that for the abuse which peradueÌ„ture no man wyll denye ymages are nat altogyther to be taken a-away for els the souper of the lorde / and baptyme / with many other thiÌ„ges / which ar encombred with dyuerse abuses / ought also in lyke maner to be abrogated this answere we do make vnto hiÌ„ That christen men shulde nat wynke at any abuse / therfore whatsoeuer is brought into the church / contrary to scrypture / it is to be amended / to be tryed by the squyer rule of goddes worde / if any thiÌ„ge doth nat agree with it / it is to be cut away / with all spede that may be And onely that thinge / which is right / whiche is holesome / is to be restored to his owne place / and taken in his owne place / specyally in the souper of the lorde / in baptyme / other thinges also whiche haue ben instytuted by the lorde But ymages ar all maner wayes to be taken awaye / nat only for the abuses / but moch more for the worde of god / to which they ar playne contrarye and repugnaunte For we can nat ymagyn anye maner vtylitie / which may be sayd to haue come by the reason of ymages On the other syde / that the superstityon of images doth draw with it an hepe of all euylles we haue here to fore declared ¶ To make shorte / god neuer for bad any of those thinges / wherof any commodytie or profyte might ryse but rather whatsoeuer thinge is profytable / and maye make vs better / he taught full largely / as wytnesseth Paule verye euydently .ii. Timoth. iii. ¶ But if any folysshe wyse man doth thynke / that ymages ar therfore nat to be taken awaye / bycause he fereth that those weake persones / which now supersticiously do worshippe / ymages / wolde be offended with the puttinge downe of ymages this man doutelesse / whyles he goth aboute to auoyde from the smoke as it is sayde in the prouerbe is fallen into the flamyng fyre For whyles he feareth to offende disperate persons with hurtefull offensyons of ymages / he backeth and hindreth better meÌ„ whiche haue begonne to ronne the waye of the lorde withoute anye tournynge agayne Who so euer dothe this / shall be gyltye of that cryme / of whiche Paule accuseth Peter / in the epystle to the Galatyans Gala 2 For Peter whyles he was afrayde to offende certayne Iewes of Hierusalem at Antyoche / and for that cause wolde natte vse the lybertye of etynge all maner meates / as he was wonte to doo before Paule with stode him to his face in the presens of the whole multytude / bycause he walked nat the ryÈt way / accordynge to the truth of the gospell For as moch as was in him with his vnwyse desyre to auoyde offendynge of the Iewes / he febled the right fayth / also nourysshed the incredulyte and vnbelefe of them / whom he studyed to please in the meane season Brefly he dyd nothynge els / than whyles he wente about vnwysly to auoyde one ieoperdy / he cast hiÌ„selfe into twayne Doutlesse after this maner to desyre to auoyde occasyons of offensyons / is the full cause of offensyons And wold god it were nat of so great strength as it is / amonge very many meÌ„ now in these days For a man shall se very many meÌ„ which bycause they wold ymagen some honest cloke and coloure of their vnbelefe / do fayne theÌ„selues bothe to do also to eschewe very many thinges / lest they might gyue any man occasyon to be offended whan in very dede they do it rather forcause to kepe the crosse of Christ from theym selues For with this fayned desyre to wynne certayne curable ê‘sons / they shifte wel for them selues / that they may neither haue the euyll wyll of desperate persones / neitheir any displeasure or hurte done vnto them by the same â–ª We do nat denye verily / that such maner of doctryne lyuynge is most to be embraced folowed / whiche is an obstacle or lettynge so no man / which doth purposely angre no man / whiche doth tourne no mannes mynde awaye from the truthe yet neuerthelesse dilygence ought to be gyuen in the meane seasoÌ„ lustely / that none of those thynges be lefte of / wherby the glorye of god and the helth of our neyghbours / may be furthered encreased Christ him selfe is the stone of offensyon / the sauyour of deth to deth / vnto them whiche are foreordeyned to lyfe ¶ After that we oure selues doe knowe the wyll pleasure of the lorde we must dilygently labour that other men also maye lyke and prayse the same / that other men also maye haue luste and pleasure to confyrme theym selues vnto the same / yf we can nat obtayne thys / than oughte we rather to forsake father mother / al our goodes ye / moreouer to renouÌ„ce our owne selues / than to resyst or grudge against the wyll pleasure of god But most coÌ„munely we se it come to passe / that a great parte of men haue leuer both to get to mayntayne and kepe the fauour of men with the minisshement of goddes honour albeit yet it were better to wyn both the fauour of god / and also of men / with honest maners / and honest lyuyng / and with redy desyre wyll to do good vnto all men / if we wolde begyn this maner of wynnynge the fauour of meÌ„ and in other thinges wold lyue in this worlde fautelesse / as nere as we coulde / douteles there shulde be no man so parcyall in iugemeÌ„t / but he wolde by and by gather in mynde / that it was neither presuÌ„ptuouslye nor without good cause done of vs that we haue banisshed pictures and ymages cleane oute of churches But whereto shulde we make many wordes / syth it is euident inough now / that images do minissh the true honour of god and that it is nat possyble but that weke men be gretly offended / and do take moche hurte by them For they I meane weke persones wolde passe lytell vppon the takynge awaye of ymages / if they were taught playnly / for what consyderation and skyll they were taken awaye On the othersyde / if they be nat taken away / forthwith they conceyue an opinyon / as thoughe it were nat lawfull to put them away Nowe as for obstynate and vncurable persones / nat onely we can nat with sauing images bring theym to goodnesse but also with our sufferaunce and slacknesse we shall confyrme and establysshe theÌ„ the more in ydolatrye ¶ Brefely / if thou haste so great desyre and loue to wynne manye men to thy lorde ordre thy lyfe so that other meÌ„ may in very dede se experyence proufe / that Christ is alyue in the / and that all thy dedes and sayengê do breth and sauoure of him Withoute doubte / if thou wylte ordre thy selfe in this wyse / thou
briÌ„ge any cause or occasyon vnto the loue of god or of the neyghboure / to shewe or put forth it selfe more and more ¶ In dede god coÌ„maunded very many thynges to his olde people whiche were greatly auaylable helpynge to the princypall poynte and ende of his lawe But after that christ was ones exalted to the right hande of his father / and the holighost was sent all abrode into the worlde / we ar delyuered free from a great parte of suche maner legall ceremonyes As for exaÌ„ple it was goddes wyll coÌ„maundement / that the Iewes shulde lyue togyther by theym selues / abstaynyng from companyeng and dealynge with the geÌ„tyles for he dyd nat yet vouchesafe that they shuld haue knowlege of hys doctryne to th enteÌ„t / no dout of it / that they shulde by somoche / be the more obedyent to his coÌ„maundement / by how moche they were the lesse corrupted infected with the coÌ„pany of the gentyls / worshippyng false goddes But after that / the wall which departed the one people froÌ„ the other was throwen downe / both the gentyls also the Iewes grewe togyther in to one people This lawe whiche forfended the Israelytes / coÌ„panyenge with the gentyls / coulde do no seruyce nor profyte at all wherfore it was conuenyent that it shulde be abrogated Suche another lyke thynge is cyrcumcysyon / also the rytes ceremonyes of purifycations / the choyse of metes / the diuersyties of places persones / whatsoeuer besydes these is red to haue ben coÌ„maunded in the olde lawe / concernynge outwarde sacryfyces For these thynges in as moche as neither fayth nor charytie doth nowe requyre them it shal be lawfull free for vs either to obserue kepe them / orels to leue them vndone For the trewe honoure worshippynge of god / which hath ben by the prechynge of the Apostels indiffereÌ„tly publysshed to the whole worlde / wyll in nowyse suffre it selfe to be thruste so narowly into suche maner streyghtes of places / dayes / meates / and persons ¶ But as concernynge ymages / the thyng is farre other wyse For these beynge ones forbidden must nedes stande alwayes styll forbydden / specyally for this cause Bycause the trewe honouryng of god can nat be but either mynisshed / or els dyuerse wayes letted as sone as we shall suffre the sayde ymages / contrary to the coÌ„mauÌ„demeÌ„t of god in churches / or in other places / where they be honoured or els maye be honoured For substancyall parfyte fayth / the parfyte honouryng of god requyreth / that we shulde do our dilygeÌ„ce to cause this only god to be knowen in all places / that we shulde drede and honour him that we shulde in all places and at all tymes with full mouth / prayse magnify the workes of him alone But ymages ar so farre from helpynge vnto this thynge / that the same do dyuerse wayes hyndre let euery man froÌ„ the trewe honouryng of god For who is he I beseche you whom ymages set vp in churches / or in other more narowe places / haue nat rather made neglygent about the trewe honouryng of god / than holpen him any whyt to honoure god trewly Ye / moreouer if it be lawfull to speke the truth the true honour of god / beynge subuerted and ouerthrowen / they haue quite blotted out of mennes myndes the remembrance of those thinges / for whose cause it is fayned / that they were fyrst set vp And though it be so / that otherwhyles peradueÌ„ture by the occasyon of these godly admonytours / some thought and remembrance of god doth come into our mynde yet the same thought is soner vanysshed away / thaÌ„ that it can gether sufficient rotes in the brestes or myndes of men For as it is but a thyng of maÌ„s deuisyng / and receyued without the coÌ„mauÌ„dement of god euen so was it neuer able to moue or stere oure hertes myndes with the quycke lyuely perceyuynge / eyther of the workes or of the benefytes of god By the reason of which thynge it hath come to passe / that no place hath ben lefte to the lyuely admonition / which is by the creatures of god nat withstaÌ„dinge that these sayd creatures / bycause in all places we do se them / handell them / ought also in all places to styre vp and renewe in vs the remeÌ„brance of goddes infynite goodnesse Brefly / there is no cause / why we may more rightfully impute / shall I say or neglygence / or els our contempte towardê the trewe honour which is acceptable to god / vnto any other thynge than vnto images For after that these began to be worshipped in certayne places / forthwith flowed in an vnmeasurable see of all euyls For though we passe ouer / that god by the reason herof / was many wayes greuously offeÌ„ded displeased / bicause coÌ„trary to his opeÌ„ euydent coÌ„mauÌ„demeÌ„t / nat only we haue worshipped theÌ„ / but also puttyng our trust in such maner worshippinge haue ê‘swaded vnto oure selues / that herewith we do wynne to our selues the fauour of god / trustyng vnto these vayne tryflynge workes / haue either vtterly nat mynded / or at the lestwyse / haue lothsomly disdaynefully done those workes / with whiche only a christen mynde may be pleasynge and acceptable to god And who is he but he knoweth that by the reason herof / very many men haue ben so tycked with a merueylouse vayne hope / to get of the lorde I wot nat what great hepes and treasures of meritê that if thei had nat thought these maner tryfles to be moste acceptable to god Nat the goddesse Pitho herselfe / Pitho the goddesse of eloqueÌ„ce with all her swete eloquence / shuld haue ben able to bringe theÌ„ in mynde / beyng slowe inough / to moche vnto all other workes of charyte besydes / to haue pleasure to lasshe oute so great rychesse / partly vpon the makyng and partely vpon the payntynge / gyldynge / or otherwyse garnysshynge and deckynge of ymages ¶ Besydes all this / I say which is a thiÌ„ge more to be sorowed for this vayne honouryng of images hath engendred such a confydence and trust in a greate sorte of men / that those workes which ar in very dede good godly / layde clene a syde they haue taken occasyon to lyue a gret dele the more at large and more lycentiously / bycause they ar perswaded in stedfast belefe / that with these workes they haue so gotten the fauour of god / that at all other synnes vyciouse lyuynge / he doth wynke and wyll nat se them / as though hauynge lybertie graunted to synne vnpunysshed / they might gyue themselues at large to all maner vyces / euen as they lyst theÌ„selues If this thynge were nat well inough knowen vnto all men by experyence we coulde proue it with suche maner examples proufes / that euen he that were blynde /
it is agaynst scrypture our relygion / that ymages of christ ar had in the churches of christen men / wherof we may gather euidently that in this mater / bothe Ierome also other bisshops were of the same mynde that Epiphanius was of Herfore Eusebius Eusebiê° also reherseth / as a straÌ„ge an vnwont thyng / that in Cesarea Philippi in which cyte the woman was borne / whom Christ healed from the fluxe of blode He dyd se two ymages of brasse / the one of the woman / thother of christ our sauyour / whiche ymages yet were set vp at churche dores / nat in the churche selfe / as the same Eusebius recordeth And at the last / he sayth thus It is no merueyle if those persones of the gentyles which dyd beleue / were sene for suche benefytes as they had receyued of the sauyour / to offre as you wolde saye / suche a maner rewarde or recompense / syth it is so that we do see ymages tables of the apostles Peter Paule / also of Christ our sauyour to be carueÌ„ and paynted / euen these daies also we haue sene moreouer olde ymages of them kepte of certayne persones / which thinge me thinke is obserued / according to the custom of the gentyles / without any dyfference / bycause they ar wont in suche wise to honour them / whoÌ„ they thought worthye of honoure For that the armes or ymages of olde men are reserued kepte for a remembrance to them that shal come after it is a sygne token both of their honoure / also of these mennes loue towardê theÌ„ Li. vii ca. 14. Thus saith Eusebius in the eccliastical histori ¶ Herof we doo easely perceyue / that the images whiche Eusebius dyd se / were set vp / nat within the churches / but at the churche dores Agayne / nat to thentente that they shuld be honoured / but rather that they shuld be a testymony record how great honour they were to be iudged worthy of / whose images were reserued kepte all whiche thynges neuerthelesse / Eusebius doth nat hyde / to haue taken their begynnynge of the Gentyles and hethen people But what thinke you that he wolde haue sayd / if he had sene ymages set vp iÌ„ churches and no lesse worshipped of christen men / than euer they were of anye gentyls / which thyng a lacke for petye it is vndouted both to haue be done ye / to be done euen now at these dayes also Of these thynges therfore we may gather what is the cause / why the olde fathers dyd write nothynge agaynst such maner of ymages For there was no man at that tyme / which dyd so moche as ones dreme / that euer so gret a multytude of images shuld crepe into churches / as hath cropeÌ„ in / for as moche as they knewe it to be forbydden with so open euydent oracles testymonyes of the scrypture But agaynste the images of the Gentyles / a man shall fynde many thiÌ„ges written by the fathers very coÌ„nyngly eloquently / bycause the superstityon of theÌ„ dyd raygne euery where eueÌ„ at the same tyme / in which those holy meÌ„ were lyuynge yea / was defended of the gentyles with the same weapens / with which both in our tyme / also in the tyme of our fathers / certayne christen men haue gone about to defende and mayntayne their ymages Whatsoeuer thynge Lactantyus wrote agaynst the ydoles of the gentyles / we may by very good right apply the same agaynst our ymages all beit in his tyme as we haue sayd they wer nat yet vsed among crysten men LactaÌ„tiê° Amonge manye places it lyketh me at this tyme to allege one Lib. ij cap ij For thus he demauÌ„deth of the gentyles If you do therfore fere your goddes / bicause you do iuge them to be in heuen why doo you nat than lyfte vp youre eyes in to heuen why do you rather loke to walles / to stockes / stones than to that place / where you do beleue that they be This same question in lyke maner may we demaunde of our superstityouse christeÌ„ men If they do beleue that god sayntes ar in heuen why doo they nat rather lyfte vp theire eyes to that place / than to the deed ymages But let vs here also Athanase / writyng in this wyse agaynst the geÌ„tyls Athanasius Let theÌ„ say I besech you howe or after what maner god is knowen by images whether is it by the mater stuffe put rounde about them or els is it by the shape and facion brought iÌ„ to the stuffe If it be for the stuffe of the images that he is knowen / than what nedeth any shape or facion to be brought in by the workeman why dyd nat god appere as well by all maner of stuffe / before that any ymages were made syth all thingê do wytnesse his glorie But if the shape and facyon brought into the stuffe / be the cause of the knowlege of god what nedeth than any payntynge / or any other stuffe at all and why is nat god knowen rather by the very lyue creatures / whose shapes or ymages for doutles the glori of god shuld be more clerely euydently knowen / if it wer shewed by the lyue creatures both resonable vnresonable / thaÌ„ by deed vnmoueable creatures Therefore whan you do graue or paynte ymages / for the entente to haue vnderstandynge knowlege of god forsoth you do an vnworthy an vnmete thinge c. Now Athanasius wold neuer haue purposed in his mynde / to write any suche maner thynge agaynste the gentyles / if he had sene the christeÌ„ men of his tyme / entangled and wrapped in suche superstityon of ymages / as we do se a great parte of the worlde to be pytuously snarled now in our tyme but he wold rather haue exercysed his penne agaynst christeÌ„men / if they had ben lyke our crysten men now adayes But nothynge letteth / but that we may very accordiÌ„gly apply the same thingê agaynst our superstityous christen men for they pretende the same cause of hauyng images / with which Athanasius reherseth / that the geÌ„tyles were moued / that is to wit / that by images they maye be put in remeÌ„braunce of god which thynge / syth the creatures of god whether we do consider the stuffe or the shape facyon of them may do moch more strongly as Athanasius iugeth full wel there is no nede that we shuld ronne vnto the workes of meÌ„ / which do represent but onely I wot nat what false ymage vnto vs. For whom soeuer trees / stones / syluer / golde / other stuffe / wherof ymages are made / fynally whom the syght of man / to whom god hath gyuen lyfe reason / can nat styre nor put in remeÌ„brance of god surely images shal natte styre vp that man with anye frute or profyte for they as