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
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
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
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
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
And all that be confederate with the Cardinall and with the Bishops vpō any secret appointment be they neuer so great I rede thē to break their bondes and to follow right by the playne and open way and to be content and not too ambitious for it is now euill climing the boughes be brittle And let them looke well on the practise of Bishops how they haue serued all other men in tunes past and into what troubles they haue brought them that were quiet Many a man both great small haue they brought to death in England euen in my dayes beside in times past whose bloud God wil seek once Let them learne at the last that it is but the cast of the Bishops to receaue the sacrament with one man secretly vpon one purpose and with an other man as secreatly vppon the contrary to deceaue al parties For of periury they make as much conscience as a dog of a bone for they haue power to dispence with all thing thinke they At the beginning of the warre betwene the Frenchking and the Emperour the prognostication said yeare by yeare that there should be great labor for peace but it shall not come to passe for there is Bicorporeū or Corpus neutrum that commeth betwene and letteth it that is to say a body that is neither nother or holdeth on neither part and that body is the spiritualtie which hold but of thēselues onely For when any Ambassadors goe betwene to entreat of peace the bishops are euer the chief which though they make a goodly oration for the peace openly to deceaue the lay men yet secreatly by the bisshops of the same countrie they cast a bone in the way and there can be no peace vntill the peace be for their profite let it cost in the meane season what bloud it will And as for them which for luker as Iudas betraye the truth and write agaynst their consciences and which for honour as Balaam enforce to curse the people of God I would fayne if their hartes were not to hard that they dyd repent And as fayne I would that our prelates did repent if it were possible for them to prefer Gods honour before their owne And vnto all subiectes I say that they repent For the cause of euill rulers is the sinne of the subiectes testifyeth the Scripture And the cause of false preachers is that the people haue no loue vnto the truth sayth Paule 2. Thes 2. We be all sinners an hundred times greater then all that we suffer Let vs therfore ech forgeue other remembring the greater sinners the more welcome if we repent according to the similitude of the riotous sonne Luc. 15. For Christ dyed for sinners and is their sauiour and hys bloud theyr treasure to pay sor their sinnes He is that fatted calf which is slaine to make them good cheare withall if they will repent and come to their father again And his merites is that goodlye rayment to couer the naked deformities of our sinnes These be sufficient at this time although I could say more and though other haue deserued that I more sayd yea and I could more deeply haue entred into the practise of our Cardinall but I spare for diuers considerations and namely for his sake which neuer spared me nor any faythfull frende of his owne nor any that told him truth nor spareth to persecute the bloud of Christ in as cleare light as euer was and vnder as subtile colour of hypocrisie as euer was any persecutiō since the creation of the world Nether haue I sayd for hate of any person or persons God I take to recorde but of their wickednes onely and to cal them to repentaunce knowledging that I am a sinner also and that a greeuous Howbeit it is a deuilish thing and a merciles to defend wickednes against the open truth and not to haue power to repent And therefore I doubt not if men will not be warned hereby but that God will vtter more practise by whome he will and not cease vntill he haue broken the bonde of wilie hypocrites which persecute so subtelly And finally if the persecution of the kinges grace and of other temporall persons conspiring with the spiritualtie be of ignoraunce I doubt not but that theyr eyes shall be opened shortly and they shal see repent God shall shew them mercy But and if it be of a set malice against the truth and of a grounded hate against the law of God by the reasō of a full consent they haue to sinne and to walke in their olde wayes of ignorauncie wherunto being now past all repentance they haue vtterly yelded themselues to follow w t ful lust without bridle or snaffle which is the sinne agaynst the holy Ghost then ye shall see euen shortly that God shall turne the poynt of the swoorde wherewith they now shedde Christes bloud homeward to shed their owne again after the ensamples of the bible And let them remember that I well toward iij. yeares agone to preuent al occasions and all carnall beastes that seeke fleshly liberty sent forth the true obedience of a christen man which yet they condemned but after they had condemned the New Testament as right was whence the Obedience hath his authoritie Now then if when the light is come abroad in which theyr wickednes cā not be hid they finde no such obedience in the people vnto their old tyranny whose fault is it This is a sure conclusion none obedience that is not of loue can not long endure and in your deedes can no man see any cause of loue and the knowledge of Christ for whose sake onely a man wold loue you though ye were neuer so euill ye persecute Now thē if any disobedience rise ye are the cause of it your selues Say not but that ye be warned A Pathway into the holy Scripture made by William Tyndall I Do maruell greatly derely beloued in christ that euer any mā shuld repugne or speake against the Scripture to be had in euery lāguage and that of euery man For I thought that no man had bene so blinde to aske why light should be shewed to thē y t walke in darkenes where they cā not but stomble and where to stomble is the daunger of eternall damnation other so despightfull that he would enuie any mā I speake not his brother so necessary a thyng or so Bedlem mad to affirme that good is y t naturall cause of euill and darkenes to procede out of light that lying should be grounded in truth and verity and not rather cleane contrary that light destroyeth darkenes and veritie reproueth all maner lying Neuerthelesse seyng that it hath pleased God to send vnto our English men euen to as many as vnfaynedly desire it the Scripture in their mother toūg cōsidering that there be in euery place false teachers and blind leaders that ye should be deceaued of no man I supposed it very
boke and sent him into a sell to be there occupied in studie and contemplation And at dinner time y e Abbot called all his monks to meat and let hym sit in contemplation After noone when he began to ware very hūgry he came out againe to the Abbot Siluane and asked whether his Monkes had not yet dined And he answered yes And why called you not me quod the Monke to dine wyth them Verily sayd the Abbot I thought you had bene all spirituall and had néeded no meate Nay quod the Monke I am not so spirituall nor feruent in contemplation but that I must néedes eate Verely sayde the Abbot then muste you also néedes worke for Mary hathe néede of Martha When the Monke heard that he repented and fell to worke as the other dyd And I woulde to God that this aunswer would cause our religious euen so to doe to fall to worke that they might succoure theyr néedie neighboures And as touching theyr studie in scripture S. Austine sayeth how shalt thou better learne to vnderstande the scipture then by going about to fulfill that thou there readest And if thou goe aboute to fulfill it saythe he then must thou worke with thy handes for that dothe S. Paule teache thée Of this I haue compiled an whole booke which if God haue appoynted me to finishe it and set it forthe shal be a rule of more perfection vnto oure religious then any that they haue vsed this hundreth yeare The third Chapter The conclusion of this treatise that no flesh should reioyce but feare and tremble in all the giftes that he receiueth HEre maiste thou perceiue that no man liueth but he maye feare and tremble and moste he may feare to whome most is committed for of him shall muche be required and muche are we bounde to thanke God in all things For of oure selues haue we noughte but sinne and vanitie but thorowe his gracious fauoure haue we all goodnesse and be that we be And sith all our goodnesse commeth of hym we muste agayne be thanckefull vnto him and kéepe hys commaundements For els we may feare least he take hys gifts from vs and then shall we receiue the greater dampnation If thou haue receiued the knowledge of hys woord geue hym thanks and be a faithful minister thereof for else he shall deliuer thée vnto thyne owne fantasticall imaginations and cast thée headlong into an heape of heresies which shall bring thée into vtter destruction If he geue thée faith in hys worde geue him thanks and bring forth the fruites therof in due season for els he will take it away from thée and sende thée into finall desperation If he geue thée riches then geue hym thankes and distribute them according to Gods commaundement or else he shall take them from thée if he loue thée either by théeues by water by death of thy cattell by blasting thy fruites or such other scourges to cause thée loue hym because he wolde alienate thine heart from them this I say he wil do if he loue thée to make thée put thine whole trust in him and not in these transitorie things But if he hate thée then will he sende thée great prosperitie and encrease them plenteously and geue thée thy heauen in thys worlde vnto thine euerlasting dampnation in the lyfe to come and therefore feare and take good héede whiles thou hast leasure If thou aske me what his honoure praise and thankes are I answere that his honor praise and thankes is nothing els but the fulfilling of hys commaūdementes If thou aske me what his commaundementes are as touching the bestowing of thy goodes I answer his cōmaundemēts are that thou bestowe them in the woorkes of mercye and that shall he laye to thy charge at the daye of iudgement He shal aske you whether you haue fedde the hungrie and geuen drinke to the thirstie and not whether you haue builded abbayes or chauntries He shall aske you whether you haue harbored the harborlesse and clothed the naked and not whether you haue gilded images or geuen copes to churches He shall aske you whether you haue visited the sicke and gone to the prisoners and not whether you haue gone a pilgrimage to Walsingham or Canterburye And thys I affirme vnto thée that if thou builde a thousand cloisters and giue as many copes and chalices to churches and visitest all the pilgrimages in the worlde and espiest and séest a poore man whome thou mightest help perishing for lack of one grote all these things whereon thou hast bestowed so muche money shall not be able to helpe thée Therefore take good héede and say not but that ye be warned If God haue geuen thée thy perfite limmes and members then geue him thankes and vse them to the tamyng of thy body and profite of thy neighbour For els if God loue thée he will send thée some mayne or mischief and take them from thée that thy negligence and none vsing of them be not so extremely imputed vnto thée But if he hate thée he shal kéepe thē whole and sounde for thée that the none vsing of them may be thy greater damnation Therfore beware and feare geuing him thankes according to hys commaundementes For we are hys creatures and are much bounde to him that he hath geuen to vs our perfite members for it is better for vs to haue our limmes and to woorke with them distributing to other then that other should distribute vnto vs for it is a more holy thing to geue thē to take yea we are much bound vnto him although he haue made vs imperfect and mutilate for we were in his handes as we are yet to haue done with vs whatsoeuer had pleased him euen to haue made vs the vilest creature vpon the earth I haue read of a shepheard which kéeping his shéepe in the field espyed a foule Toade and when he had wel marked her and conferred her shape and nature vnto himselfe and hys nature he fell a wéeping and cryed out piteously At the last came a Byshop by riding right royally and whē he saw the shepheard so sore lamenting he reynde hys horse asked him the cause of his great wayling Then aunswered the shepheard Verely sir I wéepe for mine vnkindnes toward almightie God for I haue geuen thākes to God of many thynges but yet I was neuer so kind since I was borne as to thanke him of this thing What is that sayd the Byshop Syr quod he sée you not this foule tode Yes quod the Bishop what is that to the purpose Verely sayd the shep hearde it is the creature of God as well as I am and God might haue made me euen such a foule and vnreasonable beast as this is if it had pleased him yet he hath not done so but of his mercy and goodnes he hath made me a reasonable creature after his owne shape and likenes and yet was I neuer so kynde as to thancke him that he had not made
not in me and in whom I abyde not let hym not say or thynke that he eateth my body or drinketh my bloud They abyde not in Christ which are not his members And they are not hys mēbers which make them selues the mēbers of an harlot And these are also the very wordes of Bede Here it is playne proued agayne by the authoritie of S. Austen and Bede that the wicked and vnfaythfull which are not the members of Christ doe not eate hys body nor drinke hys bloud and yet they do eate the sacrament as well as the other Wherefore you must néedes graunt that the Sacrament is not y e naturall body of Christ but a figure tokē or memoriall therof Now good Christen people count not thys new learning which is firmed by such olde Doctors and faythfull fathers Now were this inough for a Christen man that loued no contention But because there are so many sophisters in y ◠world which care not what they say so they holde not theyr peace I must néedes set some bulwarke by thys holy Doctor to helpe to defend hym for els they will shortly ouerrunne hym as they do me and make hym an hereticke too Therefore I will alleage hys master S. Ambrose Saint Ambrose sayth Non iste panis est qui vadit in corpus sed ille panis vitae aeternae qui animae nostrae substantiam fulscit That is It is not thys bread that goeth into the bodye but that bread of euerlasting life whiche vpboldeth the substance of our soule Furthermore the great clerke Prosper confirmeth the same saying Qui discordat a Christo nec carnem Christi manducat nec sanguinem bibit etiamsi tamtae rei sacramentum ad iudicium suae praesumptionis quotidie indifferenter accipiat That is He that discordeth from Christ doth neyther eate hys fleshe nor drinke hys bloud although he receaue indifferētly euery day the sacrament of so great a thing vnto the condemnation of hys presumption And these are also the very wordes of Bede vpon the xj Chapter of the first Epistle to the Corinthians Now you may sée that it is not S. Austens minde onely but also the saying of many moe And therefore I trust you will be good vnto hym And if ye condemne not these holy fathers then am I wrongfully punished But if you condemne thē then must poore Frith be content to beare the burthen with them ¶ The mynde and exposition of the old Doctours vppon the wordes of Christes maundey ANd where M. More sayth that if Christe had not ment after the plaine literal sece that both the hearers at that tyme and the expositours since and all Christē people beside this xv c. yeare would not haue taken onely the litterall sence beyng so straunge and maruelous that it might seme impossible decline from the letter for allegories in all such other thynges beyng as hee sayth and as in deede they be so many farre in nomber mo As touchyng y e hearers they were deceiued and vnderstode him not I meane as many as tooke his wordes fleshly as you do And they had their aunswere of Christ when they murmured that his wordes were spirite and lyfe that is as S. Austen sayth spiritually to bee vnderstand and not fleshly as is before declared And as for the expositours I thinke he hath not one of the old fathers for him but certaine new felowes as Dominie S. Thomas Decam and such other whiche haue made the Pope a God And as I haue shewed S. Austen maketh full for vs and so do all the old fathers as Occolāpadius hath well declared in his booke Quid veteres senserint de Sacramēto eucharistiae And some of their sayinges I shall alledge anone And where you say that all Christen people haue so beleued this 1500. yeares that is very false For there is no doubt but that the people thought as holy S. Austen and other faithful fathers taught them Which as I said make with vs. Notwithstādyng in déede sith our Prelates haue bene made Lordes and haue set vp their lawes and decrées contrary to the prerogatiue of all Princes lyke most sutle traytours haue made all mē beleue that they may make lawes and bynde mens consciences to obey them and that their lawes are Gods lawes blindyng y e peoples eyes with two or thrée textes wrongfully wrested to aduaunce their pride where they ought to obey Kyngs and Princes and be subiect to their lawes as Christ and his Apostles were euē vnto y e death Sith that tyme I say they haue made men beleue what they list and made articles of the faith at their pleasure One article must be y e they be the Church and can not erre And this is the grounde of all their doctrine But the truth of this article is nowe sufficiently knowen For if Quéene Katherine be kyng Henries wife then they do erre and if she be not then they haue erred to speake no more cruelly It is now become an article of our fayth y e the Pope of Rome must be y ◠head of y e Church the Vicare of Christ that by Gods law It is an article of our fayth that what soeuer hee byndeth in earth is bounde in heauen in so much that if he curse wrongfully yet ye must be feared and infinite such other which are not in our Crede but blessed bee God that hath geuen some light into our Princes hart For he hath lately put foorth a booke called the glasse of truth whiche proueth many of these articles very foolishe phantasies and that euen by their owne Doctours so I trust you shal be proued in this poynt of the Sacrament for though it be an article of our fayth it is no article of our Crede in y e xij articles wher of are sufficient for our saluatiō And therefore we may thinke that you lye without all ieoperdye of damnation Neuerthelesse seing his mastership saith that all make for him and I say cleane contrarie that all the olde fathers make against him or at the lest wise not with him It were necessary that one of vs should proue his purpose But indeede in this poynt he would loke to haue the vauntage of me For he thinketh that men will soner beleue hym which is a great man then me which am but a poore man and that therfore I had more néede to proue my part true then he to proue his Well I am content and therfore geue eare deare reader and Iudge betwéene vs. First I wil begin with Tertulian because he is of most antiquitie Tertulian speakyng of Christ sayth Nec panem reprobauit quo ipsum corpus suum representat That is to say Christ him selfe did not reproue or discommend bread whereby he doth represent hys very body For the vnderstandyng of thys place you must knowe that there was an hereticke called Marcion which dyd reproue creatures and said
coÌ„maundementes 48. Gallat 6. Purgatory is nedelesse 49. Eccle. 14. Some imagine Purgatory to be a place of satisfaction 50 Apoca. 14 The dead that dye in the Lorde are blessed and therfore are not in Purgatory Esay 57. Sapien. 3. The coÌ„clusioÌ„ of Iohn Frith agaynst Rastels booke M. More begynneth pitifully Frith Purgatory in 400. yeare after Christ was neither beleued as an article of y t fayth nor yet for an vndoubted truth 1. Cor. 3. S. Austen doubted of Purgatory Roma 4. M. More much deceaued in the accomptyng of hys M. More M. Mores second reason Frith M. More maketh a false and fond argument Iohn Frith ameÌ„deth M. Mores argument Iohn Frith proueth the negatiue to be true Iohn 3. Rastell had his argumentes froÌ„ M. More M. More Ezechias Frith 4. Kinges 2 Esay 38. A question to Master More A very apt similitude Math. 26. M. More Frith 1. Kynges 2 M. More here semeth to be ignoraunt in the Hebrue toung Gene. 42. M. More 〈◊〉 of the maner of the speakyng of the Prophetes The Lord doth kill rayse again Iohn 11. Psal 78. â—hen God saith he killeth doth quicken againe what the meanyng therof is Daniell 3. A true interpretatioÌ„ of Scripture A foule fault in M. More M. More Zacharie Frith Zacharie 9 Psal 66. More and Rochester can not agree How the sauyng of the Prophete Zachary is to be vnderstand Roma 5. An obiectioÌ„ and aunswere therunto A question to master More A true and plaine exposition of the prophet Zachary M. More Machabeus Sore spoâ—… of M. More Frith 2 Mach. 12 The bokes of the Machabees are not in the Canon of y t Hebrues 〈◊〉 The meaning true exposition of the Machabees touching purgatory 〈◊〉 The slaughter of the Iewes was is for idolatry Deutro 7. Iudas Machabeus was deceaued in hys sacrifice 〈◊〉 Deut. 12. 4 By Christes death all sacrifices ceased 5 Heb. 〈◊〉 No sacrifice caÌ„ take away sinne but onely the sacrifice made by Christ 6 The holiest men haue fallen The example of Iudas Machabeus is profitable to y e church and therfore it must be folowed 7. Gallat 6. Actes 15. Rastell 8. The scholemeÌ„ say that in the tyme of the olde Testament there was no Purgatory 9. A declaration of the meanyng of Iudas Machabeus in offeryng hys sacrifice for the dead Deut. 7. Iudas Machabeus thought of no Purgatory M. More is like to be proued an insipient Iohn Frithes iudgement of y â— bookes of the Machabees M. More 1. Iohn 5. DesperatioÌ„ and impenitency are damnable sinners Frith 1. Iohn 5. M. More is confuse in the interpretation of the scriptures Marke 3. What blasphemy and sin against the holy ghost â—s The pure vnderstanding M. More Apoca. 5. Note Frith 〈◊〉 and More doth not agree A â–ª true exposition of the Scripture M More Frith More purposely corrupteth the sence of the Scripture More falsely descaÌ„teth vppon the Scriptures M. More a proctour for Purgatory M. More 1. Cor. 3. M. More would faine proue a purgatory Fâ—ith He shal laboreth much in Gods by 〈◊〉 nyard shall receaue much c. What it is to builde on gold siluer or precious stone What it is to buyld on wood haye or stubble Cyprian How euery mans work is tryed by fire Wordes figuratiuely spoken M. More Math. 12. Frith A subtile sophisme There is no remissioÌ„ of sinnes after this lyfe Marke 3. M. More Math. 12. Frith M. More doth quyte ouerthrow hym selfe Here by M. Mores argument Purgatory is quyte excluded M. More M. More is a subtill Sophister Esay 8. Truth is not to bee sought of the dead Luke 16. 1. Kinge â—3 An apparition of a spirite moued to certeine of Oxford M. More his solution of the two former reasons Frith M. More his argument is false Christ sayth M. Mâ—â—e 〈…〉 second reason Fâ—ith God caÌ„not be against himselfe Mâ— More Frith A penny offred into S. Dominickes boxe worketh great matter Note what veâ—… is in a pâ—…y M. More Frith Ioh. Frith declareth his opinion of Christes death How mens prayers good dedes do help one an other M. More Frith It is better not to beleue that which the scripture aloweth not theÌ„ to make a fayth where we should not M. More Frith What is heresie M. More is a sore iudge M. More The fire of purgatory is a meruellous hot fire Frith Beholde here the force of the fire of purgatory M. More fully aunswered to all that he can say for purgatory M. More was the Byshop of Rochesters Disciple Rochester the first patrone of Purgatory Rochester The Byshop of Rochesters owne wordes Frith Sectes of heretickes 1. Cor. 3. Actes 15. S. Austen S. Austen sheweth what hee thought of Purgatory Saint Ambrose S. Ambrose sheweth his opinioÌ„ of Purgatory Saint Hierome Eccle. 9. All suffrages prayers good dedes done for the dead are in vayne 1. 2. The dead can neither do good or euil nor increase in vertue 3 The sayinges of the Doctors are no farther to be credited then they agree with y t scripture Rochester The doctors haue erred in many thinges The worde of God is the touchstone tryeth all of all doctrine S. Austine S. Austen read old auctors and would also haue all meÌ„ read his workes Rochester Luc. 16. Parables in y t scripture proue nothing but only open and expound dark and hard thinges By Moses and the prophetes is meant the old Testament Rochester Frith There is but ii places after this life that is heauen and hell Abrahams bosome what it signifieth The elect are faithful the faythful are elect Abrahams bosome can proue no purgatory To rest in peace is not to lye in tormentes 1. Iohn 1. A good conclusion against purgatory Christes death hath ouercomâ—â— our death turned it into life Rochester Math. 12. Frith If there be any purgatory it must be after domesday for before there can be none Faythfull Vnfaythfull Men. Rochester Psal 66. Frith Zacharie 9 Rochester More agree not A true interpretatioÌ„ of the 66. Psalme More and Rochester caÌ„not agree Soules in purgatory caÌ„not offer Oxen nor goates in sacrifice Rochester Frith The chirch sayth Rochester meaning the popes church can not erre Luke 14. Frith The parable of Luke 14. truly interpreted How men should be compelled to beleue Christ was meeke and gentle and no tyrannous schole master Luke 9. Paul sayth he had no power ouer their fayth 1. Cor. 12. Fayth is not procured by violence but is the mere onely of gift of God Feare maketh fayth no fayth at all Fayth is first the gift of God and procedeth from the hart which may not be compelled Rochester Pardons Rochester sayth herein very truly and yet was not ware of it Purgatory and pardoÌ„s haue bene goodly marchaundise for the clergye Rochester Frith The kayes Luke 11. The kay of knowledge is the word of God Apoc. 3. Math. 16. Iohn 20. Luke 24. How christ gaue the kayes to Peter and the rest of the