgatory of our flesh through which all must goe that will liue godly and be saued as thou readest Math. 5. Blessed are they that suffer persecution for righteousnes sake c And Hebr. 11. The lord chastiseth whom he loueth and scourgeth all the children that he receaueth Eden pleasure Firmament the sky Fayth is the beleuyng of Gods promises and a sure trust in the goodnes and truth of God which fayth iustified Abrah Gen. 15. and was the mother of all his good workes whiche he afterafterward did for faith is the goodnes of all works in the sight of god Good workes are things of gods commaundement wrought in fayth And to sow a shoe at the commaundemēt of God to doe thy neighboure seruice withall with fayth to be saued by Christe as God promiseth vs is much better thē to build an abbey of thine owne imagination trusting to bee saued by the fained workes of hipocrites Iacob robbed Laban hys vncle Moses robbed the Egiptians And Abraham is aboute to slay and burne his own sonne and all are holye workes because they are wrought in fayth at Gods commaundement To steale robbe and murder are no holye workes before worldly people but vnto them that haue their trust in God they are holy when God commaundeth them What God commaundeth not getteth no rewarde with god Holy workes of mens imaginations receaue their rewarde here as Christ testisieth Math. 6. Howbeit of fayth and workes I haue spoken aboundantly in Mammon Let him that desireth more seeke there Grace fauour as Noe founde grace that is to say found fauour and loue Ham and Cam all one Iehouah is gods name neither is any creature so called and it is as much to say as one that is of himselfe and dependeth of nothing Moreouer as ofte as thou seest LORDE in greate letters except there be any error in the printing it is in Hebrue Iehouah thou that art or he that is Marshall in Hebrue he is called Sartabaim as thou wouldest say Lorde of the slaughter men And thoughe that Tabaim be taken for cookes in manye places for the cookes did slaye the beastes themselues in those days yet it may be taken for them that put men to execution also and that I thought it should here best signify in as muche as he had the ouersight of the kynges prison and the kyngs prisoners were they neuer so greate men were vnder his custodie therfore I cal him chief Marshal an officer as it were y t Lieuetenaunt of the tower or maister of the Marshalsey Slyme was their morter chap. 11. and slyme
pittes chap. 4. that slyme was a fatnesse that issued out of the earth like vnto carre and thou mayst call it cement if thou wilte Siloh after some is as muche to say as sent and after some happy and after some it signifieth Messias that is to say annoynted that we call Christ after the Greke worde and it is a prophesie of Christ for after all the other tribes were in captiuitie their kingdome destroyed yet the tribe of Iuda had a ruler of the same bloud euen vnto the commyng of Christ and about the commyng of Christ the Romaines conquered them the emperour gaue the kyngdome of the tribe Iuda vnto Herode which was a straunger euen an Edomite of the generation of Esau Testament that is an appoymente made betwene God and man gods promises And sacrameÌ„t is a signe representyng such appointment and promises as the raynebowe representeth the promise made to Noe that God wyll no more drowne the world And circumcision representeth the promises of God to Abraham on the one side that Abraham and his seede should circumcise and cutte of the lustes of their flesh on the other side to walke in the wayes of the lord As baptisme which is come in the roome therof now signifieth on the one side howe that all that repent and beleue are washed in Christes bloud and on the other syde how that the same muste quenche and drown the lustes of the flesh to follow the steppes of Christ There were tirantes in the earth in those dayes for the sonnes of god saw the daughters of men c. The sonnes of God were the Prophetes children which though they succeded their father fell yet from the right way and through falshode of hipocrisie subdued the world vnder them and became tirantes as the successors of the Apostles haue played with vs. Vapour a dewie miste as the smoke of a seething pot To walke with God is to liue godly and to walke in hys commaundedementes Enos walked with God and was no more sene he lyued godly and died God toke him away that is God hid hys body as he did Moses and Aarons lest happly they should haue made an Idole of hym for he was a great preacher and an holy man Zaphnath Paenea wordes of Egipt are they as I suppose and as muche to say as a man to whome secret thinges be opened or an expounder of secrete thinges as some interprete it That Ioseph broughte the Egiptians into such a subiection would seme vnto some a very cruell deede howe be it it was a very equall way for they payd but y t fifth part of that that grew on the grounde and therewith were they quit of all dueties both of rente custome tribute and tolle the kyng therwith found them Lordes and all ministers and defended them we now pay half so much vnto the priests only beside their other craftye exactions Then pay we rente yearely thoughe there grow neuer so litle on y t ground and yet when the kyng calleth pay we neuer the lesse So that if we looke indifferently their condition was easier then oures and but euen a very indifferent way both for the common people and the kyng also See therfore that thou looke not on the ensamples of the Scripture wyth worldly eyes least thou preferre Cain before Abell Ismaell before Isaac Esau before Iacob Ruben before Iuda Sarah before Phares Manasses before Ephraim and euen the worst before the best as the maner of the world is The Prologue to the second booke of Moses called Exodus BY the Preface vppon Genesis mayest thou vnderstand howe to behaue thy selfe in this booke also and in all other bookes of the Scripture Cleaue vnto y e texte and playne storie and endeuour thy selfe to searche out the meanyng of all that is described therein and the true sence of all maner of speakinges of the Scripture of prouerbes similitudes borowed speach whereof I entreated in the ende of the obedience and beware of subtile allegories And note euery thyng earnestly as thynges pertainyng vnto thyne own hart and soule For as God vsed him selfe vnto theÌ„ of the old Testament euen so shall he vnto the worldes end vse him self vnto vs whiche haue receiued hys holy Scripture and the testimonie of hys sonne Iesus As God doth all things here for theÌ„ that beleue his promises herken vnto his commauÌ„dements and with patieÌ„ce cleaue vnto him and walke with him euen so shall he do for vs if we receiue the witnes of Christ with a strong fayth and endure patiently folowyng his steppes And on the other side as they that fel from the promise of God thorow vnbelief and from his lawe and ordinaunces thorowe impatieÌ„cie of their owne lustes were forsakeÌ„ of God and so perished euen so shall we as many as doe lykewise and as many as mocke with the doctrine of Christ and make a cloke of it to liue fleshly to folow our lustes Note thereto howe God is founde true at the last and howe when all is past remedy and brought into desperation he then fulfilleth his promises and that by an abiect and a cast away a despised and a refused persoÌ„ yea and by a way impossible to beleue The cause of all the captiuitie of Gods people is this The world â—uer hateth them for their fayth and trust whiche they haue in GOD but in vayne till they fall from the fayth of y t promises and loue of the lawe and ordinaunces of God put their trust in holy dedes of their owne finding and liue altogether at their owne lust pleasure with out regarde of God or respect of their neighbour Then God forsaketh vs sendeth vs into captiuitie for our dishonoryng of his name and despisyng of our neighbour But the world persecuteth vs for our fayth in Christ onely as the people nowe doth and not for our wicked liuyng For in his kingdom thou mayest quietly and with licence and vnder aprotection do what soeuer abhominatioÌ„ thine hart lusteth but God persecuteth vs bycause we abuse his holy Testament and bycause when we knowe the truth we folowe it not Note also the mightie hande of the Lord how he playeth with his aduersaries and prouoketh them and styrreth them vp a litle and a litle and deliuereth not hys people in an houre that both the patience of his elect and also the worldly wit and wyly policie of the wicked wherwith they do fight agaynst God might appeare Marke y t long sufferyng and soft patience of Moyses and howe he loueth the people and is euer betwene the wrath of God and them and is ready to liue and dye with them to be put out of the booke that God had written for their sakes as Paule for his brethren Romaines ix and how he taketh his own wronges patiently and neuer auengeth him selfe And make not Moyses a figure of Christe with Rochester but an ensample vnto all
to be perfect But no precept to bynde vnder payne of sinne And so by that meanes not onely they that spake true but also they that lyed to deceaue were compelled to sweare and to confirme their wordes with othes if they would be beleued But Christ bringeth light and salt to the texte which the Phariâ—eis had darckened and corrupt with the stynkyng myst of their sophistrie and forbiddeth to sweare at all either by God or any creature of Gods for thou canst sweare by none othe at all except the dishonour shall redound vnto y e name of God If thou sweare by God it is so or by God I wil do this or that the meanyng is that thou makest God iudge to aduenge it of thee if it be not as thou sayest or if thou shalt not do as thou promisest Now if truth be not in thy woordes thou shamest thyne heauenly father and testifiest that thou beleuest that he is no righteous iudge nor wil aduenge vnrighteousnesse but that he is wicked as thou art and conseÌ„teth and laugheth at thee while thou deceauest thy brother as well created after the likenesse of God and as deare bought with the precious bloude of Christ as thou And thus through thee a wicked sonne is the name of thy father dishonoured and his law not feared nor hys promises beleued And when thou swearest by the Gospell booke or Bible the meanyng is that God if thon lye shall not fulfill vnto thee the promises of mercy there in written But contrarywise to bryng vpoÌ„ thee all the cursses plagues veÌ„geance therin threatned vnto y e disobedient euill doers And euen so when thou swearest by any creature as by bread or salt the meanyng is that thou desirest that the creatour therof shall aduenge it of thee if thou lye c. Wher fore our dealyng ought to be so substaÌ„tiall that our wordes might be beleued without an othe Our wordes are the signes of the truth of our hartes in which ought to be pure and single loue toward thy brother for what soeuer proceedeth not of loue is damnable Now falsehead to deceaue him pure loue can not stand together It can not therfore be but damnable sinne to deceaue thy brother with lying though y u adde no othe to thy woordes Much more damnable is it then to deceaue to adde an othe therto c. Howbeit all maner of swearyng is not here forbydden no more then all maner of killyng wheÌ„ the coÌ„maundement saith kill not for iudges and rulers must kill EueÌ„ so ought they wheÌ„ they put any man in office to take an othe of him that he shal be true faithfull and diligent therein And of their subiectes it is lawfull to take othes of all that offer theÌ„ selues to beare witnesse But if the superiour would compel the inferiour to sweare that should be to the dishonour of God or hurting of an innocent the inferiour ought rather to dye then to sweare Neither ought a iudge to coÌ„pell a man to swere agaynst him self that he make him not sinne forsweare Wherof it is inough spoken in an other place But here is forbidden swearyng betwene neighbour neighbour and in all our priuate busynesse and dayly communicatioÌ„ For customable swearyng though we lyed not doth robbe the name of God of his due reuerence feare And in our dayly coÌ„munication businesse one with an other is so much vanitie of wordes that we can not but in many thyngs lye which to confirme with an othe though we beguile not is to take the name of God in vayne vnreuerently agaynst the second precept Now to lye for the entent to beguile is damnable of it self how much more then to abuse the holy name of God thereto and to call to God for vengeaunce vpon thyne owne selfe Many cases yet there chaunce dayly betwene man and man in which charitie compelleth to sweare as if I know that my neighbour is falsely sclaundered I am bound to report the truth and may lawfully sweare yea am bounde if it neede and that though not before a iudge And vnto y â— weake where ye and nay haue lost their credence thorow the multitude of lyers a man may lawfully sweare to put them out of doubt Which yet commeth of y â— euill of them that abuse their language to deceaue withall Finally to sweare to do euill is dampnable and to performe that is double damnation Herodes oth made him not innocent and giltlesse of the death of Iohn the Baptist though the hipocrite had not knowen what his wiues daughter would haue asked And wheÌ„ men say a kings worde must stand that is trouth if his oth or promise be lawfull expedient In all our promises it is to be added if God will if there be no lawfull â—et And though it be not added it is to be interprete as added As if I borow thy sworde and by the houre I promise to bring it thee agayne thou be beside thy selfe If I promise to pay by a certaine day and be in the meane tyme robbed or decayed by chaunce that I cannot performe it I am not forsworne if myne hart ment truely when I promised And many like cases there be of which are touched in other places To lye also and to dissemble is not alway sinne Dauid 1. Reg. 27. tolde kyng Achis the Philistine that he had robbed hys owne people the Iewes when he had bene a rouing among the Amalekites and had flayne man woman and childe for telling tales And yet was that lye no more sinne then it was to destroy the Amalekytes those deadly enemies of the fayth of one almighty God Neither sinned Cusai Dauids trusty frend 2. Reg. 17. in fayning and beguilyng Absolon but pleased God highly To beare a sicke man in hand that wholesome bitter medicine is swete to make hym drinke it it is the dutie of charitie and no sinne To perswade hym that pursueth hys neighbour to hurt hym or slay hym that hys neighbour is gone an other contrary way is the duty of euery Christen man by the law of charitie and no sinne no though I confirmed it with an othe But to lye for to deceaue and hurt that is dampnable onely c. Ye haue heard how it is sayde an eye for an eye a toth for a toth But I say vnto you that ye withstand not wrong But if a maÌ„ geue thee a blow on the right cheeke turne to him the other also And if any man will goe to lawe with thee and take away thy coate let hym haue thy clocke thereto And if any maÌ„ compell thee to goe a mile goe with him twaine Geue to him that asketh and from hym that would borow turne not away Christ here enteÌ„deth not to disanull the temporall regiment and to forbid rulers to punishe euill doers no more then he ment to destroy matrimony when he forbad to lust and to couet
for the electe onely in whose hartes God hath written hys lawe with his holy spirite and geuen them a feeling faith of the mercy that is in Christ Iesu our Lord. ¶ Why Tindall vsed this worde congregation rather theÌ„ church in the translation of the new Testament WHerefore in as much as the clergy as the nature of those hard indurat AdamaÌ„tstones is to draw all to them had appropriat vnto themselues the terme that of right is common vnto all the whole congregation of them that beleue in Christ wyth their false and subtil wyles had beguiled and mocked the people brought them into the ignoraunce of the word making theÌ„ vnderstand by this worde church nothing but the shauen flocke of them that shore the whole worlde therefore in the translation of the new Testament where I found this word Ecclesia I enterpreted it by thys word congregation Euen therfore did I it and not of any mischeuous mynde or purpose to stablâ—she heresie as master More vntruely reporteth of me in hys Dialoge where he rayleth on y t translation of the new Testament And when M. More sayth that this word Church is knowen wel inough I report me vnto the conscieÌ„ces of all the land whether he say truth or other wise or whether the lay people vnderstand by Church the whole multitude of all that professe Christ or the iugglyng spirites onely And wheÌ„ he saith that congregation is a more generall terme if it were it hurteth not For the circumstance doth euer tell what coÌ„gregation is ment Neuerthelesse yet sayth he not the truth For whersoeuer I may say a congregation there may I say a Church also as the Church of the deuill the Church of Sathan the Church of wretches y t Church of wickedmen the Churche of lyers and a Church of Turkes therto For M. More must graunt if he will haue Ecclesia translated throughout all the new Testament by this woorde Church that Church is as commoÌ„ as Ecclesia Now is Ecclesia a Greeke word and was in vse before the tyme of the Apostles and taken for a coÌ„gregation among the heatheÌ„ where was no congregation of God or of Christ And also Lucas him selfe vseth Ecclesia for a Church or congregation of heathen people thrise in one Chapter eueÌ„ in the xix of the Actes where Demetrius the goldsmith or siluersmith had gathered a company agaynst Paule for preachyng agaynst Images Howbeit M. More hath so long vsed â–ª his figures of Poetry that I suppose wheÌ„ he erreth most he now by the reason oâ— a long custome beleueth himself that he sayth most true Or els as the wise people which when they daunce naked in nettes beleue that no man seeth them euen so M. More thinketh that his errours be so subtilly couched that no man can espy them So blinde he counteth all other men in comparison of his great vnderstandyng But charitably I exhorte him in Christ to take hede for though Iudas were wilier then his felowes to get lucre yet he proued not most wise at y t last end Neither though Balam the false Prophet had a cleare sight to bryng y â— curse of God vpon the childreÌ„ of Israell for honours sake yet his couetousnesse did so blind his prophesie that he could not see his owne end Let therfore M. More and his coÌ„pany awake be tymes ere euer their sinne be ripe lest y e voyce of their wickednesse ascenoâ— vp and awake God out of his slepe to loke vpoÌ„ them and to how his eares vnto theyr cursed blasphemies agaynst the open truth and to send his haruest men and mowares of vengeaunce to repe it But how happeth it that M. More hath not contended in likewise against hys derelyng Erasmus all this longe while Doth not he chauÌ„ge this word Ecclesia into congregatioÌ„ and that not seldome in the new TestameÌ„t peraduenture he oweth him fauour because he made Moria in hys house Whiche booke if it were in English theÌ„ should euery man see how that he then was farre otherwise mynded then he now writeth But verely I thinke that as Iudas betrayd not Christ for any loue that he had vnto the hyghe Priestes Scribes and Phariseis but onely to come by that wherfore he thirsted eueÌ„ so M. More as there are tokens euideÌ„t wrote not these bookes for any affectioÌ„ that he bare vnto the spiritualty or vnto the opinions which he so barely defeÌ„deth but to obtaine onely that which he was an hungred for I pray God that he eate not to hastly lest he be chokeo at the latter end but that he repeÌ„t and resist not the spirite of God which openeth light vnto the worlde ¶ Why he vseth this woorde Elder and not Priest AN other thyng which he rebuketh is that I interprete this Greeke worde Presbiteros by this worde Senior Of a truth Senior is no very good Englishe though Senior and Iuniot be vsed in the vniuersities but there came no better in my mynde at that tyme. Howbeit I spied my fault since long yer M. More tolde it me and haue â—…ded it in all the woorkes which I sens made and call it an Elder And in that he maketh hereâ—ie of it to call Presbiteros an Elder he condemneth their owne old Latin text of heresie also which they vse yet dayly myâ—â—…ch and haue vsed I suppose this I suppose this run huÌ„dred yeares For that text doth 〈…〉 an elder likewise In the. 1. Pet. 5. â—…s standeth it in y e Latin text Seâ—…ores qui in vobis sunt obsecro ego conâ—… pascite qui in vobis est gregem Chriâ—… 〈…〉 elders that are among you I 〈…〉 which am an elder also that ye sedâ—… flocke of Christ which is among 〈…〉 There is Presbyteros calle◠〈…〉 And in y t he sayth fede Chrisâ—… he meaneth euen the Ministeâ—… chosen to teach the people to 〈…〉 them in Gods word no â—ay 〈…〉 And in the 2. Epâ—stâ—e of Ioh◠〈…〉 text Senior electae Dominae 〈…〉 The elder vnto the eleâ—t Lady 〈…〉 her children And in the 〈…〉 Iohn Senior Gaâ—o dilecto 〈…〉 vnto the beloued Gaiâ—s In these 〈…〉 pistles Presbyteros is calleâ— an 〈…〉 And in the xx of the Actes y â— text sâ—… Paule sent for maiores natu Eccleâ—… 〈…〉 elders in byrth of the congregation or Church and sayd vnto them take 〈…〉 vnto your selues vnto y â— whoâ—e 〈◊〉 ouer which the holy ghosâ— hath 〈…〉 you Episcopos ad regendum Eccleâ—… Dei Byshops ouerâ—caâ—s to 〈…〉 the Church of God There is â—…teros called an Elder in byrth 〈…〉 same immediately called a 〈…〉 ouersear to declare what pâ—… ment Hereof ye see that I haue 〈…〉 more erred then their owne text 〈…〉 they haue vsed sence the scripture waâ— first in the Latin â—oung and that their owne text vnderstandeth by Presbyâ—eros nothyng saue an Elder And they were called
him in their dedes as fast as they can runne The Turkes being in number fiue tymes moe then we are knowledge one God and beleue many thinges of God moued onely by the authoritie of their elders and presume that God will not let so great a multitude erre so long tyme. And yet they haue erred and bene faithlesse these eight hundred yeares And the Iewes beleue this day as much as the carnall sort of them euer beleued moued also by the authoritie of their elders onely and thinke that it is impossible for them to erre being Abrahams seede and the childrē of them to whom the promises of all that we beleue were made And yet they haue erred and bene faythlesse this xv hundred yeares And we of like blindnesse beleue onely by the authoritie of our elders and of like pride thinke that we can not erre beyng such a multitude And yet we see how God in the old Testament did let the great multitude erre reseruyng alway a litle flocke to call the other backe againe and to testifie vnto them the right way ¶ How this word Church hath a double interpretation THis is therfore a sure cōclusion as Paule sayth Rom. ix that not all they that are of Israell are Israelites neither because they be Abrahās sede are they all Abrahams childrē but they onely that folow the faith of Abraham Euen so now none of them that beleue with their mouthes moued with the authority of their elders onely that is none of thē that beleue with M. Mores fayth the Popes fayth and the deuils fayth which may stand as M. More cōfesseth with all maner abhominatiōs haue the right fayth of Christ or are of his Church But they onely that repēt feele that the law is good And haue the law of God written in their harts and the fayth of our Sauiour Iesus euen with the spirite of God There is a carnali Israell a spirituall There is Isaac and Ismaell Iacob Esau And Ismaell persecuted Isaac Esau Iacob the fleshly the spiritual Wher of Paul complayned in his tyme persecuted of his carnall brethrē as we do in our tyme and as the elect euer dyd shall do till the worldes end What a multitude came out of Egypt vnder Moses of which the Scripture testifyeth that they beleued moued by y ◠miracles of Moses as Symon magus beleued by the reason of Philippes miracles Actes viij Neuerthelesse the Scripture testifieth that vj. hundred thousād of those beleuers perished thorough vnbelief and left their carcasses in the wildernesse and neuer entred into the land that was promised them And euen so shal the children of M. Mores faythlesse faith made by the persuation of mā leap short of the test which our Sauiour Iesus is risē vnto And therfore let them embrace this present world as they do whose children they are though they hate so to be called And hereby ye see that it is a playne an euident conclusiō as bright as the sunne shynyng that the truth of Gods word dependeth not of the truth of the congregation And therfore when thou art asked why thou beleuest that thou shalt be saued thorough Christ and of such like principles of our fayth aunswere thou wottest and felest that it is true And when he asketh how thou knowest that it is true aunswere because it is written in thyne hart And if he aske who wrote it aūswere the spirite of God And if he aske how thou came first by it tell him whether by readyng in bookes or hearyng it preached as by an outward instrumēt but that inwardly thou wast taught by y ◠spirite of God And if he aske whether thou beleuest it not because it is written in bookes or because the Priestes so preach aunswere no not now but onely because it is writtē in thyne hart and because the spirite of God so preacheth and so testifieth vnto thy soule And say though at the beginning thou wast moued by readyng or preachyng as the Samaritans were by y ◠wordes of the woman yet now thou beleuest it not therfore any lēger but onely because thou hast heard it of the spirite of God and read it written in thine hart And concernyng outward teachyng we alledge for vs Scripture elder thē any Church that was this xiiij hundred yeares and old antenticke stories which they had brought a slepe where with we confounde their lyes Remēber ye not how in our owne tyme of all that taught Grammer in England not one vnderstode the Latin toung how came we thē by the Latin toung agayne not by them though we learned certaine rules principles of them by which we were moued had an occasion to seke further but out of the old authours Euen so we seke vp old antiquities out of whiche we learne and not of our Church though we receaued many principles of our Church at the begynnyng but more falsehead then truth It hath pleased God of his exceding loue wherewith he loued vs in Christ as Paul sayth before the worlde was made and whē we were dead in sinne and his enemies in that we did cōsent to sinne and to liue euill to write with his spirite ij conclusions in our harts by which we vnderstād all thyng that is to were the fayth of Christ and the loue of our neighbours For whosoeuer feleth the iust damnation of sinne and the forgeuenes and mercy that is in Christes bloud for all that repent forsake it and come and beleue in that mercy the same onely knoweth how God is to be honoured and worshipped and can iudge betwene true seruing of God in the spirite and false Image seruing of God with workes ▪ And y e same knoweth that sacramētes signes ceremonies and bodely things can be no seruice to God in his person but memorials vnto men and a remēbraunce of the testament wherewyth God is serued in the spirite And he that feeleth not that is blynde in hys soule and of our holy fathers generation and maketh God an Image a creature worshippeth him with bodely seruice And on the other side he that loueth his neighbour as himselfe vnderstandeth all lawes and cā iudge betwene good and euil right wrong godly and vngodly in all conuersation deedes lawes bargaines couenaunces ordinaunces and decrees of men and knoweth the office of euery degree and the due honour of euery person And he that hath not that writen in his hart is popishe and of y ◠spiritualtie which vnderstādeth nothing saue his own honour his own profite what is good for himself onely and when he is as he would be thinketh y ◠all the world is as it should be ¶ Of worshipping and what is to be vnderstand by the worde COncerning worshipping or honouring which two termes are both one M. More bringeth forth a difference a distinction or diuision of Greke wordes
in the mayd of Kent TheÌ„ I pray you what thyng woorthy of so great prayse hath our Lady done Our Lady hath deliuered her of the holy ghost emptied her of much hygh learnyng which as a goodly Poetisse she vttered in Rimes For appose her now of Christ as Scripture testifieth of hym and thou shalt finde her cleane without rime or reason The maide was at home also in heauenly pleasures and our Lady hath deliuered her out of the ioyes of Orestes and brought her into the miseries of middell earth agayne The xvij Chapter AS for Doulia Hyperdoulia Lattia though he shew not with which of theÌ„ he worshypped the Cardinals hat is aunswered vnto him already The xviij Chapter IN the xviij where he would fayne proue that the Popes Churche can not erre he alledgeth thynges wherof he might be ashamed if he were not past shame to proue that the Byshops haue authoritie to lade vs with traditioÌ„s neither profitable for soule nor body He bringeth a false allegorie vppon the ouerplus that the Samaritane if it were layde out promised to pay when he came agayn for the Byshops traditions Nay M. More besides that allegories which euery man may fayne at his pleasure can proue nothing Christ interpreteth it him selfe that it betokeneth a kynde mynde a louyng neighbour which so loued a straunger that he neuer left caryng for him both absent as well as present vntill he were full whole and common out of all necessitie It signifieth that the Prelates if they were true Apostles and loued vs after the doctrine of Christ would sell their myters croses plate shrynes iuels and costly showes to succour the poore and not robbe them of all that was offered vnto them as they haue done to repare thinges fallen in decay and ruine in the common wealth not to begger the realmes with false Idolatry and imageseâ—uice that they haue not left them wherewith to beare the cost of the common charges And moreouer when the Scribes Phariseis taught their owne doctrine they sat not vpon Moses seate but on their owne And therfore Christ so far it is of that he would haue vs hearken vnto mans doctrine â—ayd beware of the leuen of the Scribes Phariseis Saduces which is their doctrine rebuked them for their doctrine brake it him selfe and taught his Disciples so to do and excused them and sayd of all traditioÌ„s that what soeuer his heauenly father had not planted should be plucked vp by the rootes And therto all the persecutioÌ„ that the Apostles had of the Iewes was for breakyng of traditions Our Prelates ought to be our seruauntes as the Apostles were to teach vs Christes doctrine and not Lordes ouer vs to oppresse vs with theyr owne Peter calleth it temptyng of the holy ghost Actes xv to lade the heatheÌ„ with ought aboue that which necessitie and brotherly loue required And Paul rebuketh his Corinthians for their ouer much obedience and the Galathians also and warneth all men to stand fast and not to suffer them selues to be brought into bondage And when he sayth Peter Paule commaunded vs to obey our superiours That is trouth they coÌ„maunded vs to obey the temporall sword which the Pope will not And they commauÌ„ded to obey the Byshops in the doctrine of Christ and not in their owne And we teach not to breake all thyngs rashly as M. More vntruly reporteth on vs whiche is to be sene in our bookes if men will looke vpon them Of traditions therfore vnderstand generally He that may be free is a foole to be bonde But if through wilinesse thou be brought into bondage then if the tradition hurt thy soule thy faith they are to bee broken immediatly though with the losse of thy lyfe If they greue the body onely theÌ„ are they to be borne till God take them of for breakyng the peace and vnitie Then how sore maketh he Christes burtheÌ„ If it be so sore why is M. More so cruell to helpe the Byshops to lade vs with more But surely he speaketh very vndiscretly For Christ dyd not lade vs with one sillabe more then we were euer bound to neither did he any thyng but interpret the law truly And besides that he geueth vnto all hys loue vnto the law which loue maketh all thinges easie be borne that were before impossible And when he sayth ye be the salt of the â—earth that it was spoken for the Byshops and Priestes onely it is vntrue but it was spoken generally vnto all that beleue and know the truth that they should be salt vnto the ignoraunt and the perfecter vnto the weaker ech to other euery man in his measure And moreouer if it be spokeÌ„ vnto the Prelates onely how fortuneth it y â— M. More is so â—usie to â—ault the world iâ— his hygt learnyng And last of all the salt of Prelates which is their readitions ceremonies without signification is vnsauery long a go therfore no more worth but to be cast out at the doores and to be troden vnderfoote And that he sayth in the end that a man may haue a good fayth with euill liuing I haue proued it a lye in an other place Moreouer fayth hope and loue be iij. sisters y â— neuer can depart in this world though in y â— world to come loue shall swalow vp the other twoo Neither can the one be stroÌ„ger or weaker then the other But as much as I beleue so much I loue and so much I hope ye and so much I worke The xix Chapter IN the xix hee proueth that praying to Saintes is good miracles that coÌ„firme it are of God or els the church sayth he doth erre It foloweth in dede or that the Popes Church erreth And when he sayth it is sinne to beleue to much I say we had the more neede to take heede what we beleue and to search Gods word the more diligently that we beleue neither to much nor to litle And when he sayth God is honoured by praying to Saintes because it is done for his sake I aunswere if it spraÌ„ge not out of a false fayth but of the loue we haue to God then should we loue God more And moreouer in as much as all our loue to God springeth put of faith we should beleue and trust God And then if our fayth in God were greater then our feruent deuotioÌ„ to Saintes we should praye to no Saintes at all seyng we haue promises of all thinges in our Sauiour Iesu and in the Saintes none at all The xxv Chapter IN y t xxv how iuggleth he to proue that all y â— perteyneth vnto the faith was not writteÌ„ alledging Iohn in the last that the world could not conteine the bookes if all shoulde be written And Iohn meaneth of the miracles which Iesus did and not of the necessary pointes of the fayth And how
were in them determined as stories make meÌ„tion And by the same fcripture we know which counsels were true which false And by the same scripture shall we if any new question arâ—…e determine it also Abraham answered the rich man they haue Moses and the Prophets let theÌ„ heare them and sayd not they haue the Scribes and the Phariseis whom they should heare preachyng out of the seate of their owne doctrine wythout scripture And when he alleageth he that heareth you heareth me and if any man heare not the church take hym for an heathen concluding that we must beleue whosoeuer is shauen in all that he affirmeth without scripture or myracle I would fayne know in what figure that silogismus is made Christes disciples taught Christes doctrine confirming it with miracles that it might be knowen for Gods and not theirs And euen so must the Church that I wyll beleue shew a myracle or bryng autentike scripture that is come from the Apostles which consirmed it with myracles The xxix Chapter IN the xxix he alleageth that Christ sayd not the holy ghost shall write but shall teach It is not the vse to say the holy ghost writeth but inspireth y â— writer I maruayle that he had not brought as many of hys brethren do Mathew in the last where Christ coÌ„maunded the Apostles to go and teach all nations and sayd not write I auswere that this precept loue thy neighbour as thy selfe and God aboue all thyng went wyth the Apostles coÌ„pelled them to seeke Gods honour in vs and to seeke all meanes to continue the fayth vnto the worldes ende Now the Apostles knew before that heresies shoulde come and therefore wrote that it myght be a remedie against heresies as it well appeareth Iohn xx Where he sayth these are written that ye beleue and thorow beliefe haue lyfe And in the second of his fyrst Epistle he sayth these I write because of them that deceaue you And Paule and Peter therto warne vs in many places Wherfore it is manifest that the same loue compelled them to leaue nothyng vnwritten that should be necessarily required and that if it were left out should hurt the soule And in the last chapter to make all fast he bringeth in the kynges grace how he confuted Martin Luther with this conclusion y e Church can not erre where vnto I will make none aunswere for feare to displease his grace neuerthelesse because Martin could not soyle it if his grace looke well vpoÌ„ the matter he shall finde that God hath assoyled it for him in a case of his own And vppon that M. More concludeth his first booke that what soeuer the Church that is to were the pope his broode say it is Gods worde though it be not written nor confirmed with miracle nor yet good liuing yea and though they say to day this and to morow the contrary all is good inough and Gods word yea and though one Pope condemne an other ix or x. Popes arow with all their workes for he retickes as it is to see in the stories yet all is right and none errour And thus good night and good rest Christ is brought a slepe layde in his graue and the doore sealed to and the men of armes about the graue to keepe hym downe with polaxes For that is the siâ— rest argument to helpe at nede and to be rid of these babblyng heretikes that so barke at the holy spiritualtie with y t Scripture beyng thereto wretches of no repuration neither Cardinals nor Bishops nor yet great beneficed men yea and without torquottes and pluralities hauyng no hold but the very Scripture whereunto they cleaue as burres so fast that they can not bee pulied away saue with very syngyng them of ¶ A sure token that the Pope is Antichrist ANd though vnto all the argumeÌ„ts and persuasions whiche he would blind vs with to beleue that the Pope with his sect were the right Churche and that God for the multitude will not suffer them erre we were so simple that we saw not the suttiltie of the Argumentes nor had wordes to solâ—e theÌ„ with but our bare fayth in our hartes yet we be sure and so sure that we can therein not be decâ—aued and do both seele and see that the conclusion is false and the contrary true For first Peter sayth ij Pet. ij there shall be false teachers amoÌ„g you which shal secretly bring in damnable sectes denying the Lord that bought them and many shall folow their damnable wayes by whom the way of truth shal be euill spoken of and with fayned wordes they shall make marchaundise ouer you Now saith Paule Rom. iij. the law speaketh vnto theÌ„ that are vnder the law And euen so this is spokeÌ„ of theÌ„ that professe the name of Christ Now the Pope hath x. thousand sectes â—ropen in as pied in their consciences as in their coates settyng vp a thousand maner of workes to be saued by which is the denying of Christ And we see many and all most all together folow their damnable wayes And in that Peter sayd that they shall rayle blaspheme the truth it foloweth that there shal be a litle flocke reserued by the haÌ„d of God to testifie the truth vnto them or els how could they rayle on it And it foloweth that those raylers shal be the mightier part in the world or els they durst not do it Now what truth in Christ doth not the Pope rebuke and in settyng vp false woorkes denie all together And as for their fayued wordes where findest thou in all the Scripture Purgatory shrift penaunce pardon poena culpa hyperdoulia and a thousand fayned termes mo And as for their marchaundise looke whether they sell not all Gods lawes and also their owne and all sinne and all Christes merites and all that a maÌ„ can thinke To one he selleth the faulte onely and to an other the fault and the payne to and purgeth his purse of his money and his braynes of his wittes and maketh him so beastly that he can vnderstand no godly thyng And Christ sayth Math. xxiiij there shall false annoynted arise and shew signes and wonders that is they shall shew miracles so preuayle that if it were possible the elect should be brought out of the true way And these false annoynted by the same rule of Paule and in that Christ sayth also that they shall come in his name must be in the Church of Christ and of them that shal call theÌ„ selues Christen and shall shew their wonders before the elect and be a sore temptation vnto them to bryng theÌ„ out of the way And y e elect whiche 〈◊〉 few in comparison of them that be called and come faynedly shall among that great multitude bee kepte by the mighty hand of God agaynst all naturall possibilitie So that the Church very elert shall neuer be such
new old holy doctours that haue made the Pope a God They knew of no power that man should haue in the kyngdome of Christ but to preache Christ truly They knew of no power that the Pope shoulde haue to send to Purgatory or to deliuer thence neither of any Pardon 's nor of any such confession as they preach and teach neither were many that are articles with you Articles of their faith They all preached forgeuenesse of sinnes thorough repentaunce toward the law and fayth in our Sauiour Christ as all the Scripture playnly doth and can no otherwise be taken and as all the hartes of as many as loue the law of God do fele as surely as the finger feeleth the fyre hoate An aunswere vnto Master Mores third booke IN his third boke he procedeth forth as before to proue that the opinions which the Popish teach without Scripture are of equal authoritie with the Scripture He asketh what if there had neuer bene Scripture written I aunswere God careth for his elect therfore hath prouided them of Scripture to trie all thynges and to defend them from all false Prophetes And I say moreouer that if there had ben no scripture written that God for his mercy fatherly loue and care toward his elect must haue prouided that there should neuer haue bene heresies or against all tymes when sectes should arise haue styred vp preachers to coÌ„found the he resies with miracles Take this example the Grekes haue the Scripture serue God therin much more diligently theÌ„ we Now let vs geue that there were no Scripture but that we receaued all our fayth by y e authoritie of our elders the Grekes by y e authoritie of their elders WheÌ„ I shall dispute with a Greke about the articles of the fayth which my elders taught me and his elders deny as eareconfession the holy pardons of the Pope and all his power that he hath aboue other Bishops many other thynges beside the Scripture which we hold for articles of our faith they deny If there be no other proofe of either part then to say my elders which caÌ„ not erre so affirme that he should aunswere his Elders which can not not erre so deny what reason is it that I should leaue the authoritie of my elders and goe beleue his or that he should leaue the authoritie of his elders and come and beleue myne none at all verely But the one partie must shew a miracle or els we must referre our causes vnto auteÌ„ticke scripture receaued in olde tyme confirmed wyth myracles and therewith trie the controuersie of our Elders And when he asketh whether there were no true fayth from Adam to Noe. I answere that god partly wrote their fayth in their sacrifices and partly the Patriarkes were ful of miracles as ye may see in the Bible And when More to vtter his darcknes and blynde ignoraunce sayth that they which were ouerwhelmed wyth No yes floud had a good faith and bringeth for hym Nicolaus de Lira I answere that Nicolaus de Lira delirat For it is impossible to haue a fayth to be saued by except a man consent vnto Gods law with all his hart and all his soule that it is righteous holy good and to be kept of all men and thereuppon repent that he hath broken it and sorow that his flesh moueth vnto the contrary and then come and beleue that god for his mercy will forgeue him all that he hath done agaynst the lawe wyll helpe hym to tame his flesh and suffer his weakenes in the meane season till he be waxed stronger which fayth if they that perished in Noyes floud had had they coulde not but haue mended their liuinges and had not hardened their harts thorow vnbeliefe and prouoked the wrath of God and waxed worse and worse an hundred twenty yeares which God gaue theÌ„ to repent vntill God could no loÌ„ger suffer theÌ„ but washed their filthines away with y e floud as he doth y e Popes shamefull abhominacions with like invndacions of water destroyed theÌ„ vtterly And wheÌ„ he asketh whether AbrahaÌ„ beleued no more theÌ„ is writteÌ„ of him I aske him how he will proue that there was no writing in Abrahams time that AbrahaÌ„ wrot not And againe as for Abrahams person he receaued his faith of God which to coÌ„firme vnto other myracles were shewed dayly And when he fayneth forth that they beleued onely because they knew their elders coulde not erre How could they know that without myracles or wryting confirmed wyth myracles more theÌ„ the Turke knoweth that hys elders so many hundred yeares in so great a multitude can not erre teach false doctrâ—ne to damne the beleuers And y e contrary doth M. More see in all y e Bible how after all was receaued in scripture confirmed with myracles though miracles ceased not but were shewed dayly yet y e elders erred fell to idolatry an huÌ„dred for one y t bode in the right way and led the younger in to errour wyth them so sore that God to saue the younger was faine to destroy the elders and to begin his testameÌ„t a freshe with the new generatioÌ„ He seeth also that y e most part were alway Idolaters for all the scripture and true myracles therto and beleued the false miracles of the deuill because his doctrine was more agreable vnto their carnall vnderstanding then the doctrine of Gods spirit as it now goeth wyth the Pope did not y â— Scribes Phariseis and Priestes which were the elders erre And when he asketh who taught the church to know the true scripture from false bookes I answere true miracles that confounded the false gaue authoritie vnto the true scripture And therby haue we euer since iudged all other bookes and doctrine And by that we know that your legendes be corrupt wyth lies As Erasmus hath improued many false bookes which ye haue fayned and put forth in the name of S. Hierom Augustine Ciprian Dionise and of other partly wyth autenticke stories and partly by y e stile and latine and like euident tokens And when M. More â—ayth vnto theÌ„ that beleue nought but y e scripture he will proue with y e scripture that we be bounde to beleue the church in thinges wherefore they haue no scripture Because God hath promised in the scripture that the holy ghost shall teach hys church all truth Nay that text wil not proue it For the first Church taught nought but they coÌ„firmed it with myracles which coulde not be done but of God till the scripture was autentickly receaued And the Church folowing teacheth nought that they will haue beleued as an article of the fayth but that which the scripture proueth and mainteineth As S. Augustine protesteth of his workes that men should compare them vnto the scripture therby iudge them and cast away whatsoeuer the scripture
head nor promised ought in this world vnto his Disciples nor toke any to his Disciple but hym that had forsaken all The Iuytree the Pope hath vnder his rootes thoroughout all Christendome in euery village holes for Foxes and nestes for vncleane byrdes in all his braunches and promiseth vnto his Disciples all the promotions of the world The nearer vnto Christ a man commeth the lower he must descende and the poorer he must waxe But the nearer vnto the Pope ye come the hygher ye must clyme and the more riches ye must gather whence soeuer ye can get them to paye for your Bulles and to purchase a glorions name and licence to weare a mitre a crosse and a palle and goodly ornamentes How the Pope receaueth hys kyngdome of the deuill and how he distributeth it agayne SHortly the kyngdomes of the earth and the glory of them which Christ refused Math. iiij dyd the deuill profer vnto the Pope and he immediatly fell from Christ and worshipped the deuill and receaued them For by falsehead as he maynteineth them came he thereto and by falsehead do all hys disciples come therto Who of an hundred one is pope Byshop or any great Prelate but either by Nicromancy or Symonie or waytyng on great mens pleasures with corruptyng of Gods word fashioning it after their lustes And the Pope after he had receaued the kyngdome of the world of the deuill and was become the deuilles Vicare tooke vp in lyke maner all Christendome an hygh and brought them from the mekenesse of Christ vnto the hyghe hill of the pride of Lucifer and shewed them all the kingdomes of the earth saying fall downe and worshyp me and I will geue you these Vnto the spiritualitie he sayth fall froÌ„ Christ and preach me and take thou that Car dinalship thou that Byshopricke thou that Abbotshyp and so forth thou as many benefices as thou wilt and a dispensation for what thou wilt And to Monkes and Friers in lyke maner â—ake thou that hole and thou that nest with what priuileges ye wil desire and dispensations of your rules if ye will preach me And vnto the temporalitie he sayth First to the Emperour if thou wilt fall downe and kysse my feete and sweare to hold of me and to defend me I geue thee the Empyre And to all kynges in lyke maner if they will sweare to defende his liberties and to hold of him he crowneth them And eueÌ„ so all temporall Lordes from the highest vnto the lowest and all officers and all maner subiectes if they will enioy landes rentes offices goodes and their very lyues they must â—…me the same way The very whores Gods honour vnregarded as loÌ„g as they despise not him and his ordinaunces they shall neste in hys rentes and among hys Prelates And the theeues and murtherers shall haue dennes in his sanctuaries whatsoeuer they do agaynst God so long as they hang on hym The Apostles chose Priestes to preach Christ onely all other thynges layde a parte and chose none but learned and vertuous The Pope shaueth whosoeuer commeth leuer out of the stues then from studie and when they be sworne he sendeth them vnto all great mens houses to preach his godhed to be stuardes surueyers receauers and counsellers of all maner mischiefe to corrupt wife daughter and mayde and to betray their owne master as oft as it needeth to promote their falshead withall For thereto are they sworne together And when they haue done all mischiefe there shall no man were whence it commeth The Apostles chose Deacons to minister the almose of the riche vnto the poore And to helpe the Deacons they chose widowes of lx yeare olde holy and destitute of frendes to tende the sicke And the Pope in stead of such widowes maketh whosoeuer commeth whether she be young or old but none saue them that be rich and able to pay xx xxx or xl pounde for their profession to whom for as much more he will geue a dispensation on the morow to mary againe And in stead of such Dea cons he maketh both Deacons subdeacons which do nothing at all but are vaine names without office except it be that on some holy day in stead of ministring y e goodes of the church vnto the poore they sing an epistle or gospell to begge more from the poore And as his Deacons minister the goodes of the Church vnto the poore euen so do his Priests preach Christes Gospell vnto the flocke And the almose that was geuen to the sustentation of the poore whiche thou shalt read in stories that it was in some cities aboue xx xxx xl yea an hundred thousand pounde and all the landes geuen for the same purpose they haue stollen from them and haue deuided it among themselues And therwith did they at the beginning corrupt the great men of the worlde and clam vp to this heith where they now be And for that haue they strouen among themselues this viij hundred yeares And to mainteine that which they haue falsely gotten hath the pope sturred vp a sword of warre in al Christendome this viij hundred yeares and hath taken peace cleane out of the worlde When the Byshops Priestes and Deacons were fallen and had receaued of the Pope the kingdome that pertayned vnto the poore people and had robbed them and parted their patrimony among theÌ„selues then sprang the orders of Monkes Whose profefsion was to abstaine from sleshe all their liues to weare vile rayment to eate but once in the day and that but butter chese egges fruites rootes and such thinges that were not costly and might euery where be found And they wrot bookes and wrought diuers thynges to get their lining withall When the laye men sawe that the priestes were fallen into such couetousnes and that the Monkes were so holy they thought these be meete meÌ„ to minister our almose vnto the poore people For their profession is so holy that they can not deceaue vs as y e priestes do and made the Monkes tutors and ministers vnto the poore gaue great landes riches into their hands to deale it vnto the poore When the Monkes saw such abundaunce they fell after the ensample of the Priestes and tooke dispensations of the Pope for their rules and straite profession which now is as wide as their coules and deuided all among them and robbed the poore once more And out of the Abbayes tooke he the most part of byshopprikes and cathedrall churches and the most part of all the landes he hath besides that there remayne yet so many mighty Abbayes and Nunries therto Assoone as the Monkes were falleÌ„ then sprang these begging Fryers out of hell the last kynde of Caterpillers in a more vile apparell and a more straite religion that if ought of reliefe were left among the laye men for the poore people these horseleches might sucke that also Which dronebees as soone as they
necessary to prepare this Pathway into the Scripture for you that ye might walke surely euer know the true frō the false And aboue all to put you in remembraunce of certaine pointes which are that ye well vnderstand what these wordes meane The old Testament The new Testament The law The Gospell Moses Christ Nature Grace Workyng and beleuing Dedes and faith Lest we ascribe to the one that which belongeth to the other and make of Christ Moses of the Gospell the Law despise grace and robbe fayth fal from meke learnyng into idle despitions brawlyng and scoldyng about wordes The old Testament is a booke wherein is written the law of God the dedes of them which fulfill them of them also which fulfill them not The new Testament is a booke wherein are conteined the promises of God and the dedes of them which beleue them or beleue them not Euangelion that we call the Gospel is a Breke word and signifieth good mery glad and ioyfull tydinges that maketh a mans hart glad and maketh him sing daunce and leape for ioy As when Dauid had killed Goliath the gyaunt came glad tydinges vnto the Iewes that their fearefull and cruell enemy was slayne and they deliuered out of all daunger for gladnes wherof they song daunced and were ioyful In like maner is the Euangelion of God which we call Gospell and the new Testament ioyfull tydinges and as some say a good hearing published by the Apostles throughout all the world of Christ the right Dauid how that hee hath fought with sinne with death and the deuil ouercome them wherby all men that were in bondage to sinne woūded with death ouercome of the deuill are without their owne merites or deseruinges losed iustified restored to life and saued brought to libertie and reconciled vnto the fauour of God set at one with him agayne whiche tydinges as many as beleue laude prayse thanke God are glad syng and daunce for ioy This Euangelion or Gospell that is to say such ioyfull tydinges is called y ◠new Testament Because that as a mā whē he shall dye appointeth his goods to be dealt distributed after his death among them whiche he nameth to bee his heyres Euen so Christ before hys death commaūded and appointed that such Euangelion Gospell or tydynges should be declared throughout all the world and therewith to geue vnto all that repent and beleue all his goodes that is to say his lyfe wherewith hee swalowed and deuoured vp death hys righteousnes wherewith he banished sinne his saluatiō wherwith he ouercame eternall damnation Now cā the wretched man that knoweth him selfe to be wrapped in sinne and in daūger to death hell heare no more ioyous a thyng them such glad and comfortable tydinges of Christ So that he can not but be glad and laugh frō the low bottome of his hart if hee beleue that the tydinges are true To strēgth such sayth with all God promised this his Euangelion in the old Testament by the Prophetes as Paul sayth Rom. 1. How that he was chosē out to preach Gods Euāgeliō which he before had promised by the Prophetes in the Scriptures that treate of his sonne which was borne of the sede of Dauid In the Gene. iij. God sayth to the Serpent I wil put hatred betwen thee and the woman betwen thy seede and her sede that selfe sede shall treade thy head vnder foote Christ is this womās seede he it is that hath troden vnder foote the deuils head that is to say sinne death hell all his power For without this seede can no man anoyde sinne death hell and euerlasting damnation Agayne Gene. xxij God promised Abraham saying in thy seede shall all the generations of the earth be blessed Christ is that seede of Abraham sayth S. Paule Gala. iij. He hath blessed all the world through the Gospell For where Christ is not there remaineth the curse that fell on Adam as soone as he had sinned so that they are in bōdage vnder the damnation of sinne death and hell Against this curse blesseth now the Gospell all the world in asmuch as it cryeth opēly vnto all that knowledge their sinnes and repēt saying who soeuer beleueth on the sede of Abraham shal be blessed that is he shal be deliuered from sinne death and hell and shall hence forth continue righteous and saued for euer as Christ hym selfe sayth in the xj of Iohn He that beleueth on me shall neuer more dye The law sayth Iohn i. was geuē by Moses but grace and verity by Iesus Christ The law whose minister is Moses was geuen to bryng vs vnto the knowledge of our selues that we might thereby feele and perceaue what we are of nature The law cōdemneth vs and all our deedes and is called of Paule in the ij Cor. iij. the ministration of death For it killeth our consciences and driueth vs to desperation in as much as it requireth of vs that which is vnpossible for our nature to do It requireth of vs the deedes of an whole man It requireth perfect loue from the low bottome and grounde of the hart as well in all thinges whiche we suffer as in the thinges which we do But sayth Iohn in the same place grace and veritie is geuē vs in Christ So that when the law hath passed vpō vs and condemned vs to death which is his nature to do then haue we in Christ grace that is to say fauour promises of life of mercy of pardon freely by y e merites of Christ in Christ haue we veritie truth in that God for his sake fulfilleth all his promises to them that beleue Therfore is y ◠Gospell the ministration of life Paule calleth it in the fore rehearsed place of the Cor. ij the ministration of the spirite and of righteousnes In the Gospell when we beleeue the promises we receaue the spirit of life and are iustified in the bloud of Christ from all thyngs wherof the law condemned vs. And we receaue loue vnto the law and power to fulfill it and grow therein dayly Of Christ it is written in the fore rehearsed Ioh. i. this is he of whose aboundaunce or fulnes all we haue receaued grace for grace or fauour for fauour That is to say for the fauour that God hath to his sonne Christ he geueth vnto vs his fauour good wil al giftes of his grace as a father to his sonnes As affirmeth Paule saying whiche loued vs in his beloued before the creation of y ◠world So y ◠Christ bringeth the loue of God vnto vs and not our owne holy woorkes Christ is made Lord ouer all and is called in Scripture Gods mercy stole who soeuer therfore flyeth to Christ can neither heare nor receaue of God any other thyng saue mercy In the old Testamēt are many promises which are nothyng els but the Euāgelion or Gospel to saue those
that we should haue confidence in the day of Iudgement Howsoeuer this text sounde this me thinketh should be the meanyng that we should prouoke ech other to loue and euer haue those examples of edifieng before our eyes that should most moue vs to loue For perfite loue serueth to make a man bold because it is the kepyng of the cōmaundements And therfore he that is perfect in loue when hee seith hym selfe yet in this world to be vnto his neyghbour as God is vnto hym and to be lyke hys heauenly father in all example of kyndnesse is bold in the presence of God yea though he come to iudge synners When on the other side they that continue euer in their wickednes grow not in loue fall often And therefore their cōscience euer accuseth them and putteth them in feare by the reason of the fresh memory of the offence that they can not at once be bold though they haue neuer so great promises of mercy There is no feare in loue But perfect loue casteth out feare For feare hath paynefulnes He therefore that feareth is not perfect in loue Loue is not paynefull but maketh all thyng easie and pleasaunt feare of punishmēt for y e trespasse newly committed is paynefull Therfore where loue is perfect there is no such feare Loue is the fulfillyng of all commaundementes And therfore where loue is perfect there is no sinne And where consciēce doth not accuse of sinne there is faith bold to go into God to stand before hym and looke hym in the face and to coniure him by all his mercies and to aske the petitions of his desire Lacke of loue is the breakyng of the commaundements and cause of sinne And where the conscience accuseth of sinne their fayth is abashed dismayed ashamed affrayed to go in for feare of rebuke Loue therefore serueth to make a man bold in the day of iudgement and in all temptations Iohn speaketh not generally of all maner feare but of that onely whiche the consciēce of sinne putteth a man in For diuers feares there be that accompany loue and grow as she doth The more a woman loueth her child the more she careth for it and feareth lest ought should chaunce it a misse Euen so the more we loue our brethren the more we care for them and feare lest any temptation should trouble them As Paule sayth ij Cor. xj who is sicke and I am not sicke who is offended or hurt and mine hart burneth not How cared he for Timothe for Titus and for all that were weake for the Corinthians Galathiās and for all congregations and how diligently wrote he to them in his absence and the more we loue God the more diligent and circumspect are we that we offēde hym not And tell me I pray thee whosoeuer hast had experience what a payne and grief yea and what a freatyng coresey is it vnto the hart of a true louer of God to here the poyson generation of vipers the pestilent sect of hypocritish Phariseis wittingly and willingly to blaspheme and rayle on the open and manifest truth of the holy ghost If ye will see how bold loue is go to Moyses Exod. 32. and Numeri 14. And there behold how hee coniureth God and amōg all sayth Forgiue this people or put me out of the booke that thou hast written As who should say they be thy people and thou commaūdest me to loue them And for thy sake I loue them and teach them and care for them as a mother that had borne them and loue them no lesse then my selfe Wherfore if thou loue me as thou promisest me then saue them with me or if not thē cast me away with them and let me haue such part as they take And Paule sayd asmuch Roma ix Looke vpō worldly loue and see what pageantes she playeth now and then and how dronken a thyng it is and be sure where the loue of God is perfect she will not onely go betwene bodely death and her louer but also betwene hym and hell If a man would take of this that a man might be so perfect in this lyfe that he might not be perfecter it would not folow For though the spirite at a tyme get the vpper hand of the flesh wynneth her self to God that she can not tell whether she be in the body or no yet the flesh will pull her downe agayn and not let her continue and now and thē plucke of some of her feathers for mountyng so hygh againe For Moses fell through vnbelefe well inough after that seruentnes We loue hym because he loued vs first We deserue not y e loue of God first but he deserueth our loue and loueth vs first to wynne vs and to make vs his frendes of his enemyes And as soone as we beleue his loue we loue agayne And so fayth is mother of all loue And as great as my fayth is so great is loue though fayth can not be perfectly sene but through the workes of loue and in the fire of temptation If a man say I loue God and hateth his brother he is a lyer For how cā he that loueth not his brother whom he seeth loue God whō he seeth not And this commaūdemēt haue we of him that he which loueth God loue his brother also To loue a mans neighbour in God is a sure rule to know that we loue God and not to loue him is a sure token that we loue not God and to hate our neighbour is to hate God For to loue God is to do hys commaundements as Christ sayth Iohn xv ye are my louers if ye do those thinges which I haue commaūded you and the commaūdemēt is to loue our neighbours then he that loueth not his neighbour loueth not God And likewise to hate the commaundement is to hate God that commaunded it and the cōmaundement is to loue our neighbours hee then that hateth his brother whō God biddeth hym loue hateth God The fift Chapter ALl that beleue that Iesus is Christe are borne of God And al that loue him whiche begat loue hym that is begotten of him In this wee knowe that wee loue the sonnes of God when we loue God and kepe his commaundementes For this is the loue of God that we kepe his commaundementes This is a sure cōclusion that we be borne of God through fayth And that fayth maketh vs Gods sonnes in that we beleue that Iesus is Christ as the first chapter of Iohn also testifieth hee gaue them power to be the sonnes of God in that they beleued in his name What it is to beleue that Iesus is Christe may bee vnderstand by that which is aboue rehearsed It is a farre other thyng then as the deuill beleued it agaynst his will and to hys greate payne or as they beleue it which to fulfil their sinne enuie the glory of Christ and persecute his Gospell forbydding to preach
of Lemster was a great miracle 176. a Women aswell as men endewed with wisedome 252. a Women why they Baptise 287. a Women discrete may minister the sacramentes 322 b Women haue power to bynde and how 358. a World shall know Christ 410. a World knoweth not Christ 409. a. blynd in godly matters 423. b Wrold worse worse 55. b. a louer of wickednes 7. b World of whom ouercomen 421. a World must bee rebuked for lacke of iudgement 248. b Worldlynes in the Popes doctrine 416. a Worldly wisedome tendyng to Gods glory is commendable 455. b Worldly prefermentes are lettes to true Christianitie 340. a Worldly wisemen vnderstand not the Scriptures 88. a Worldly rulers how farre to be obeyed 385. b Worldly witte 113. a Word of the law and Christes promises contayned in the hart 31 b Word of God 34 a. the force therof 178. a. ground of fayth 302. b. maketh true fayth 170. b. trieth miracles 300. b Word beyng the Gospell before the Church 255. a Word saueth 18. b Word altered not Gods word 201. a Wordes honoryng God expresly 269 b Wordes of Christ are spirituall onely 460. a. are spirite and lyfe 465. b Worke made acceptable by fayth 243. b Workes 4. b. 16. a. 19. b. 219. a. 225. b. and. 331. b What they be and to what end 81. a. Gods workemāship 15. b. are Sacramentes 226. a. whiche be good 84. b. whence they be 331. b. how to be done 73. a. how accepted of God 18. b. must be seasoned with Gods word 219. b Workes their force 15. a. 384. b Workes of the law and fulfillyng the same two thynges 40. b Workes Papisticall 396. a. taught with crueltie 29. b. blynd ibidem Workes make hypocrites the true in tent away 228. b Workes without fayth 16. a Workes are made perfect with Christes bloud 31. a. without Christ in Gods sight damnable 70. a Workes our witnesses before God 69. a. a shew of fayth 55. a. cannot be separated from fayth 42. b. declare fayth 402. a. declare Gods goodnes 67. b. expressed by fayth 413. b. cannot bee done without fayth 73. b. where true fayth is 411. b. folowe true fayth 68. a. spryng from true fayth vniuersally 41. b. folow iustification 45. a Workes looked on 162. b. not to be presumed vpon 11. a. cannot fulfill the law 249. b. deserue not the reward promised 218. a Workes of the law iustifie not 41. a. 195. b. 185. b. and 335. a. no satisfaction for sinnes to Godward 39. a. satisfactory in no wise 398. a. deserue not the giftes of grace 386. b Workes are vnder the law 336. b Workes without the promise saue not 153. a Workes of ours can deserue nothing 333. a. must be done without hope of reward 69. a. must be done and not trusted in 85. a. must serue vs and not we them 273. b Workes all euill where faith lacketh 46. a Workes of ours how farre they extend 37. a. fulfill the law before the world 117. a. must not be done for reward 333. a. obtaine not Gods fauour 89. b Workes must procede of loue 335. b Workes to our neighbour workes to God 421. a. the fruites of lyght 392. a. of loue 88. b. of fayth 73. b Workes outward declare where true fayth is 68. b Workes whiche most meete to bee done 49. a. why they must be done 32. a Worker first of our worke GOD. 329. b Worke holy sophisters confounded 117. a Worshyp of Saintes and heathen Gods a lyke 424. a Worshyp of God truly 396. a Worshypping of Saintes 398. b. and 224. b. of the Crosse 270. b. of vncōsecrate hostes 298. b. of Images 271. a Worshypping of Images neuer established by miracles 300. b Worshypping and honoryng are one 26◠a Worshyppyng in spirite 395. b Worthy receauyng of the Sacramentes encreaseth fayth 446. b Wrath of God styrreth vp destroyers of the Church 341. b Written Scriptures must confound vnwritten verities 255. b Writyng from the begynnyng ibidem Y. YOngest best beloued of parentes 264. a Yong widowes forbidden ministration 313. b Yong Timothy made a Byshop 252. b Yuye tree a similitude 352. b Z. ZAcharias the first Pope 348. a Zeale wtout knowledge nought 87. a Zeale of righteousnes what 192. b Zeale of ceremonies may not breake vnitie 237. b Zuinglius and Oecolampadius belyed of More 473. b ¶ The end of the Table of M. Tyndals workes Imprinted at London by Iohn Daye dwellyng ouer Aldersgate An. 1572. ¶ Cum gratia Priuilegio Regiae Maiestatis I D THE WORKES of the excellent Martyr of Christ Iohn Frith DIEV ET MON DRIOT His lyfe and Martyrdome 1. His booke of Purgatory Fol. 1. 2. An aūswere to Rastals Dialogue 7. 3. An aūswere to Syr Thomas More 32. 4. Hys aunswere vnto Fisher Byshop of Rochester 51. 5. A Bulwarke against Rastall 60. 6. His iudgement vpon M. Tracyes will and Testament 77. 7. A letter written from the Tower to Christes congregation 81. 8. A mirrour or glasse to knowe thy selfe 83. 9. A treatise vppon the Sacrament of Baptisme 90. 10. An antithesis betweene Christ and the Pope 97. 11. A booke of the Sacrament of the body and bloud of Christ 107. 12. Articles for the which he dyed 170. A Table contayning the principall matters of all his workes ARISE FOR IT IS DAY The storie life and Martirdome of Iohn Frith with the Godly and learned workes and writings of the sayde Author here after ensueing THe sayd Iohn Frith was borne in Kent and was the sonne of Richard Frith Inholder in Senenock in the Countye of Kent This yong man so greatly profited in lerning that scarcely in his time there might bée anye found equall vnto him And vnto his great knowledge and learning was adioyned such an honest conuersation and godlynes of life that it was harde to iudge in whether of them he was more commendable Of the great godlines that was in him this may serue for experiment sufficient that not withstanding his other manifold and singular giftes and ornaments of the mynde in him most pregnant wherwith all hée might haue opened an easye way vnto honour and dignitie yet he chose rather wholye to consecrate him selfe vnto the Church of Christ excellently shewing forth and practising in him selfe the Precept so highly commended of the Philosophers touching the lyfe of man which life they say is geuen vnto vs in such sort that how much better the man is so much the lesse hée should liue vnto hym selfe but vnto other seruing for the common vtilitie And that we shoulde thinke a great part of our birth to bée due vnto our parentes A greater part vnto our countrey And the greatest parte of all to bée béestowed vpon the Church if we wil bee counted good men Fyrst of all he began his studie at Cambridge where he had to his tutor Stephen Gardiner who afterward was Byshop of Winchester And in the nature of this yong man being but a child God had planted meruelous
instinctions and loue vnto learning where vnto he was addict He had also a wonderfull promptnes of wit and a redye capacitie to receaue and vnderstand any thing in so much that he semed not to bee sent vnto learning but also borne for the same purpose Neither was there any diligence wanting in him equall to that towardnes or worthy of his disposition Whereby it came to passe that he was not onely a louer of learning but also became an exquisite learned man And at that tyme it happened that Thomas Wolsey Cardinall of Yorke prepared to buyld a College in Oxforde whiche had the name and title of Frideswyd but now named Christes Church And vnto this College the sayd Cardinall gathered togither such men as were founde to excell in any kinde of Learning and knowledge Amonge whom this Iohn Frith the Author of these notable workes was one who then being a studient in Cambridge and Bacheler of arte was called from thence and placed in y e said College And when he had diligently Labored in most godly study certaine yeares not without great profite both of Latyn and Greeke Then being suspected to be a fauorer of Martyn Luthers doctrine He was aprehended and committed to prison from whence afterward being deliuered he resorted to the Citie of London and there came in acquayntaunce with William Tyndall And not long after the sayd William Iohn Frith had many metinges and great conferences and by the sayd William he fyrst receaued into his hart the seede of the Gospell and sencere godlines after with great perill and Daunger they both being inquired sought for fled William Tyndall first placed him selfe in Germany and there did first translate the Gospell of S. Mathewe into Englishe and after the whole new testament c. And not long after the departure of Tyndall Iohn Frith escaped and fled into Flaūders where he remayned almost the space of iij. yeares and there he made his booke against purgatory and dyuerse other Godly and learned workes as in the perface of the sayd booke doth appeare But at the last he being driuē to necessitie and lacke of money was forced secretly to returne ouer into this Realme to be releued of his frendes namely of the Prior of Reading And as it was thought he purposed to haue had the Prior ouer with him And he being at Reading it happened that he was there taken for a vagabond and brought to examination Where the simple man loth to vtter him selfe what he was and vnacquainted with their maner of examinations and they greatly offended with him committed him to y e stockes where when he had sitten a long tyme and was almost pined with hunger would not for all that declare what he was At the last he desired that y e Schoolemaster of the towne might be brought vnto him which at that tyme was one Leonard Coxe a man very well learned Assone as he came vnto him Frith by and by in the Latyn tongue began to bewaile his Captiuitie The schoole master being ouercome with his eloquence did not onely take pitie and compassion vpon him but also began to loue and embrace such an excellent witt and disposition vnlooked for especially in suche state of mysery Afterward they conferring more togither vpon many thinges as touching the Vniuersities Schooles and tonges fell frō the Latyn tongue to the Greeke wherein Frith did so inflame the loue of the sayd schoole master towardes him that he brought him into a merueilous admiration especially when as the schoolemaster hard him so promptly by hart rehearese Homers verses out of his first booke of Iliades Wher vpon the schoolemaster went with all speede vnto y e Magistrates greuously cōplayning of the iniury which they did shewe vnto so excellent and innocent a yong man And so through the helpe of the sayde schoolemaster the said Frith was freely set at libertie All be it his sauetie cātynued not long through the great hatred and deadly persute of Sir Thomas More who at that tyme being Chauncelor of England persecuted him both by land and Sea besettyng all the wayes hauens and portes yea and promysing great rewardes if any man could bring hym any newes or tydinges of hym Thus Frith being on euery part beset with troubles not knowing which way to turne hym sought for some place to hide him in And so flyeng from one place to another often chaunging both his garmentes and place yet could he be in safetie in no place no not long amongest his very frendes so that at the last he comming to a Porte towne in Essex called Milton shore and there purposing to haue taken shipping to haue passed ouer into Flaunders was betrayed and brought bounde backe agayne and layed in the Tower of London And diuerse tymes after was called before Sir Thomas More also before the Byshops with whom he had many conflictes And he continuing long prisoner in the Tower at the last a false brother resorted vnto him whose name was William Holt a Taylour who feyning that he bare great frendship vnto him so slattered him and he himselfe being vtterly voyde of all suspicious nature that he began to communicate vnto him his very Secretes and among other entred into a longe discourse of the sacrament which Frith had penned in a booke in the tyme that he was Prisoner in the Tower And when the sayd Holt had seene the sayd booke he required him most instantly to lend him the same onely to reade ouer the which the sayd Iohn Frith did vnaduisedly graunte which after was the occasion of his greate trouble and finally of his death So sone as this false brother had the booke he departed for now he had the praye that he had long watched for And forth with he caried the sayde book◠vnto Sir Thomas More who reioyced not a litle at the hauing thereof and forthwith whetted his wittes and cauled his spirites togither meaning to refute his opinion by a contrary booke but that was more then he could doe Yet he attempted to doe asmuch as he might and at the last wrote a booke agaynst him the Copie whereof when it came to Frithes handes although he were then prisoner in the Tower and destitute both of bookes and conference yet he aunswered it omitting nothing that any man coulde desire to the perfect and absolute handeling of the matter Beside all these cōmendations of the afore sayde Learned yong man there was also in him a frendly and prudent moderation in vttering of the trueth ioyned with learned godlines which vertue hath alwayes so much preuayled in the Church of Christ that without it all other good giftes of knowledge be they neuer so great can not greatly profite but oftentimes doe very much hurt And in all matters where necessitie did not moue him to contend he was ready to graunt all thinges for quietnes sake After he had sufficiently contended in his writynges with More Rochester and Rastall Mores sonne
Scriptures although S. Paule or Peter should preach it vnto vs as we see experience Actes xvij that whē Paule preached the audience dayly searched the Scriptures whether it were as he sayd But you haue bene of long continuance secluded from the scriptures whiche is cause of such grosse errours as ye are now fallen in so that ye could neither search them nor yet once looke on them Alas what blindnes doth occupy our eyes Are ye so childish to beleue that the same worde whiche hath made the vnfaythfull and heretickes faythfull and Christen in tymes past is nowe so farre altered that it should cause the faythfull and Christen to become heretickes I praye God open your eyes Howbeit wee may nowe well tast at our fingers endes that we haue long bene in that miserable case that Paule prophesied vppon vs. ij Thes ij that God hath sent vs strong delusions because we would not receaue y e knowledge of the truth what greater delusion can we haue then to thinke that the very woorde of God whiche was written for our comforte which is the very fode and sustenaunce of our soules whiche is the sure metyarde and perfect touchstone that iudgeth and examineth all thynges to thinke I saye that this wholesome worde should be our poyson and condemnation And all be it our forefathers haue lyued without it and receaued all for truth that our Prelates belyes haue imagined yet is not theyr fault ours a like although I can not excuse their ignoraunce but that it is sinne before the face of God for they had not the light of Gods word opened vnto thē Nowe sith we haue the light declared vnto vs and yet will procede in blynd ignorauncie and not conferre and examine these iugglyng mistes with the light of Gods word our ignoraunce is wilfull and without excuse Suffer therefore all thynges what soeuer they be to be tryed and examined by the Scripture If they be true then shall the Scripture doe them no hurt but stablish and strēgthen them for the Scripture discloseth nothyng but falsehead and cōdemneth nothyng but that is damnable And now to descend vnto our matter and disputation whiche is of Purgatory I shall shew you what occasiō I had to take it in hand I wrote a letter vnto a certaine frende in England desiryng hym instantly to send me certaine bookes which I though necessary for my vse and were not to be gotten in these parties as the Chronicles Syr Thomas Mores booke agaynst the Supplication of Beggers and certein other These bookes I receaued vpon S. Thomas day before Christmasse the yeare of our Sauiour a. M. ccccc xxx with a letter written in this forme Sir I haue sent you such bokes as you wrote for and one moe of Rastels makyng wherin he goeth about to proue Purgatory by naturall Philosophie whiche thyng quoth he I thinke be more easie to do thē to proue it by any good Scripture c. This stuffe receaued I was meruelously desirous and tickled to see what reasons he brought for his probations And in the begynnyng and Prologe of the booke he set seuen reasons which he sayd that fonde felowes alledged for thē to proue that there could be no Purgatory And in deede they are very fonde that would deny Purgatory if there were no better Argumentes to confute it then hee assigneth But by Gods grace I will propounde vij times seuen which shal haue such pith that their paineful purgatory shall not bee able to abyde the worst of them for these seuē that Rastell assigneth are not worth one Beane When I had read and well pondered these reasons I thought that hee should sharpely haue confuted thē as he might full well haue done specially sith they were but of his owne imagination Neuerthesse when I came vnto his solutions I founde not one but it had certaine poyntes repugnaūt vnto the Scripture vnto which our reason must euer be obediēt yea and also they were extremely iniurious vnto Christ and his precious bloud Then left I him read Syr Thomas Mores booke to see what Scripture might bee brought for that purpose and after that made I diligēt enquire to come by my Lord of Rochesters booke which also writeth on the same matter and when I had well examined their reasons and had sene the order and processe of the Scriptures whiche they alledged I founde that clearely verified whiche Aulus Gellius sayeth that it were a great deale better for a man to bee sharpely rebuked yea and openly to haue his faultes published of his enemy then to bee coldly and slenderly praysed of his frende For a mans enemy ensearcheth narrowly and gathereth together all that he can imagine and so accuseth a man more of a fumous heate then of any veritie and therfore the audience if they be wise consider his woordes therafter and so geue very small credence or els none vnto them But if a mans frende before audience doe prayse hym slenderly and coldly it is an argument that the person is very faultie for a frende beholdeth all qualities and circumstaunces his byrth bringyng vp what feates hee hath done all hys lyfe long yea and applieth many thynges vnto his frendes prayse whiche serue but sinally for it for he will leane nothing behynd that may be imagined to employ his frendes fame and honour Now if in all these pointes he can not colour out a glorious apparant laud but is compelled for lacke of matter to prayse his frēd slenderly then if the audiēce be wise they may soone cōiecture that he is no prayse worthy also may well doubt whether that small prayse which he gaue him be true or not Euē so when I had read these bookes of Syr Thomas More and my Lord of Rochester and saw the small probations slender reasons that those two witty and learned men had brought to confirme Purgatory considering also that they are the chiefest frendes proctours and patrones therof and that they had applied many reasons and Scriptures for their purpose for lacke of matter that rather made against them yea and not that onely but also that they dissented betwene them selues in their probations for M. More sayth that there is no water in Purgatory And my Lord of Rochester sayth that there is water Master More sayth that the ministers of the punishmēt are deuils And my Lord of Rochester sayth that the ministers of the punishment are aungels Master More sayth that both the grace and charitie of them that lye in the paynes of Purgatory are increased My Lord of Rochester saith that the soules in Purgatory obtain there neither more fayth nor grace nor charitie then they brought in with them These thynges cōsidered it made mine hart yerne and fully to cōsent that this their paynefull Purgatory was but a vayne imagination and that it hath of long time but deceaued the people and milked them from their
vertue increase vice and sinne to the vtter destruction of the common wealth and quyet lyuing of the people And thus much he maketh an end As to the first where he sayth that it would put awaye the dreade of God and geue boldnes to sinne if we thought there were no Purgatory we sée and may euidently perceaue the contrary all day both in young old of them that beleue there is a Purgatory The young say I wil take my pleasure whyle I may and if I may haue but one houres respite to cry God mercy I care not for then shall I go but to Purgatory so shall I be sure to be saued The old say I will kéepe my goods as long as I may for I wote not what nede I shal haue But when I dye I will cry God mercy and then shall I go but to Purgatory and myne executours that haue my goodes shall redeme me theÌ„ce well inough And so to beleue Purgatory is rather an occasioÌ„ of rechlesse boldnesse then of the feare of God Besides that if they knew y â— there were no Purgatory then should many the more feare God and do wel them selues and not trust to their executours for feare of damnation howbeit as I haue sayd before they that feare not God but for payne whether it be of hell or Purgatory are yet vnder condemnation and not in Gods fauour And this dare I boldly affirme that they whiche feare not God but for Purgatoryes sake shall neuer come in it no nor yet in heauen And therfore it is but folye to imagine Purgatory for that intent As concernyng the second poynte If the people beleue that they neded not to make satisfactioÌ„ to their neighbours for their trespasses c. I haue sufficiently auÌ„swered before that we must make satisfaction vnto our neighbours if we be able or els will God neuer forgeue vs. And if we be not able yet must we knowledge our offence then is our neighbour bounde to forgeue vs vnder the payne of damnation And so can this proue no Purgatory Now as touchyng the thyrd that if they beleued that such a light repentaunce were sufficient without any other satisfaction it should be an occasion of vice and subuersion of the common wealth I auÌ„swere as I haue done before almost in euery argument sith thou art ignoraunt of Christes death and his satisfaction vnto the father for vs that all the repentaunce whiche we can take is not sufficient to counterpese one cryme but that if Christ were not we should all be damned Here will I leaue Rastell and his Turke Gingemin with all their naturall Philosophy which is now proued foolishnes for hetherto hath he proued no Purgatory neither hath hee one good reason nor yet to that baren reasons one good solution as we haue sufficiently declared But let vs heare somewhat more of Gods word and sée how Purgatory standeth with that Paul saith we must all be brought before the iudgement seate of Christ that euery man may receaue accordyng to the workes of his body whether it be good or bad 2. Cor. 5. If this be true then can there be no Purgatory whiche shall profite hym after he is dissolued from his body for then should he not receaue accordyng to y e workes of his body But rather accordyng to the paynes that he suffered in Purgatory Now if this text be true then must it folow that all thyne executours dealyng offeryng of Masse pence c. helpe thée not a myte And by this text it is not possible that there should be a Purgatory Vpon this text would I fayne dispute a poynt of Sophistry whiche I would gladly haue dissolued of them that thinke theÌ„ selues learned in Philosophy My Sophisme is y e ij contradictories may staÌ„d together be both true Whiche I am sure no Sophister dare graunt for it hath in tymes past ben condemned in Oxford for an heresie The coÌ„tradictories are these Euery man shall receaue accordyng to the workes of his body And some maÌ„ shall not receaue accordyng to the workes of his body that these two coÌ„tradictories be both true I wil proue The firste proposition is Paules 2. Cor. 5. which no man will deny to be true And the secoÌ„d may easely be proued true which is that some maÌ„ shall not receaue accordyng to the workes of his body For be it in case y â— there depart a maÌ„ out of this world which is not cleane purged by fayth and the word of God neither are his rebellious members subdued through death as they imagine but that the spottes and remnauntes of sinne remaine in him for the which he is worthy to lye in the paynes of Purgatorye for the space of sixe yeare This graunted which I am sure they will not deny then also put I the case that this man lyeng in Purgatory by the space of a moneth haue a frend which offereth for hym a peny vnto S. Dominikes boxe which hath such power that assoone as the tinging is hard in y e boxe so soone the soule is frée in heauen or that a frende of his bye a Pardon for hym which may absolue him a poena a culpa for all commeth to one effect This man deliuered on that maner doth not receaue accordyng to the workes of his body for by the workes of his body he should yet lye in Purgatory more theÌ„ fiue yeares And that doth he not but is by and by deliuered from Purgatory Ergo I may conclude that some maÌ„ receaueth not accordyng to the workes of his body so are two contradictories true or els there can be no such deliueraunce out of Purgatory whiche destroyeth all Pardons Massepence and Suffragies for the dead This would I haue soluted How beit I will not adnumber it for an argument because the vnlearned people to whom I write this booke can not well perceaue it But this Sophisme haue I writteÌ„ to stop the chatteryng mouthes of the Sophisters and to cast them a bone to gnaw vpon Paule sayth you whiche were in tymes past straungers and enemyes because your myndes were set in euil workes hath he now recoÌ„ciled in the body of hys fleshe thorough death to make you holy such as no man can complayne on and without â—aulte in his owne sight if ye continue grounded and stablished in the fayth and be not moued away from the hope of the Gospell Collos i. Here Paule affirmeth that you are reconciled through his death so that ye are made holy and without faulte in his sight I haue expounded what it is to bee without fault in his â—ixt argument looke ye yet for an other Purgatory are ye so childish and insensible no imagine that ye must yet go through Purgatory â—ith ye are already without faulte in his â—ight This a playne â—ase God of his righteousnes will not punishe a man for nothyng but all that are
although they haue not yet the rest but must suffer before in Purgatory that euasion will not this text suffer for the text sayth that they rest and are in peace as Esayas also sayth in the. lvij that the righteous and euery faythfull man is righteous in the sight of God as we haue often proued before when he departeth resteth in peace as in a bed And Sapiē iij. it is sayd that the righteous soules are in peace so is it not possible that there should be such a paynefull Purgatory Thus haue we confuted Rastell both his argumentes and also solutions for all that he writeth is false agaynst Scripture Furthermore we haue brought in to proue that there cā be no such Purgatory l. argumētes all grounded on Scripture And if néede were a mā might make a thousand of which our Clergy should not be able to auoyde one Here I thinke some mē will wonder that I haue the Scripture so full on my side because that there are certaine mē as my Lord of Rochester Syr Thomas More which by Scripture go about to proue Purgatory this is sure that Scripture is not contrary vnto it selfe Therfore it is necessary that we examine the textes which they bring in for their purpose in markyng the processe both what goeth before and what cōmeth after And then shal we easely perceaue the truth how these ij men haue bene piteously deceaued First I will aunswere vnto M. More which hath in a maner nothyng but that he tooke out of my Lord of Rochester although he handle it more suttelly And what soeuer is not aunswered in this parte shal be touched and fully conuinced in the third whiche shall be a seuerall booke agaynst my Lord of Rochester ¶ Thus endeth the first Booke The second booke which is an aunwere vnto Syr Thomas More MAister More begynneth with the sely soules of Purgatory and maketh them to wayle and lamēt that they heare the world waxe so faynte in the fayth of Christ that any mā should neede now to proue Purgatory to Christē mē or that any mā could be found which would in so great a thyng so fully and fastly beleued for an vndoubted article this xv hundred yeare begyn now to staggar and stand in doubt c. Verely me thinketh it a foule faute so sore to stomble euen at the first It were a great blot for him if he should be compelled by good authoritie to cut of iiij hundred of his foresayd nūber Now if we can not onely proue that he must cut of that iiij hundred yeare but also bryng witnesse that it was neither at that time beleued for an article of y t fayth nor yet for an vndoubted truth thē I thinke ye would suppose this man somewhat out of the way And that will I proue by Gods grace S. Austen was foure hundred yere after Christ And yet in his time was it not fully and fastly beleued for an article of the fayth no nor yet fully and fastly beleued to bee true For hee him selfe writeth in his Enchiridion on this maner speakyng of Purgatory After he expounded the place of Paul 1. Cor. 3. and had taken this word fire not for Purgatory but for temptation and tribulation he added these wordes in the. 69. chapter It is not incredible that such a thyng shuld also chaūce after this life whether it be so or not it may be questioned c. Of these woordes may we well perceaue that he counted it not for an article of y t fayth neither yet for an vndoubted truth for if it had bene an article of y e faith or an vndoubted truth then would hee not haue sayd Potest etiā queri that is to say it may be questioned doubted or moued for those holy fathers vsed not to make questions doubtes in articles of the fayth among thē selues neither yet in such things as were vndoubted true they vsed not to dispute whether Christe dyed for our sinnes rose agayne for our iustificatiō but onely beleued it Beside that the occasion why hée wrote the booke entitled Enchiridion was this There was one Laurētius a Christē man which instantly required of S. Austen that he would write him a forme of his belefe whiche hée might continually beare in hand and whereunto he should sticke Vpō this wrote him S. Austen this litle booke where in he commaundeth hym not fully and fastly to beleue these are M. Mores wordes that there was a Purgatory but sayth that it may be questioned doubted or moued whether there be such a place or not Of this haue we playne euidence that it was none article of y t fayth in S. Austens tyme which was foure hūdred yeare after Christ neither yet vndoubted truth And so may all men sée that M. More is sore deceaued and set on the sand euen at the first brunte and in the begynnyng of his viage His second reason that he hath to proue Purgatory is this The very miscreauntes Idolaters Turkes Saracenes and Paynimes haue euer for the most part thought and beleued that after the bodyes are deceased the soules of such as were neither deadly dampned wretches for euer nor on the other side so good but that their offences done in this world haue deserued more punishment then they had suffered and sustained there were purged and punished by payne after the death ere euer they were admitted vnto their wealth and rest And so must there nedes be a Purgatory I aūswere if it were lawfull to require wisedome in a man so wise as M. More is counted here would I wish him a litle more wit for I thinke there is no wiseman that will graunt this to be a good argumēt y t Turkes Saracenes Paynimes Iewes beleue it to be true Ergo we must beleue that it is true for I will shewe you a like argument The Turkes Saracenes Paynimes Iewes beleue that we haue not y t right Christ but that we are all damned which beleue in Christ Is it therfore true shal we turne our fayth because they beleue that we be deceaued I thinke there is no man so foolish as to graūt him this But if M. More will haue his reasō hold he must argue on this maner The miscreauntes and infidels before named beleue that there is a Purgatory their belefe is true therfore we must beleue that there is a Purgatory Now foloweth this argument somewhat more formally Here might I put him to the profe of his Minor which is that their belefe in beleuyng Purgatory is true which thyng he shall neuer be able to proue But I haue such confidence of the truth on my side that I will take vpon me to proue the negatiue Cut̄ that their belefe is not true as cōcernyng Purgatory For these miscreauntes which beleue Purgatory beleue that there is a Purgatory for vs that be
And so must we graunt hym that this fire is very hote Now may you wel perceaue what a slender foūdation their hote purgatory hath For by this confutatiō may you easely sée that it hath no grounde nor authority of Scripture Notwithstandyng it is the foundation of all religions and cloysters yea and of all the goodes that nowe are in these spiritualtie Are not they witty worke men whiche can buylde so much on so slender a foundation Howbeit they haue made it so toppeheuye that it is surely lyke to haue a fall Thus hath Master More a full aunswere both to hys Scriptures whiche were to farre wrested out of theyr places and also to hys owne apparent reasons Howbeit if hys mastershyppe be not fully pacified let hym more groundly open hys mynde and bryng for his purpose all that he thinketh to make for it and I shall by Gods grace shortly make hym an aunswere and quyet his mynde ¶ Thus endeth the second booke ¶ The third booke which aunswereth vnto my Lord of Rochester and declareth the mynde of the old Doctours NOw will I addresse me to the thirde part which shall be an aunswere vnto my lord of Rochester And all his reasons and argumentes both of the Scriptures and doctoures which are not before dissouled in the seconde part wyll I clene confute by Gods grace in this thirde booke Howbeit the chéefest of his scriptures hath M. More perused and hath in a maner nothing but that was before writtē by my lord of Rochester sauing that he maketh the selye soules to pull to helpe his matter withall My lord of Rochester is the first patrone and defender of thys phantasie And euē as M. More tooke his worke out of my lord of Rochesters euen so plucked Rastell hys booke out of M. Mores My lord of Rochester to confirme hys sentence rekoneth vp the doctors by heape M. Iohn M. William M. Thomas omnes But as concerning the doctors that they are not so fully on hys side as he woulde make thē séeme is sone proued And where should I better begin to confute him then of hys owne wordes for he writeth himselfe vpon the xviij article on this maner THere is no man now a daies that doubteth of Purgatorye sayeth he and yet among the olde auncient fathers was there eyther none or els very seldome mention made of it And also among the Grecians euen vnto this day is not purgatory beleued Let him read that will the commentaries of the olde Grecians and as I suppose he shal finde eyther no worde spoken of it or els very few These are my lordes wordes I wonder what obliuiousnes is come vppon hym that he so cleaueth vnto the Doctors whome he affirmed before eyther to make no mention of it or els very seldome Notwythstanding I will declare you somewhat of the Doctors that you may the better know theyr meaning To speake of the Doctors what theyr minde was in thys matter it were necessarye to declare in what time they were and what condition the worlde was in theyr dayes S. Austine Ambrose Hierome were in one time euen about iiij hundred yeares after Christ and yet before theyr time were there arisen infinite heretikes by whole sectes as the Arrians Domitians Eunomians Vigilanttians Pelagians with infinite other which had so swerued from the truth and wrested the Scripture out of frame that it was not possible for one man no nor for one mans age to restore it agayne vnto the true sense Among these there were some which not onely fayned a purgatory but also doted so far that they affirmed that euery man were he neuer so vicious should be saued through that fire and aleaged for them the place of Paul 1. Corinthians 3. These holy doctours perceauing those greate erroures thought it not best by and by to condemne all thinges indifferētly but to suffer and dissemble wyth the lesse that they might wéede out the opinions which were most noysom as the Apostles graunted vnto the Iewes that the Gentiles should kéepe some of Moyses law Actes xv that they might the better com to their purpose to saue the Iewes with the Gentiles For if they had at the first vtterly set of the law then would the Iewes neuer haue geuen any audience vnto the Apostles And euen so S. Austen went wisely to worke First condemning by the Scripture that errour which was most noysome and wrote on thys maner Albeit some might be purged through fire yet not such as the Apostle condemneth when he sayeth that the persons which so do shal not possesse the kingdome of heauen And where they woulde haue stucke vnto Paules text 1. Cor. 3. and affirme that they shoulde be saued thorough fire S. Austen answered that Paules texte was vnderstande of the spirituall fire which is temptation affliction tribulation c. Thys wrote he in the 67. 68. of hys Enchiridion to subuert that grosse errour that all should be saued through y t fire of purgatory Yet in the 69. he goeth a litle neare them and sayth that it may be doubted whether there be any such purgatory or not He durst not yet openly cōdemne it because he thought that men could not at that time beare it But after in his booke which he entituled De vanitate huius soeculi there doth he fully shew his minde in these wordes Scitote quòd cum anima a corpore auellitur statim aut pro meritis bonis in Paradiso collocatur aut pro merit is malis in inferni tartara praecipitatur i. Wote ye well that when the soule is departed from the body eyther it is by and by put into paradise according to hys good desertes or els it is thrust hedlong into hell for hys sinnes Here he cleane condemneth purgatory for if thys be done by and by assoone as the soule is departed from the body then can there be no purgatory and so maketh S. Austen wholy with vs. Thinke ye that S. Austen dissenteth from his companion S. Hierome or from hys owne Master S. Ambrose Nay verely Howbeit I will alleage theyr owne wordes and then iudge SAint Ambrose dissenteth not from S. Austine but doth stablysh hys sentence as fully as is possible for he writeth in the second chapter of hys booke which is called De bono mortis on this maner bringing in the words of Dauid Psal 39. Aduena ego sum in terra peregrinus sicut omnes patres mei Et ideo tanquam peregrinus ad illā sanctorum communem omnium patriam festinabat Petens pro huius commorationis inquinamento remitti sibi peccata priusquam discederet de vita Qui enim hîc non acceperit remissionem peccatorum illic non erit Non erit autem quia ad vitam aeternam non potuerit peruenire quia vita aeterna remissio peccatorum est Ideoque dicit remitte mihi vt refrigerer priusquam abeam
Now let vs consider your foresayd causes ponder whether your booke haue or may do any such good as you say pretended whether it haue conuerted those sortes of people or els be any thyng lykely to do such a fact And first let vs sée what it profiteth y t first sort which are infidels not beleuyng in Christ nor his scripture Our sauiour Christ sayth he that beleueth is not damned Iohn Baptist confirmeth the same saying he that beleueth in y e sonne hath euerlastyng lyfe but he that beleueth not in the sonne shal not sée life but the wrath of God abydeth vpon hym Here it is euidēt not by my exposition but by the consent of all Christen men that those infidels are damned for what entent then should Rastell teach them that there is a Purgatory without Christ ther is no way but dānation as scripture all faythfull men testifie Then would I know by what way he wold persuade that there were a Purgatory which should be away a meane to saluation and not to damnatiō for thē which beleue not in Christ This I am sure of and I thinke Rastell be leueth it also that the infideles shall neuer come in it though there were one This you may sée that his first cause is very vayne and that if they dyd beleue it they were in déede deceyued Now let vs procéede vnto the second sort of people which beleue in Christ and his scripture and yet misconstrue it expoundyng it after theyr own willes And let vs sée what frute they take of this booke what it profiteth them we shall finde that it lesse serueth these men then the first for if this men beleue in Christ and in hys Scripture then is it not possible that they should receaue or admitte that thyng which is agaynst the Scripture both by the exposition of them selues of all the world For this is both agaynst Scripture and all faithfull mē that there should be any way to health if we exclude Christ and hys Scripture And sith Purgatory is counted away to health he that would go about to proue it secludyng Christ and Scripture is agaynst Scripture and all faythfull men Besides that if they be so obstinate that they will not receaue the verye Scripture but expounde it after their own willes wrest it after the same then wil they much lesse receaue your booke which is so playne agaynst scripture therfore if you would thinke that they could bee tamed by your booke which notwithstandyng so wresteth Scripture then may I very wel lyken you to hym that hath a wilde horse to tame which when he perceiueth that hee can not hold hym with a scoktishe snafle will yet labour to breake him with a rootē twine threde So that I can espye no maner of profite that cā come of your booke if you can alledge no better causes then you yet shew but that it had bene a great deale better vnwritten And brother Rastel where you say that I auaunce boast my selfe much more then becommeth me and that I detract and slaūder my neighbours that I prouoke all men that read my booke rather to vyce then to vertue with such other thynges as ye lay to my charge I trust I shall declare my inconuenience and geue you a sufficient aunswere ¶ An aunswere to Rastels first chapter which reproueth me for boastyng my selfe IN the first chapter of this booke Rastell laboureth to proue that I am sore ouer séene in laudyng boastyng my selfe that I lyke my selfe so well that he is sure that other men do lyke me the lesse and that he feareth that God will therfore lyke me fauour me rather the worse then the better Here he iuggeleth wyth me and would make me beleue that he tossed me mine own ball agayne but when I beholde it I perceaue it to be none of mine for he hath cut out all that shoulde make for me so that he hath geuen it cleane an other shape then euer I entended that it should haue as it appeareth by hys writing which rehearseth my words in this maner I am sure there are many that maruell that I being so yong dare attempt to dispute thys matter agaynst these thrée persons But my wordes are these I am sure that there are many that will much maruell that I being so yong and of so smal learning dare dispute this matter c. Here Rastell leaueth out the wordes and of so small learning for if he had put that in he had bewrayed himselfe For I thincke no man so mad as to say that he which sayeth himselfe to be both yong and of small learning shoulde prayse and boaste hym selfe Also immediatly after the wordes of hys first allegation I say on thys maner And as touching my lerning I must needes acknowledge as the truth is that it is very small which I thinke is but a base boasting and anone after I say I would not that any man should admit my wordes or learning except they will stand wyth the scripture and be approued therby Lay them to the touchstone and trye them with Gods word if they be found false and contrary then damne them and I also shall reuoke them with all mine hart c. Finally I exhorted them to read my booke not aduertising who speaketh the wordes but rather what is spoken by which wordes you might well see that I entended not to boast my selfe and all this haue I written and be left it out euē in the first page as he calleth it wherin he reporteth that I boast my selfe Notwithstanding one thing doth sore vexe him that I should recite the Epistle of S. Paule wherby he saith I would haue men beleue that I had the spirite of God and thinke that though I be young that I sée visions and espye the truth and that myne elders haue dreamed dreames and wandered in phantasies Thys he recounteth to be a great boast and that thys one place shoulde winne him the fielde whereunto I aunswer that indéede my wordes do not proue that thing which you séeme so surely to gather of them but my wordes do argue on this maner that no man ought to condemne a thing before he read it and then to geue sentence and because you séeme ignoraunt in the matter I shall declare it vnto you and how it standeth It is a coulour of Rhetorike and is called Auantopodosis that is to saye An aunswere to an obiection that a man might haue here made on thys maner thou grauntest thy self yong and of so small learnyng doost thou then thinke that we shall once read or regard thy booke specially sith it is written against auncient mē both of great wit dignity To these two pointes I aunswer preuenting theyr obiection that they should not despise it because of my youth for as the spirite of God is bound to
no place euen so is he not addict to any age or person but enspyreth where he will when he will and bring in for an example that he enspyred yong Timothy prouing thereby that the youth of it selfe is not to be despised but according to the learning which it bringeth and that therfore they may not despise my youth but first read what doctrine I bring and therafter to iudge it No more in this I proue not that I am enspyred and haue the spirite of God as Timothie had but onely proue that God may enspyre youth as he did Tymothe and that therefore ye ought first to read before you condemne for you know not who is enspyred and who not vntill you haue read theyr workes or séene theyr factes Thus you may sée that my wordes define not that all youth is enspired although some may be but I exhort that no man despise prophesies but proue all and approue that is good And to make the matter more playne I shall bring you an example out of Paule to the Hebrues which exhorteth them to hospitalitie for by that some men vnwares haue receaued Angels to harbour be not therefore vnmindfull of it Here Paule exhorteth you to hospitalitie and shewing you that by those meanes some men haue receaued angels into their house he would not haue you thinke y t all the gestes that you shall receaue shall be angels but some shall be leud losels And likewise I in exhorting you to read my booke and not despising my youth because that sometime God enspireth the yong would not haue you thinke that the bookes made of yong men which ye shall receaue shall be holesome doctrine but some men be lewd and vnfruitfull neuerthelesse euen as if they receaued not those gests they should also put away angels if any came So if you despise to read such bookes as be written by young men you may also fortune to despise them which are written by the inspiration of Christes spirit and therefore ye ought to read But be it in case I had indéed praised my selfe as I haue not and that I had sayd that I had the Spirite of God what inconuenience should folow thereof would you therof argue that my doctrine were false If that were a good argument then were Christes Doctrine false then were Paule a false prophet and our fayth nothing for Christ said to the Iewes that he was the light of the worlde And againe he sayd It is my Father that glorified me whome ye call your God Now if it had bene a sufficient argument to condemne hys doctrine because the world calleth it boasting thē should we haue beleued no truth at all Besides that Paul séemeth not a little to boast him selfe if men looke on it with a carnall eye for he sayth that he thincketh not him selfe inferiour vnto y t hyest Apostles and sayth againe that if they glory to be the ministers of Christ though he speake vnwisely he is more copious in labours in stripes aboue measure in prison more often often at the poynt of death c. Should we for these words thinke that his doctrine were not right Nayverely that doth not improue the doctrine but that it may be good holesome for a man may boast him selfe do well so he referre y t prayse to God from whom all goodnes commeth but be it in case that I should say that God of hys mere mercy and for the loue that he oweth me in Christ and hys bloud had geuen me hys spirite that I might be to his laude prayse to whom be thankes for euer Amen would you thinke that this were so greate a boastyng that the doctrine should be impayred therby Ah blinde guides I pray God geue you the light of vnderstandyng I beseche you brother Rastell be not discōtent with me if I aske you one question be ye a Christen man or no I am sure you will aunswere yes then if I brought you the text of Paule which sayth he that hath not y t spirite of God is none of his I pray you how will you auoyde it notwithstādyng if you wold auoyde y t text yet will I lay an other blocke in the way that you shal not be able to remoue and that is the saying of Paule 2. Corin. 13. Know ye not your selues that Christ is in you except ye be reprobate persons now how soeuer you would iudge of your selues I thinke verely that I am no such therfore whereas before I dyd not so write Now I certifie you that I am Christes cōclude what ye wil the day shall come that you shall surely know that so it is albeit in meane season I be reputed a laughyng stoke in this world for I know in whom I trust and he can not deceaue me Then bryngeth he against me that I say we haue bene long secluded frō the Scripture and also that our fore fathers haue not had y t light of Gods word opened vnto them I maruell what Rastell meaneth by bryngyng this for his purpose for I thinke it no boastyng of my selfe but if ye thinke that it be vntrue I thinke he is very blynde For what Scripture hath the poore commons bene admitted vnto euen til this day It hath bene hid and locked vp in a straunge tounge and from them that haue attayned the knowledge of that toung hath it bene locked with a thousand false gloses of Antichristes makyng and innumerable lawes And where I say our forefathers haue not had the light of Gods worde opened vnto them I meane that they haue not the Scripture in their owne mother toung that they might haue conferred these iugglyng mistes with the light of Gods word as the processe of my wordes can testifie which he hath holy left out but I besech the Christē reader once to read the place for my discharge and his confusion ye shall finde it in the secōd leafe of my booke And now he alledgeth agaynst me that I should say this iudge Christen reader what reasons Rastell hath brought and how he hath soluted thē for in my minde both his reasons and solutions are so childish and vnsauery so vnlearned and baren so full of faultes and phantasies that I rather pitie the mans déepe ignoraunce and blyndnes which hath so deceiued him selfe through Philosophie and naturall reason then I feare that he by his vayne probations should allure any man to consent vnto hym I thinke Rastell layeth not this agaynst me because I boast my selfe in these wordes And verely as touchyng the truth of those woordes I will adde thus much more vnto thē that I neuer wyst man y t was coūted wise whiche hath brought so slender reasons except he entended to destroy a thing which ye séeme to haue build And finally where as I exhorte all men to iudge and conferre the Scriptures which Syr Thomas
are infinite other thynges wherein hee contrarieth Christ in so much that if it be diligētly examined I thinke there is no word that Christ spake but the other hath taught or made a law agaynst it Howbeit for to auoyde tediousnes we shall leaue them vnto your owne iudgement for they are soone searched out espyed Iudge Christē reader all these things with a simple eye be not parcially addict to the one nor to the other But Iudge them by the Scripture And knowledge that to be the truth which Gods word doth alow auoydyng all other doctrine for it springeth of Sathan be not ashamed to confesse poore Christ and to take him for thy head before these rauenous Wolues for then shall he cōfesse thée agayn before his father the aungelles in heauen Then shalt thou bee inheritour with Iesu Christe And the faythfull sonne of thy father whiche is in heauen to whom be all glory eternally Amen ¶ Here endeth the Antithesis betwene Christe and the Pope A booke made by Iohn Frith prisoner in the Tower of London aunsweryng vnto M. Mores letter which he wrote against the first litle treatise that Iohn Frith made concernyng the Sacrament of the body and bloud of Christ vnto which booke are added in the ende the articles of hys examination before the Bishops of London Winchester and Lyncolne in Paules Churche at London for which Iohn Frith was condemned and after burned in Smithfield without Newgate the fourth day of Iuly Anno. 1533. ¶ The Preface of this booke GRace and increase of knowledge from God the father through our Lorde Iesus Christ be with the Christen reader and with all them that loue the Lord vnfaynedly Amen I chaunced beyng in these parties to be in company with a Christen brother which for his commēdable conuersation and sober behauiour might better be a Byshop then many that weare miters if the rule of S. Paule were regarded in their election This brother after much communication desired to know my mynde as touchyng the Sacrament of the body and bloud of our sauiour Christ Which thing I opened vnto hym accordyng to the gift that God had geuen me First I proued vnto hym that it was no article of our fayth necessary to be beleued vnder payne of damnation Then I declared that Christ had a naturall body euen as myne is sauyng sinne and that it could no more bee in two places at once thē myne cā Thirdly I shewed him that it was not necessarie that the wordes should so be vnderstand as they sound But that it might be a phrase of Scripture as there are innumerable After that I shewed him certaine phrases and maner of speakynges And that it was well vsed in our English toung and finally I recited after what maner they might receiue it according to Christes institutiō not fearyng the froward alteration that the Priests vse contrary to the first forme and institution When I had sufficiently published my mynde hee desired me to entitle the sūme of my wordes and write them for hym because they seemed ouerlong to be well reteined in memorie And albeit I was loth to take the matter in hand yet to fulfill his instant intercession I tooke vpon me to touche this terrible tragedie and wrote a treatise whiche beside my paynfull imprisonmēt is like to purchase me most cruell death which I am ready and glad to receiue with the spirite and inward man although the fleshe be frayle when soeuer it shall please God to lay it vpon me Notwithstādyng to say the truth I wrote it not to the intēt that it should haue ben published For then I would haue touched the matter more earnestly and haue written as well of the spirituall eating drinking which is of necessitie as I dyd of the carnall which is not so necessarie For the treatise that I made was not expedient for all men albeit it were sufficient for them whom I tooke in hand to instruct For they knew the spirituall and necessarie eatyng and drinkyng of his body bloud which is not receiued with the teth and bellye but with the eares and faith and onely neded instructiō in the outward eating whiche thing I therfore onely declared But now it is cōmon abroad and in many mēs mouthes in so much that M. More whiche of late hath busied hym selfe to medle in all such matters of what zeale I will not define hath sore labored to confute it but some mē thinke that he is ashamed of his part and for that cause doth so diligently suppresse the woorke whiche he printed For I my selfe saw the worke in Print in my Lord of Winchesters house vpon S. Stephens day last past But neither I neither all the frēdes I could make might attaine any copie but onely one written copie whiche as it seemed was drawen out in great hast notwithstandyng I can not well iudge what the cause should bee that his boke is kept so secret But this I am right sure of that he neuer touched the foundation that my treatise was builded vpon And therefore sith my foundation standeth so sure and inuincible for els I thinke verely he would sore haue laboured to haue vndermined it I will thereupon builde a litle more and also declare that his ordinaūce is to slender to breake it downe although it were set vppon a woorse foundation ¶ The foundation of that litle treatise was that it is no article of our fayth necessary to be beleued vnder payne of damnation that the Sacrament should be the naturall body of Christ which thyng is proued on this maner FIrste we must all acknowledge that it is no article of our fayth which can saue vs nor which we are bound to beleue vnder the paine of eternal damnation For if I should beleue that hys very naturall body both flesh and bloud were naturally in the bread and wine that should not saue me seyng many beleue that and receiue it to their damnation for it is not his presence in the bread that can saue me but his presence in my hart through faith in his bloud which hath washed out my sinnes and pacified y t fathers wrath toward me And agayne if I doe not beleue his bodely presence in the bread and wyne that shall not damne me but the absence out of my hart thorough vnbelefe Now if they would here obiect that though it be truth that the absēce out of the bread could not damne vs yet are we bounde to beleue it because of gods word which who beleueth not as much as in him lyeth maketh God a lyer And therfore of an obstinate mynde not to beleue hys word may be an occasion of damnation To this we may answere that we beleue Gods worde and knowledge that it is true but in this we dissent whether it be true in the sence that we take it in or in the sence that ye take it in And we say agayne that though
euē it that I sayd before that it was not possible to stand with the processe of the Scripture which we haue receaued And now hys mastership hath graunted it hym selfe which you may be sure he would not haue done if hee coulde otherwyse auoyde it And here you may see how sore I haue ouerséene my selfe God forbid that any man should be the more prone ready to beleue this yong man in this greate matter because he sayth in the beginning that he will bring all men to a concord a quietnes of conscience for he bringeth men to the worst kinde of quietnes that may be deuised when he telleth vs as he doth that euery man in this matter may without perell beleue which way he list Euery man may in euery matter without any counsell sone set hym self at rest if he list to take that way and to beleue as he list him selfe care not how But and if that way had bene sure S. Paule would neuer haue shewed that many were in perill of sicknes and death to For lacke of discerning reuerently the body of our Lord in that sacrament when they came to receiue hym When Christ should depart this world and go to his Father he gaue his desciples a commaundement that they should loue ech other saying by this shall all men knowe that ye are my disciples if you loue ech other as I haue loued you This rule of charitie wolde I not haue broken which notwithstanding is often in Ieopardie among faythfull folke for this sacrament of vnitie This thing considered I thought necessarie to aduertise both parties to saue this rule of charitie and proued in y e first chapter of my treatise that it was no article of the fayth necessary to be beleued vnder payne of damnatiō and therfore that they were to blame that would be contencious for the matter For sith it is no article of the fayth that may lawfully dissent without all Ieoperdye néede not to breake the rule of charitye but rather to receiue the other like pore brethren As by example Some thinke that the mariage betwéene our most redoubted prince Quéene Katerine is lawfull may stand with y ◠lawes of God some thinke that it is vnlawfull and ought to be disanulled now if we should for this matter breake the rule of charitie and euery man hate his neighbour that would not thinke as he doth then were we greatly to blame and in Ieoperdie of condemnation This I say I proued in y e first chapter against which More maketh no busines and improueth it not whereby you may soone gather that it is very true For els sith his mastership so laboureth in these other pointes he would not haue left y ◠vntouched you may be sure This is the concorde that I woulde bring them vnto And as touching quietnes of conscience I haue knowne manye that haue sore bene combred with it And among all A certaine master of arte which died in Oxford confessed vpon his death bed that he had wept lying in his bed an hundreth nyghtes within one yeares space because he coulde not beleue it Now if he had knowne it had bene no necessarye article what comfort quietnes should it haue bene vnto hym Furthermore euery man can not so quiet him selfe as M. More Imagineth For there are many that thinke them selues no small fooles which when they haue receiued some foolish superstition eyther by their owne Imagination or by beleuing their gossepes gospel and olde wiues tales by and by thinke the contrary to be deadly sinne and vtterly forbidden by Christes Gospell As by example I know an house of Religion wherein is a person that thinketh it deadly sinne to go ouer a strawe if it lye a crosse And if their be on the pauement any paynted picture or any Image grauen on a dead mans graue he will not tread vpon it although he should goe a forelong about What is this but vayne superstition wherewith the conscience is combred and corrupted May not this be wéeded out with the word of God shewing hym that it is none article of the fayth so to thinke then to tell hym that it is not forbidden by the scripture and that it is no sinne Now albeit his conscience be so cankerd that the rust will not be rubbed out yet with Gods grace some other whom he hath enfecte with the same may come agayne to Gods word and be cured full well which shoulde neuer haue bene able to quiet thēselues And likewise there are some which beleue as your superstitious hartes haue informed them and these can not quiet thēselues because they beleue y e you haue fet your doctrine out of scripture But when it is proued to them and they them selues perceiue that scripture sayth not so then can they not be content to thinke the contrary and iudge it no sinne at all And as touching S. Paule suerely ye take hym wrong for I will shew you what processe he taketh and how he is to be vnderstode but because it is not possible to finishe it in fewe words I shall deferre it vnto y e bokes ende and then I shall declare hym at large And what a facion is this to say that we may beleue if we list that there is the very body of our Lord in dede and then to tell vs for a truth that such a fayth is impossible to be true For God him selfe can neuer bring it about to make his body be there Yf a man take the bare wordes of Christ and of simplicitie be deceiued and thinke that his very body be in y e sacrament present to their téeth that eate it I dare not say that he sinneth therein but will referre the matter vnto Gods iudgement and yet without doubt I dare say he is deceaued As by example If a man deceaued by the literall sense would think that men should preach to fishes as Saint Fraunces did because Christ bad his disciples goe preach to all creatures yet would not I thinke y t he sinned therein but will referre hym vnto Gods Iudgment But yet I wene euery woman that hath any wit will say that he was deceiued I am very sure that the olde holy doctours which beleued Christes body and bloud to be there and so taught other to beleue as by there bookes playnly doth apere if they had thought eyther that it could not be there or that it was not ther in dede they would not for all the good in this world haue written as they haue done For would those holy men wene you haue taught that men be bound to beleue that the very body and bloud of Christ is there if thē selues thought they were not bound there to woulde they make men honoure and worship that thing as the very body bloud of Christ which them selues thought were not it this geare is to childish to
similitudes and his argumentes are naught 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. Rastall sayth Purgatory is on the earth 18. Rastalles naturall reason deceaueth himselfe and his Turke Gingemyn 18. 20. Rastall cannot tell where purgatory shoulde bee 21. Rastalles ignoraunce 22. Rastall recogniseth his faulte 61 Rastall sheweth two causes why hee staÌ„deth in y t defeÌ„ce of purgatory 62 Rastals blynd argument 70 Rastall falsefieth the Scripture 71 Repentaunce is no satisfaction for sinne 14 Reconciliation to our neighbour is required of God 14 Reprouyng of hypocrites may not bee called raylyng 6â— Repentaunce what it is 74 Rochester the first patron of Purgatory 5â— Rochester and More agree not 5â— Rochester More and Rastall defenders of one heresie 6â— Rochester contrary to More and More contrary to Rochester 6â— S. SAbaoth kept on Saterday 96 Sabaoth kept on Sonday 96 Sabaoth abrogated 96 Sacramentes why they were instituted 111. 112 Sacramentes hath three thinges to be considered 91. 112 Sacrament to be the body of Christ is no Article of our fayth 108. 109 Sacrament to bee Christes naturall body is to grosse an Imagination 111 Sacrament diligently set forth by our Sauiour Christ 112 Sacrifices of the Iewes 113 Sacrament of Christes body and bloud what it signifieth 113 Sacrament is a figure of the breakyng of Christes body and shedyng of his bloud 115. 130 Sacrament may not bee worshypped 151. 155 SacrameÌ„t is the memoriall of Christes death 128 Sacrament what it is 132 Sacrament of Christes body is a thankes geeuyng 135 Sacrament how it is our body 136 ibidem Satisfaction is of two sortes 23. 57 Scripture maketh no meÌ„tioÌ„ of Purgatory 12 Scripture hath many senses 120 Scripture is to bee vnderstanded spiritually 121 Sectes of heretickes 51 Symon Fish made the supplication of Beggers 6 Siluester Pope in whose tyme corruption entred into the Churche 116 Sinne agaynst the holy ghost what it is 341 Sinnes are not remitted after this life 45 Sinne may bee committed and yet it is no sinne 73 Supplication of Beggers 6 T. TVrkes and Iewes beleeue that there is a Purgatory 33 Truth is not to bee sought at the dead 46 Tracyes last will and testament 77 Theeues and murtherers who they are 86. 87. 88 Tyndall a man of most innocent life 118 V. VOluntary or wilfull ignoraunce is not to bee excused 4 W. WIckleâ—â—e burned 118 Wicked and vnfaythfull persons doe not receaue the body of Christ 136. 141 William Tracyes will 77 Wisedome of the world is foolishnes with God 6 Wordes figuratiuely spoken 44 Worshyppyng of the Sacrament is Idolatry 151 Z. ZWinglius slayne 118 Finis Here endeth the Table of M. Frithes booke DIEV ET MON DRIOT THE WORKES of Doctour Barnes His lyfe and Martyrdome 1 A supplication to K. Henry the viij fol. 183 2 His Articles condemned by Popishe Byshops 205. 3. The disputation betweene the Byshoppes and hym 217. 4. Fayth onely iustifieth before God 226. 5. What the Church is and who bee thereof and whereby men may know her 242. 6. An other declaration of the Church wherin hee aunswereth M. More 252. 7. What the keyes of the Church bee and to whom they were geeuen 257. 8. Freewill of man after the fall of Adam of his naturall strength can doe nothyng but sinne afore God 267. 9. That it is lawfull for all maner of men to read the holy Scripture 282. 10. That mens constitutions which are not grounded in Scripture bynde not the coÌ„science of man vnder the payne of deadly synne 292. 11. That all meÌ„ are bouÌ„de to receiue the holy Communion vnder both kyndes vnder the payne of deadly synne 301. 12. That by Gods woorde it is lawfull to Priestes that hath not the gifte of chastistie to marry wiues 309. 13. That it is against the holy Scripture to honor Images to pray to Saintes 339. 14. Of the originall of the Masse 356. 15. A collection of Doctours testimonies 358. ARISE FOR IT IS DAY The death and burning of the most constant Martyrs in Christ D. Rob. Barnes Tho. Garret and W. Hierome in Smithfielde an 1541. ¶ A briefe discourse of the lyfe and doinges of Robert Barnes Doctour in Diuinitie a blessed seruaunt and Martyr of Christ summarely extracted out of the booke of Monumentes THe first bringing vp of the sayd Rob. Barnes from a childe was in the vniuersitie of Cambridge and was made a Nouice in y e house of y e Fryer Augustines there And beyng very apt vnto learning did so profite that by the helpe of his frendes he was remoued from theÌ„ce to the vniuersitie of Louayne in Brabant where he remained certayne yeares and greatly profited in the study of the tongues and there procéeded Doctour of Diuinitie And then from thence returned agayne into England and so to the vniuersitie of CaÌ„bridge where he was made Prior and Maister of the house of Augustines wherein he was first brought vp And at that tyme the knowledge of good letters was scarcely entred into the vniuersitie all thynges being full of rudenes barbarietie sauing in very fewe which were priuye and secrete whereupon Barnes hauing some féeling of better learning and had red better actours begaÌ„ in his house to reade Terence Cicero and Plautus so that what with his industry paynes and labours and with the helpe of Thomas Parnell his scholer whom he brought from Louayne with him reading Copia verborum et rorum he caused the house shortly to florishe with good letters made a great parte of y e house learned which before were drowned in barbarous rudenes as M. Cambridge M. Felde M. Colman M. Burley M. Couerdale with diuers other of the vniuersitie that soiourned there for learnings sake After these foundations layde then did he read openly Paules Epistles and put by Dâ—ns and Dorbell and yet he was a questionary himself and onely because he would haue Christ there taught and his holy word he turned their vnsauery problemes and fruitles disputations to other better matter of the holy Scripture and thereby in short space he made diuers good deuynes The same order of disputation which he kept in his house he obserued likewise in the vniuersitie abroad when he should dispute with any man in the common schooles And the first man that aunswered M. Barnes in the Scriptures was M. Stafford for his forme to be Bacheler of Diuinitie which disputation was merueilous in the sight of the great blynde Doctours and very ioyfull to the godly spirited Thus Barnes what with his reading disputation and preachyng became famous and mightie in the Scriptures preaching euer agaynst Byshops and hipocrites and yet did not sée his inward and outwarde Idolatry which he both taught and maintayned vntill that good Maister Bilney with other conuerted him vnto Christ The first SermoÌ„ that euer he preached of this trueth was y t Sonday before Christmas day at S. Edwardes Church longyng to Trinitie halle in Cambridge by y e Pease market whose theame was the Epistle
of the worlde to enioye these worldly thinges Not withstandyng they are not ashamed thus falsly to laye it to the preachers charge and all because they would make your grace to mayntayne their maliciousnes So that vnder the pretence of treason they myght execute the tyranny of their harts For who is hée that would bee a traytour or mayntaine a traytour agaynst your most excellent and noble grace I thinke no mā yea I know surely that no man can doe it without the great displeasure of the eternall God For S. Paule cōmaundeth straightly vnto all christians to bee obedient in all thinges on this manner Let euery man submyt himselfe to the auctoryte of the higher power For whosoeuer resisteth the power resisteth y t ordinaunce of God And they that resist shall receiue to them selues damnation Also S. Peter confirmeth this saying Submit your selues vnto all manner of ordinaunce of mā for y t Lords sake whether it be vnto the king as vnto their chiefe head eyther vnto Dukes as vnto them that are sent of hym for the punishment of euell doers but to the prayse of them y e doe well wherfore if euery man had the scriptures as I would to god they had to iudge euery mans doctrine then were it out of question that the preachers therof eyther would or could make or cause to bée made any insurrection against there Prince séeyng the selfe same scriptures straytely commaundeth all subiectes to bée obedient vnto their Princes as Paule witnesseth saying warne them sayth hée that they submit them selues to Prynces and to powers to obey the officers Now how cā they that preach and exhort all men to thys doctrine cause any insurrection or disobedience against their prince But let vs goe further and consider the preachers which onely haue preached the word of God and marke if euer they were occasion of disobedience or rebellion agaynst princes First call to mind y e old Prophets and with a single eye iudge if any of thē eyther priuely or apertly sturred vp the people agaynst their Princes Looke on Christ if hée submitted not hym self to y e hye powers Payde hée not tribute for all hée was frée and caused Peter likewyse to pay Suffered not hée with all pacience the punishmentes of the princes yea death most cruell although they did hym open wrong and could finde him gilty in no cause Looke also of the Apostles which both taught and wrote the doctrine of Christ and in their liuing followed hys steppes and if euer they sturred by any occasion the people agaynst their princes yea if they themselues obeyed not to all princes although the most part of them were tyrauntes and infidels Consider likewyse those Doctors which purely and sincerely hath hādled the worde of God either in preaching or writing if euer by theyr meanes any insurrection or disobedience rise among the people agaynst their princes But you shall rather finde that they haue béen ready to lay downe their owne heades to suffer with all pacience whatsoeuer tyranny any power woulde minister vnto them geuing all people example to doe the same Now to conclude if neither the Scriptures neither the practise of the preachers thereof teacheth or affyrmeth that y e people may disobey their princes or their ordinaūces but contrarywyse teacheth all obedience to bée done vnto them it is playne that those Byshops or rather Papistes doe falsely accuse those true preachers and subiectes which thyng woulde appeare in euery mans sight if by their violence the word of God were not kept vnder Now is this y e doctrine that I doe preach and teach and none other as concerning thys matter God I take to recorde and all my bookes writinges that euer I wrote or made And onely I allow and fauour them whiche furthereth thys doctrine of Christ and of thys I am sure myne aduersaries or rather aduersaryes to Christes doctrine must beare mée witnesse But now as wée haue bréefly touched the doctrine that the true preachers preach to the people both by worde writing and practise of them So let vs somewhat touch y e doctrine and practise of the Pope and the Papisticall Bishops and then let euery man séeke out y e heretickes and traytors to their princes First where the preachers onely of the worde of God preacheth and teacheth all men to obey their princes and their ordinaunces according to the wordes of S. Peter There the Pope and the Papisticall Bishops contrary vnto the minde and facte of Saint Peter expoundeth S. Peters wordes saying that S. Peter meaned not hym selfe nor his successors but hys subiectes And by this false interpretatiō excludeth him selfe with hys frō all obedience to princes And yet not so content but craftely drawing all other subiectes from the obedience of their princes sayth to them also that y e wordes of S. Peter were not spoken as a cōmaundement but as a counsell And by this crafte if any prince espye hys falsehode and of conscience goe about to reproue him then by his false preachers and maintainers of hym he lightly withdraweth y e hartes of the commons from their prince affirming the cōmaundement of God to bée but a counsell and at the least wyse his authoritie to bée sufficient to dispence with all y e cōmaundementes of God And thus the people being ignoraunt because they lacke y e word of God to iudge euery doctrine by they delude their wittes And if any man that perceaueth their crafte of very loue that hée hath to God and hys commaundementes exhorteth the people to iudge the doctrine of those Papistes by the worde of God Anone they lay heresie vnto hys charge laying for thē there Gods lawe saying No man may iudge the Pope no mā also may géeue sentence aboue hys iudgement but hée shall iudge all men vpon earth Item the seate of Rome géeueth strength and might to all lawes but it is subiecte to none Item that the subiectes may bée disobedient to their own Lordes and that hee may depose kinges Item that hée hath authoritie to breake all othes bondes and obligations made betwéene any man of hye or lowe degrée Item that the Pope hath power to interprete declare and to lay forth the holy scripture after hys own will and to suffer no man to expound it contrary to hys pleasure Item that the Pope is a God vpon earth ouer all heauenly earthly ghostly and worldly and hée is all hys owne and no man may say to hym what doost thou Item though the Pope were so euill that hée lead innumerable mē by great heapes to hell yet shall no man reproue him therefore ¶ Now after that they had sytten in the consciences of men with these such like abhominable doctrines and had excluded mē frō y e scriptures as an vnlawfull thing to haue in their mother tonge lest they should espye their
king to kéepe thys contracte But yet you were not so content but afterward you found the meanes that this good kyng was poysoned by a traytorous Monke of Swinested because he should say that hée would make a halfepeny loafe worth xx shillinges if hée liued a yeare For the whiche word your holy Monke was moued and went and confessed hym selfe to the Abbot how that he would poyson the king for thys and the one deuill as good as the other the holy traytor absolued the holy murtherer before the déede was done and for thys holy murtherer is there founded v. masses for euer This is the blessed obedience of your holy Church How would you cry how would you yaulpe if wée had handled a gentlemans dogge on this fashion but you can call vs poore men traytors and in the meane season you bring both king kingdome into seruitude and bondage What is treason if this bée no treason to bring so honourable a kinge and hys lande into such bondage and compell hym to receiue his naturall and frée kingdome of such a vyllayne and lymme of y e deuell What can bée said or thought to defend this matter you haue not all onely done wrong to the kinge but vnto the yongest childe y e lyeth in the cradell y e which by your meanes is bonde And thinke it not sufficient to say that it is not your déede for first you are the children of these fathers and you haue alwayes alowed this acte This hath béene blased blowen preached and cryed out and all your bookes full of this matter and many a true mans bloud hath béene shed for speaking agaynst thys And yet was there neuer none of you y e did euer preach against this damnable facte but with full consent with full agréement both in worde déede and in wrytyng you haue alowed this treason Therfore I take you for the auctors as well as your forefathers I would not speake how dampnable it is to institute masses for a willing traytor and murtherer there was neuer no learninge that could allow this But there is no remedy hée that dyes agaynst his king and for the maintayning of your treason must néedes bée a saynt if masses blessinges and myracles wil helpe for all these bée at your commaundement to geue where you list So that we pore men must bée accused of insurrection and treason and we must bere al the blame we must bée driuen out of y e realme we must bée burned for it and as God knoweth there is no people vnder heauen that more abhorreth and with earnester hart resisteth more diligenly doth preach agaynst disobedience then we doe Yea I dare say boldely let all your bookes bée serched that were written this 500. years all they shall not declare the auctorite of a prince and the true obedience towarde hym as one of our litle bookes shall doe that bee condemned by you for heresy and all this will not helpe vs. But as for you you may preach you may wryte you may doe you maye sweare against your Princes and also assoyle all other men of their obedience towardes their princes You may compell princes to bée sworne to you and yet are you children of obedience and good christen men And if ye dye for this doctrine then is there no remedy but you must bée saintes and rather then fayle ye shall doe myracles To proue this I will tell you of a holy saynt of yours of whom your legend and cronicles maketh mencyon hys name as ye call him is s Germayne So it chaunced y e in the tyme of king Vortiger he came into England into a place where the king lay desired for hym his company lodging The king because hée kept no cōmō Inne would not receiue hym So hée departed very angerly and went to the kinges Neteherdes house and there desired lodginge and meate and drinke for hym and his companye The Neteherde was contēt to lodge him but hée sayd hée had no meate for hym sauyng a yong calfe that stode suckyng of the damme by the crybbe The byshop commaunded the calfe to bée slayne and to bée drest brought afore hym and hée and his company eate it vp and after commaunded the bones of the calfe to bée gathered togither and put in the calues skinne agayne and to bée layde in the cribbe by the damme and by and by y e calfe starte vp aliue agayne The next day the byshop went to king Vortiger reprooued him merueilous straightly because hée would not lodge hym and sayde that hée was vnworthey to bée kyng and therefore deposed hym made his Neteherde kyng in hys stede Of the which Neteherde as y e cronicles maketh mension came afterward many kings This is writen by one called Petrus de netalibus the which writeth the liues of all saintes I thinke no man will binde mée to proue this thing a lye but yet it must bee preached taught in your church it must bée writtē in holy saints liues hée must bée a saynt that did it and why because hée deposed a king and set in a Neteherde These shamefull and abhominable thinges doe you prayse and alowe and in the meane season condemne vs for heretickes and for traytours And if we chaunce moued by the abhomynablenes of your doctrine to geue you but one euyll worde then all the world rekoneth vs vncharitable But as for my parte I take God to recorde afore whome I shall bée saued or damned that though you haue done mée shamefull wronge and intollerable violēce yet with your owne persons am I neuer displeased nor angry but agaynst that horrible deuyll y e dwelleth in you that is the causer auctor and mayntayner of such abhominable doctrine that is against God and his blessed worde agaynst hym I say is my quarell and agaynst hym doe I striue this is the truth let men take my wordes as they will Is it not abhominable thinke you so shamfully to depose princes so to rebuke them so to handle them to compell them to bée sworne to you and to holde their lands of you to bée your ministers to the greate dishonour of the liuyng God and blaspheming of his blessed worde and to the great dispight of all noble potentates Ye remember the facte that is declared in your lawe of the noble Emperour Friderike and that wretch Innocent the fourth the thing was this The Pope by y e reasō of certayne complaintes made by the Emperours enemyes cited the Emperour to appeare at Rome and because the Emperour would not appeare he cursed hym with booke bell and candell and afterwarde deposed hym and commaunded the electours to chose an other This is the cause of your lawe briefely But your text declareth certayne artycles agaynst the Emperour which bée these The first that hée had sworne to kéepe peace with y e church of Rome which oth hée brake sayth y e
lege Lord. Ye I doe beléeue that if the kynges grace at this same day should desire of y e spirituality but halfe of this summe I dare say they wold neuer graūt him with their good will nor there shoulde not bée found one Diuine in England of the holy Popes Churche that could and would proue by good Diuinitie that the kyng might take it and the spiritualitie were bounde to geue it Alas what shall I say beléeue me I doe want wordes to y e settyng out of this matter where is natural affectiō where is naturall loue where is fidelitie where is truth of hart that men ought to haue and to beare toward their naturall Prince toward their natiue countrey toward their fathers and mothers toward their wiues and childrē yea toward their liues God of his infinite goodnesse hath geuen vs a noble Prince to the maintaynyng and defence of all these thynges and toward hym we haue litle or none affection But vnto this idole of Rome are we ready to geue both body and goodes and the more we geue the better we are content Was not this a merueilous poueryshyng to this Realme to sende out so many thousandes and to receiue nothyng agayne but deceitfull Bulles and shéepes skynnes and a litle péece of leade yea and worst of all to make men beléeue that their saluation dyd hange on it I dare say boldly that if we poore men which bée now condēned for heretickes and also for traytours against our kyng had not béen the Realme of England had not stād in so good a condition as it is for men had béene bounde still in their conscience for to obey this wretched idole Who durst haue kept y e innumerable summe of money within the realme y e yearely was sucked out by this adder if our godly learnyng had not instructed their conscience Let all the Liberaries bée sought in Englād and there shall not be one booke writtē in iiij C. yeares and admitted by the Church of Rome and by our spiritualtie founde that doth teach this obedience and fidelitie toward Princes and deliuereth our Realme from the bondage of this wicked Sathan the pope or els that is able to satisfie and to quiete any mans conscience within this Realme and yet I dare say hée is not in Englād that cā reproue our learnyng by the doctrine of our master Christ or els of his holy Apostles Yea mē haue studyed and deuised how they might bryng our mighty Prince and his noble Realme vnder y e féete of this deuill There could bée nothyng handled so secretly within this Realme but if it were either pleasaunt or profitable to the Pope to know then were all the Byshops in England sworne to reuelate that matter to him This may bee wel proued by their shamefull trayterous oth that they contrary to Gods law mans law and order of nature haue made to this false man the Pope The wordes of their othe written in their owne law be these I Byshop N. frō this houre forth shal be faithfull to S. Peter to the holy Church of Rome and to my Lord the Pope to his successours lawfully entryng into the Popedome I shall not consent in counsell nor in déede that hée shoulde lose either lyfe or lymme or that hée should bée taken in any euill trap His councell that shall bée shewed vnto me either by hym selfe or els by his letters or by his Legates I shall open to no man to hys hurt or damage I shall helpe to defend mayntaine the Papacie of the Church of Rome the rules of the holy fathers sauyng myne order agaynst all men liuyng I shall come to the Councell when soeuer I bée called onles I bée lawfully let The Popes Legate I shall honorablye entreate both goyng and commyng in his necessities I shall helpe him I shall visite yearely either by myne owne proper person or els by some sure messenger the sea of Rome onles I bée dispensed with So helpe me God and this holy Euangelist There hath béene wonderous packing vsed and hath cost many a thousand mens liues ere that the spiritualitie brought it to passe that all they should bée sworne to the Pope owe none obedience to any man but to him onely This matter hath béene wonderous craftely conueyed for at the beginnyng the Bishops were not sworne so straitely vnto the Pope as now For I doe read in the tyme of Gregory the thyrd which was in the yeare of our Lord. vij C. lix how their othe was no more but to sweare for to kéepe the fayth of holy Church and to abide in the vnity of the same and not to consent for any mans pleasure to the contrary to promise also to séeke the profites of the Church of Rome And if any Byshops did lyue agaynst the olde statutes of holy fathers with him they should haue no conuersation but rather forbidde it if they coulde or els trewly to shewe the Pope of it This othe cōtinued a great many of yeares tyll that a mortall hatred sprang betwene the Emperour and the Pope for confirming of Byshops than as many Byshops as were confirmed of the Pope did sweare the othe that I haue first written For this othe that Gregory maketh mention of was not sufficient because that by it the Byshops were not bounde to betray their Princes nor to reuelate their counselles to the Pope The which thing y e pope must néedes know or els hee coulde not bring to passe his purpose that is to say he coulde not bée Lord ouer the worlde and cause Emperours and kynges to fetch their confirmation of him and to knéele downe and kisse his féete The which when hée had broght to passe hée procéeded farther adding more thinges in the Byshops othe to the maintayning of his worldly honour and dignitie as it shall afterward appeare But first wée wyll examine this othe how it standeth with Gods worde and with the true obedience to our prince I pray you tell me out of what Scripture or els out of what example of our mayster Christ his holy Apostles you haue takē this doctrine to learne to swere to Saint Peter or els to the Church of Rome or els to the Pope What néede you to sweare to Saint Peter ye cā neither doe hym good by your fidelitie nor yet hurt by your falshode Othes be taken that hée that the othe is made vnto might bée sure of the true helpe and succour of hym that sweareth agaynst all men that could hurte hym Now Saint Peter hath none enymies and though hée had yet is not hée afearde of them neyther can you helpe hym nor deliuer hym if hée had néede But the verytie is that good S. Peter must here stand in the fore frunt to make men afrayde with and to make men beléeue that you are his frendes but God knoweth that you neyther fauour his person lrarnyng nor lyuyng For if S. Peters person
came to teach both Peter and Paule learned his Disciples not to vse thē selues as Lordes but as seruauntes And marke the occasion that hée had There bée two newe Disciples brought vnto him and the old beyng not yet perfite thought scorne that these two should sit aboue all other y e one of the right hand and the other of the left hād But our master Christ reproueth this proude stomacke of theirs very straitely saying How y e Princes rulers of the infidels hath power ouer their subiectes but so shal not ye For hée that will bée greatest amōg you shal bée least Here our master Christ learneth none hypocrisie that they shold bée called lest in name and bée greatest in very déede but hée will that this doctrine shalbée expressed in their déedes My Lord the pope calleth him selfe in woordes the seruaunt of all seruauntes but in very déede hée wil bée Lord ouer all Lords Yea and my Lordes Byshops will bée sworne to hym as vnto a Lord they wil reken them selues periured if they burne not all them that will take the Pope but for a seruaunt Is not this a marueilous hypocrisie to bée called seruaunt of all seruauntes and yet desire for to bée taken as Lord and Kyng ouer all Kynges Yea and vnto this bée our Byshops sworne because they wil bée obedient to their Princes But and their consciences were rypped you should finde no mā sit there as a Kyng but my losell the Pope And we poore men must bée cōdemned for reprouyng of this And why Verely because my Lords haue sworne to hym agaynst their Prince and all his true subiectes But howe standeth it with your othe toward your Prince for to bée sworne to the Pope which is not all onely an other Lorde but also contrary yea and as the worlde now is the greatest mortall ennemy that our Prince hath For I dare say that if this wretched Clemēt could drowne our noble Prince with one worde it shoulde not bée longe vndone sine Clementia The common sayinge went in Hamburgh that this caytyfe hath not al onely excōmunicated our noble prince but also geuen away the kingdome to an other And this facte must you defende for you are sworne to y e Pope Yea I dare say if you had conuenient occasion you would declare your fidelitie I doe Iudge after your factes that you haue done to kinges in tymes past whensoeuer that you had power might to bring to passe y e which you haue conceiued agaynst your Prince If you thinke I iudge a mysse or els doe you wrong let me bée put to my proofe and you shall sée what an heape of holy factes y e I will bring you out of your own chronicles and bookes for the which you will bée lauded and praysed hyely that you haue so faythfully stucke vnto this dānable Idole of Rome Yea I dare say it had béene heresie within this two yeares to haue written or sayd thus much agaynst the lymme of the deuyll on our princes side This all y e worlde can testefye wherefore I thinke you will put me to no tryall But to your othe Howe doth it stand with your allegyance toward your prince to bee sworne to the Pope your owne lawe sayth that a lege man can make none othe of fydelytye to none other man but to his owne kinge Moreouer you doe remēber your othe made vnto your prince wherein you doe renounce all clauses wordes and sentences made vnto the Pope which may bée hurtfull or preiudiciall to his highnes How agréeth these ij othes you may set them togither as well as you cā but I know no waies to auoyde your periury For the very truth is that the kinges grace and his councell considering your othe made to the Pope to bée periudiciall to his regall power causeth you in your othe afterwarde made vnto him to reuoke those thinges that you haue afore sworne to y e Pope to declare that his grace his counsell did reckon your othe made to y e pope to bée against him therfore he maketh you to reuoke it by name naming the same othe also the same Pope So that you may clearely perceiue how that our prince doth suspect you for your othe making And in very déede the popes meaning yours was none other but for to betray y e king and his realme And therfore as soone as there was any variance betwéene y e king y t pope thē were you first of all assoyled of your allegyance dew vnto our king and that absolucion was blasen and blowen preached and taught throughout all the world all dores and postes must bée decked with papers and bulles for your discharge But for to helpe your Prince you could neuer bée discharged of your hereticall trayterous othe made vnto the Pope agaynst your Prince Here neither Peter nor Paule can helpe nor there is no key y e can open that locke O Lord God how haue we beene blynded thus trayterously to handle our naturall Prince But how this Caterpiller is come to bée a Lorde and hath brought kinges vnder hys féete I will speake God willyng after this in a peculiar treatyse It foloweth and to his successours lawfully and regularly entryng in After what lawe I reade in your owne bookes of law after which me thinketh there bée very few byshops made wherein I finde among all other good thinges that hée shoulde bée chaste of lyuyng méeke gentle to speake to mercyful wel learned in y t new olde testamēt and y e we shoulde not forbyd maryage nor should blame the eating of fleshe and should also beléeue that all maner of synnes as well actuall as original bée clerely forgeuē in baptysme How many of these things the Popes holines is indewed with all and how many hée aloweth his owne bookes and déedes wil testelie Wherfore I recken that your othe doth not meane this laws nor yet y e lawe that blessed S. Paule writeth of For then I recken that by the vertue of your othe you haue not béene bound to one Pope this 400. yeares so that it must folowe that you haue other lawes then blessed S. Paule speaketh of or the councell of Charthaginence to chose your Pope by the which as farre as men can recken by common experience and practice bée these In primis Hee that shall bée able to bée Pope must bée a vēgeable tyraūt neuer kéepeing peace but all wayes warryng for the defence as yée call it of S. Peters patrimonye To suffer no Prince to dwell in rest by hym but to snatch his possessions to the vnholy Church of Rome To set princes together by the eares tyll they bée both weary and then to take y e matter in his hande and neuer to make an ende tyll both partyes hath geuen some possessiōs to his holy fatherhed to assoyle the soules that hath bene slayne through his packyng And hée
that dare moste boldelye and with least shame depose Princes without a cause hée is best able to bée pope He that can by any trayne craft or subtyltye bring vnder hym any byshop or any spirituall person or inuent any newe clausein their othe hée is to bée alowed afore other Moreouer hée y e kéepeth fewest women and hath most of them that you wote of hée is holyest apte to bée head of your church And hée y e can most tyranously burne mē for preaching of y e Gospel and hée hym selfe to take no labours therein Item to burne priestes y e mary wiues and hée hym selfe to liue in all myschefe whordome yea in such abhominablenes as no man may with honestye speake you knowe what I meane this man I say hath a good testimony afore his spirituality that hée is a lawfull man to that office Furthermore hée that is a whores sonne as our holy father is now and can finde the meanes that 12. men will forswere them selfe that hée is lawfully borne as this holy Clement dyd This is a fitte father for such children Finally hée y e can geue most mony and bye y e greatest part of cardinales of hys syde hée is best worthy to bée called Pope to sit on Peters stoole For it can not bée vnknowen to you how y e Thomas Woulcy an holy piller of your Church woulde haue béene Pope whē this Clement was chosen and did offer for it a resonable peny But Clement dasshed hym out of consayte with 20000. li. more then hée offered and so hée was iudged best worthy and entered in lawfully and regularly and vnto him our bishops bée sworne and obedient And why because they will haue such a head as they bee members for how coulde els their kingdome stand For if one should bee chosen after the rule of blessed S. Paule or els after the lyuynge of these newe heretykes which bée simple and poore and care not for no dignityes nor will neuer swere nor fyght and would rather mary a wyfe of their owne then take other mens and alwayes studying preaching Gods worde séeking onely the honour of God and the profyt of his neighbour and will bée subiect and obedient in all thinges desiring none exception to his prince This man I say shoulde bée vnlawfull not eligible for hée were able to destroy y e whole kingdome of y e papistes and not worthy to receiue an othe of my Lordes y e byshops which will not gladly be periured for such a mās sake For he were able to destroy y e whole church of Rome vnto the which our Byshops haue béene before sworne It foloweth in your othe I shall not consent in counsell or in déede that they shoulde lose eyther lyfe or member or that they shoulde bée taken or trapped by any euill meane What néede you to sweare thus vnto the Pope doth not the order of charitie binde you thus to vse your selfe towarde all men that is to say neither to hurt them nor to harme them neither to intrappe them nor betraye them But all men must bée betrayde and with crafte and subtiltie vndone for the mayntenaunce of thys one wretched person The truth is that neuer man spake against this popet but you destroyde him and betrayde him But this popet hath blasphemed and betrayde all potestates and yet you were neuer against hym And why because you be sworne to hym And you will kéepe your othe bée it right or wrong But in your last othe which hath béene newely made is added thys clause That no man should lay violent bandes vpon them in any wyse or any wrong shoulde bee done vnto them by any maner of colour This part is newly brought in since the fleshe of the Pope hath béene so holy that no man might touch it but harlottes Christen men must patiently suffer iniuries and wrōges but your head will forsweare that point and mayntaine himselfe through your power against all men How neare that this is the Apostles liuing all Christen men can well iudge It foloweth in your othe Their counsell that shal bée shewed vnto mée either by theyr letters or by their messengers I shal open to no man to their hurte or damage Let Princes beware whan the pope sendeth coūselles vnto you for the meaning is to betraye them For all the worlde knoweth that the pope and you doth litle regarde what the beggars of the worlde doth handle But what Emperours kyngs and Dukes doth handle that must you let and destroye For that is the Popes counsell And you may shewe it to no man No not to your kyng And why because you are sworne to the pope But what say you to your othe made vnto your prince wherein you sweare that you shall be faithfull and true and beare vnto him aboue all creatures loue and fauour to lyue and to dye with hym and to open vnto him all maner of counselles that may bée hurtful vnto his grace Now is it well knowne that the pope hath done and dayly doth handle such coūselles as bée against our princes honour and conseruation And yet you may neyther tell it to your prince nor let it And why because you be sworn to the pope and for sworne to your prince Tell me when any thyng was opened vnto our prince by you that the pope had handeled in counsell agaynst our prince Of this thing I will take recorde of his noble grace whether I say true or false And yet must I bee accused of treason And why because you are sworne to the pope And I am true to the kyng It foloweth I shall helpe to defend and mayntaine the papistry of Rome against all men sauing myne order And in your new othe now in oure dayes made is added The regalles of Saint Peter What and in all mē bée contained your prince you must néedes defend him And why because ye bée sworne to the pope forsworn to your prince For your othe to your prince is to defend him with all your wit reason against all men Now must you forsake one of them And your practise hath béene alwayes to forsake your prince and sticke to the pope For of your othe made to your prince you haue béene oftentimes assoiled And as your lawe sayth the Church of Rome is wont so do doe But of your othe made vnto y e pope there is no absolution neither in heauen nor earth Neither was it euer redde heard nor séene that there could bée any dispensation for it Let mée bée reported by all y e bookes that euer were written and by all the bulles that euer were graunted and by all the experience that euer was vsed And if I bée found false let mée bée blamed And yet I am sure many mē will recken that I speake vncharitably But I would faine learne of all y e charitable mē in England with what other English wordes I coulde
but also his blessed worde all that longeth to hym Take awaye Christes word and what remayneth béehynde of Christ nothing at all I pray you my Lorde to whome was this worde fyrst preached to whome was this written all onely to priestes and not vnto lay men yea was it not written to all the worlde yes truely Wherby will you conuerte a Turke or an Infidell not by holy Scripture When they bée conuerted what wil you learne them what wyll you géeue them to reade any other thing then holy Scripture I thinke nay Now will you make your owne countreymen your owne citizens your owne subiectes yea your owne brethren redéemed with Christes blessed bloud worsse then Iewes and Infidels But there is no reason nor no brotherhod nor no Christen charitie that can mooue you or that can helpe you for you are so blynded and so obstinate against Christ that you had rather all the worlde shoulde perishe then his doctrine shoulde bee brought to light but I doe promyse you if God doe spare mée lyfe and géeue mée grace I shall so set it out if you doe not reuoke it that it shall bée to your vtter shame and confusion finde the best remedye that you can I doe beléeue stedfastly that god is mightier then you and I doe recken and faythfully beléeue that you are ten tymes worsse then the greate Turke for hée regardeth no more but rule and dominiō in this worlde and you are not therewyth content but you will also rule ouer mēs consconsciences yea and oppresse Christ and his holy worde and blaspheme and condemne his worde Was it not a holy connsell of the Chaunceler of London to counsell a certaine marchaunt to buye Robyn hoode for his seruauntes to read What should they doe wyth vitas patrum and with bookes of holy Scripture Also the same Chauncelour sayde to an other man what findest thou in the Gospell but a story what good canst thou take there out O Lord God where art thou why sléepest thou why sufferest thou this blasphemy Thou hast defended thy Prophetes with wild fire from heauen and wilt thou suffer thy onely fonne and thy heauenly word thus to bée despised and to bée reckened but as a story of Robin hoode Rise vp good Lorde Rise vp thy enemyes doe preuayle Thy enemyes doe multiplye shew thy power defend thy glory It is thy contumely and not ours what haue we to doe with it but alonely to thy glory Reuenge this cause or thy enemyes shall recken it not to bée thy cause O thou eternall God thoughe our sinnes haue deserued this yet looke on thy name yet looke on thy veritie Sée howe thou art mocked Sée how thou art blasphemed yea that by them that haue taken on them to defend thy glory But now heauenly father séeyng that thou hast so suffered it yet for the glory of thy name geue some man strength to defend it or els shalt thou bée clearely taken out of the hartes of all men Wherefore most gracious Lord of thy mercy and grace I beséech thée that I may haue the strength to defend thy godly word to thy glory and honour and to the vtter confusion of thy mortall enemyes Helpe good Lorde helpe and I shall not feare a thousande of thyne enemyes In thy name will I begyn to defend this cause First commeth thy faythfull seruaunt Moses true and iust in all thy workes and hée commaundeth faithfully truely with great threatnings that man woman and child should diligently read thy holy word saying Set your harts on all my wordes the which that I doe testifie vnto you this day that you may commaunde them vnto your children to kéepe to doe to fulfill all thynges that bée written in the booke of this law Marke how hée commaūded them to learne their children all thynges that bée written in this booke and so to learne thē that they might kéepe and fulfill all things that were written in y t booke Moses made nothing of secretnes will you make secretes therin how shall men fulfill those wordes that they knowe not How can men knowe the very true way of God haue not the word of God is not all our knowledge therin The Prophet sayth thy word is a lanterne vnto my féete and a light vnto my pathes Hée calleth it a lanterne and light yea and that vnto all men and you call it but a story darkenes and a thyng of secretnes yea and occasion of heresie how can the occasion of darknes geue light how can a lanterne bée a thing of secretnes how can the veritie of God bée occasion of heresie The holy Prophet sayth blessed is the man that setteth his delectation in the will of God and his meditation in Gods law night and day Here sayeth the spirite of God that men bee blessed that study the word of God and you say that men bée heretickes for studying of it How doth the spirite of God and you agrée Also S. Paule commaundeth vs to receiue the helmet of health and the sword of the spirite the whiche is the worde of God I pray you to whom doth hée here speake to Priestes onely How many of your Priestes dyd hée knowe yea was not this Epistle written to the whole Churche of the Ephesians And dyd not they read it were not they lay men and why shall not our lay men read that they red Moreouer doth not Paule call it the sword of the spirite is it not lawfull for lay men to haue the spirit of God Or is the spirite of God not frée but bound alonely to you Also S. Iohn sayth if any man come to you bring not this doctrine receiue him not into your house nor yet salute hym Here the holy ghost would we should haue no other doctrine but holy scripture and you will take it alonely from vs. Furthermore this was written vnto a woman and to her children and you will y t no other man wyfe nor childe shall reade it But if we should receiue your Priestes into our houses after this rule I thinke we should not bée greatly cōbered with them for their are few of them that haue this word Also our M. Christ saith vnto the pharesies search you scriptures for in them you thinke to haue eternall life Our Maister sent the Pharisies to scriptures and you forbyd Christen men to reade them who had a worse sprite then they and yet they iudged better of holy scriptures thē you doe For they iudged to haue lyfe in thē you iudge to haue heresyes in thē so that you bée ten tymes worse to scriptures thē euer were they Also Paule saith all scripture geuen by insperation of God is profitable to teach to improoue to enforme io enstruct in righteousnes that the man of God may bée perfect and prepared vnto all good workes You will not denye but but scripture is geuē vs of God Ergo
and a carnall stocke full of passions and of affections Vnto a mortall Prince you make mediatours béecause hee knew not your hart and béecause hée is more affectionat to one man theÌ„ to an other and beecause hee iudgeth after the sight of hys eye and after y e percialnes and affection of his hart But so doth not God but alonely of mere mercy and grace But to your similitude you can not haue no Dukes to speake for you excepte you géeue them rewardes excepte they haue carnall affection to you therfore by your similitude you must likewyse doe to Saintes But S. Ambrose answereth clearly to this damnable reason of yours saying Men are wonte to vse thys miserable excusation that by these thinges may wee come to God as we may come to the kyng by Erles I aunswere wee doe come vnto the kyng by the meanes of Dukes and Erles because that the kyng is a man and knoweth not to whom hee may committe the common wealth but vnto God from whom nothing can bee hidde hee knoweth all mens merites wee neede no spokesman nor no mediatour but alonely a deuoute mynde c. Here are you clearely aunswered of S. Ambrose to youre carnall reason Item an other reason out of your lawe that Images bee vnto vnlearned men that same thyng that letters and writinges bée vnto them that bee learned that they may thereby learne what they ought to folow If your Images bee no more to vnlearned men then writinges be to learned men therefore they may no more doe to them then learned men doe to their letters woulde you suffer learned men to come and kneele and offer to my booke and sette vp candels before it and to make vowes to come yearely thereunto and to desire petitioÌ„s béefore my booke of those Saintes y t bée written therein Sée how your owne example maketh agaynst you and all thing that I can bringe Wherefore if there bée any grace in you or if there bée any shame in you of the worlde for Christes sake leaue of this false â–ª learnyng and colouring of Idolatrie For you doe not onely deceaue your simple brethren but you doe also blaspheme the immortall God of heauen which doubtles will auenge shortly this rebuke on you if you doe not amende whose violeÌ„ce and might you are not able to withstand Wherefore I exhorte you in y e blessed name of Christ Iesus that you repent in tyme and take vpon you to learne the veritie which is how God is onely to bée honoured and onely to bée sacrificed vnto hée is onely to bée prayed vnto of hym onely must our petitions bee asked it is hée onely y t géeueth wealth prosperitie hée only must deliuer and comforte vs in all aduersities hée onely must helpe vs out of all distresse vnto whom as Saint Paule sayth be alonely glory and honour for euer Amen Now most excellent and noble Prince I haue here after the poore gifte that God hath géeuen mee set out vnto your grace certain articles which though they séeme at the firste sight to bee newe yet haue I prooued them openly with the euerlastynge worde of God and that not wroonge nor wrested after my lyghte brayne but after the exposition of clarkely doctours yea and that of the oldest of the best Wherfore most excellent Prince most humbly most méekely I beséeche your grace that I may finde so great indifferencie at your graces hand as that the Byshoppes shall not condemne this booke after the maner of their olde tyranny excepte they can with open Scriptures and with holy Doctours refell it as I haue prooued it But I would it should please your grace to call them beefore you and to commaunde as many as will condemne this booke euery one of them seuerally without others counsell to write their cause why they will condemne it and the scriptures whereby they will condemne it and to bryng them all to your grace and your grace may iudge betwéene both parties I doe not doute but they wil bring your grace maruailous probations and such as were neuer hearde And if thrée of them agrée in one tale if they bée deuided let mée dye for it and that your grace shall well sée The father of heauen and hys most mercifull sonne Iesus Christ kéepe your grace in honour to his pleasure and glory Amen Of the originall of the Masse and of euery part therof translated into English out of his booke De Doctorum Sententijs ¶ De consecratione Dist. 1. Cap. Iacobus ex 6. Synodo IAmes the brother of the Lorde as cconernyng the fleshe vnto whom was firste coÌ„mitted the Church of Ierusalem Basilius the Byshop of Caesaria gaue vnto vs the celebration of the Masse Sayth the glose that is to say the manner how to celebrate y t Masse For the woordes by the which the body is made were deliuered froÌ„ the Lord him selfe But afterward others also added some one péece some an other for comlynes and solemnitie And thus much sayth hée God Christian reader what can these men wholy addicted to lyes otherwise doe but beguile deceaue For this is their onely endeuour whiche although it may bée manifest vnto thée by many of their déedes not withstanding by this one â–ª of y t which they so greatly boast it is so manifest that none caÌ„ dony it To attribute the originall of the Masse vnto Iames the Apostle and to Basilius y e bishop is an errour not to bée suffered for asmuch as it is most false as by that which foloweth shall appeare Let them declare if they can what Iames made thereof and what Bastill added thereto Let them bryng foorth one of the Apostles that euer sayd Masse they shal haue y t victory Ieames died about the yeare of our Lord 62. And of Masse as they vnderstand it there was no mention made in the Churche by the space of 200. yeares Moreouer then this Basill tyed about the yeare after Christ 380. How then could hée agrée with Iames aboute the Masse But what Masse had the Church from after the death of Iames vnto Basiles tyme by what authoritie did Basill deliuer to vs y e masse Moreouer these meÌ„ doe adde their auctoritie out of the vj. Synode that their lye might bée the more notorious Bring foorth the vj. Synode in the whiche these thinges bée written I pray you what was handled in the vj. Synode The maner of celebrating Masse Or agaynst whom was y e vj. Synode gathered togither agaynst those y t would not say Masse Nothyng lesse but agaynst such as wickedly taught that there was one operation in Christ Read the actes of the Synode and you shall finde it to bée so But let vs grauÌ„t in the meane â—eason that this was handled in y t Synode what doth it prooue We do not contende what matters were intreated of in the Synode but whether Ieames and Basill deliuered vnto vs
vsed of Christ Iohn 6. The olde passeouer compared with the Supper of our Lord. Baptisme compared with Circumcision 1. Cor. 10. 11. and 12. Rom. 6. Ephes 4. Eucharistia thaÌ„kes giuyng 1. Cor. 10. and 11. 1. Tim. 1. Baptisme was figured by Circumcision and the Lordes Supper by the paschall lambe Luke 12. 1. Cor. 5. Exod. 12. Luke 22. The Paschall lambe eaten and the Sacrament instituted Twoo thynges to be considered in the Sacramentes The matter and substaunce of of the SacrameÌ„t and the signes of the 〈◊〉 â–ª The signe is called the thyng Gene. 17. Exod. 12. The scripture calleth the signe by the name of the thing that it signifieth The bread in the SacrameÌ„t called the body of Christ the wyne called the bloud of Christ â—st is takeÌ„ for significat Gene. 40. The figuratiue speches vsed in the scripture 〈◊〉 Pet. 2. Ezech. 5. The maner of speakyng in the scripturo Iohn 3. The naturall body of Christ is not in the SacrameÌ„t â–ª The Sacrament is to be receaued with thankes geuyng The vse of the supper Luke 22. Note here the whole circumstaunce of the maner and institution of the SacrameÌ„t of Christes body Luke 22. 1. Cor. 11. Iohn 6. Abacuk 2. Christ declared to his disciples that he would leaue this world 〈◊〉 go to his father in heauen Scriptures are many that shewe Christ as touchyng his natural body is gone and is not here Actes 2. Christ asceÌ„ded into heauen Iohn 14. and. 16. Christ â—â—playne wordes declareth his bodely departure out of this world Christ playnlye shewed vnto the disciples that he must depart from this world to his father in heauen Christes â—…rified body is in heauen Christes 〈◊〉 scention was witnessed by many The here 〈◊〉 of Marcâ—… what it was 1. Timo. 6. 2. Timo. 2. 1. Timo. 〈◊〉 1. Cor. 11. The Supper of the Lord is the commemâ—ration and memoriall of Christes death S. Paule calleth the SacrameÌ„t bread after the consecration By one loafe of bread we are fignified to bee one body in Christ The cup of the Lord 〈◊〉 the cup of the deuill how they differte Who they are that eate of the bread and drinke of the cup vnworthely Euery 〈◊〉 did eate his own supper and not the Supper of the â—â—rd We must firste examine out stlues and theÌ„ come to the table of the Lord. Loke more of this in the Epistle to the reader If we come not thankfully and charitably vnto y t Lordes borde we eate and drinke our damnation S. Paule calleth the poore the Church of God This place the Papistes alledge to proue vnwritten be ritie More belyeth Decolampâ—dius and Zuingitus Loke more of this in the Epistle to the reader Tertulian The worâ—es of Tertulian AusteÌ„ cap. xij against â—dimâ—nt Gene. 6. Leui. 7. Deut. 12. Austen calleth Sacrament the signe of his body Homâ— 83. operitiâ— imperfectâ— Chrisostome calleth the sacrameÌ„t the signe of Christes body The confutatioÌ„ of the Papistes gloses The Papistes are wreâ—ters peruerters of the scriptures The Papistes say that the traÌ„ substantion is done by miracles All true miracles are done to let forth the glory of God Christ dyd miracles to declare hâ—m selfe to be both God and man 〈…〉 〈…〉 1. Thes 2. 1. Iohn 2. 〈…〉 scriptures The conteÌ„tious and wicked doctrine of y â— Papistes hath prouoked the lyght of gods truth to be set forth to the vnderstandyng of the people How the 〈…〉 Aâ—…â—2 The Sacrament is not vsed in these dayes as it was in the tyme of the Apostles A good doctrine for al such ministers as haue cure of soules to vse to his flocke Thankes geuyng The bread and wyne are not prophane but Sacramentes to holy vse 1. Cor. 1. A wholesome and good lesson namely for all ministers Rom. 5. At the ministration of the Sacrament let the minister exhorte all men to haue faith and lone to pray for grace I good and necessary exhortatioÌ„ to be mate to y â— people of the tâ—… they receaue the communioÌ„ None may come to the commuâ—… without y â— weddyng germent 〈◊〉 â—ayth Iohn 13. Thankesgeuyng to God Those wordes of his are in his booke that he made for y t pore soules in Purgatory Marke 42. Not who speaketh but that whiche is spoken is to be weyed most 1. Tim. 4. The holy ghost inspireth where when and on whom he pleaseth Actes 2. 1. Cor. 12. The talent of our learnyng is to be employed to the edifiyng of Christes congregation Wilfully to resist Gods worde is sinne agaynst the holy ghost Ezech. 33. Obiection Aunswere 1. Thess Our imperfection forgeuen thorough faith in Christes bloud The Byshop of Rochesters owne opinion concernyng the vnderstandyng of the scriptures in his time and long a forâ— that Actes 17. The cause of our blindnes and grosse errours 2. Thess 2. Rom. 15. Voluntary ignorauÌ„ce not to bee excused The cause of Iohn Frithes writyng against Purgatory Mans reason must be obedient to the Scriptures Aulus Gelius The rebuke of an open enemy better then the sclender prayse of a frend M. More my Lord of Rochester can not agree The Purgatoryes that God hath ordeyned Iohn 15. The Purgatory of the hart The Purgatory of the hart is fayth The Purgatory of the members Heb. 12. The Purgatory of the meÌ„bers is the crosse of Christ Psal 89. God nayleth vs to the crosse to heale our infirmities So euill was the life of the Papistes that they imagined a Purgatory for them selues The wisedome of the world foolishnes afore God Symon Fishe the maker of the booke of the Supplication of Beggers Our riches is to be bestowed on the poore Either there is no Purgatory els the Pope is mercylesse Whereat M. More first began to fume agaynst such as denye Purgatory Rastell foloweth M. More The names of the disputers in the matter of Purgatory The soÌ„me and contentes of Rastels iij. Dialogues An aunswere to Rastels Dialogue Rastels booke is either true or false If naturall reason conclude agaynst the Scripture then is naturall reasoÌ„ false Roma 5. Iohn 11. 2. Rastels boke clearely quickly confouÌ„ded Rastel beaten to the wall The first chief reason made for Purgatory Rastell Aunswere to the first argument Psal 81. 1. Thess 4. Question Math. 24. The confutatioÌ„ of Rastels first chief argument 1. Iohn 1. 1. Cor. 15. 1. Thess 4. Ephes 1. and. 5. Rastell ouerthroweÌ„ in his owne turne 3. Hebr. 1. Christ is the onely Purgatory and purger of our sins 4. Ephe. 5. A frutefull and excelleÌ„t argument 5. Ephe. 1. Christ by his election doth purge and clense vs. 6. 1. Iohn 1. Ephe. 1. Gallat 5. Roma 7. Roma 8. Roma 5. Roma 4. Psal 31. Iustification freely doth exclude Purgatory Roma 3. Obiection In aunswere to the first obiection Obiection 1. In aunswere to the second obiection 2. The Pope â—elleth Christes merites for money 3. We may not robbe God of his honour 4. Blasphemy to say Christes bloud is not full
life And said moreouer I haue beene an officer of his but I haue geuen it vp and defye him and all his workes Not long after M. Tyndall happened to bée in the company of a certeyne deuine recounted for a learned man and in commoning and disputing with him hée droue hym to that issue that the sayd great Doctour burst out into these blasphemous wordes and sayd we were better to bée without Gods lawe then the Popes M. Tyndall hearing this and beeing full of Godly zeale and not bearing that blasphemous saying replyed agayne and sayd I defie the Pope and all his lawes and farther added that if God spared him life ere many yeares hée would cause a boy that driueth the plough to know more of the Scripture then hée did After this the grudge of the Priestes encreasing still against Tyndall they neuer ceased barkiâ—g and rating at him and layd many sore thinges to his charge saying y â— hée was an heretick in sophistry an hereticke in logique and an hereticke in Diuinitie And sayd moreouer vnto him that hée bare hymself bolde of y â— GentlemeÌ„ there in y â— couÌ„try but notwithstanding shortly hée should bée otherwise talked withal To whom M. Tyndall auÌ„swering againe thus said it was not the place hée stuck vpoÌ„ hée was coÌ„teÌ„ted they should bring him into any countrey in all England geuing him x. l. a yeare to liue with and bynding him to no more but to teach children and to preach To bée short M. Tyndall beeing so molested and vexed in the countrey by y â— Priests was constrayned to leaue that Countrye and to séeke another place and so comming to M. Welshe hée desired him of his good will that hée might depart from hym saying thus vnto him Syr I perceaue I shall not bée suffered to tarye long here in this countrie neither shall you bée able though you woulde to kéepe mée out of the handes of the spiritualitie and also what displeasure might growe to you by kéeping mée God knoweth for the which I should bée right sory So that in fine M. Tyndall with y â— good will of his Master departed and eftsones came vp to London and there preached a while according as hée had done in the countrye béefore At length hée béethought hym selfe of Cutbert Tunstall then Byshop of London and especially for the great commendatioÌ„ of Erasmus Who in his annotations so extolleth him for his learning thus casting with him selfe that if hée might attayne into his seruice hée were a happy man And so comming to Syr Henry Gilforde the kinges Controller and bringing with hym an oration of Isocrates which hée had translated out of Gréeke into Englishe hée desyred him to speake to the sayd Byshop of London for hym which hée also did and willed him moreouer to write an Epistle to the Byshop and to goe him selfe with him which hée did likewise and deliuered his Epistle to a seruaunt of his named William Hebletwhait a man of his olde acquaintaunce But God who secretly disposed the course of things saw y â— was not best for Tyndals purpose nor for the profite of his Church and therefore gaue him to fynde litle fauour in the Bishops sight The aunswere of whome was this that his house was full hee had moe then hée could well fynde and aduised him to séeke in LondoÌ„ abroad where he sayd he could lacke no seruice c. And so he remayned in London the space almost of a yeare beholding and marking with him selfe the course of the world and especially y e Demeanour of the preachers how they boasted them selues set vp their auctoritie kingdome Beholding also the pompe of the Prelates with other thinges that greatly misliked him Insomuch as he vnderstoode not onely to be no roome in y e Bishops house for him to translate the new Testament but also that there was no place to doe it in all England And therefore fynding no place for his purpose within the Realme and hauing some ayde and prouision by Gods prouidence ministred vnto him by Humfrev Mommouth Merchaunt who after was both Shirife and Alderman of London and by certaine other good men he tooke his leaue of the Realme and departed into Germany Where the good man being inflamed with a tender care and zeale of his countrey refused no trauell or diligence how by all meanes possible to reduce his bretheren Countrymen of England to the same tast and vnderstanding of Gods holy worde and veritie which the Lorde had endued him withall Where vpon he considering in his minde partly also conferring with Iohn Frith thought with him selfe no way more to conduce thereunto then if the scripture were turned into the vulgare speeche that the poore people might also see the simple and playne worde of God For first he wisely casting in his minde perceiued by experieÌ„ce how that it was not possible to stablish the lay people in any trueth except the Scripture were so plainlye layd before their eyes in their mother tongue that they might see the processe order and meaning of y â— text For els whatsoeuer trueth should be taught them these enemies of the trueth would quench it agayne either with apparauÌ„t reasoÌ„s of Sophistrye and traditions of their awne making founded without all ground of Scripture Either els iugglyng with the text expounding it in such a sence as impossible it were to gather of the text if the right processe order and meaning thereof were seene Agayne right well he perceaued and considered this onely or most chiefly to be the cause of all mischiefe in the Church that the Scriptures of God were hydden from the peoples eyes For so long the abhominable doinges and Idolatries mainteyned by the Pharasaicall Clergie coulde not be espyed and therefore all their labour was with might aâ—d mayne to keepe it downe so that either it should not bee read at all or if it were they woulde darken the right sence with the myst of their Sophistry and so entangle them which rebuked or despised their abhominations with argumentes of philosophy and with worldly similitudes and apparant reasons of naturall wisedome and with wresting of Scripture vnto their awne purpose contrary vnto the processe order and meaning of the text would so delude them in deskanting vpon it with allegoryes and amaze them expounding it in many sences layed before the vnlearned laye people that though thou felt in thy heart and were sure that all were false that they sayd yet couldest thou not solue their subtile ryddells For these and such other considerations this good man was moued and no doubts styrred vp of God to translate the Scripture into his mother tongue for the publique vtilitie and profit of the simple vulgar people of his couÌ„trey First setting in hand with the new testament which he first translated about the yeare of our Lord. 1527. Aftrr y t he tooke in hand to translate the olde testament finishing the v. bookes
of Moses with sondry most learned and godly prologues prefixed before euery one of them most worthy to be read and read againe of all Christians as the like also he did vpon the new testament He wrote also dyuerse other woorkes vnder sondry titles among the which is that most worthy monument of his intuled the obedyence of a Christian man wherein with singular dexteritie he instructeth all men in the office and duetie of Christian obedieÌ„ce with dyuerse other treatises as may apere in the contentes of this booke So soone as these bookes were compiled and made by William Tyndall and the same were published and sent ouer into England it can not bee spoken what a dore of light they opened to the eyes of the whole Englishe nation which before were many yeares shut vp in darknes Now these godly bookes and specially the new Testament of William Tindals translation beyng spred abroad and come into many mens handes as they wrought singular profitte to the godly so the vngodly enuying and disdayning that the people should be any thing wiser then they and agayne fearing least by the shyning beames of trueth their false hypocrisie and workes of darcknes should be discerned began to stirre with no small adoe lyke as at the byrth of Christ Herode and all IerusaleÌ„ were troubled wyth hym so the Papistes made open exclamation agaynst this godly man and published hym opeÌ„ly in all their sermons to be an hereticke and that all his bookes were none other but damnable heresies and sought by all the meanes they might how to empeach and hynder that godly man in his blessed trauayles But to returne to the story After that William Tyndall had translated the fifth booke of Moses called Deuteronomium and he mynding to print the same at Hamborough sayled thitherward and by the way vpon the coast of Holland he suffered shipwracke and lost all his bookes writinges and copyes and so was compelled to beginne all agayne anâ—we to his hynderaunce and doublyng of his labours Thus hauyng lost by that ship both money his copyes and tyme he came in an other shippe to Hamborough where at his appointment M. Couerdale taryed for hym and helped hym in the translatyng of the whole fiue bookes of Moses And after hee returned to Andwarp aâ—d was there lodged more then one whole yeare in the house of Thomas Pointz an English man who kept a table for Englishe marchauntes About which tyme an Englishe man whose name was Henry Phillips whose father was customer of Poole a comely man and séemed to be a gentleman This man sodainely entred into the great loue and fauour of William Tyndall who greatly commended his curtesie and learning and in the ende fell into famylier loue and acquaintaunce with him And Thomas Pointz their host espying such great loue and familiaritie to be betwéene M. Tyndall and this Philippes which vnto hym was but a mere strainger did much meruell thereat and fell into a gelousy and suspition that this Phillipes was but a spye and came but to betraye M. Tindall wherefore on a time the a fore sayd Thomas Poyntz asked M. Tyndall how he came acquainted with this Phillipes M. Tyndall auÌ„swered that he was an honest man handsomely learned and very conformable Then Pointz perceauing that he bare such fauour vnto him sayd no more thinking that hee had béene brought acquainted with him by some frende of his The sayd Phillipes being in the towne iij. or iiij dayes did then depart to the Court at Bruxelles which is from Andwarp xâ—iiij myles and did so much there that he procured to bring from thence with him to Andwarp the procuror generall which is the Emperours attorney with certaine other officers And first the sayd Phillipes seruaunt came vnto Poyntz and demaunded of him whether M. Tyndall were there or not for his master would come and dyne with him And foorthwith came Phillipes and asked Poyntz wife for M. Tyndall and she shewed him that he was in his chamber then sayd he what good meate shall we haue to dinner for I entend to dyne with you and she aunswered they should haue such as the market would geue Then went phyllipes straight vp into M. Tyndales chamber and tolde him that by the way as he came he had lost his pursse and therefore prayed him to lend him xl shillings which he foorthwith lent for it was easie inough to be had of him if he had it For in the wilie subtilnes of this world he was simple and vnexpert Then sayd Phillipes you shall be my gest here this day No sayd â–ª Tyndall I got forth this day to dynner and you shall goe with me and be my gest where you shall be welcome And when dynner tyme came M. Tyndall and Phillipes went both forth togither And at the going forth of Poyntz house was a long narrow entrey so that ij coulde not goe on a front Tyndall would haue put phillipes before him but Phillipes would in no wise but put Tyndall béefore him for that hée pretended to shew greate humanitie So Tyndall being a man of no great stature went before and Phillipes a tall person folowed behinde him who had set officers on either syde of the dore vpon ij seates which beeing there might sée who came in the entrye And comming through y e sayd entrye Phillipes pointed with his finger ouer M. Tyndales head downe to hym that the officers which sat at the dore might see that it was hée whom they should take as the officers that tooke Tyndall afterward tolde the a fore sayde Poyntz and sayd that they pitâ—ed to sée his simplicitie when they tooke him But Tyndall when hée came nere the dore espied the officers and woulde haue shronke backe nay sayd Phillâ—ipes by your leaue you shall goe forth and by force bare hym forward vpon the officers And assone as the officers had taken him they forthwith brought him vnto the Emperours attorney or procurour generall where hée dyned Then came the procurour generall to the house of Poyntz and sent away all that was of Tyndales aswell his bookes as other thinges And from thence Tyndall was had to the Castell of filforde xviij Englishe myles from Andwarpe where hée remayned prisoner more then a yeare and a halfe and in that meane tyme came vnto him diuerse lawyers and Doctours in Diuinitie aswell fryers as other with whom hée had many conflyctes But at the last Tyndall prayed that hée might haue some Englishe Deuines come vnto him for the maners and Ceremonies in religion in Douch land sayd hée did much differ from the maners and Ceremonies vsed in England And then was sent vnto hym dyuerse Deuines from Louayne whereof some were Englishmen and after many examinations at the last they condemned him by vertue of the Emperours decrée made in the assembly at Ausbrough and shortly after brought him forth to the place of execution and there tyed him to a stake where with a feruent zeale