to the left hand to goe after other Gods or to serue them which blessings most plentifully he hath poured on this Realme of England euer since our gracious Quéene put downe Idolatrie and Papistrie and set forth the Gospell and word of God And also here you may plainely perceiue and vnderstand the maruellous curses and plagues promised and threatned to them that will not obey the voyce of the Lord our God and kéepe his commaundementes and ordinaunces which plagues and cursses haue aboundantlye lyghted on those Countreys and Kingdomes that embrace and maintayne Idolatrous Papistrie reiecting the Gospell and persecuting the Professours thereof Which is a manifest argument that this Religion that we haue is the true Religion wherewith God is well pleased and your Papisticall doctrine is a false and wicked religion wherewith God is highlye displeased For as God did prosper and blesse the Iewes his people to whome Moyses pronounced the sayde blessings so long as they hearkened to his voyce and obeyed and followed his word and commaundements and as hys sayde plagues and cursses fell vpon them when they harkened not to the voyce of the Lord but committed Idotrie euen so euer since he hath and doeth blesse and prosper the professors and followers of his worde and poures his sayde plagues and cursses on them that despise his worde that are enimies to the Gospell and persecute the professors of the same Marke well and you shall sée that in all ages God guided protected and blessed the Kings and Rulers that clensed their Countreys of Idolatrie and that did set forth and obeyed his law What famous victories did he giue to Iosua the Duke and Captaine of the Israelites which obeyed God and harkened to his voyce to whom God spake as followeth Moyses my seruant is deade nowe therefore arise goe ouer this Iorden thou and all thy people vnto the lande whiche I giue them that is to the children of Israell euerye place that the sole of your foote shall treade vppon haue I giuen you as I sayd vnto Moyses from the Wildernesse this Libanon vnto the greate riuer Perath all the lande of the Hettites euen vnto the great Sea towarde the going downe of the Sunne shal be your coaste There shall not a man bee able to withstand thee all the dayes of thy life As I was with Moyses so will I be with thee I will not leaue thee nor forsake thee Be strong of a good courage for vnto this people shalt thou deuide the land for an inheritaunce which I sware vnto their Fathers to giue them onely be thou strong and of a most valiant courage that thou mayest obserue doe according to all the law which Moyses my seruant hath cōmaunded thee Thou shalt not turne awaye from it to the right hand nor to the lefte that thou mayest prosper whersoeuer thou goest let not this booke of the law depart out of thy mouth but meditate therein day night that thou mayest obserue and do according to all that is written therin for then shalt thou make thy way prosperous and then shalt thou haue good successe These were the wordes that God spake to Iosua Therfore marke y e promises of God to him if he follow do according to the law of God then his way shold be prosperous he should haue good successe none should withstand him al the dayes of his life God would be with him which in déede God performed wonderfully and kept promise with him for that he hearkned to y e voyce of the Lord and directed al his wayes according to the law of God For was not God with Iosua when miraculously he departed the water of Iorden and the children of Israel went drie ouer the same straight towardes Iericho did not God wonderfully deliuer Iericho to Iosua and his people when after the sounding of the Trumpettes the walles thereof fell downe through his power and so Iosua and all his people went into it and tooke the Citie and so they destroyed all the Idolatrous people the enimies of God that were in the same But sée howe sodainely the Lorde went from them and suffered the men of Ai to kill .xxxvj. of the Israelites and made the rest of thrée thousande of them fearefully to flée away bicause Achan in the spoyle of Iericho tooke that for a praye which the Lorde directly commaunded to the contrarie Thus you may easily perceiue that the harkening to the voyce of God following of his worde is the cause of good successe and victorie and the disobeying of his worde and following of their owne fansies was the cause of euil successe and ouerthrowe But God blessed Iosua still bicause he was not cōsenting to Achans fact who stoned him therfore to death for after y t the Lord made Iosua to vanquish and ouercome the fiue Kings of the Amorits in which conflict the Lord threw stones from heauen vpon his enimies and at Iosuas bydding the Sunne and Moone did stand still a whole day togither that he might haue time to ouercome his enimies These wonders did the Lord for his seruant Iosua and his people that harkened to his voyce and obeyed his worde Many other kings did Iosua ouercome through the strength of the Lord that fought for him and his people And when Iosua waxed olde then he called all Israel their elders their heades their Iudges and their officers before him giuing them then the same warning that Moyses and God gaue him to hearken to the voyce of the Lorde saying I am old and stricken in age also you haue séene all that the Lorde you God hath done vnto all these nations before you howe the Lorde hath fought for you Behold I haue diuided vnto you by lot these nations that remaine that as yet were not ouercome to bée an inheritaunce accordyng to your Tribes from Iorden with all the nations that I haue destroyed euen vnto the great sea Westward And the Lord your God shal expell them before you and cast them out of your sight And ye shall possesse their lande as the Lorde your God hath sayde vnto you Bée ye therefore of a valiant courage to obserue and doe all that is written in the Booke of the lawe of Moyses that ye turne not ther from to the right hande nor to the lefte c. But sticke faste vnto the Lorde your God as yée haue done vnto this daye for the Lorde hath cast out before you great nations and mightie and no man hath stande before your face hitherto One man of you shall chase a thousande for your Lorde your God hée fyghteth for you as he hath promysed you Take good héede therefore vnto your selues that yée loue the Lorde your GOD Else if yée goe backe c knowe yée for certayne that the Lorde your God will cast out no more of these nations from before you but they shall bée a snare and destruction to you and a whippe on your
submitted hymselfe vnder the Popes table Christe neuer taught the Pope that lesson to make the Citie of Venice frée and to bryng the Venetians from bondage to lybertie But you woulde fayne submitte your selues to the Pope and kisse hys foote to bryng this your famous Countrey from libertie to thraldome and your Countreymen from fréedome to be bondslaues King Alured once a worthye King in this Realme for the safegarde of his people and Countrey chaunged hymselfe from a King to a Minstrel and endaungered himselfe to goe among the Danes his enemies and played before them in their Campes whereby he perceyuing their negligence and weakenesse returned priuily to his armie then with a chosen company sodainely in the night he did set vpon the Danes and so slew a great number of them And will you then contrarie being subiectes liuing here in your own Countrey at pleasure safetie quiet wish or deuise wayes or meanes to bring in our enemies to spoyle your Prince hir louing people and Countrey Marke wel weigh aduisedly I beséeche you that when King Alured did thus daungerously hazard his life for hys Countrey then thys Realme was vexed and scourged with thrée maruellous plagues that is with their enemies the Danes wyth great mortalitie of men and with murraine of beasts but now when you séeke or wish for y e spoile and confusion of your Countrey God hath blessed vs with thrée special blessings that is with the pure preaching of y e Gospell with a great plentie of al things and a wonderfull peace such as this Realme had neuer so long before Consider therefore the good case that now we are in and y e euil case our auncesters haue bin in for this our Realme was gouerned once vnder diuerse Kings at one time but by the great policie worthinesse of our former Rulers as Mulmutius Dunwallo Aluredus K. Adelstane or rather by Gods power and prouidence this Realme was brought from the rule gouernment of seauen Kings at one time to one Monarch vnder the gouernment of one Prince but you if you myght haue your will or wishe would haue vs to loose our one most quiet and mercifull gouernour to bée ruled gouerned and to bée in bondage and slauerie vnder many tyrants Therefore I may iustly compare you to Uipers for as they are conceiued by the deuouring of their fathers and brought forth by the destruction of their mothers and at laste are destroyed themselues euen so you goe about as much as in you lyeth to deuoure your fathers that begot you to murther your mothers that did beare you to destroy your wiues that do loue you to bring your childrē to thraldome that obey you to burne your brethren that benefite you to suppresse your Prince that defendeth you to consume your Countreymen that should ayde you to spoyle your whole Countrey that doth nourish you which if you should bring to passe as God forbid then looke to haue the rewarde of Uipers your selues which is short life and destruction If you cannot sée the good case you are in I feare you shal féele the euill case you shall be in for you are like to a foolishe seruant that dwelleth with a good Maistresse who being gently reproued not sharply corrected for hir fault and therefore weary of hir welfare gets hir a shrewd husbande in al the hast who doth not only then lead a sorrowful life but also would be right wel content with the scrappes she was wonte with hir Maistresse to throw away and would be glad of simple clothes that before she disdayned so you being gouerned vnder a merciful Quéene and louing Mistresse not séeing your great plentie quietnesse and peace you haue by hir would faine chaunge hir for a cruel champion of the Popes whose traine woulde make you their slaues spoyle you of your substance rauish your wiues deflower your daughters and cause you to fight against your own friends murther you and treade you vnder their féet for if their maister the Pope hath trode vppon an Emperours necke do you thinke that his seruaunts wil sticke to trample on your backes and bellies And thus you are far worse to youre selues thoughe I haue proued you euil ynough to vs than the fonde mayde is to hir selfe for she for a good mystresse gets but an euil husband who may by law be compelled to vse hyr better but you for one moste milde and mercifull Maistresse woulde haue a thousande euill and cruell Maisters of whom you shal haue no redresse Now to auoyde all these mischiefes before mentioned cleaue vnto GOD and his worde cast off the Pope and his Lawes feare to haue Gods curses care not for the Popes curses for euer since the Pope hath curste vs the Lorde God hath blest vs with quietnesse plentie and peace and they that the Pope hath blessed it séemes that God hath cursed them with troubles wars scarcitie and many other euils for so the Prophet said I wil curse your blessings If our forefathers that estéemed the Popes blessings so greatly and dreaded his curses so much had thought that they should haue bin so happy and fared so wel as we haue with his curses and to be so troubled and molested haue such mischiefes as other haue daylye with his blessings they wold neuer haue obeyed him nor feared him so much they did Therefore séeing God doth blesse where the Pope doth cursse and also cursse where the Pope doeth blesse it is a very manifest thing that Gods lawe and the Popes lawe are contrarie and are not all one but contrary the one to the other and so if the one be true the other muste néedes be false But I trust you wil not say that the law or worde of God is false then you must néedes be compelled to say that the Popes lawe is false Now séeing it is so manifestly proued that the Popes lawe is false I hope you wil not be so wilfull and witlesse to forsake the true word of God follow still the false law wicked Religion of the Pope Consider I beséeche you how Christ became curssed to make you blessed and will you to be blessed of the Pope bée curssed of God and séeing Christe was curssed for our sakes to leade vs to heauen will you be curssed of God for the Popes sake that would bring vs to Hell Truely whosoeuer beléeueth that Iesus Christ by his death hath performed the whole law for vs as well as though we had kept it perfectly our selues and that our saluation is by and through him whosoeuer I say beléeue this faithfully and repent their sinnes vnfainedly without all doubt they are sure to be saued But whosoeuer thinke that they may merite heauen by their owne workes or hope to bée saued by some other meanes than by Christ as by Masses Trentals Dirges Popes pardons such trumperie which the Popes doctrine dooth teach you let all such be assured that they shall
shal ratifie and confirme al this that I haue saide forsomuche as it is grounded altogither on reason Pope Damasus saith Whatsoeuer wanteth Reason must of necessitie be rooted out Nowe by reason I haue proued you to be Englishe enimies the Pope to be euil and hys religion to be false and cleane contrarie to reason therfore by Pope Damasus owne iudgement you must néeds decay and perish the Pope muste néedes come to confusion and his vnreasonable religion be rooted out and pluckte vp by the rootes And thus Pope Damasus which could not erre as long as he said truth hath by his sentence confirmed that I before by reason haue proued And bycause you shal perceiue that of euil wil I slander not your Popes you shall sée manifestly by their liuings déedes and dealings what godly holy humble and chaste fathers they are that you so sticke to cleaue to folow obey estéeme beléeue and honor as you do and that you maye the better credite the rest that hereafter you shall reade of them therefore at the first beginning thereof you shall heare what the Pope himselfe saith of them Pope Adrian bad Cheregatus his Legate to say and confesse openly to al the Princes of Germany at Norenbergeâ— about the yere of our Lorde .1523 at their generall assembly there That the iniquitie of the people grewe from the Priestes and that nowe for the space of many yeares there haue bin greate and greeuous offences commited in Rome that al this plague and mischiefe hath flowed to all the inferior rulers of the Church euen from the highe Throne of the Popes Holynesse By these wordes tt séemeth that Pope Adrian whyche was not long since did thinke the Popes lyued not altogither so godly as Christ so holy as the Apostles nor so vertuously as many of the ancient Fathers Nay if al the iniquitie of the people grew from the Priests and that all the plagues and mischiefs then did flowe as a fountaine from the Pope to his Prelates and Priests then it séemes none were so euil and wicked as the Popes themselues And now for that many of you hold with the Popes and take them to be very holy therefore now many of you shall hear more of their doings thaÌ„ euer you did which by credible authors is written of theÌ„ yet not so muche as I could reueale of them wherefore I hope you wil set lesse by them than you doe and estéeme them as they are and no more than you ought to doe And trust Pope Adrian which cannot lye by his office as his Doctors affyrme in that hée hathe sayde briefly of the Popes and the rather if that that I write here more largely of them agrée with hys sayings For séeing you haue beléeued many Popes y t haue told you nothing but lyes then it is good reason you should beléeue this one Pope that herein hathe tolde you nothing but trueth And thinke this by the waye that neyther the Pope nor his Cardinals doe estéeme their owne religion so muche as they persuade you to do For truely I doe verily thinke that if the Pope mighte be like an Emperoure or a King and be as much honored estéemed and gette as muche gaine and riches by thâ—s our religion as he hathe and dothe by his owne Papisticall religion he woulde then refuse his and embrace ours For I beléeue verily that they doe regarde maintaine and defende their Papistrie rather for the great riches rule pompe and estimation that it makes them to haue than for any truth or goodnesse they knowe to be in it And nowe consider and marke the greate prerogatiue and power of the Popes and their holy liues and vertuous déedes Pope Clement in his yeare of Iubilie gaue such aucthoritie by his Buls of lead as Christ nor his Apostles did euer giue These are the words that follow What person or persons soeuer for deuotions sake shall take their peregrination to the holy Citie meaning Rome the same day when he setteth forth of his house he may choose vnto him what confessor or confessors he lysteth either in the way or elsewhere vnto the whiche Confessors we graunte by oure aucthoritie full power to absolue all cases Papall as fullye as if we were in our proper person there presâ—nt Item wee graunt that whosoeuer being truely confessed shal chance by the way to die hee shal be quitte and absolued of al his sinnes Moreouer wee commaunde the Aungelles of Paradise to take hys soule oute of hys bodye beeyng absolued and to carrye it into the glorye of Paradise and so forth And also in an other Bull he sayeth thus We wil that no paine of Hell shall touch hym graunting moreouer to all and singular person and persons signed with the holye Crosse power and authoritie to deliuer or release three or foure soules whom they liste themselues out of the paines of Purgatorie c Is not this a goodly large and friendly pardon think you yea it is suche a pardon as Christ neuer graunted neyther in nor out nor beside the yeare of Iubilie Christe neuer gaue suche aucthoritie to Saint Peter hys Apostle whiche was the first Pope as they saye as thys Pope Clement dydde giue to his dead Bulles of Lead It is not mentioned in all the Scriptures that Christe the righteous and liuely Lyon of the Tribe of Iuda didde thus muche as the Popes dead Bulles haue done This is suche a way to make Rome so ful of fooles that there wil be no roume for wise men Here we may sée that if one be confessed of a Priest and take but his iorney towardes Rome thoughe he dye by the waye and neuer come there the Aungels muste néedes by the Popes commaundement carrye his soule to Paradise if they wil doe so muche at his bidding and they shall bée frée from the paines of Hell Al the Scriptures I am sure haue not shewed vs such a way to come to Paradise and to auoyde the paines of hel as this Pope Clement hathe done He was a milde and a mercifull Pope I warrant him he hadde not his name for naught Thus the Pope hath set Christ to schoole for Christ saith Blessed are the poore in spirite for theirs is the kingdome of Heauen also he saith Blessed are they whiche suffer persecution for righteousnesse sake for theirs is the kingdome of Heauen nay sayeth Pope Clement I knowe an easier waye to Heauen and to escape the fire of Hell than that for whosoeuer goeth to Rome or else dyeth in his iourney going thyther being confessed of a Priest he shall be absolued from all his sins and the Angels shal cary his soule straight to Paradise and no paine of Hell shal touch him Indéede this is a verie easye waye to Paradise and to escape the fire of Hell if we maye beléeue the Pope especiallye when he telleth a lye I maruaile that neyther Moyses the Prophetes Christe himselfe nor his Apostles did reueale this
doo sinne against the holy Ghost whereby to feare you that you should not accuse him nor to thinke hée doth euill whatsoeuer hée dooth it is he it is he rather that sinnes against the holie Ghost that committes such wilfull blasphemie and so wittingly contrarie to his owne Conscience takes vpō him to be Christ and robs Christ of his due honour and glorie who knowes most certenlye that he is neyther Christ nor that the sayde Scriptures were meant of him nor can be by any meanes rightly applied to him And so vnlesse the former Popes whiche besides this great blasphemie were euill and wicked enough as before is manyfest haue repented and the Pope and hys Prelates that are nowe doo repent this their most horrible blasphemie whiche they cannot choose but knowe and commit thus willinglye and wittinglye surelye they shall neuer be forgiuen neyther in this worlde nor in the worlde to come For I beléeue it is the very sinne against the holy Ghost And if all this cannot persuade you that these monstrous and execrable Popes are the Seruauntes of Sathan the Deuils deputies and the very Antichrist and the Antichrist that the Scriptures meaneth off you shall haue here other Authors more credible than my selfe that shall so plainely describe the Pope to be the very Antichriste that you cannot choose but so to take hym vnlesse you be vtterly bent not to yéelde vnto the truth or to saye with the foolish Poet Non persuadebis etiam si persuaseris Though you persuade me I will not be persuaded But yet before we come to that marke what prerogatiue the Pope claymeth whereby you shall the better perceiue that he is the very Antichriste The Pope is aboue all generall Counsels That his bare worde muste be holden as a Lawe That whatsoeuer he do none may say vnto him why do you thus That his iudgementes are more certaine than the iudgementes of all the worlde That if all the whole worlde giue sentence in anye matter contrary to the Popes pleasure yet it seemeth wee are bounde to stande to the iudgement of the Pope And whatsoeuer he sayth or doth being Pope he cannot erre Yet Pope Pius the seconde before he was Pope sayde That the Counsel is aboue the Pope but after when he was Pope being better instructed I see sayde he beefore I was muche deceiued now the Pope is aboue the Counsel Thus eyther the Popes are lyars or else lyars are made Popes The Popes Canonists say That the Pope may dispence against the lawe of God The Pope maye dispence againste the Lawe of Nature The Pope may dispence against Saint Paule the Apostle The Pope maye dispence againste the newe Testament The Pope maye dispence wyth all the Commaundementes bothe of the olde and also of the new Testament If the Pope can doe all this then he may putte Christe out of al his aucthoritie then hée maye cursse the mercifull and blesse the cruel tyraunte then hée maye damne them that be saued and saue the damned And then GOD helpe the poore Protestantes for they are lyke to goe to Hel and all the Papistes are like to goe to Heauen And if Christe and the Aungels be no Papistes he wyll goe neare to thruste them al out of Heauen and sende them to Hel. Who would thinke or beléeue that these proude Popes woulde suffer them selues to be called God or that any would be so beastly or wicked to call them so The Popes Canonistes haue moued questions whether the Pope bée God or not and one saide thus presentlye before his face in the Counsell of Laterane without rebuke Thou arte another God in the Earth And the Popes Godhead is published abroade to the whole worlde in printed Bookes Our Lorde God the Pope If our Bibles or other Bookes contained such blasphemy and heresie as these your Popes Bookes doo they were then well worthy to be burned but the Pope neither punisheth these blasphemers nor yet burnes their Bookes as he burneth the Bible and worde of God And wheras Saint Augustine writeth Who dare to say thus to God the Popes Canonistes haue bettered it in this sorte Who dareth to say thus to God or to the Pope Marie I say Scaira that tooke the Pope prisoner made him to ride with his face towardes the Horse tayle and had like to haue famished him in prison durst saye so to the Pope although he durst not say so to God The Pope also hearde these wordes spoken before his face In the Pope is all maner of power aboue all powers as well of Heauen as of Earth What power is this but euen the very power of God thus you may plainely perceyue that the Pope is contented to be called a God of the earth The Pope is Lord God The Pope hath al power aboue all powers either in Heauen or in earth And as Zabarella sayth the Pope doeth whatsoeuer hée lysteth yea although it be vnlawfull and is more than GOD. What would you haue more this is enough I think it is more than euer his Father had before him vnlesse he were a Popes son if they had al this power which none hath or can haue but God as they would make fooles dawcocks beleue they haue why did popes then suffer them selues to be poysoned famished killed haue their eyes put out who is so blinde but may plainely sée that the Popes are horrible and wicked the children of Sathan and make men beléeue that they are farre more and greater than they are Abbat Panormitan saith out of Hostiensis Christus Papa faciunt vnum consistorium excepto peccato potest Papa quasi omnia facere quae potest Deus Christ and the Pope make one Consistorie and Sinne excepted the Pope in a manner can doe al things that God can doe Woulde you haue thought that eyther any woulde haue written thus of the Pope or that the Pope woulde take thys vppon him or suffer anye eyther to write or saye thus I thinke that none of you doe beléeue that the Pope can doe as God can doe for I am sure that God can and will burne all the worlde at once yea and that quickly whiche I am sure the Pope can not do for if he could then al they that professe Gods word should be burned ere to morrowe nay within this houre besides he would do then many other things that he can neuer doe but thoughe the Pope cannot doe whatsoeuer God can doe yet I will helpe hym a lyttle he can doe more than God can doe for hée can blaspheme God he can lye he can hate them that loue him he can hurte them that neuer offended him hée can be vnmercifull he can breake his promise hée can saye that hée can doe more than hée can doe hée can bée a false Harlot hée can bée the chylde of the Dyuel he can bée Antichriste and he can aduaunce himselfe higher than he ought to be al whych God
can not doe For thoughe God be called Omnipotens Almightie yet he is not Almightie bycause he can do al thinges but bycause he can doe all that he will or woulde doe whych the Pope can not do for all he taketh himselfe to bée a God for if he could this our realme of England shoulde not haue béene so long in quyet as it hathe béene And if Christe and the Pope make or haue one Consistorie or Iudgement seate then hereby the Pope maye be copercioner and fellow Iudge with Christe at the daye of Iudgement and iudge both the quicke and the deade But if then the Pope shoulde be so contraâ—ie to Christe and so muche hys enimie as he is here the controuersies of all matters and crimes from the beginning of the Worlde will not be determined and iudged in one daye For one daye woulde be little ynoughe to trye whiche of them shal sitte the vppermost for if he be ther then as haughtie and proud as hée is and hathe bene héere he will scarcelye suffer Christe to sitte aboue him for he that hathe sitâ—e aboue Emperours and kings and hathe made the Emperours necke his foote stoole wil be loath I beléeue to sit beneath Christ that was so poore as he was Nay if his power be aboue all the powers in Heauen and in earth as is before declared you shall sée that the Pope will goe neare to thrust Christ besides his seate and sitte there alone and be Iudge and al himselfe And if the authoritie of the Romaine Churche and the Pope is more than Gods worde as Siluester Prierias doeth write Then when Christ shal sit in iudgemente at the laste daye and hathe seuered the Shéepe from the Goates and bidde the blessed Shéepe to come into the kingdome of heauen and sente the curssed Goates into Hell the Pope maye come in then by hys aucthoritie and say to Christ by your leaue sirra a little séeing you haue giuen iudgement by your lawe I will nowe giue definitiue sentence by my lawe whiche is more than Gods worde And then the Pope maye say Come backe againe yée curssed that Christ bad to go to Hell and looke that yée go into Heauen for I haue appointed it for you to dwell in and you blessed that Christe hath willed to goe into Heauen come backe againe or I wil fetche you and sée that you goe into Hell for that is the place that I haue appointed for you to dwell in And thus maye the Pope by his aucthoritie whiche is more than Gods worde as Prierias sayeth controll and vndoe all Christes doings and sende the godly to Hel and the wicked to Heauen and he himselfe to be in Heauen like a God that liued on the earth like a Diuel What Hel-houndes are these that would make vs beléeue that the Popes power and aucthoritie is more than the word of God But if the Pope in a maner can do whatsoeuer God can doe or if he haue all power giuen hym in Heauen and in Earth as he sayeth then why did Pope Boniface the eight suffer Scaira wyth his souldiours to set fire on the gates of his pallaice and to breake downe the dores and windowes where he was in Aruagium and to enter vpon him and to rifle him of all his goods iewels and Treasure which was suche a deale as Christe and all hys Apostles neuer had And why then did he suffer them to sette him on a wilde and vnbroken colte with his face towardes the horsse tayle and the colte to runne vp and down with him vntil he was almost breathlesse and why did he suffer himselfe to be imprisoned by the sayde Scaira thrée dayes and to be almoste famished for meate thys holye Father that coulde commaunde the Angels to carry mens soules to Heauen I maruell that he did not commande them to come out of Heauen to deliuer him out of prison and out of his enimies handes But be bolde he woulde haue done it if he coulde haue done it And therefore you maye perceiue that he promiseth you more by hys Pardons than he is able to performe for if the Pope hath suche power to pardon you and to forgiue you your sinnes and to sende your soules by Aungels to Heauen then the Pope woulde haue helped himselfe out of prison and thraldome Therefore you maye sée if you wil sée that he tels you that he can doe a greate deale more than he can do for if he coulde deliuer mens soules from Hel he were able to deliuer his owne bodye out of prison And iâ— he be able to bring other mens soules from Earthe vnto heauen where he was neuer then he were as able to bring his own body out of prison to his own house where he hath bin And thoughe the Pope hathe suche greate and high aucthoritie as he hath he claimeth it not but by the aucthoritie of the Scriptures or by excellente and learned argumentes As thus the Sun is higher and greater than the Moone therefore Pope Innocentius sayeth that the Pope is greâ—er and higher than the Emperour this is that holy and méeke Pope that sayde that either he woulde lose his Mitre or else he woulde pul the Emperours Crown from his head Maister Harding to excuse the Pope withal said This is not a reason but a similitude To whom Maister Iewel the Bishop of Salisburie aunswereth as followeth This thing may easilye be graunted for in deede it is a similitude vtterly voyde of either Witte or Reason But who taughte the Pope so childishlye to playe with similitudes thereby to aduaunce himselfe and to abase the Emperour of the Worlde who tolde him that the Pope is the Sunne and the Emperour the Moone or that the Emperour is so farre inferior to the Pope as the Moone is inferior to the Sunne Isodorus that liued 600. yeares before Pope Innocentius the third sayth quite contrarie By the Sunne saith he we vnderstande the kingdome and by the Moone wee vnderstande the Priesthoode whereby he giueth vs to vnderstand contrarie to the iudgement of Pope Innocentius that as the Moone is inferior to the Sun so is the Pope inferior to the Emperour And here is another excellent argumente to proue the Popes aucthoritie both of the Spiritualtie and Temporaltie Peter sayde to Christe Lo heere are twoo swords Therefore Pope Boniface sayeth that the Pope hathe power both of the Spiritual Sworde and of the Temporall Sword Uery wel gest Maister Pope euen so one may say that by as good aucthoritie Lo here are two daggers And then a straunger to him that hath the Daggers may starte straighte-way in and say Marry therefore I oughte to be Lord Chauncelor of England and the Archebishoppe of Canterburie The Pope can lacke no power if suche conclusions may serue his turne Marke what a trimme exposition one of the Popes pâ—n men to maintaine the Pope in his Godhead hathe made vpon a verse of the eighte Psalme attributing
yea and thou shalt accuse thy father and mother if they professe the Gospell to the holy inquisitors of the church of Rome that they may be burned for Heretikes if thou be an Emperors son or a Kings son thou shalt rise against thy father and put him downe place thy selfe in his roume as Henry the Emperour was serued by his son if he loue embrace the Gospell and do any thing against the Popes wil and pleasure And whereas God saith Thou shalt do no murther now the iudgement of the Church of Rome is chaunged therfore God hath likewise chaunged his iudgement so that thys commaundement must now be turned thus quite contrary Thou shalt murther kil and burne thy brother mother father sister or else any other whatsoeuer he be if he professe the Gospel and followe Christes lawe And whereas God saith Thou shalt not commit adultry nowe the iudgement of the Pope and the Churche of Rome is chaunged and therfore Gods iudgement is chaunged so that this lawe by the iudgement of the Churche of Rome must now be thus Thou shalt not marry but thou maiest haue a Concubine or a Harlot to commit aduoutrie or fornication withal and thou shalt haue a licence for money of the Pope to doe so and so he shall allowe thée to commit aduoutrie or to playe the whoremonger or Harlot but take héede thou marry not according to the law of God for then thou shalte loose all thy lyuing thou shalte be taken for an heretike and the Pope wil not dispence with thée therfore And wheras God saith Thou shalt not steale now y e iudgement of y e Popes church is changed so Gods iudgement is changed therefore this law must now be after this sort thou shalt steale and rob God of his glorie thou shalt giue the glorie that is due to God vnto his Saints nay vnto stockes and stones yea and if thou chaunce to steale anye mans good care not for the Pope shal pardon thée therfore for the Pope by his power is able to dispence with all the lawes both of y e olde Testament of the new Testament And whereas God said Thou shalte not beare false witnesse against thy neighbour nowe forasmuch as the iudgement of the Romishe Church is changed the iudgement of God is changed therfore this lawe muste be turned an other way and thus it muste be taken thou shalt beare false witnesse against God his word say there is no saluation without the Church of Rome and that the death of Christ is not a sufficiēt sacrifice for our sins if thou chance to bear false witnes against one that professes the gospel thou shalt be heard the Pope shal giue thée his blessing for it thou shalte haue no harme therfore And if thou chance to beare false witnes against any for a little mony thou shalt haue y e Popes pardon for it therfore beare false witnesse and spare not for y e pope the holy church of Rome do giue thée leaue And whereas God sayd Thou shalt not couet thy neighbours house thou shalte not couet thy neighbours wife nor his seruant nor his maide nor his Oxe nor his Asse nor anye thing that is his Now this is not Gods commaundement bycause the Churche of Rome doth not allowe it and Gods iudgement is therein changed bycause the Church of Rome hath now chaunged hir iudgement therfore you must turne this lawe vpside downe take it thus thou maist be bolde to couet any thing that is thy neighbors for if thou steale anye thing from hym or take it by vyolence or take thy neighbors wife or his maid lye w t them or lye with thine owne sister and marry hir the Pope wil dispence with thée and pardon thée for money as Pope Martin didde dispence with one that marryed his owne sister Thus this vile and viperous generation haue by their authoritie whiche they say is aboue the Scriptures allowing the scriptures whatsoeuer they list and taking from the same what they thinke good haue turned cleane contrary the commaundements of God into the commaundementes of the Pope whiche you maye plainelye perceiue by their doings and dispensations before mentioned to be the very doctrine of the Diuel And further this Carnal Cardinal sayeth Scripturae ad tempus adaptantur c. Scriptures are applyed to the states of diuerse times so are taken in diuerse senses so that at one time they are expounded according to the current order of the Church but the order being chaunged the sense of the Scripture is likewise changed Howsoeuer they would haue the Scriptures to be chaunged in their meaning the wicked Pope and his presumptuous Prelates are chaunged from al goodnes and truth both in their sayings liuings for according to the time they make the Scriptures and the Gospel of Christ agrée with their doings but they wil not frame their liuings to make thē agrée w t y e scriptures And bycause the Popes conditions and the iudgemente of the Church of Rome is chaunged therefore the meaning and sense of the Scriptures must be chaunged as is before sayde For whereas Christ sayd Blessed are the mercifull for theirs is the kingdome of heauen nowe the meanyng and sense therof ought to be chaunged quite contrarie and say thus blessed are the vnmerciful for theirs is the kingdome of Heauen or else thus vnhappye are the merciful for theirs is the kingdome of Hell And whereas Christe sayde Blessed are the peace makers for they shall bee called the children of God Now according to the time the sense of the Scripture is chaunged bicause the iudgement of the Church of Rome is chaunged and therefore not to be expounded as it was in Christs time So that now it ought to be turned thus Blessed are the peace breakers and they that set men togither by the eares as the Pope doeth and blessed are the rebels that fighte againste their Prince and Country in the Popes quarrel for they shal be called the children of god and the Pope wil giue them the kingdome of heauen And wheras Christ sayth Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good workes and glorify your Father in heauen Now the meaning thereof is chaunged according to the time therfore now it is thus let not your light shine before men but worke the déedes of darknesse wherby you may please the Diuel your Father And wheras Christ saith Whosoeuer puts away his wife except it be for fornication and marryeth with another cōmitteth aduoutry now for as much as the iudgement of y e Church of Rome is chaunged therfore according to y e time y e meaning of this saying must be changed therfore vnderstand it now thus what Priest soeuer kéepeth his wife and puts hir not away from him though she be neuer so honest shal be coūted
for an Heretike shal be excommunicated lose al his spiritual liuing But if he shal kéep cōcubines Harlots he shal be a Catholike mā of a good religiō and kéepe al his liuings stil. Thus may y e pretious Pope the holy Church of Rome turne tosse the words meaning of Christ how they list but though they allowe and do these things yet therfore we must not think they ar good or to be liked but to be abhorred detested And I beléeue y t manye wil not allow their wicked laws and writings therein But now if y e Scriptures may haue sūdry senses at sūdry times may haue one mening at one time another mening at another time if this be so y t the Pope may chāge the senses of Christs Gospel for his pleasure thē why may not Christ change the meaning of his own Gospel for hys own pleasure therfore looke by what places of y e scripturs Peter his successors wer made Popes of Rome Christ may change the senses meaning of thē clean contrary therby vnpope them again For wheras Christ said Super han◠Petrā id est super ecclesiā Romanā edificabo ecclesiā meā which is Vpon this rocke that is to say vpō the Church of Rome I wil build my Church now Christ I thinke hath altered y e meaning sense of y e saying bicause y e order of the Church of Rome is changed therfore now to be vnderstāded thus vpon this rock being y e Church of Rome y e church of y e diuel shal be builded And wheras Christ said to Peter the first Pope as they say Whatsoeuer thou binds in Earth shall be bound in heauē now y e sense of y e scripture is changed the meaning therof is now thus whatsoeur y u binds in earth it shal be bound in Hel loke whose sins yée forgiue they shal not be forgiuen whō soeuer y u blesse in earth shal be curst in Hel whō soeuer y u curse on erth shal be blessed in heauē And wheras y e Pope sayes y t the meaning of Christ was y t the Popes being Peters successors should haue the keys which he gaue to Peter to open the gates of heauen to let vs in to it now I beleue y e same words of Christ haue another mening according to y e time chāging of y e Popes maners which are now quite contrarie to S. Peters conditions y t the keys now which the Pope hath shal shut men out of heauen open the gates of Hel let the Pope his Papistical Prelats into it thus the Pope by his chāging the sense of y e scriptures to serue for times hath made a very fair market for therby he is nether Pope nor Christs Uickar so he may binde in hel if he wil but he can binde nothing in heauen also therby he hath lost the keys of y e kingdome of Heauen hath in stead therof gotten y e keys of y e dungeō of Hel. For if y e Pope hath any spiritual keys at al as he sayth he hath by y e place of Scripture then the meaning therof is surely changed according to the time as Cusanus saieth so the Popes keys are not the keys of the kingdome of heauen but of the doleful dungeon of Hel. But though Hosius this Cusanus with other such like doth extol the Church of Rome sayth the authoritie theris aboue the scriptures that the meaning of y e scriptures are vncertain changes as the iudgement of the church of Rome changes y t nothing is takē for Christs cōmandemēt vnlesse the Church of Rome doth allow it Ther is no wise man wil beléeue them vnlesse they bring better authorities therfore thē their own bare words in y e mean space let vs giue credite to S. Aug. which was as godly a man as vertuous a mā as wel lerned a mā one y t knew what authority y e church of Rome ought to haue as wel as they who saith thus Cedamus cōsētiamus c Let vs yeld saith he consent to the holy Scriptures which can neither deceiue nor be deceiued He names not here the Churche of Rome nor sayeth that it hathe aucthority aboue the Scriptures nor yet sayth that the Scripturs haue sometimes one meaning and sometimes another and that the sense doth alter or chaunge but he bids both the Church of Rome and al other Churches whatsoeuer to yéeld and cōsent to the scripture which as he saith can neither deceiue nor be deceiued Truely if your Church of Rome had had any such aucthoritie aboue the scriptures as y e Popes proctors wold make vs beléeue then Irenaeus S. Ierome S. Augustine Tertullian Chrisost. other learned writers would haue writtē something of it nay if they had done so y e Popes doctors would haue brought thē forth for the better credite of their cause But bicause they write directly against thē as is before mētioned therefore they let thē alone Now if the scriptures according to Saint Au. can neither deceiue nor be deceiued then the Church of Rome which is inferior to the scripturs ought to giue place to y e Gospel being cleane contrary to the scripturs may deceiue vs therfore may erre ly as she cā do none other as before is very manifest but though these y e Popes prelates wold make vs beléeue y t ther were no certainty in the scriptures and y t the Gospell is vncertain the meaning therof chaunges according to y e times which is a moste diuellish doctrine yet I will approue that there is neyther certainetye trueth nor godlinesse in the Popes lawes nor in the Church of Rome Platina sayth that the Popes y t follow do euermore eyther breake or wholye abrogate the decrées of the Popes that were before now séeing there is such vncertaintie in the Popes lawes decrées are not we worthye to beléeue and credite the same Looke what lawes God did sende vnto vs by Iesus Christ his sonne which is the Gospel he neuer disanulled them nor did deliuer vs anye other since nor neuer wil his doings and iudgements are so certaine true infallible and therfore Gods law his holy gospel is so right true perfect infallible that al other doctrines ought to be iudged and tryed by it Therfore if you be the children of God you wil credite no doctrine be it neuer so auncient and séeme it neuer so glorious nor so holye no further than it doeth agrée with the Scriptures and the worde of God Therefore beléeue not the Church of Rome whose Doctours doctrine are so diuellish as before is well proued and as hereafter shal be more manifested Therefore marke well a little more of this doctrine of your church of Rome which if you be
his cardes neuer so cunningly yet if a wise man haue him in handling his own tale will trippe him and trye him a théefe yea thoughe before he were thought to bée a true man For assure your selues that trueth will abyde all tryalles Veritas non querit angulos trueth seeketh no corners and trueth as is before said feareth nothing but least she should be hid And trueth doth most triumph when she cōmes to tryall And nowe for that your Romish doctrine refuseth triall that argues that it is not true For if your Papisticall doctrine bée so true so perfect and so pretious as you saye it is and our doctrine so false so wicked and so hereticall as you blase abroade then why doe you not confounde it rather wyth persuadyng than wyth punishing by disputing than by destroying by learning than with murthethering by preaching than by presecuting and by writing than with burning Thoughe I haue written this to wynne you and for your instruction yet I feare some of you therefore wyll wyshe my destruction And thoughe some of you doe barke against it as I thinke you will yet I am moste sure that none of you can disproue or confounde it for that the foundation whereon it is builded is truth which no storme can shake nor tempest can ouerthrowe Marrie if you had our power ioyned to your crueltie you woulde confute it and the writer thereof quickelye if burning and kylling maye bée called a confuting But if you shoulde so doe I muste bée content the seruaunte ought not to grutche to followe his Maister but this I wyll tell you by the waye the greatest friende I haue in the worlde coulde doe mée no suche pleasure as you shoulde doe mée thereby if the sendyng of one to heauen bée a pleasure for Christ sayeth whose wordes I beléeue Blessed are they which suffer persecution for righteousnesse sake for theirs is the kingdome of Heauen Therefore if by your burning and kylling of mée you shoulde send me to Heauen then surely in my iudgement you coulde doe mée no greater pleasure And contrarie all the enemies you haue in the world could doe you no greater displeasure than you thereby should doe to your selues if going to hell be a displeasure for if they be blessed that are thus persecuted and shall enioy the kingdome of Heauen then their persecutors must néedes be cursed and vnhappie for theirs is the kingdome of hell And so by sending me to Heauen you shoulde sende your selues to hell vnlesse you repent but it is a more common thing to the persecutors of the Gospell as before you may sée if you will sée to die desperately than repentantly Wherefore let their dreadfull and desperate deathes driue you from the Popes persecuting Religion hoping that these terrible and fearefull examples of Gods heauie wrath powred on the persecuting and reuolting Papistes if they were fewer are ynowe to such of you as are ignorantly ledde in Papistrie and that will open your eyes to sée but I feare they are too fewe for such of you as are obstinately wilfully and purposely bent to continue in the same and that wyll winke for the nonce bycause you will not sée But marke this wel I beséeche you which of you if you did sée a man goe before you and fall on a slipperie ground where he may rise or be helped vppe againe woulde not shunne that place and séeke an other safer waye Nowe if you will shunne with one example a slipperie place for feare of a fall where you maye ryse or bée helped vp againe wyll you then runne wylfully hauing so manye examples and warnings into the dolefull and horrible pitte of Hell where you can neuer get out againe by any meanes thousandes haue shunned hell with a great deale lesse warning and will you fall into hell for all this great warning Though you féele not the tormentes of the saide persecutors and dead desperate Papistes yet if you doe and die as they died you shall féele as they féele But perhaps you thinke bycause you taste no smarte that they féele no sorrowe Be not incredulous and thinke not that your neighbours house is not burned bicause your house is safe and vnburned And be not lyke fooles that will not beléeue that fire hath burned their neighbours house before they themselues haue set fire on their owne houses and vntill they sée them burned and consumed before their faces It is not your harme to take héede by other but it would be your harme for other to take héede by you Therfore yéelde willingly vnto Christe and to his Gospell in time least you yéelde to Christ and his Gospell as the said desperate Papistes did agaynst their willes out of time And embrace Gods mercie whiles it is offered in tyme least it be denied you when you would haue it out of time And beware by the sayd desperate Papistes that are dead but let not them beware by you that are aliue The sayde Papists of your religion that died so horribly dolefully and desperately would giue all the world if they had it to giue to be but one howre in your place that they might repent then how happie are you that are here where you maye turne to the Gospell without giuing anything and where you haue many houres to recant and repent Therefore take héede in any wise that you come not into their place where you can not repent or else cannot haue mercie though you repent neuer somuch Detest and abhorre Papistrie with repentaunce leaste you detest and abhorre it as the other before mentioned haue done without repentance And refuse not Christes Gospell in this lyfe least Christ refuse you after your death And as we haue one God our heauenly father so let vs obey him as his moste louing children as wée haue one Christe that hath redéemed vs moste déerely so let vs embrace his Gospell that teacheth vs his will most truely as we haue a Noble and mercifull Quéene that gouerneth vs most prudently so let vs obey hir and loue hir as true subiectes most faithfully As we were all borne in this famous Iland of England so let vs loue one another to the strengthning of England As we are or haue bene nourished in this Realme of England so set vs all séeke the com̄oditie quietnesse of England And as you haue followed Papistrie the Popes wicked doctrine which hath made you enimies to England so now I most earnestly beséech you professe and followe the holy Gospel Christes doctrine which wil make you true friendes to England I thinke I haue written to much to many of you sufficient to some of you and to litle to a great sort of you But if any of you be so obstinate so wilfull that neither Gods word can winne you nor the learned godly writers can withdrawe you nor my reasons can persuade you nor my arguments will allure you nor the exāples I haue brought can moue you nor the pacient