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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A68023	A briefe examination for the tyme, of a certaine declaration, lately put in print in the name and defence of certaine ministers in London, refusyng to weare the apparell prescribed by the lawes and orders of the realme In the ende is reported, the iudgement of two notable learned fathers, M. doctour Bucer, and M. doctour Martir ... translated out of the originals, written by theyr owne handes, purposely debatyng this controuersie.	Parker, Matthew, 1504-1575.; Bucer, Martin, 1491-1551.; Vermigli, Pietro Martire, 1499-1562.; Hooper, John, d. 1555.	1566 (1566)	STC 10387; ESTC S101661	56,521	86

second foundation of your reasons is that these diuersities of vestures were inuented of Antichrist therefore we ought not only to forsake the Pope but all his inuentions Besydes this ye woulde haue all maner of difference of vestures and apparell of Ministers to be taken away Wherefore seyng these two be the chiefe strength of your argumentes I wyll fyrst intreate of them Afterwarde I wyll adde what soeuer it be yf I can call to my remembraunce any other thyng brought in of you to confirme your opinion In Moses lawe or Priesthood after Aarons order there were sacramentes with the whiche it pleased God to confirme as I myght say by puttyng his seale to them the promises made of Chryst commyng I knowledge do graunt that all these thynges be abrogated neuer to be brought in agayne for we beleue that Christ is alredye come and not that he wyll come And we haue other seales in Scripture delyuered to vs of Chryste hym selfe in the Gospell bread wyne and water therfore we neede not call agayne signes for this purpose vsed in the olde Testament There were also in that lawe other signes actions so ordeyned that they could not be properly called Sacramentes and yet they had some respect to comelynesse to order and to some commoditie And these I iudge may be restored retayned as thinges agreeyng to the lyght of nature and inducyng to some profitable vse Who doth not see that the Apostles to the intent they that beleued myght lyue more peaceably and quietlye dyd commaunde the Gentyles to abstayne from bloud and strangled And yet these thynges without all doubt were fetched frō the order of Aaron if ye wyl comprehend generallye all thynges whiche was in the olde lawe And there is none of vs ignoraunt but that the tenthes was fetched from thence which now in our dayes be appoynted to fynde the Ministers of the Church thorowout Christendome You can not wel proue by the Scriptures of the new Testament that Psalmes and Hymnes were songue in the Churche at publique seruice which thyng yet appeareth most playnelye to be done in the olde Testament I wyll here omit that Saint Ambrose in his exposition vpon the. xiiii Chapter of the fyrst to the Corinthians sayth moste playnely that the maner of prophesying whiche Paule teacheth was deryued out of the Sinagoges into our Churches To these I could bryng foorth other thynges and that not a fewe in number yf tyme suffered me to consider diligently the matter which our Church haue borowed out of Moses decrees And that I may speake only of holy dayes which we kepe in memory of our Lordes resurrection byrth and death of Chryst Pentecost shoulde we therfore abolyshe them because they be the reliques of the olde law You see as I suppose by all these thynges howe that not all that pertayned to the Priesthood of Aaron is so abolyshed that nothyng of it maye be retayned or vsed of vs at these dayes Nor here ye shal not by and by saye that this is nothyng els but to open a wyndowe to all abuses as to holy water sensynges in the Churche and to infinite suche other For the aduersaries wyll strayght shape you this aunswere Fyrst of all that there must be limitted a measure in any case as well of those that be reserued as those that shalbe brought agayne into the Churche And secondarylye that no opinion or vertue of religion is at all to be attributed vnto them contrarywise to that we see is done of the papistes in theyr holy water sensyngs Last of all there must good heede be taken lest our Christian libertie be brought into some daunger which shoulde be in ease yf y t such thyngs as be reserued or restored be appoynted necessarye meanes for to obteyne saluation For so are such thynges to be brought in agayne or to be tollerated that they be layde away when they appeare not to be put to good vse And so it seemeth to me we must do at this tyme with this diuersitie of apparell accordyng as I declared my mynde before For I woulde and nowe wyshe that they were layde asyde but forsomuch as yet hytherto it hath not preuayled vntyll better may be I thynke we ought to beare them And yf it pleased God I woulde that the Churches of Germany myght redeeme theyr libertie with this one inconuenience although I wishe by al meanes that no superstuous thyng shoulde be forced vpon them But let vs consider your other argument that is to say It is not lawfull to vse these kinde of vestures because they were inuented of the popes tiranny In this poynt I do not well perceyue howe it maye be affirmed for a suretie that we can vse nothyng that perteyned to the Pope and is vsed in popery Truely we must take good heede that we bryng not the Churche of Christ into such bondage that it may not vse any thyng that the Pope vsed It is very true that our forefathers toke the temples of Idols turned them into holy Churches where Christ should be worshypped And they toke also the salarie and reuenues consecrated to the Idolles of the Gentyles to theyr wicked shewes and playes and to theyr holy votaries virgins transposed it to finde the Ministers of the Church And yet all these thynges dyd not onlye seruyce vnto Antichrist but vnto the deuyll Yea the holy Ecclesiasticall wryters dyd not sticke to take the Uearses of Poetes which had ben dedicated vnto Muses and to other diuers gods goddesses for to be played in playes and spoken in shewes to obteyne the fauour of theyr gods I saye they dyd nothyng stycke or feare to vse them when it seemed to them conuenient imitatyng Paule the Apostle who stocke nothyng at all to rehearse for his purpose Menander Aratus and Epimenydes that he did in intreatyng the holy Scripture appliyng prophane wordes to set forth gods religion We reade also howe that Wyne was consecrated vnto Bacchus Bread vnto Ceres Water vnto Neptune Oyle vnto Minerua Letters vnto Mercury Song vnto the Musis and vnto Apollo and many other thynges Tertullian rehearseth in his ▪ booke entituled de Corona militis Christiani where almost he entreateth this selfe same argument Yet for al that we stycke not to vse all these thynges freely aswell in holy as in prophane vses although at one tyme or other before they had bē consecrated to Idolles and to deuyls Howbeit I wyll not graunt that these diuersities of vestures haue their begynnynges of the Pope forsomuch as I reade in the Ecclesiasticall Hystory howe that John the Apostle wore at Ephesus where he dwelled a byshops apparell tearmyng it Petalum seu lamina Pontificalis As touchyng Saint Ciprian the holye Martir Pontius the Deacon writeth that a litle before he shuld be beheaded he gaue vnto hym that was appoynted to behead hym his vesture called Birrus after he had put it of to the Deacons he gaue his other vesture

howe can it be but that he which promised to blesse all the workes of our handes whiche we take in his name wyll denye his blessyng to these signes seyng he hath no where forbydden such a vse of them as we haue expounded and hath made vs Lordes of the Sabboth and all other thynges of this worlde But yf we graunt that these thynges which I haue spoken concernyng the vse of such signes may be it is surelye the part of brotherly charitie commaunded vs by God to leaue such vse of suche signes in such a Churche free to the iudgement and conscience of that congregation excepte we see an open abuse eyther of superstition as if these thynges were vsed as conteynyng in themselues some part of godly worship of themselues or of contention as if they displeased the greater and better part of the Church or of gettyng of good wyll of some men whom in these thynges we ought not to gratifie because they therby go about to bryng a seruitute vnworthy for Christian men It was euident at Saint Paules tyme by the most cleare Scriptures of God that the vse of dayes meates al other externe thynges was made free and it was a sure token of infirmitie in fayth to doubt therof yet the holy ghoste pronounceth that such weaklinges ought to be receyued not to the troublyng of their cogitations and not to be contemned of the stronger in fayth and that in these thynges it myght be graunted to euery one to be sure of his owne sense seyng that the Lord had receyued these weaklynges Nowe if the holy ghost woulde haue men to yelde so much to them which were in a manyfest errour inasmuch as they depended vpō him in the chiefest necessary partes of sincere religion what ought to be graunted to these concerning the free vse of external thinges whom we can not conuict of any errour by Gods worde For howsoeuer I examine and expende those your two arguments that is They are the imitation of the Aaronicall priesthood and the markes of Antichristes priesthood and therfore ought to be eschewed of them that loue Chryst yet that thyng whiche you woulde is not hereby concluded For to imitate Aarons ceremonies is not of it selfe vitious but only then when men vse them as necessarie to saluation or to signifie that Chryste is yet for to come to take fleshe vpon hym For yf by no meanes it be lawfull to vse those thynges whiche were of Aarons Priesthood or of the Gentyles then is it not lawfull for vs to haue Churches nor Holydayes For there is no expresse commaundement by worde in the holy Scriptures of these thynges It is gathered notwithstandyng from the example of the olde people that they are profitable for vs to the increase of godlines which thing also experience proueth For any thing to be a note of Antichrist is not in the nature of any creature in it selfe for to that end nothyng was made of God but it hangeth altogether of consentyng to Antichristes religion and the professing therof The whiche consent and profession beyng chaunged into the consent and profession of Christianitie there can sticke in the thynges them selues no note or marke of Antichristes religion The vse of Belles was a marke of Antichristianitie in our Churches when the people by them were called to Masses and when they were rong agaynst tempestes nowe they are a token of Christianitie when the people by them are gathered together to the Gospell of Christ and other holye actions Why may it not then be that the selfe same garment may serue godly with godly men that was of wicked signification with the vngodly Truely I know very many ministers of Christ moste godly men who haue vsed godlye these vestures at this day do yet vse them So that I dare not for this cause ascribe vnto them any fault at all muche lesse so heynous a fault of cōmunicating with Antichrist for the whiche fault we may vtterly refuse to Communicate with them in Christ. The Priestes of deuils did celebrate in theyr sacrifices the distribution of bread and the cuppe as Iustinus Marter and Tertullian make mention What let is there why we may not vse the same ceremonies also you wyll say we haue a commaundement of the Lorde touching this Ceremonie Uery well And by the selfe same it appeareth that same thyng to serue among the children of God to the seruice of Christ whiche the wicked abused in the seruice of Deuylles yf the commaundement of Chryste be added thereto But it is the commaundement of Chryst that in our holy actions we institute and vse all thynges so as comlynes and order be obserued that fayth may be edified Nowe yf any Churche iudge and haue experience such as I doubt not there are many this day in Germanie that the vse of suche vesture bryngeth some commendation to the holy ministration and thereby helpeth somwhat in the way of comelynes order to the encrease of fayth what I pray you can be brought out of the Scriptures why that Church is not to be left to her owne iudgement in this matter neyther therfore to be contenmed or to be called into question for her iudgement sake That Church veryly will kepe in these thynges a meane agreeable to the Crosse of Christ and wyll diligently attende that no abuse crepe into it If therefore you wyll not admit suche libertie and vse of vesture to this pure and holy Churche because they haue no commaundement of the Lorde nor no example of it I do not see howe you can graunt to any Churche that it maye celebrate the Lordes supper in the mornyng and in an open Churche especially consecrate to the Lorde that the Sacraments may be distributed to men kneelyng or standing yea to women aswell as to men For we haue receyued of these thynges neyther commaundement of the Lorde nor any example yea rather the Lorde gaue a contrary example For in the euènyng and in a priuate house he dyd make his supper and distributed the Sacramentes and that to men only and sitting at the table But it wyll be obiected that in England many vse vestures with manifest superstition that they do noryshe and confirme in the people superstition Euen so it may be aunswered very many abuse all this whole Sacrament as also Baptisme and all other Ceremonies Therefore let vs withstande this mischiefe and vanquishe it vtterly Wherevnto though it may be that the takyng away of vestures maye helpe somethyng yet to dryue away all this mischiefe it wyl not suffise Nay the Priestes them selues must be fyrst remoued and in their roumes placed faythfull ministers in the kyngdome of Chryst suche as be learned in deede and godly affected To this therefore to this I saye muste we chiefely endeuour our selues that the hartes of the people may be purged by fayth whiche fayth is fyrst begon and increased by the hearyng of the worde of God this hearyng is brought by the

by men it be commaunded but as the tradition or precept of god Thus farre Doctour Bucer With whom Maister Caluine very wel agreeth saying ‡ That which is part of decencie commended vnto vs by the Apostle though it be prescribed by man is Gods tradition and not mans as kneelyng at solemne prayers and suche lyke So then if you woulde haue rested vppon the censures of these godly learned men you shoulde not haue needed thus vnwysely to haue skoffed at this wysdome of man contaynyng her selfe within the limittes of the wysdome of God as is before proued and myght be fully iustified by infinite places of Germayne wryters and by theyr letters of late sent into the Realme to dyuers godly but for prolixitie The thyrde mayne reason you vse is That none of Christes litleones must be offended Whiche thyng accordyng to your vsage you augment with sundrye textes of Scripture as yf all the men of vnderstandyng in this Realme were yet aslepe and neyther saw nor harde the voyce of theyr maister Christ and his holy Apostle But you passe ouer with silence that whiche you shoulde haue substauncially waded through Vz That these orders nowe taken do iustly offende the weake lambes of Christes folde Wherfore to aunswere to the generall proposition it is not expedient seeing it is holden as most true of all men But concerning the offendyng of the weake briefely In indifferent thynges if lawe for common tranquilitie haue prescribed no order what ought to be done a Christian man ought to haue a great regarde of his neyghbours conscience accordyng to S. Paules doctrine But yf lawe foreseeyng harmes and prouiding quietnes haue taken lawefull order therin offence is taken and not geuen when the subiect doth his duetie in obedience so seuerely enioyned hym by Gods worde Notwithstandyng you say that a wyse shipper in saylyng wyll not come nygh rockes and flattes yf he may but take sea rowme ynough In deede the wyse shipmen of our Churche haue spyed the rockes of false doctrine superstition and errour wherevpon many haue ben cast away and to auoyde them haue taken rowme ynough in the scriptures of God For outwarde apparell of them selues are not suche rockes and flattes as you do phantasie neyther euer harde you any of Christes seruauntes to be in daunger of perishing iustly by them as they be now appoynted Yea you may beholde many a godly passenger vnder these orders saylyng with a straight course towarde that heauenly Hauen whervnto he trusteth safely to arriue Al these men in this ship of Christ takyng example by the politike gouernour S. Paul crye out aloude and say Non omnia papistica edificant All popery doth not edifie and are marueylous circumspect and carefull lest any of Christes deare flocke should be offended As for the place alleaged by you where S. Paule forbyddeth Cōmunion with the Gentyles in their idolatricall worshyppyng yf you had applyed it you shoulde haue perceyued no sequele therof For thankes be to God we dwell not among the Babilonians and Chaldies we haue in our Church no publique worshyppyng of Idolles no Heathenishe or idolatrical sacrifice as were in some place of the citie of Corinth whose societie contagion we ought to auoyde And yf there be in a Church where Christes Gospel is purely preached and his sacraments rightly ministred some euyl among the good as in one net diuers sortes of fishes in one fielde wheate and tares in one barne corne and chaffe yet the good are not sayde to communicate or be defyled of the badde as long as they consent not to theyr wickednes but depart from among them not by corporall separation but by dissimilitude of life and diuersitie of maners though they both vse the same temple the same table the same sacramentes as S. Augustine setteth out at large It is one thyng to flee from communicatyng with open professed idolatrie theyr prophanes rites and deuylyshe orders though in hart we worshyp God and another ryghtly to vse rites and fassions abused all the abuses beyng clearely condempned Of the one we haue an expresse commaundement in Scripture the other our auncient fathers haue practised before you and Gods holy worde hath not forbydden it The fourth foundation or grounde that you lay is That you must needes cast away and forsake all those thynges as haue ben brought into the Church besides or contrary to the Scripture This platte you enlarge with a dosen seuerall sentences all which paynes you myght well haue saued yf you had not mynded to haue ben bytyng and snappyng by the way at your superiours This trueth all faythful Christians confirme with you That concernyng fayth and doctrine concernyng remission of sinnes and eternall saluation nothing ought to be taught or receyued which is contrary or not grounded in the Canonicall Scriptures For holy writ geuen by the inspiration of God is not only a lyght to our feete as Dauid sayth but also so profitable that thereby the man of God maye be absolute beyng made perfecte vnto all good workes as Saint Paule testifieth And though this be most true touchyng the substaunce of Christian religion yet the maner and order of settyng of it foorth is not particularly expressed but generally left to the disposition of Christes Churche from tyme to tyme accordyng to those wordes of Saint Paule * Let all thynges be done comely and orderly Wherein whatsoeuer shalbe lawfully done to those purposes is not to be iudged besydes the Scriptures As for example Fastyng is commaunded in Gods worde But what dayes we shoulde fast or what dayes we shoulde not beyng not there determined yf the Christian Churche decree it is not besydes the Scripture The ministryng of Baptisme the Lordes supper is commaunded in Gods worde But what dayes what tymes what places in what companye with what prayers before and after yf the Christian Churche decree it is not besides the Scriptures And accordyng to this Saint Augustine wryteth touchyng the receyuyng of the Sacrament of the body bloud of Christ fastyng in the mornyng Saluator ideo non praecepit quo deinceps ordine sumeretur vt Apostolis per quos Ecclesias dispositurus erat seruaret hunc locum Our Sauiour therfore hath not cōmaunded in what order the Sacrament shoulde be afterwarde receyued because he myght reserue this place to his Apostles by whom he woulde order the Churches Thus also the preachyng of the Gospell is commaunded in Gods worde but howe to do this office in Pulpit or otherwayes in mornyng or after noone and so forth yf the Christian Churche decree it is not besides the Scripture The lyke may be sayde concernyng lawes politike of Princes affayres and trafficke betwixt man man whose groundes and rules are in Gods worde and yet the particular circumstaunces in practising them being diuers in sundry Countreys accordyng to the iudgement of magistrates are not besides Scriptures when al those diuersities haue Gods worde for theyr

be when these thinges in Christes Churche may haue their good vse But whether that tyme be nowe or nay there are preiudices agaynst you of the like tyme heretofore of the whole parliamēt of the Clergie of the most part of protestants papistes As for that power whiche you expounde God hath geuen to Princes whether it contayne all their aucthoritie and iurisdiction as you rehearse it it shall not be narrowly scanned at this tyme. Neyther thankes be geuen to God doth the Prince of pleasure but for further commoditie of her subiectes require this subiection of yours which howe lawfully you withdrawe God knoweth and will iudge Ueryly this your declaration in that day will not be your defence when the Lorde shall lyghten thynges that are hyd in darkenes and make the counsell of the hartes manyfest Also we all nkowe or ought to knowe in what cases we shoulde put in vse that saying of S. Peter * We ought more to obey God then man And therefore we sticke not in these thynges to shewe gratefull hartes as of those men who acknowledge them selues by the meanes of suche a Prince deliuered out of those miserable cases We are affrayde to stryue contentiouslye about the varietie of kynge Salomons wyues garment thinges outwarde lest we should hurt her inward beautie as S. Augustine thynketh to become seruauntes of the Churche a Queene so pearelesse The bondes and limittes whiche you appoynt for true obedience of subiectes to theyr princes are very narrowe daungerous For oftentymes the Subiect ought to obey in thynges not forbydden by God and commaunded by lawe though he do not playnly perceyue eyther for what good end they are required or to what ende they wyll come as dayly experience in common wealthes do shewe But belyke you wyll haue euery man to vnderstande as much as the Prince and councell knoweth and intendeth or els you wyll set the subiect at his choyse Moreouer here is perylous auctoritie graunted to euery subiect to determine vpon the Princes lawes proclamations and ordinaunces that when they shall see them many tymes otherwayes then they are in deede vnprofitable then shall they nay they must not do and accompyshe the same If you restrayne this to matters Ecclesiasticall you helpe your selues neuer awhyt For euery Minister there hath not full power to make and abrogate Ecclesiasticall lawes nor yet knowledge well to iudge of them This is therfore scarse to geue example of true obedience to God and man For in not obeying man in such thynges indifferent whose vse you can not shew nowe to be wicked you obey not God whose minister man is But I omit here longer to resite your wrytyng in this poynt for good considerations Which I thynke your selfe better aduised hereafter wyll expende The fyfth and last reason generall that moueth you vtterly to refuse the receyuyng of apparell yet continued and declared is the consideration of Christian libertie whiche thereby you thynke shoulde be manifestly infrynged and so forth And here you triumphe in your textes how Christ hath delyuered vs from the bondages of ceremonies and law As touchyng Christian libertie the faythfull man must knowe that it is altogether spirituall and parteyneth only to the conscience whiche must be pacified concernyng the lawe of God and nexte well stayed in thynges indifferent This libertie consisteth herein not to be holden tyed with any religion in externall things but that it may be lawfull before God to vse them or omit them as occasion shall serue This perswasion a godly man must alwayes retaine kepe safe in his mynde but when he commeth to the vse action of them then must he moderate and qualifie his libertie accordyng to charitie towarde his neyghbour and obedience to his Prince So though by this knowledge his mynde and conscience is alwayes free yet his doyng is as it were tyed or limitted by lawe or loue Herevpon a well learned man saith ‡ It is sufficient in Christian libertie to vnderstand that before God it is no matter what meates or what clothes thou vse though in thy whole lyfe thou neuer eat flesh and though alwayes after thou vse in apparell one colour and fassion So hath another Quo ad sensum et doctrinam semper profitendū adiaphora esse libera non quo ad usurpationem A Christian man must alwayes professe that indifferent thynges as muche as appertayneth to vnderstandyng and doctrine are free and not touchyng theyr vse Nowe then forasmuch as these garmentes are among thynges indifferent we may easylye knowe how they are free as parteynyng to our conscience and yet notwithstandyng we may be obedient to lawes without impairyng of Christian libertie But to the weyghyng of your reasons Fyrst the Lorde God be praysed the religion of Chryst standeth in no such daunger as you beare men in hande it doth by puttyng men in mynde to trye those constitutions that the wyse men of the whole Realme haue well hoped wyll serue to some good purpose in this congregation of Chryst. Then no wyttye or Godly man can iustly iudge our religion to be but Prynces pleasures yf Prynces through great deliberation make lawes for the Church call vppon the practize of the same You are not ignoraunt what this smelleth of that is either of Donatistrie or Papistrie which sectes thynke alwayes the true catholiques to geue to much to Princes and Magistrates when as by Gods worde they acknowledge them to be supreme gouernours not onlye to see lawes framed by the Cleargie put in vse but to disanul the naughtie and to decree good and godly Thirdlye he hath traueyled but simplie in Scripture who reasoneth from the abolyshyng of Moyses ceremonies to the pluckyng of all good orders out of the Churche For though Chryst beyng the body of all those shadowes hath fulfylled them so that we neede not to feare the curse pronounced vpon all them that do not abyde in all thinges that were written in the lawe yet we are not forbydden to vse some one of them yf it myght edifie the Churche of Chryst. And yf they be by all wayes forbydden yet no learned man wyll gather that no decent fassyons are needefull in the Churche Last of all who seeth not that these few orders now to be obserued are not inioyned as figures or shadowes of any thyng to come but as some meanes yf it myght be for a tyme to set forwarde the buyldyng of God The ende of these groundes is this That you fearyng these garmentes shoulde be thought necessary you vtterlye refuse to admit them This opinion of necessitie which you phantasie neyther was annexed to these at the begynnyng neyther any wyse or learned man in this Church maynteyneth it neyther is it nowe by any meanes confirmed but playnely the contrary is protested taught and done Howe vnnecessarie soeuer you woulde make men beleue that vniformitie in outwarde apparell among Ecclesiasticall ministers were as by the whiche you woulde

called Dalmatica and so stode in lynnen Chrysostome maketh mention of the whyte vesture of the ministers of the Church Moreouer the auncient wryters declare vnto vs that Christians when they came first vnto Christes religion chaunged their apparell and for a gowne they dyd put on a cloke for the which cause when they were mocked of the Gentyles Tertullian wrote a very learned treatise De Pallio that is to say of a Cloke Neyther as I take it you be ignoraunt that a whyte vesture was wont to be geuen to them that were baptized Wherfore it appeareth that before the Popes tiranny ouerwhelmed the Church there was some maner of diuersitie of apparell in the Church But be it so let them be the inuention of the Pope as you woulde haue it yet notwithstanding for the respecte of the papisticall inuention in them I can not be perswaded so muche impietie to be therin that whatsoeuer it toucheth it doth by and by so infecte and corrupt that it cannot be lawfull for good and godly men to vse it Godly I suppose ye vnderstande what my iudgement is eyther in reseruyng or bringing in agayne the Moisaicall or papisticall rites Nowe that I haue briefelye gone ouer these two chiefe poyntes of your reasons I come vnto that whiche ye also graunt That all thynges inuented by man be not forthwith to be reiected and condemned For what is it els but mans inuention that we communicate at the Lordes table rather in the mornyng then when we haue dyned It was also deuysed by man that the value of such thynges as was to be deuyded in the primatiue Churche were layde at the feete of the Apostles I graunt with you that these choyses of apparell do not of it selfe edifie And yet for all that other men wyll iudge it expedient that they be tollerated for a tyme as though peraduenture by that meanes these contentions wyll be auoyded by which it is in hazarde lest greater benefites and more ample commodities be hyndered and as we see it falleth out lest mennes myndes be withdrawen from the Gospell I wyll not here saye that they whiche stande to the defence of this matter may pretende some honest and iust signification of the apparell and that not dissentyng from the worde of God which is this The Ministers of the Church as the prophete Malachy witnesseth be Angels and Gods messengers but Angels for the most part appeared being clothed in whyte garmentes I pray you howe shall we debarre the Church of this libertie that it can not signifie some good thyng in settyng foorth theyr rites and ceremonies especially beyng so done that no maner of Gods honour is attributed vnto them and that they be in sight comely and in number few and that Christian people be not with them ouerburdened matters of greater importaunce be omitted Peraduenture you wyll say to me Let Ministers of the Churche declare themselues to be Angels not represent Angels by signification But Paule the Apostle might so haue ben aunswered when he taught the Corinthians that it was meete that a woman shoulde haue her head couered and a man his head vncouered vrgyng it only in respecte of signification For some man of the Church myght haue aunswered hym saying Let a man declare hym selfe to be head of his wyfe and let a wyfe declare her selfe to be subiect vnto her husbande not in signes but in deedes and conuersation But yet Paule iudged it a meete and a profitable thyng that both of them aswell the man as the woman should be monished of theyr duetie by such a signe or action For by such signes and meanes we be stirred vp to do our office and duetie for they bryng into our myndes that whiche is decent for vs to do And yf hereby the weakelynges take an occasion of errour let them be monyshed that they be but indifferent thynges and let them be taught that no part of Gods honor and religion is placed in them Nowe whether the eyes of them that be present be turned cleane away from thynkyng of serious matters because of the diuersitie of apparell peraduenture euery man wyll not graunt it Fyrst the aduersaries maye aunswere that this shall not folow yf such apparell be appoynted that hath no gorgeousnesse but is playne and vsed before in the Church For no man maruelles at those thynges that be dayly vsed and of small value Nay it is more like that men beyng stirred with the reuerence of them shall haue theyr cogitacions more attentiuely vpon serious thynges for the externall partes of the sacramentes seeme to be instituted to this ende that we euen of the very fyght and of our externe sensis shoulde be inwardely moued to haue contemplation of diuine thynges Neyther suppose I by and by a tiranny to be brought in yf any thyng that is indifferent should be receyued into the Church to be done and that many should constantly obserue the same Nowe a dayes we do minister the Lordes supper in the mornyng so that we wyll not receyue at al after dyner in the publique congregation But who wyll say that this sauoureth of any tiranny which we all do with one wyll and consent Truely it woulde please me rather as I haue oftentymes rehearsed that we shoulde only do those thynges that Chryste dyd and Paule delyuered but yf there be some indifferent thynges added I woulde not nowe therefore greatly contende especially forsomuch we see that they by whom the lyght of the Gospell is much aduaunced in England and dayly may be more aduaunced do take part agaynst vs. I graunt with you that all which is not of fayth is synne Neuerthelesse that which is written of Saint Paule to Titus seemeth greatly to serue for to ease and quiet the conscience that is All thynges are cleane to the cleane And to Timothy Euery creature is good For it is not necessaryly required that we shoulde proue euery particuler thyng which we vse to be expressely mentioned in the Scriptures It is enough generally to knowe this fayth That indifferent thynges can not corrupt those that be of a pure mynde and sincere conscience in theyr doynges These thynges haue I briefely gathered together as touchyng the controuersie whiche ye proposed vnto me out of the which I beseche God with all my hart that ye maye shyft your handes well of And I desyre you to take in good part that I haue written for yf I coulde haue aunswered eyther more substancially or more playnely I woulde haue satisfied your request to my power But forbecause it is not graunted to euery man to wryte handsomely and redyly of these matters you must needes pardon me And assure your selfe further of this one poynt that I am redy nowe and at all tymes to beleue the trueth when I shall be otherwayes instructed In the meane season thynke ye not that this iudgement whiche here I haue declared vnto you was but nowe fyrste perswaded vnto me For euen

from the begynnyng synce that I applyed my selfe vnto the Gospell my mynde was that this difference of vesture shoulde be taken awaye but yet so that I dyd not iudge it of theyr owne nature eyther wicked or pernitious I beseche God almyghtie to preserue you safe sounde with all your householde through Chryst Jesus our Lorde Farewell At Oxforde the fourth of Nouember 1550. Yours both in minde and spirite vvholly Peter Martir Amplissimo domino et Colendissimo Symmistae Ioanni à Lasco ¶ The Lorde graunt vnto vs in these troublesome tymes of the Church to begyn and finis he all things that offences and daungers be not encreased Amen THe more diligently I weigh and consyder both what fruite we may gather by this controuersie of vestures also what Sathan goeth about thereby to worke I woulde haue wyshed before the Lorde that it neuer once hadde ben spoken of but rather that all men of our function had agreeably and stoutlye gone forwarde and continued in teachyng true repentaunce the holsome vse of all thynges yea in commendyng and puttyng on the apparell of saluation I see in very many right honorable alas I say I see their marueilous diligence in abolishing Amelech concernyng stones stockes vestures those thynges that be without vs when in theyr deedes and whole lyfe they most styflye retayne the whole Amelech styll I knowe also some that helpe forward this stryfe so that in the meane tyme the chiefe and most necessary poyntes are lesse regarded called vpon that is of remouyng sacrilegious persons from spoylyng of Churches of prouydyng fyt ministers for euery paryshe of the restoryng of discipline agayne As for my part yf I thought those ceremonies and vestures were impure of them selues I woulde not take vppon me in any wyse the office of a Byshop vntyll by ordinary aucthoritie they were taken away c. But to the purpose I thynke it not impartinent vnto this matter that we all be admonyshed to take heede of Sathans accustomed sleyghtes whereby he leadeth vs away from the care of necessary thynges to the carefulnesse of those thynges whiche may be well let passe and from the searchyng out of the true doctrine of Chryst to induce vs to those things wherin few can consent a like finally by the which he kyndleth in diuers men a zele to purge those thynges which are without vs thereby to neglect our inwarde deformities And seyng whatsoeuer we do eyther in worde or deede both priuately and publiquely we ought to do it in the name of our Lord Jesu Christ geuing thanks by hym to God the father Surely it is our duetie no lesse circumspectly to beware that we nether do nor leaue vndone any thyng whereof we haue not sure or certayne auctoritie out of Gods worde touchyng our actions and matters domesticall and Ecclesiasticall It is alwayes in all thynges synne whatsoeuer is not of fayth of the certayne worde of God But to consider this question in it selfe I haue accordyng to my gyfte weyghed your reasons and yet I can perceyue no other but that the vse of all externall thynges aswell in holy ceremonies as in priuate matters ought to be left free to the Churches of God I call that free vse wherin godly men vse thynges created of God without any superstition and to a certayne edifiyng of theyr fayth in Chryst. I veryly as I haue confessed vnto you and haue declared in deede vnto our countreymen had rather that no kynde of vesture whiche the papistes vsed were retayned amongst vs and that both for the more full detestation of the Antichristian priesthood and also for playner aduouchyng of Christian libertie yea and to be shorte for the auoydyng of daungerous contentions among the brethren though notwithstandyng I woulde haue the Ministers of Churches to vse sage vesture and such whereby they myght be discerned from other men but chiefely I woulde all the discipline of Christ to be in force among vs Yet I can not be brought by any Scriptures as farre as I see hytherto to denye that the true Ministers of Christes Churche may vse without superstition and to a certayne edification of fayth in Christ any of those vestures whiche the Antichristians abused For what shoulde let but that the Churches maye vse that whyte vesture or more vestures to monyshe vs precisely of that diuine benefite which he by the holy ministerie of the Church dealeth vnto vs the benefite I saye of the lyght and dignitie of that heauenly doctrine by the which also the Ministers them selues may be the more myndfull of theyr offyce and had both for it and by the admonyshment of that outwarde token in greater reuerence of the common people of the Churche Whether we wyll or naye we are compelled to confesse that the insignes of them that beare publique offices helpe somethinges to retayne and encrease the auctoritie of Magistrates and publique power yf other thynges want not by the which the true reuerence is geuen vnto them For yf these thynges be not ioyned with those ensignes they induce not a veneration but rather the singuler detestation of them who vnworthyly vse these notes of vertue Signes in deede are signes and not the thynges yet how much they are able to admonyshe moue the mynd God geuyng the increase he that obserueth wyll wonder Wherefore whereas otherwayes the true dignitie of Ministers is euident if any perticuler Church by publique iugement do consent vpon the retaining of certain vestures only for the cōmendyng vnto vs of the gyftes of God which he geueth by the ministery of the Church and for to put the yonger and ruder sort in mynde without all superstition Truelye I can not see why suche vse of vestures in suche a Church may not serue to some commendation of the holye ministerie and so consequentlye to the edification of fayth For what let is there but at this day they which are indued with the same spirite of faith may vse a few signes as godly as the auncient holy men haue vsed many They had you wyll say expresse writing concerning the vse of their signes I graunt and in deede it made much touchyng the true vse of their signes But in that God dyd commaunde the vse of those and many signes we certaynly learne that the vse of those signes may serue he geuyng grace to promote true religion and that it hath none vncleannesse in it selfe or superstition neither can be by the abuse of the wicked so polluted that it can not be healthful to godly men vsyng it godly Nowe when as God by his worde hath sanctified all thyngs by our prayers and hath made al thynges pure to the pure what cause can we alleage out of the worde of God to deny that god wyl not blesse such vse of signes wherof we speake that it should not be effectuous to that Church to some commendation of the ministery and therof also to some edification of fayth For

preachers of the Gospell Suche therefore let vs call for and that there maye be store of them let vs be earnest for reformation Let there be a visitation of the vniuersities whence many fyt ministers for Churches may be gotten Let vs neuer ceasse to crye out agaynst that Sacrilege that the fattest benefices are graunted to vnworthy men in respect of their worldly seruice that the paryshes are so miserablye vndone through papisticall sleyghtes and violence These these I say are certaynely papisticall factes agaynst these ought we chiefely to bende our force but to be stoute and earnest against stones stockes vestures and suche other thynges which of them selues neyther bryng gayne pleasure nor honour it is a very easie matter to the hearer and speaker especially those that be discharged from papisticall superstition for by the shakyng of suche thynges great mens stomakes are not offended But to remoue Churche robbers from the spoyles of Churches and to do all thynges possible to this ende and purpose that euery parishe may be prouided of conuenient ministers and that Curates may haue sufficient for their sustentation and to ayde them to the ful restitution of Christes discipline This is a thyng of great moment This is a harde thing to all them whiche are not able to say with Saint Paule For Christ is to me life death is to me aduauntage And again God forbyd that I shoulde reioyce sauyng in the Crosse of our Lorde Jesus Christ wherein the worlde is crucified to me and I to the worlde It pleaseth me ryght well that all Antichristes trashe shoulde be remoued away as farre as myght be I meane not onlye his ensignes and markes but all his steppes and shadowes in what thyng soeuer they seeme to stande whether it be in stockes stones garmentes or whatsoeuer other thyng els it be But let vs endeuour our selues to banyshe fyrst the body and substaunce of Antichrist and then after his ensignes steppes and shadowes The body and substaunce of Antichrist consisteth in the wicked destroyers and spoylers of Churches by whose meanes not onlye Christes discipline but also all the whole doctrine is oppressed and put out of place When I consider these thinges and agayne looke backe as I ought to do towarde the preceptes of the Lorde and his examples I wyshe with al my hart that as many of vs as wyll be Chrystes folowers in deede that euen so we earnestly go about to restore his kingdome as the Lord himself went about to begin it and that we seke it before all other thynges and let the preachers in all doctrine discipline instruct the people be suche who for our Lorde Chrystes sake the preachyng of the Gospell wyll be redy to leaue all and that by these mens ministerie we bryng the people to the kyngdome of Christ and let vs appoynt to euery flocke their owne faythfull shepheard who may labour no lesse to call agayne the true notes and markes of Christianitie as to abolyshe vtterly the markes and notes of Antichristianitie whiche I woulde wyshe so abolyshed that there remayned not so muche as the memory of them in any mens hartes But seeyng that this thyng can not be brought to passe vnlesse Chrystes kyngdome be fully receyued I woulde wishe that all we should to that ende bestowe al our strength vnto the whiche worke for as muche as we nede many workefelowes I woulde wishe with all such as truely loue the Lord Jesus that we set apart all dissention and ioyne in one perfect concorde to endeuour our selues to set vpon the common aduersary We see now beyng taught by the experience of so many yeres that the Lord graunteth but to a fewe to depart from that sentence which they haue once fastened them selues in specially yf they haue also contended for the same so that we shalbe inforced eyther to dissolue christian Cōmunion with many whō the Lord hath receyued or els we must geue place one to another to the intent that eyther of them may rest in their owne iudgement though the other dissent It is a very harde thyng in deede yea to moste holy men to denye them selues and he is seldome founde among men whiche would not be content rather to yelde in his patrimonye then in the opinions of his witte Nowe then where as we see almightie God to beare this our infirmitie in vs so mercyfully fye on the hardnes of our hartes yf the example of our Lorde and God can not encline mollifie our hartes to the lyke mercy and pacience Wherefore I conclude that we ought to take great diligent heede Fyrst that we take not vpon vs straight way to determine all questions as they rise yea let vs sturre none at al which throughly tend not to the kyngdome of Christ. Let vs acknowledge the weakenes of our wytte and iudgement Let vs stande in feare of our naturall arrogancie and our peuishe selfewill in our owne inuentions All thynges necessary to saluation are set forth vnto vs openly dearely plenteously in the holy scriptures and in the study and perfection thereof euery one of vs wanteth very muche Let vs labour then to fulfyll and once to make vp our imperfection with godly studies Of all other matters let vs dispute most warely let vs define most slowly or neuer let vs contende at no time If at any tyme through the craft of Satan and our owne negligence variaunce shal ryse in these thynges let vs betyme leaue of from the same as soone as we can by whatsoeuer way we may or els let vs make some truse in them Seldome is there any victory obtayned yea neuer holsome victory gotten Hereby most godly sir you see vndoubtedly what is best to be done both in this controuersie of vestures and also of the libertie of other Ceremonies I had rather then muche goodes this question had neuer ben moued but nowe seeyng it is moued I wyshe it to be geuen ouer and deferred to some other tymes These your two argumentes It is a peece of Aarons Priesthood and therfore contumelious toward Christ nowe exhibited as then glorious when he was to be exhibited Secondarily These are notes of Antichristianitie and therfore not to be vsed of men geuen to Christianitie These reasons I say conclude not in my iudgement that whiche you toke in hande For we borowe many thynges godlye from the orders of Aarons Priesthood to the glory of Chryst nowe exhibited So many thynges whiche the Antichristes haue made markes of theyr impietic may be tokens of the kyngdome of Chryst as the signes of bread and wyne the water of Baptisme the laying on of handes preachynges Churches Holydayes and many other thynges Also these places of Scripture are of a great scope The earth and the fulnes thereof is of the Lord not of the Deuyll not of Antichriste not of the wycked And agayne the sonne of man is Lorde of the Sabboth and the Sabboth is made for man and not