endewrance and interpretation The Pope sayeth I am lorde of the scripture to alowe and disalowe it / for of me doth it take his full authorite ca. Si oeÌ„s And for a token of this / is the scripture of christ / layde vnder his fete when he is at masse Titum i lxvij Christes apostle sayeth / that a Bisshope ought to be so well learned / that he with the scripture / be able to overcome all them that he against the faith The Pope and Bisshopes will dispute inscripture with no man / but cast them first in preson / and proper engynes they have invented to wringe their fingers so sore / that the bloude shall braste out at their fingers endes / they pyne them / and scorge theÌ„ with infinite other tormentes payninge them / to forsake the trueth And after make theÌ„ swere on a boke that they shall tell no man of it thus cruelly do they entreate them against iustice And yf they can not subdue them to their willes / then do they committe them vnto the seculare power to burned IoaÌ„nis xix lxviij Christes accusation / and cause why he was condemned vnto death / was writen over his hed in hebrew / greke / aÌ„d laten / that all men might know the cause / this was an argument that they vsed iustice all though they condemned him vniustlye syth meÌ„ might se the offence and iudgement Ioyned togedder The Pope and Bisshopes condempne men and committe them vnto the seculare power / that they shuld exequute the sentence But this is a mischevous abominatioÌ„ / that they will not suffer the seculare power / to knowe the cause why they put men to deth worshupfull / dis divines / Master doctor / O you gentle nobilite pondre this matter indifferently Be ware how you do exequution except you knowe the cause why Thinke you the bloude shall not be requyred on you / yf for a nothers pleasure you destroye the worke of God They will saye vn to you / as the Iewes sayed vnto Pilate coÌ„cerninge Christ / yf he were not an evill doer we wold not have delivered him vnto you Trust not their wordes / for no doute they are lyares / know the cawse youre selves And heare the matter vnfaynedly Thinke you they wold not let you know the cause iudgement Yf they did iustice and not tyrannye Be therfore no lenger boyes to theÌ„ / which ought to be youre servaÌ„tes / god hath geven you his sprete / grace / and vnderstoÌ„dinge / hyde not the talente that God hath geven you / but do youre diligence to se iustes exequuted secludinge all tyrannye / for that is youre office appoynted you of God Luce. vjâ— lxix Christ sayeth blissed are ye when meÌ„ hate you / curse you / and excommunicate you for the rightuousnes / that is to saye / you no thinge gyltye nor worthye soch affliction The Pope and Bisshopes saye that their curse is sore to be feared / ye and that it maketh men as blake as a cole in the sight of God though they have not offended Insomoch that they must neades be dampned excepte they absoile them ageine / how be it Christ sayeth / that they are blessed / wherfore other Christ is false / or els they are most vayne lyers Luce. xiiij lxx Christ sayed when thou makest a dyner or feaste calle not thy frindes kinsmen / and negheburs that are riche / but the poore / lame and blinde / which are not able to recompence the then shalt thou be happye / for it shall be rewarded the in the resurrection of the iust The Pope and Busshopes will call none soch / for they thinke it greate shame / but they call men of greate authorite aÌ„d riches-which will receave theÌ„ with an other feast / they had lever have their belyes well stuffed in his world / then to tarye for the promisse of Christ They thinke it longe acomynge Math. v Luce. vj lxxi Christ sayeth other make the tre good his frute good also / or els make the tre naught and his frute naught also / Meaninge that the tre first shuld be good / aÌ„d theÌ„ bringe forth good frute / the frute maketh not the tre good But the tre maketh the frute good / al though we caÌ„ not know that the tre is good / but by his frute for we can iudge nothinge but by his outward operation yet god seyth the quickenes in the rote / which in the tyme that god hath apoynted him / shall bringe forth his frute And approveth the tre to be good / although he seme dead vnto 〈◊〉 â–ª The tre is faith which is the mother of all good workes / which ever worketh by charite when he seyth occasyon The pope and Bisshopes saye that the frute maketh the tre good / clene contrarye to all scripture and reason / And thus tvrne they the trees and the rootes vpwarde while they affirme that faith springeth aÌ„d is made good of workes And not the contrarye / even as a man wold saye / the frute bringeth furth and maketh good the tre / And not the contrarye O what madnes is this They wold make men beleve if they shuld longe continewe / that the mone is made of a grene chese lxxij Christ sayeth / I am the dore of the folde he that entereth not in by the dore but by some other waye is a thefe and murderare and regardeth not the shepe The Pope / yee and all the clargye for the most part enter not in by Christ / but they runne yn and are not called nor sent of Christ / One entereth by a bagge of monye / wherwith he byeth a fate benefyce A nother entereth by serviÌ„ge greate meÌ„ / coryinge favell A nother / by cause he is a greate maÌ„ borne / must be made a cardinal / or els a bysshope Some have â—ysons of abbayes other places / to speake a good worde for the to that kiÌ„ge or other great meÌ„ Some enter thorow their curious singinge / aÌ„d minyon dawnsinge / fewe or none for vertue and learninge lxxiij Christ sayeth I am a good shepard A good shepard geveth his lyffe for his shepe The Pope and Bisshopes saye also that they are good shepardes / how be it they pille and shere their shepe so nighe / that they leve not one loke of wolle on theyr backes And in all poyntes maye be likened vnto the shepardes that Zacharias prophesied of / which sayeth / I shall reyse vppe a sheparde in the erth / which shall not visite tho thinges that are for saken / and shal not seke that which is gone astraye / nother yet heale the discased / nor norysche and mayntayne that which stondeth / but soche a sheparde that shall norysh him silf and not the shepe and cryeth out of him sayinge O thou sheparde and idoll / thinke you that this sheparde will geve his lyffe for his
he painteth the popedom aÌ„d setteth it out with his colours to the vttermost pointe / for after that he had prophesyed that false masters shuld come which in covetuousnes with fained wordes shuld make marchaundise of the people of Christ / which shuld bringe in sectes of perdition And drawe many after them / EveÌ„ deniyng Christ that hath bought theÌ„ / theÌ„ doth he feare them with .iij. notable examples Of the Angelles Of the floude that was in the time of Noe. And of the Zodomites And he saieth that all these were / punisshed of god / for thexample of the weked which shuld come / theÌ„ he prosequutinge his matter as concerning these weked mastres doth saye Namlye theÌ„ that walle after the flessh in the lust of vnclennes / and despise the ruelars / Presumptuous are they stubborne / and fear not to speake evill of them that are in authorite / Peter speaketh not of them that do not obey Bisshoppes / but as he began of the weked mastres them silf / that is to say of Bisshopes / Cardinalles / the Pope / for these are they that this epistle speaketh of First who seyth not that the Popes secte above all other walketh after the flessh in the lust of vnclennes For sith they are forbidden matrimonye / and abounde in riches and idelnes / what shuld they do but walke after the flesshe They labour not / as other men do / therfore their iniquite springeth with their fatte / Nether canst thow assigne me any masters and ruelars of the people / which do thus / but onely the papistes The clarkes are dayly encreased / and matrimonye forbidde and both thorow the rule and authorite of the Pope and every man may perceave what profite comethe vnto the chirch by it / for alas where as by matrimonye manye women might be good and please god livinge chastlye / they are now compelled to be harlottes / aÌ„d that for .ij. causes the one is the misshevous entyesinge thorow giftes and fayre wordes that these venemous locustes vse The other is that their is soch scarsnes of clene men out of his orders that they are not sufficient to the hole nature of women So that if this shuld long continew it wold be the destruction of the hole world Besides that / they despise rulars / who doth so but the Popedome / and the secte of papistes What calleth he the ruelars and powers / but princes and worldly officers For the Bisshopes and successours of thapostles have not rueles and powers / but services and administration And are called the servantes of the Chirch of Christe as Paule sayeth in the first to the CollosyaÌ„s Colo. â— Is not this the dispisinge of powers and rueles / to exempte hiÌ„ silf by his awne authorite froÌ„ tribuetes / subiection / and all bourdens of the comen welth Paule commaundeth in the xiij to the Romaynes to geve tribute / custome and honour to them / â— Petri. ii that it is dewe to And Peter will that we be subiect vn to kiÌ„ges / and to all maner ordinaunces of man / how be it the Pope coÌ„trarye wisse doth exempte his awne person and possessions / yee and all his adherentes promulgatinge serse and cruell lawes / condemninge them noâ— to one hell that will heare the voice of Paule or Peter / and to bringe his shawelinges in to an order / requiringe and exactinge tribuete / honoure and their duetye And now is he so far from honouringe of these powers / that he will tell skorne to admitte them to kisse his holye feate forthermor he exalteth every prest and monke though they be as rude as stockes / and more weked theÌ„ any baude / above all the nobles and princes of the worlde / by cause he is marked with his worshupfull signe and character Crakinge in his most weked rydles and lawes / of maiorite and obedience That the Pope excelleth the emperour as the sonne doth the mone Insomoch that of those most wretched dregges of men / which are avaunced by the Popes mageste / the powers are despised / yee and compelled to honour those idolles of whom they ought to be honoured them silf And I praye you in what ruele and power raigne not these clowdes of abominable men It is a mervelous thinge how aptly Peter calleth them / ii Petri. ii presumptuous and stubborne for after they have obtained this that they them silf only are called spirituall / and all the other seculare and temporall as even now they abvse the wordes at their awne pleasure there is nothinge but they dare behold to take it apoÌ„ them vnder the name of this spirituall secte / forthermore if they have presumed to take any thinge on hand / how invincible / stiffe / aÌ„d harde harted they are / vntill they have prevailed so fare that they may with full authorite and with oute regarde blaspheme the gloryes and powers Doth not the pope being but a smalle worme of the erth how be it enflamed with the sprete of Sathan Curse / excommunicate / rebuke with all kindes of checkes the hyghest kinges and ruelars when he liste All though he was ordened onely to blesse theÌ„ Nether yet doth he that by cause the kinges resist the Gospell aÌ„d the faith But because they can not suffer and mayntayne the superfluous riches of these shavelinges and holy chirch of Rome with their most weked maners and intollerable tyraÌ„nye / or els that they resist the Popes vngodlines and iniquite And this meaneth the Apostle wheÌ„ he sayeth / they fear not to speake evill of theÌ„ that are in authorite ii Petri. ii Nether is the Popedom counted in the name of power and mageste Nether yet if it were so counted hath it suffered any soch thinge Sith that no power hether to hath prevailed against him But contrary he hath so prospered against the powers / that he may sporte and playe him not onely in the matters of inferior people / but also in the powers and magestes as is will lyeth / transposinge them Puttinge in and out / ad Chaungeinge them as often as he thinketh best Do not the storyes of the kingdomes / of Fraunce / Grece / germanye / Neapoles / Sicilye and soch other imperyes thus resufye Did not lâ—â— the tenth which of him silf was a good man beinge deceaved by the councels and examples of his adherentes Assaute with this tyrannye the dukedoÌ„s of Italye / which was expulsed from vrbine / and often beseaged Ferraria And the Cardinalles aÌ„d Busshopes do counterfete him full nobelye / for the Cardinalles are made superiores to kinges / Bisshopes to priÌ„ces O this most wretched kind of men / which is scante worthy to feade hogges / thus they honour the powers / thus they blesse the magestes / thus seake they other meÌ„nes profittes displeasing them silves / thus put they away presumptuous boldnes / and walke in the fear of God / woo be to
mischevouse ennimye of the chirch / this folissh hardye despisare of the fathers / this pestilent deceaver of the people And yet this is no nother but that Petre doth say / by whom the waye of trueth shal be blasphemed â—â— Petri. ij Wherfore Psalm ix For the way of their vanite is coÌ„mended / as the .ix. Psalme doth saye Bycause the weked is praysed in the desieres of his soull / and the vniust reioysinge in him silf hath blasphemed the lord How effectuously doth this chirch of the Pope ful fill this prophesye now adays / which also accomplisshith all thinges that were writeÌ„ in the prophetes / of sotle false / and lieinge prophetes / masters / shepardes / iustitiares / which have infinite other names And these shuld have the cheffe ruell and imperye towardes the ende of the worlde ii Petri. ii And thorow covetousnes shall they with fained wordes make marchandise of you This is so evidently done / by bullys / Pardones / Decrees / Prestes / and soch other / that this place neadith no glosse / what is now a dayes the office and administration of the hole clergye / But covetousnes And that with dissimulation Not only pretendinge a cloke of godlines / but also defiling by abvsion the holy and pure wordes of God / for they do all abvse these wordes / God / Christ the Sprete / the Chirch / Righteousnes / good workes and Merites For they do not applye theÌ„ to fayth / but to their awne actyoÌ„s / so that the people vnderstoÌ„dith theÌ„ fare otherwyse the the scripture meanith It is fained what so ever they preach / for they preache not faith / if they did preach faith / their sectes shuld sone decay and vanissh awaye In the meane ceasone they have deceaved the people / and brought them clene out of their mindes by their clokyd illusions / and despoile them of all their goodes and possessions And live them silf with full stuffed belies / idle / riche / mighty / full of honour / and verye gloriouse And yet the holy name of god must serve these monstres / for they must be called holy religious But let vs returne to Daniel / where we shall here moare of this abhominable kingdome / for this shall be sufficieÌ„t for a prohemye And truely he doth declare vs a mervelous and monstruous kingdome / which vtterly can be applied to none of the kingdomes that ever have bene in the world / nor shal be Bycawse that he prevailith with soch armure and strength / as hath not be hard of / goinge a boute new thiÌ„ges And trewly all that he doth are new aÌ„d mervelouse There shall stond a kinge mighty in faces ¶ Herome did traÌ„slate it / vnshamefacyd but the hebrew doth say mightye in faces A kinge shall stond / he meanyth not one parson but a hole kingdome / nother vnderstondith he a shorte ceason of that kingdome / But a great and longe succession of kinges / for Christ saith / Math. xxiiij when ye shall se abomination stonding in the holye place / that is to say / fixed / stablisshed / and streÌ„gthyde by many adherentes And Paule makith the sonne of perditioÌ„ not to goo / but to sytte in the temple of god Here is a mervelous power of this moÌ„struous kinge / which is mighty not with hornes / nother nayles / nother swerd / nor armure But with faces / fare vnlike all other kiÌ„ges Nother sayth he mighty with one face / but with many faces Wherfore this prophecye can not be applied to the Turke nother to any kingdome which is goten with strengthe and armure / for soch are figured by tethe / hornes and nailes Nother is it the kingdome of Christ / which clene with outen outward face coÌ„sistith in the sprete And figâ— the with a spirituall home / which is the word of god So that this kingdome shall nether bespirituall nother seculare / nother goten by any soch provideÌ„ce Wherwith theÌ„ â—rewly with faces / that is to say by outward clokinge / apperance / and poÌ„pe / to vse fewe wordes with superstitioÌ„s / customes ceremonies which are shewed ovtwardly In clothinge meates / persones / houses / behaveours / and soch life AmoÌ„ge all these faces apparences / superstitioÌ„ hpocrisye which is a cloke of godlines a face of religioÌ„ is most mighty acceptable / therfore it is most noysome / for the wordly faces and buetes / whether they be of maides / yonge meÌ„ / riches / freÌ„des / playes / or what so ever they are / do not so drawe / take / hold meÌ„ But these their ceremones / by cause they couÌ„terfet godly thiÌ„ges preteÌ„d ovtward tokins / of thinges everlastinge / they take deceave theÌ„ that are most wyse / holy mighty / yee somtime the verye chosen children of god There fore it is verye plaine evideÌ„t that this kinge shal be Antichrist / that is to say an adversarye to christ / his kiÌ„gdome / for Christ is a kiÌ„ge mighty in trueth / an extreme adversarye to faces clokes / as we se in the gospell And this kinge is mighty in faces / an extreme adversary of the trueth / therfore it is not with owt a greate cawse that the apostles Petre Paule / do so ofteÌ„ remeÌ„bre vs of this worde / trueth / feare vs froÌ„ the faces for so Paule did prophesye in the secoÌ„de pistle ji Timeth iii to Timothe expounding this place â—i Timoth. iij Men shall be lovers of their awne selves / it folowith haviÌ„ge a similitude of good liviÌ„ge / but have denied the power there of The firste face Now let vs coÌ„sider the kingdome of the Pope / and first the face of the persones / tel me yf thou caÌ„ what impery ever had soch and so many clene decte aÌ„d appareld felowes / first loke on the Pope him silf so proude and glorious with his iii. crownes / with his mervelouse pompe apparell / and noyse of his howsolde / then the Cardinalles with their pompe and riches / which are not fare be hind the other / for this most wretched kinde of meÌ„ makith him silf equalle with kinges After them consider / the Patriarchas / Primates Archbusshopes / suffragames / Provostes / Deanes / Canones / Vicares / Officialles / Scribes And who is able to numbre that sower sortes aÌ„d orderes of the religious And these are they in whom men boste that the state aÌ„d health of the chirch dothe consiste / here behold the most holye decrees of oure holy father the Pope and wherof they entreate / do they not all entreat of this to stablissh their awne profite and kingdome They say them self that they are so necessary that with out them the chirche caÌ„ not be rueled Neverthelesse Christ and his apostles did rule it with the trueth and that falwell Nother se I any profytte
interpreted / for he saith And the firste angell blewe / I sawe a starre fall frō hevē vn to the erth / to him was gevē the kaye of the bottōlesse pytte here will I sumwhate take myn awne minde expositiō It is evident that angelles thorow all the apocalipses do signifye the busshopes of the chirches as it apereth by the second and .iij. chapter / where it is writen to thāgell of Ephesus / to the angell of Smirna / to soch other Apoca. ij Now the other kinde of angelles that blowe the trompettes / which as it is shewed in ye. viij hath sevē heddes can be applied to none but to the Pope of Rome for it is not writen that any other do blowe trompettes / Apoca. viij for to blow a trompett as the agreinge of the place / and the textes folowinge do specifie can be nothinge els But to make decrees / which thing no man hath taken apon him at any time / but the Pope of Rome / Nother is it writen with out a great cause that they prepared them selves to blow for these only Popes have ever hade an impatient furye / ād vnquiett tyrannye / to make lawes and subdew other vnder them But let vs returne vnto oure fyfte Angell which is the first of the thre that shuld bring in .iij. wooes / apō the erth this is he which first did ordene and stablissh vniversites whom it is not easy for me to name / the stories do so differ and dissent But who so ever he was let him be the starre that fell frō heven to the erth / whether he were Alexander of hales / or els which I soner beleve sanct Thomas / Saint Thomas de aquino which after the vniversites approved and the trompett of this Angell other was the first / or els the greatist author to bringe in philosophye amonge the christē / beinge a subtyle ād very craftye disputer yee very Aristotel him silf into whom as in to the erth he fell from Christ in heven / grounding him silf apon the authorite of the most vngodly and weked Angell which did approve soch maner of studye / he toke the kaye of the bottomlesse pitte / and opened it / brought out vnto vs philosophye which a Collo ii litle before was deade and comdemned by the apostles / and from thense did assend the smoke of this pitte that is to say very wordes and opinions of Aristotle and other philosophers as it hade bene the smoke of a greate fornace / Apocalx◠for phylosophy so did prevaile that he made Aristotle equale with Christ as concerning authorite and faith / where with was darkened the bright sonne of righteousnes and trueth Christ / for in the stede of the faith were brought in morall vertues / and for the trueth infinite opinions the ayer / by the reason of the smoke of this pitte / that you myght vnderstond / that it was not an eclipse of the sone / but a darkenesse both of the sonne and of the ayre thorow the smoke that ascended from beneth / that is to say thorow mens traditions and learninge / Christ and his faith which are the ayre and sprete be oppressed and darkened And there came out of the smoke locustes vpon the erth Locustes This is the people of the vniversite which is rootide and brought vpe in philosophye and are called with a propre name locustes / By cause they folowe the Angell of the bottomlesse pitte / which is the Pope clene forsakinge their kinge Christe and flye on swarmes / as it is said in the .iij. of the Proverbes Prouer. iij And then they despoile / and burne vpe all that is grene / in that parte where they sitte so that the gramarians suppose that they are called locustes a loco vsto which signifieth a burned and wethered place So this people burneth and consumeth the hole grene springe of Christ / that is to say / the fructe of faith And to them is geven power / as the scorpions of the erth have power / that is to say to wond the conscience / for after that the grene and florisshinge frute of faith which healeth the cōcōscience is whethered and destroyed / the cōsciēce cānot but be hurte And it was said vnto them that they shuld not hurte the grasse of the erth nother all the grene nether all the trees / that is to say the chosen / for they shal not hurte all men Nother naturall locustes do hurte all grene / The seall of god but some certaine place / like wisse here / but only he saith those men which have not the seale in their forheddes / that is some grasse / and thē which have not faith which is the seale of God that we beare in a pure conscience and fre conversation And to thē was commavnded that they shuld not kille them / Morall philosophye but that they shuld be vexed .v. monthes And this as I suppose was spoken of morall philosophy / which syth it doth not teach the true knowlege of synne it doth not kille as the lawe of God doth / but only with vayne affections doth vexe and prike them ij Timo. iij Ever learninge never attayninge the knowlege of trueth / for they that are killed with the lawe are quickened againe with the everlastinge sprete / and are not vexed .v. monthes / that is to say thorow all the time of their sensuall lyffe / in the which morall vertues rule And we se all morall divines to have a parelous and weked conscience / full of scrupulosite / never quiet which nother cā attaine good nor evill Therfore it foloweth / and their paine was as the paine that cometh of a scorpione when he hath stonge a man / be hold the prikinge of the cōscience / he expoundeth that / which he spake of That they are not holsomly kild / nether quickened spiritually And in these dayes shall men seake death shall not find it / they shall desyre to deye death shall flye frō them / that is the death of sinne which raigneth is over quicke / stikinge in the cōscience / and yet is it not knowen to the pointe as it ought to be / for if it were well knowen it shulde sone perissh and deye But this is not the office of the Etikes of Aristotle / but of the lawe and sprete And the similitude of the locustes was like vnto horses prepared vnto batell / Batell ▪ that is of sotle disputations and brawlinge scole maters / which in an allegory are called batell for they are ready to dispute on this side and that / with it against it And on their heddes were as it were crownes / like vnto gold / they be / names and titles of degrees Oure noble master / humble and vnworthy professor of divinite ād so furthe And their faces were as they had bene the faces of
that are not counted for people All these sainges are sharpe and ferse against the covetousnes / wantannes / and vngodlines of Bisshopes and prestes / which are made folissh and carnall / and are wexed grosse / forsakinge to be the people of god Nother only for this cause doth he liken them to Balam / but also that they are cursed chldrē as he was / which geving councell to the Moabites / thorow the ydoll Beelphegor did greatly corrupt and destroy the Israelites Nume xxiiij Nume xxv And this hole storye here doth Peter applye vnto the bishoppes / which reysinge vp the idole of their awne doctrines traditions And havinge to do with the harelottes of the Madianites that is to saye with the delicious and voluptuous plesurs of this world begile vnstable soules / and besides the do speake evill as it is sayed before of the waye of trueth and glorye Evē as he went aboute / to curse the people of god Which loved the reward of vnrightewesnes ij Petri. ij But was rebuked of his iniquite / the tame dome beast speakinge with mānes voice forbade the folishnes of the prophete behold the covetousnes ād folishnes of bisshoppes which are geven so hedling to covetuousnes / that they are more insensible then brute bestes These are welles with out water by cause they have the shape and name of sheperdes with out the worke and office / as Zacharias in the .xi. sayeth O thow sheperd and idole And rackes caried aboute of a tēpest Rackes are like cloudes / but they geve no raine Even so these are caried vnder the title / and in the place of shepardes / and they teach nothinge / but rather are tossed thorow their wordly affections vnto every motion of sathās will To whom the mist of darkenes is reserved for ever / good lord / how fearfull are these thinges Who wold not feare to be counted among the numbre of these shave linges / against whom all these thinges are prophesied with a hole and full sprite ii Petri. ij For when they have sownded the swellinge wordes of vanite / they begile with wātannes thorow the lustes of the flessh them that were clene escaped It is mervell if this place do not chefly pertaine to vniversites and studyes of the canon lawe / for we se with what pride Antichrist soūdeth in everye place of his decrees / where he sayeth / we Commaund / bedding and Commaunding yow straytlye / and soch other proude wordes he hath / with the which he doth occupye all scholes So the Peter doth well call the not speakers / but sounders / for they are nothing but very voyces / the teachers of most vaine vanite / And yet with these infections they have entised seduced the more noble parte of the faithfull / which studcige this vaine trifelinge doctrine / applye folow their awne pleasure desires For who is in these uniuersites which studieth not for thērēt of luker glorye / or that afterward he maye live the more idellye yet will I not speake of that / how manye soules do perishe by the lascivious life / licēs of these vniuersites Breflye to cōclude The canō lawe causeth the people of Colleges scholes to be geven onely to vanite / ryot / wātānes / idelnes / pōpe pride And yet with an incredible noise the presumptuous pope with his Apostles doth bost cōmēd in his decrees / their state / riches / hypocrisye So that Peter maye truely call the cloke ād out ward face of godlines / religiō / cōninge wherewith this people is so greatlye bolne the swellinge wordes of vanite / for they are in very dede drenched destroyde in voluptuous pleasurs This sēce doth Iudas helpe sainge / whose mouthes speake proude thinges wōderinge at faces / Iude. j. having thē in reverēce be cause of avātage / here calleth he faces / the persones / clokes pōpes which we spake of before / for this kinge of faces / displayeth his noble titles / privileges / libertes and soch other ij Petri. ij And he doth verye well adioyne / Them that were clene escaped / but now are wropped in errours As I thinke thus it meaneth That what thinge so ever was clene delivered from synne thorow baptime and the word of god / after it had growen and encreased a certaine ceason was drowned and suppressed vnder their lawes and doctrines So that they are compelled to be wropped in errours all though thorow Christ they have escaped clene which is done while they runne hedelinge from faith in to ceremonyes / from the sprete in to persones / from grace in to workes / from the trueth in to cloked hypocrisye / and the hole pompe of faces / thorow the most weked decrees of their presumptuous vanite They promise them libertie and are themselves the bond servantes of corruption This doth both pertaine to pardons / and to all the deceatfull illusion by the which they commend their cloked faces and say they are good / Affirminge that who so ever walke in them / shuld be cownted to walke holelye and godly For so are the orders of prestes / monkes / and of the hole clargye avaunced / that they only are counted to be in the state of helth / and all other are reputed wordly and seculare / forthermore / they fell their labours / merites / and masses / And promise forgevnes of synnes How be it they are the bōd servantes of corruption / that is to saye they teach nothinge but vaine ād corruptible thinges ād that he thoucheth in the .ij. to the Collosyans sainge Col. ij which all perish with the vsinge of them / and are after the commaundmentes and doctrines of men And yet be cause they teach men to put confidence in them / thorow that are they the authores of eternall corruption and damnation How be it the tenor and concordance of the scripture doth so lye / that it compelleth vs to take and vnderstond the bonde scroantes of corruption / for them that are the subtectes of synne So that the sense is / syth they them selves with their weked hypocrisye and manifest vices do perishe then presume they to profite other and bringe them to helth cmmunicatinge vnto them their brotherheddes and pardons And it folowith For of whom so ever a man is overcō / vn to the same is he in bondage ij Petrij ij So we not here dayly / that the Pope though he be a mischevous and weked man doth presume to dispēce the merites of Christ of his saincres open hevē with his fayes to whō he wille And the hole multitude of this clergye folowe him So a weked mand chalengeth the treasure / of the chirch into his awne hand / And he him self being the bond servant of corruptiō goth abuote to delivere other ij Petri. ij Therfore Peter doth conclude that the chirch