louing subiectes which are disobedient vnto her and that seeke procure desire and wishe her death and distruction Therefore be thankefull to God that hath giuen you and vs such a mercifull prince to raigne ouer vs and loue and obey her that giueth you for iustice mercie and for extremitie lenitie And nowe as her grace doth refraine from that shee may doe so prouoke not her 〈◊〉 to that shee can doe And as I sayde thinke not that her grace can not vse the swoord against you because shee hath not vsed it for if you thinke so you do not onely deceaue your selues but also do much abuse her Maiestie in that you seeme thereby to make her a Prince without powre whereby you are vnwoorthie of the great mercie shee sheweth vnto you What seruant is so foolishe to thinke muche more to say that because his master doeth not beate him for his fault therefore he can not beate him Because the mercifull father doth not beate his sonne for his offence that maketh not that he can not beate him for the same Shall her clemencie and mercie make you thinke in her disabilitie Therefore if any of you thinke so as I beleeue some of you haue said so you are not worthie of such a merciful mistres that vseth you so Thus farre haue I written to this ende in my said booke whereby it appeareth most manifestly that my drift was altogether to she we forth her Maiesties great lenitie and mercie And that shee hath as great powre and authoritie as Q. Marie had to make lawes and to vse the swoorde with seueritie iustice as well as shee as appeareth by the whole circumstaunce of the matter both before and after which you of purpose did not onely leaue out but also did so choppe and chaunge my wordes to discredite me withall that they had neyther good sentence nor sence And this is the verye cause and grounde why I wrote the saide wordes that you 〈◊〉 vnhonestly altered And though you mislike my eloquence yet I hope the indifferent reader will not thinke y t these my argumēts are so fonde and sencelesse and so disorderly couched as you would haue made them beleeue by your wrested and altered words If they marke but your woordes that you wrote in steade of mine and conferre my comparison betweene Queene Marie and her Maiestie with your wordes they may soone see your malicious meaning For where you haue written The papistes crye vpon their Queene Marie and wee crye vpon our Queene Elizabeth I haue no such wordes at all And morouer within sixe of your lines after you haue fathered these wordes vpon me Why then howe can papistes be otherwise but English enemies and extreeme enemies to Englande If I haue any such sentence or woordes I will yeelde vnto you and bee one of the popes Iesuites which to be I woulde be loth You might haue thought me to be a very dolt if I should go about to proue papists to be english enemies because the Queenes maiestie was a kings daughter and a kings sister You your selfe are so cunning in finding out of such mysticall causes that I am not able to compare with you therein for first you made that M. Nicols going from Wales to England and from thence to Flaunders and so to Rome from Rome to the pulpit in the Towre of London was the cause that he was borne at Combridge in Wales Then after you would seeme to proue that I was a musition because I was a rimer and nowe thirdely because you woulde haue me to be a citer of your causes you woulde make your reader beleeue that I prooue that papistes must needes bee extreeme enemies to england because the Queenes Maiestie was king Henries daughter and king Edwards sister But truely you are tried before to bee so cunning and experte in finding out of the causes of thinges that this deepe profound cause y e is alledged for the prouing of papists to be extreeme enemies to england is of your own inuention for they know that my wit is to weake and my learning to light to find out such a mysticall cause It had been enough for Peter 〈◊〉 to haue 〈◊〉 this argument the prouer of the popes powre that saide because Peter paide the tribute money for Christ himself therfore the pope hath authoritie ouer the whole Church of God And because Christ saide to Peter followe thou me and againe launche forth in the deepe and because Peter drew his sword and cut off Malcas eare therefore the pope hath authoritie of the whole Churche of God This had been a fitter argument for him then for mee Also this argument had been more meet for pope Innocent than for me which woulde proue that the Moone being inferiour to the Sunne therefore the Emperour was inferior to the Pope And that the Emperoute is a thousande folde inferior to him because God hath made two lights in heauen Which is the Sunne and the Moone These such like arguments are more meete for Popes then Protestants And now for that you Iesuites are sworn to the pope Therefore this argument that papists are English enemies and extreeme enemies to Englande because Queene Elizabeth is as well a kings daughter and a kings sister as Q. Marie is a more 〈◊〉 argument for a Iesuite then for a 〈◊〉 If the indifferent reader consider mine own words before written he can spie no such thing as you charge mee withal But may 〈◊〉 perceiue that I wrote the same only to proue that y t Queenes maiestie hath as great powre to vse y e sword and to make laws against her obstinate and disobedient subiects as Queene Mary had And that it is as lawfull for her grace to punish and execute her obstinate disobedient subiects as for Queene Marie to punish and execute her louing and harmelesse subiects the professors of the Gospel that obey her with due obedience Therefore it is no great matter for you to proue that I am neither eloquent nor learned if you may chop change my words foist in your own at your plesure as you haue done Tullie was an eloquent writer yet if I shoulde chop and change his works writings putting in leauing out what I list in the same I could make him seeme quickly to haue but small eloquence Plato and Aristotle were learned Philosophers yet I coulde make them seeme vnlearned if I shoulde vse their bookes as I thought good Salamon was the wisest mā that euer was except Christ whose wordes if I shoulde backe and choppe thrust in and pull out what I list as you haue done I coulde make him see me to bee no very wise writer And as it is no great matter for you to say and prooue that a man can not goe when before you haue cut off his legges So it is a verye easie thing for you to make your reader 〈◊〉 that I haue neyther eloquence learning nor wit when you
in his doings least he clime as an angell fall as a Diuell fol. 43. p. 2 Persecutions had need begin before they be in the middest fol. 50 pag. 1 Pope 〈◊〉 Agnus Dei can pul mē out of the water and saue men frō drowning fol. 60. pag. 1 Papists extreame enemies to England because the Queenes Maiestie was king Henries daughter king Edwards sister fol. 71. pa. 2 Peter paid tribute money therefore the pope hath authoritie ouer the whole church of God fol. 72. pa. 1 Peter Crabs arguments for prouing the popes authoritie fol. 72 pag. 1 Persuasion from papistrie disdainfully called a weightie worke fol. 50. pag. 1 Persuasion from papistrie disgraced because of the title fol. 53. pag. 1 Priests barne burned because he had forgot his owne latine fol. 55. p. 1 Painting no discredite to the Gospel or the acts of the Apostles writtē by S. Luke fol. 64. pag. 2 Papists cry vpon Q. Mary and protestants cry vpon Q. Elizabeth fo 98. pag. 1 Pope may dispence against the lawe of God the lawe of nature against Saint Paule the new testament all the commandments fo 79. p. 〈◊〉 Pope an other God on the earth fol. 80. pag. 1 Popish Bishop did run mad fo 9. p. 〈◊〉 Paradise better for the Pope to haue claimed power ouer than Purgatorie fol. 35. pag. 2 Pope proudest of all other though he be called the seruant of Gods seruants fol. 81. pag. 1. 2 Pope called the Lion of the tribe of Iuda 81. pag. 2 Pope is the light that is come into the world fol. 81. pag. 2 Popes Antechrists for that they take vpon them that which is only due vnto God fol. 82. pag. 2 Pope may make and marre lawes at his pleasure fol. 14. pag. 1 Pope hath an heauenly iudgement fo 13. pag. 2 Pope is doctor of both lawes by authority not by knowledge fo 13. p. 2 Popes cannot erre or lye though they say S. Denise had one body in germanie another in France fo 14. pag. 2 Preachers of gods word haue a great aduantage of papists fol. 18 pa. 1 Popes pond full of childrens might be skulles fol. 23. pag. 1 Popes purse esteemed more of rouers then pouertie fol. 29. pag. 1 Popes Iesuites can make impossible causes fol. 32 pag. 1 Popes pride is published in magnifiyng his maiestie fol. 32. pag. 2 Preachers may heare y t popes 〈◊〉 as well as the pope may heare the preacher vnlesse y t popes be alwaies hearse or y t preachers deafe fo 32. p. 2 Pope doth not vse to thank any that speaketh before him fol. 32. pag. 2 Popes preachers are proued y t popes masters fol. 32. pag. 2 Poore preacher may not dine with 〈◊〉 proud pope fol. 33. pag. 1 Priesthood sufficiet to excuse whoredume in Rome fol. 33. pag. 2 Pope 〈◊〉 the sift gaue licence to one to marry his owne sister fol. 33. pag. 2 Popes pardons delicate sawces to procure 〈◊〉 fol 34. pag. 1 Pope had more wit than Solomon fol. 49. pag. 2 Pope can doe more then God can do fol. 83. pag. 1 Popes lawe must needs be holy that alloweth Priestes to haue 〈◊〉 and forbideth them to haue wiues fol. 85. pag. 1 Popes fast is quite cōtrary to Christes fast fol. 87. pag. 1 Pope 〈◊〉 bestowe the Empire on whom he list fol. 92. pag. 1 Pope doth what him 〈◊〉 though it be vnlawfull and is more than a God fol. 92. pag 1 Priests are as much aboue a king as a king is aboue a beast fol. 92 pa. 2 Poore pope that had no Chamber 〈◊〉 to keepe out dogges fol 93. pag. 1 Popes foote more meete to 〈◊〉 bitten of dogges than to be kissed of men fol. 93 pag. 1 Parson of 〈◊〉 in Kent dyed 〈◊〉 and strangely fol. 94. pag. 1 Q QUeenes Maiestie sendeth none to Rome to sturre sedicion against the pope as he sendeth by ther to seeke the destruction of her Grace fol. 24. pag. 1. Queene Elizabethes power as great as was the power of Queene Mary fol. 69. pag. 2. fol. 70. pa. 1. 2 R REmedie for a mischiefs fol. 17. pag. 2 Returning of people is not the way to try truth fol 24. pag. 2 Religion of the Pope dependeth 〈◊〉 priestes fol. 27. pag. 2 Romish honestie will proue Englishe treason fol. 29. pag. 1 Religues of Saints are to bee worshipped if 〈◊〉 be not for sworn fol. 6. pag. 1 Rockwoods desperate death that 〈◊〉 he was damned fol. 10. pag. 2 Robbing of Churches not so euill as to reason of the Popes doings fol. 13. pag. 2 Reason must be allowed for the honoring of the Pope fol. 36. pag. 1 Reason must bee 〈◊〉 to make Christ of a Cake fol 36. pag. 1 Reason why the pope doth ride on men and not on a horse fol. 36. pag. 2 Reasons why the Pope ought not to ride on men fol. 37. pag. 1 Romish lotdrawers may happen on a Satanist in steede of a Saint fol. 38. pag. 2 Romans ashamed in whipping themselues for that they couer their faces because they would not be knowen fol. 47. pag. 2 Romanes are fooles or their doctrine is false fol. 48. pag. 2 Ryming cause of Musicke fol. 58. pag. 1 Reason that they that write eloquently shoulde haue the eloquence fol. 68. pag. 1 Religion of the Gospell must seeme to bee false because it conuerteth no priestes 27. pag. 2 S SOddan and dolefull death of a persecuting Papist fol. 9. 1 Sheepes skinne counted better than a mans hand fol. 11. pag 2 Saint Denise had two bodies at once by the Popes iudgement fol. 14. pag. 1 Similitude very necessarie fol. 18. pag. 2 Sore punishment to make women 〈◊〉 kissing of Priestes fol. 22. pag. 2 Swerers to maintaine falshood will not sticke to lye when they sweare not at all fol. 26 pag. 1 Successe of Iesuites fol. 4. pag. 1 Soules in Purgatorie are relieued by prayers if Iesuites may be trusted by their othe fol. 5. pag. 2 Saints are to be honored and called vpon they pray for vs if we may beleeue Iesuites by their othe fol. 6. pag. 1 Saint Peter no good proctor for the Pope fol. 7. pag. 2 Sodeine change fol. 12. pag. 2 Sertus the Pope gaue license to a Cardinall and all his family to cōmit most detestable sinne fol. 21. pag. 2 Stately seruant that will not once giue his master thankes fol. 32. pag. 2 Saint Augustines texte brought for prouing of Purgatory that speaketh not of it fol. 34 pag. 2 Simple Reader that will beleeue S. Augustine if hee bee contrary to Christe fol. 35 pag. 1 Saint Augustine brought for proouing of Purgatorie but he himselfe saith he knoweth no such place fol. 35. pag. 1 Saints are protectours as the Pope is Christes Uicar fol. 39. pag. 1 Stewes of the pope defended fol. 40. pag 1 Sinne cannot bee suffered without fault by Gods lawe fol. 41. pag. 2 Saint Paul did forget the Romans whipping deuotion in his Epistle to the
say wee shame not to proclame triumphes vpon so base conquestes against our mother the Catholike Churche who hath borne vs and brought vs vp c. Wee neede not thankes bee to God bee ashamed of any triumphes that wee proclame and it is verye harde for you to prooue that wee proclame our triumphes openly but rather giue therefore prayses to GOD and 〈◊〉 there at in wardly And yet to say trueth we may 〈◊〉 proclame our triumphes then you may reioyce in yours for we triumphe not in burning our brethren in priuie conspiracies in sowing of sedition in rebelling against our prince and in procuring her death as you doe but our chiefe triumphing is in the growing of y t gospel in recouering lost sheepe in winning y t wicked in increasing gods kingdom Therefore to proclaime such triumphes as we do not were no such shame as you say And where it seemeth you meane the base conquest wee triumph in is the winning of master Nicols the conquest is not so base as you would make your Reader beleeue vnlesse you thinke it to be but a base conquest to couquere the Diiuel and to pluck a soule out of the clawes of Satan As before you counted master Nicols to bee but base 〈◊〉 so nowe you blow foorth that the winning of him is but a base conquest but as you thinke that our conquest therein is but small so I beleeue the conquest of the popes souldiers in Ireland not long since was not very great and whatsouer cause wee haue to triumph in this I am sure hee hath no cause to triumph in that And yet if your Pope haue 〈◊〉 much power as his procters pronounce and as much might as you and many woulde make him and if hee hath power ouer the Angels of God I maruell why hee did not then commaunde the Angels to come out of heauen into Ireland to fight for him and to vanquishe and kill the 〈◊〉 power there as well as God sent his Angels to destroy the hoste of Sennacherib that came against King 〈◊〉 to destroy Hierusalem I woulde faine knowe in what part of the Bible or the worde of God you haue read that your Romish Churche is a mother or in what place of the Gospell you can finde that your said Catholike mother of Rome hath or ought to haue any children in England Truely your mother of Rome may thinke that shee hath children in Englande but they that bee wise in England will not think they 〈◊〉 any 〈◊〉 mother in Rome They that take God for their father will not take your Church of Rome for their mother God the father of heauen is not able to doe more for his 〈◊〉 then your earthly mother of Rome is able to doe for her daughters Christe taught his Apostles to say Our father which art in heauen and not our mother of Rome which art in earth if your Church of Rome be our mother I 〈◊〉 then who begat vs on her who was our father for I hope you will not say that she is Hermaphroditus both man and woman so both our father and mother Surely shee is so contrary to God y t he is none of her husband neither wil he haue any such wife as regardeth not his sonue or contēneth his gospel as your mother of Rome doth altogether Therfore I know no meete husband for her vnlesse it be the Diuell who in my iudgement is the fittest husband for her that can be found for as she counteth herselfe Ladie Mistres of all the world so the Diuell is Prince a mightie ruler in y t world whereby it doth appeare if she haue any husband at al if she haue married w t her match as such a proud dame will 〈◊〉 loth to marry vnder her degree that the diuel is her husband then hee must needes bee father to all her children 〈◊〉 by this meanes you y t take the holy Churche of Rome for your mother must needs be inforced to haue y t diuell to your father Or els she must be vnmarried play y t Whoore so the best you cā make of it you proue your selues bastards your mother a whoore And to the intent you may perceiue y t your holy mother of Rome is more like a whoore thē a good womā the whoore of 〈◊〉 wherof S. Iohn in his reuelation doth write by y e iudgemēt of S. Hierome writing to Algasia is y e purple whoore of Rome who saith Nec vult c. Which is neither will he opēly say that the Romane Empyre should be destroied which they y t gouern it think it to be euerlasting wherfore according to the reuelatiō of S. Iohn in the forehead of the purple whoore there is writ ten a name of blasphemie which is Rome euerlasting And moreouer the place where this purple whoore shoulde sitte must needes be Rome for the angell doth plainly tell Saint Iohn y t the vii heades of the beast wheron y e purple whoore sitteth signifieth vii 〈◊〉 there is no Citie in al y e worlde y t is builded vpō vii hilles but only Rome in Italie wherby though you would avoid y t your mother y e Church of Rome is not the wife of the Diuell yet by no meanes it can be denied but that your holy mother of Rome is a strumpet and a very harlot according to the wordes of S. Iohn and so all her children must needes be bastardes And forasmuche as you counther your spirituall mother you must needes haue a spirituall father and because none can beget spiritual children on a spirituall harlot but the Diuell then whether you will or no though the Diuell bee not your Romish mothers husband yet he must needes bee hir paramoure and father to all her children Therfore as long as you take y t Church of Rome for your mother you must needs be y e bond bastards of y e Diuel wherefore forsake y t harlot your mother y e you may be the free children of God your father If you knew what a wicked cruell mother you haue of her you would not long bee her children for if shee may bee counted a wicked and cruell mother y t will allure her childe to steale whereby he shalbe hanged or els doth cut his throte if he do not steale as she willeth him then your holy mother of Rome is the most wicked cruell mother of all other for if you do rob God of his glory Christ of his merites as she doth teach you then you shalbe 〈◊〉 in the endles paines of hell and if you denie to do it shee will burne murther or kill you because you doe not as she willeth you Therfore y e great extremitie of them that are vnder such a mother wyll enforce them if they be wise to flie from her and humblie desire God to their father And where you say y e your holy mother of Rome hath borne
and countrey as you hope but to your owne confusion I am sure as you may see if you will and some haue felt against their wills The 34. part YOu say in the commendation of your Church of Rome as followeth Albeit priuate olde men may lacke wit yet Chirstes olde spouse which is the Church can not If al be true that you say then it is so in deede for you bring none other autour but your selfe neyther any argument for proouing of the same It is impossible but that your olde spouse shoulde be verie full of witte if they haue such wise Cardinals and pregnant pillers as Petrus Asotus and Hosius were that affirmed that the same Councell wherein our sauiour Christ was condemned to die had the holy ghost and that the same was a iust decree wherby they pronounced that Christ was worthie to die Moreouer he could not chose but be full of wisedom that wrote vpon the popes decree that the Iewes had committed mortall sinne if they had not nayled Christ to the Crosse. These members of your holy mother your olde spouse were no fooles I 〈◊〉 that tooke parte with Annas and Caiphas against Christe They might well haue diuelishe witte but I am sure they had no godly wisedom In deed the true Church of Christ which is gouerned and taught by the holy ghost can want no godly wisedome but your Church of Rome whiche you counte Christes olde spouse hath and doeth lacke both learning wit and honestie as before it doth manifestly appeare That pope was very full of witte which you counte the chiefe of your Churche that gaue iudgement and sentence that they at Ratilpone in Germanie and the Abbay of Saint Denise in Fraunce had both the whole bodye of Saint Denise at once as is before mentioned He had more witte than Salomon for Salomon coulde make but one childe into two halfe children but your sayde profound and wise pope made one Saint Denise into two whole Saint Denises Belike the Pope thought that seeing euery simple and raskall priest coulde make Christes bodie at one time to be in many places thē he being the prince of al priests was able to make the body of S. Denise to be in two places And further your olde spouse of Rome can want no wit because it can not erre if it woulde and no maruell for it can haue the holye Ghost in the likenesse of an Owle to instructe it for in one of your late Councelles in Rome as they were singing and roaring of Veni creator spiritus that is Come holy ghost c. by and by at their becke and calling a poore olde Owle amazed with the noyse thinking belike shee was the holy ghost that they called for so earnestly leapt out of the hole where shee sate and came downe in the middes of them and sate amongst them Thus you may perceiue that there is a great difference betweene the Spirite of God and the Popes holy Ghost For God the holy Ghost discended and appeared to Christe in likenesse of a faire white doue but the popes holy ghost did discende and appeare to the Pope in the shape of a foule euill fauoured owle Surely they are fowlie ouerseene that wil not be guided by your Churche that is taught and instructed by suche a holy ghost Your olde spouse can neuer want 〈◊〉 that 〈◊〉 inspired by such a holy spirite The 35. part AFter this your discouering of Maister Nicols manners and learning to his reproche as you thought and commending your owne follies you discommend and goe about to discredite my sayde booke called A perswasion from papistrie But though you decide it without any reprouing or consuting therof yet I haue so reproued and confuted such partes of this your discouerie as I thought necessarie was meete for me to do that you are so vncouered that the wise may see that you daunce naked in a net though you thinke your selfe well enough couered And these are your wordes concerning the same Of late in the middest of our persecutions there came forth a waightie worke of 40 sheetes of paper made by one Thomas Lupton entituled a perswasion from papistrie he woulde haue said a diswasion but that papistrie and perswasion began both with a letter I must needes confesse my sayd booke was not published very long since it is so lately come forth that it seemeth you had no leasure to peruse the same as you shoulde for if you had red it as aduisedly as many haue done you woulde not I thinke haue derided it as you haue done You say it came forth in the middest of your persecutiōs It came forth at such time as it had pleased God to giue me his instrument leaue to finishe the same for of my selfe I am most certayne I neither began it proceeded in it neither finished it For if a sparrowe light not on the grounde without Gods prouidence then the penne of a man Gods image doth not light on the paper without Gods direction y t writeth in Christes cause and indefence of Gods worde But that it was in the middest of your persecutions I hardly can thinke for that it were requisite that they shoulde beginne before they be in the middest In deede her highnes doth not persecute you as queene Marie did vs yet shee hath power to punish you much more than shee doth And because you haue written in derision agaynste my sayde booke whiche I am nowe in hande to defende I will nowe write some parte of my wordes therein touching this time which you call the middest of your persecution And these are my wordes If you would marke but her maiesties power and knew what shee may doe and weyghe your owne dooynges and what yee ought to doe truely you woulde say then that shee is the moste miledest and mercifullest Queene one of them that euer raigned You thinke not a misse in her grace and counte her not vnmercifull though shee put theeues to death for stealing whiche GOD hath not commaunded to bee punished with death and can not you see that her Maiestie is marueylous mercifull in that shee suffereth you to liue for disobeying Gods woorde and committing Idolatrie whiche GOD by his lawe hath commaunded to bee punished with death King Iosias 〈◊〉 the idolatrous Priestevpon the alters that committed Idolatrie and yet hee is reckoned for a Godly king But our mercifull Queene Elizabeth hath not burned the popishe priestes on the alters where they committed idolatrie in saying of Masse and worshipped a piece of breade for the bodie of Christe which shee might haue done if shee would and yet you count not her for a godly and mercifull Queene You praise and extoll Queene Marie to the heauens for vsing crueltie and for burning her humble and faultlesse Subiectes But if our 〈◊〉 Elizabeth shoulde vse lawefull seueritie on her stubborne and disobedient people Gods foes and her enemies that desire her