that Christen men were not bounde to abstayne from bodely labour by that commaundement for it was so geuen to the Iewes And if we were bound to abstayne from bodely labour by that commaundement then was the kinges grace and all his councell my Lorde Cardinall and all his counsell in the waye of damnation For they cause men to carye their stuffe on the holy day what daye so euer it bée whan they will remoue At this reason all my Lordes were astonied and wist not what to say they were loth to cōdemne my Lord Cardinals grace seing he was so holy a prelate of Christes church and that facte they coulde not deneye Wherfore at y e last my Lorde of Rochester remembred hym selfe and obiected in this maner A goodly reason I will make you a like reason The byshop of Winchester suffered y e stues Ergo the stues bée lawfull At this reason I ineruayled much For I perceyued that it was as lawfull for our noble Prince to carye stuffe on the holy day which is not agaynst y e word of god as it is for an harlot of y e stnes to liue in open whordome which is against the worde of God And yet my Lords the byshops of their greate charitie and of their innumerable spirituall treasure suffereth agaynst their conscience both to bée done Briefely it were to longe to recite all the vncharitable maner that they dyd vse with me And yet earnestly I must bée condemned poore man for an heretyke But I will recyte the saying of doctours for me y e men may sée how shamefully I haue erred Saynt Hierome sayth Therfore bée certine dayes assigned that we should come togither not that that daye in the whiche we come togither is holyer then an other but all dayes bée like and equall And Christ is not alonely crucified in Parasceden and risen onlye on the sonday but the day of resurrection is alwayes and alwayes may we eate of our Lordes fleshe c. Here S. Hierome sayth y e selfe words y e I spake And of these wordes was I moued to speake as God doth knowe Also S. Augustine sayth we must obserue the sabboth day not y e we should recken our selfe not to labour but that all thinge that we doe worke well muste haue an intention to the euerlasting rest Wherfore we must obserue the holy day not by corporall idlenes and vnto the letter but spiritually must we rest from vyces and concupisences wherfore among all the ten commaundementes that of the sabboth daye is alonely commaunded to bée figuratiuely obserued c. Also Tertullyan The Carnall circumcision is put away and extincted at his time So likewise the obseruation of the sabboth day is declared to bée for a tyme for we must kéepe y e sabboth day not alonely the seuenth day but at all tymes as Esay sayth c. But here my Lorde of Rochester sayde fyrste that I vnderstode not Tertulian secōdarily that hée was an heretike But I passe ouer myne aūswere for this is but a Lordly worde and hée could none otherwise saue his honour but yet stādeth my scripture fast And S. Hierome and S. Augustine also their owne law whose wordes be these It is come vnto me that certaine men which bée of an euill spirite haue sowen certaine euill thinges among you and contrary to the holy faith so that they doe forbid that men should worke on the Sabboth day The whiche men what other thyng shall we call them but the preachers of Antichrist the which Antichrist shall make the Sabboth day and the Sonday bée kept from all maner of worke c. This law clearely declareth you to bée Antichristes this is more then I sayd I haue great marueile that the Byshop of Bathe beyng so mighty a Lord in condemning of heretickes was not learned in this law seyng it is his owne facultie NOw dare no mā preach y e truth and the very Gospell of God in especiall they that bée féeble and fearefull But I trust yea and I pray to God that it may shortly come that false and manifest errours may bée plainely shewed There bée certaine men like conditioned to dogges if there bee any man that is not theyr countryman or that they loue not or know not say any thing agaynst them then cry they an hereticke an hereticke ad ignem ad ignem These bée the dogges that feare true preachers What heresie finde you in this article I doe thinke that you doe féele my prayer to bée heards For doubtles there bée many shamefull errours now manifestly opened that at those dayes had béene heresie to haue touched them WEe make nowe a dayes many Martyrs I trust wée shall haue many moe shortly For the viritie coulde neuer bée preached playnely but persecution did follow Here did my Lord of Bathe inquire of mée if I reckoned them for martyrs that were burnte at Bruselles I answered that I knewe not their cause wherefore they died but I reckoned as many men to bée martyrs as were persecuted and dyed for the worde of God but hée saide hée woulde make mée to frye for this How thinke you by this holy prelate was not this a charitable argument to refell myne aunswere with But this was the strongest argument that euer they vsed And paraduenture I may sée the day that this argument may bée made against them THese lawes these lawyers these Iusticiares that say that a man may lawfully aske his owne good afore a Iudge and contende in iudgement haue destroyed all patience deuotion and faith in Christen people On this article hangeth also y e nexte THis pleading in iudgement is manifestly against the Gospell Luk. 12. Homo quis constituit iudicē And contrary to S. Paule Iam omnino delictum est c. Myne aduersaries most vncharitably layde these two articles against mée as though I had condempned the lawemaker lawe and execution thereof whan I onely spake agaynst the vnchariblenes of some mē which rather séeke vengeaunce of their brethren than any right or helpe of the lawe Nor I speake not against all lawyers or against any for pleading iustly after the forme of the lawe but onely against those which taught men that they were bounde to prosicute the vttermost of the lawe vnder the paine of deadly sinne were the man neuer so poore and vnlike to pay the debte Against these two persons spake I and against none other For it is not nor neuer was mine intent to forbid suing at the lawe for I doe know very well that maiestratus is of God Ergo it must néedes followe that all lawes hauing probable reasons of nature made to conserue a common wealth must also bée allowed of God for lawes bée a parte of the power that is instituted of God Moreouer S. Paule doth appeale to the Emperour which is also pars litis And that hée coulde not doe if suing were
an other but because that all men can not vse these keyes all together for y e would make a confusion therofore doth the Church that is the congregation of faythfull men commyt the ministratiof these keyes that is of preaching y e worde of God vnto certayne men whome they thinke most able and best learned in the worde of God the which mē thus chosen bée but ministers of the commen treasure and no Lordes ouer it For the Churche may depose them y e is shée may take away the open and the common mynistration that shée committed vnto them if they vse it not well and then they bée but as other Christen men hauing no common office nor administration in the Church Wherfore they may neither preach nor yet minister sacramentes openlye but as other Christen men may doe pryuately in their owne houses or in other places where men bée gathered which wil heare of Christ there I saye both they and all other Christē men may speake and learne Christes worde and declare it after the gift y e is geuen vnto them of God And they that doe beléeue this word thus preached by Christen men bée by the power of y e keyes losed from their sinne and bound if they beléeue not For all the Church and euery part of the Church haue power to execute these keyes all onely that the open order bée not broken This doth S. Paule declare saying you may all interpretate scriptures but sée that all thinges sée done after an order Now to kéepe an order and that nothing should bée done after a confuse manner therefore the Church assigneth certayne men to be the open and the common mynisters of this treasure the which bée but all onely minysters and no Lordes And of this cōmon treasure and not of their priuate treasure as S. Paule sayth let a man so reckē vs as the ministers of Christ and dispensators of the mynystery of God Also in an other place what is S. Paule what is Appollo but mynisters by whom you haue beléeued Also S. Peter your predecessor commaundeth you that you shoulde not exercise any dominion ouer the congregations but geue example to the flocke Bée not these playne scriptures how you bée no Lordes but ministers of Christes treasure and you leaue the ministration and vsurpe auctoritie S. Petter whose successors you boast your selues to bée commaūdeth you that you shoulde bée alonely but ministers keybearers of these keyes As Chrisostome prooueth in these wordes The keye bearers are priestes vnto whome is committed the worde to teach and to interprete Scriptures c. Heare you not how you bée but keybearers and teachers of y ◠worde of God This doth S. Ambrose witnesse in these wordes sinnes bée forgeuen by the worde of God whose interpreter is the Deacon c. Marke that sinnes bée forgeuen by the word of God of the which you bée but interpreters Where is now I pray you your Lordly power which you call the keyes of heauen is not Scripture and the practise of the Apostles and the exposition of holy Doctours opēly against you Will you vsurpe a thing that is contrary to all these I pray you where finde you in all holy Scripture but one that Peter or Paule did assoyle after the maner of your keyes And yet no doubt but they had the keyes yea and also dyd vse them Wherfore it is to mée great maruayle of whome you haue learned your vsage and where you haue gotten such keyes It maketh no matter to mée though you cry as you are wonte Fathers Fathers Counsels Counsels the Churche the Church For it wilnot helpe you You sée opēly that I haue the holy worde of god and our maister Christe which is elder then our fathers I haue also the practise of the holy Apostles that vnderstand this thynge better then all your counsels But let vs graunt that you haue fathers and counselles for you That is the next way to deceaue the church of God By whom can Christen men bée deceaued but by such men as bée of auctoritie and dignitie of y t world This you know that men can not bée deceaued by Horses nor by Calues but it must bée by men and not by foolishe mē for who will regarde fooles but by them that bée reckoned of wisdome and of reputation in the world And not by one wise man for an other wyse man may bée of as good reputation and wisdome as hée but it must bée by many or els it can haue no shyne nor colour of excellencie yea and by such a multitude that reason can not suspect So that there is neuer so great daunger vnto the church of God as when all these thynges come togither And therefore sayth y e holy Prophete Blessed is that man that foloweth not the counsels of wicked men You know that counselles cā bée no smale thing nor no foolishe nor the wicked men themselues doe recken it for no smale thinge but for the greatest thynge and the wysest thyng and the strongest that they can thinke or deuise And no doubte but it hath a fore reason and a fore all the worlde a great apparence of no smale wisdome and is so strong that euery man is compelled to receaue it Yea and also those men haue auctoritie for as the Prophet saith they sitte in the chayre the which doth both signifie great learning and and also great auctoritie And yet saith y e Prophet that blessed is hée that foloweth not their counselles nor sitteth in theyr chayre Now if these thynges coulde bée iudged by some reason or els they séemed so euill that all the worlde could iudge them What néede the holy Ghost to make such a dooe or to write so strongly agaynst them yea and to say that blessed is hée y e heareth them not Wherfore hée must néedes speke of such mischiefe and of such falshod and of such errours as haue all those thinges for them that you brynge for you That is fatherhod wysdome learning auctoritie multitude and long custome The which thyngs bée able to peruerte any man bée hée neuer so wise or neuer so holy if hée sticke not fast to the worde of God onely And therefore sayth the Prophet Blessed is hee whose wyll and meditation is night and day that is continually in the law of God Vnto the which if all your coūsels all your fathers all your customes briefly all that you bring for you bée compared then shall wée sée whether it bée true and of God or not For of themselues they haue no truth but bée inuentions of corrupted reason and perswasions of the deuill to peruerte the holy church of God But my Lordes let vs goe to reason Tell mée by your honour is it reasonable that the holy Churche of God redéemed wyth Christes precious bloud and assoyled by hym from all her sinnes should bée now bounde vnto you and to your absolution and that shée
Likewise blessed S. Ambrose sayth willingly will I neuer forsake you but if I bee compelled I may not resist I may sorow I may wepe I may waile Agaynst weapons agaynst souldiers agaynst the Bothans my teares are my weapons For such thinges bee the defence of a Priest otherwise ought I not nor may not resist c. 191. col 2 ¶ Testimonyes proouyng also the same taken out of his first Edition Fol. 15. and 16. ORygene vpon this text Omnis anima sayth on this maner All maner of synnes that God wold haue punished hee would haue them punished not by the byshops and rulers of the Church but by the Iudges of the worlde c. The mediatour betweene God and man Christ Iesus hath deuided the offices of both powers into their proper actes and into distincte dygnities willing by his owne medicinall meekenes that mens hartes should bee lyfted vp and not with mans pride agayne to be drowned in these inferior thinges so that Christen Emperours as concerning eternall lyfe should haue neede of Byshops likewise the Byshops for the course all onely of these temporal goodes should vse the Emperours lawes so that y t spirituall acâ—… should be distincted from the worldly courses and hee that should serue God should not wrappe hym selfe in worldly busynesses ¶ That the true obseruation of the sabaoth consisteth not onely in abstaining from bodely labours and that to a Christen maÌ„ euery day is the Sabaoth and not onely the seuenth day HIerome sayth Therefore be certaine dayes assigned y t we should come to gither not that that day in the which we come togither is holier theÌ„ an other but all dayes be lyke and equall And Christ is not all onely crucifyed in Parasceden and risen onely on the sonday but the day of resurrection is alwayes and alwayes may we eate of our lords fleshe c. 206. col 2 Augustine sayth we must obserue the sabboth day not that we should recken our self not to labour but that all thing that we doe worke well must haue an intention to the euerlastyng rest Wherfore we must obserue the holy day not by corporall idlenes and vnto the letter but spiritually must we rest from vyces and concupiscences wherfore among all the ten commaundementes that of the Sabboth day is all onely coÌ„mauÌ„ded to be figuratiuely obserued c. 206. col 2 Also Tertullian sayth The carnall Circumcision is put away and extincted at his tyme. So likewise the obseruation of the Sabboth day is declared to bee for a tyme for we must keepe the Sabboth day not alonely the seuenth day but at all times as Esay sayth c. 206. col 2 Augustine sayth It is come vnto me that certaine men whiche bee of an euill spirite haue sowen certaine euill thynges among you and contrary to the holy fayth so that they doe forbyd that men shoulde worke on the Sabboth day The whiche men what other thyng shall we call them but the preachers of Antichrist the whiche Antichrist shall make the Sabboth day and the sonday bee keept from all maner of worke c. 207. col 1 ¶ Testimonies procayng the same article translated out of hys booke De Doctorum Sententijs ANd it shall come to passe that from Moone to his Moone from Sabboth to his Sabboth all flesh shall come to worshyp before me c. For the sonne of man is also Lord of the sabboth c. Let no man therefore iudge you in meate or in drinke or in part of an holy daye or of the new moone or of the saboth dayes c. You obserue dayes times moneths and yeares c. ¶ S. Ambrose ad Irenae Epist. 72. The Iewes were commaunded to celebrate the holy sabboth one day in the weeke that they should bee subiect to no burthen because they being losed from worldly busines I would they had so passed that they might not cary with theÌ„ no burthen of greuous sinnes vnto the euerlasting sabboth of y e world to come Let the synagoge of y t Iewes obserue the day Let the church obserue it to immortalytie In the lawe therefore was a portion in the Gospell is the perfection c. ¶ S. Augustine de spiritu lit cap. 14. Because whosoeuer obserueth that day hither vnto as the letter soundeth hee iudgeth carnally ¶ S. Augustine ad Bonifa lib. 3. Cap. 4. contra 2. Epist Pelagia For if Christe hath taken from vs that greuous yoke of many obseruances that we should not be carnally circumcised that wee should not offer sacrifice for our sinnes that on the sabboth of the seuenth day wee shoulde not abstayne from necessary busines other such lyke if we obserue them being spiritually vnderstand and setting a syde all shadowes signifying the true lyght of those things Let vs take heed whether we shall therefore say that it pertayneth not vnto vs which is written that whatsoeuer one findeth of an other mans hee restore it agayne to hym that lost it and many other such like preceptes where by we learne to liue well and godly and especially that Decaloge which is contayned in the ij tables of stone the carnall obseruation of the sabboth onely excepted which signifieth a spirituall sanctification and rest c. ¶ S. Augustine vpon S. Paules epistle to the Galath First must a man know y t the works of the law bee of too sortes For they partly consist in sacramentes partly in morrall preceptes Vnto the sacramentes are referred the circumcision of the flesh the temporall sabboth the new moone the sacrifices and all such lyke innumerable obseruances Vnto morall preceptes are referred these Thou shalt not slaye Thou shalt not commit adultery Thou shalt not beare false witnesse and such other lyke ¶ S. Augustine vpon Iohn Tractat. 17. Take vp thy bed c. Here is a manyfest corporall worke of y t body done not the healing onely of the body but a playne bodely worke That Christians ought not to seeke spitfull reuengement by extremitie of the law NOw is there vtterly sinne among you sayth Paul because you go to law one with an other why rather suffer you not wrong why rather suffer ye not your selues to bee robbed Also our maister sayth If any man will sue at the lawe and take thy coate froÌ„ thee let hym haue thy cloke also 208. col 2 Athanasius on this texte of Saint Paule sayth There is vtterly sinne among you that is to say It is to your condemnation and to your ignominie that you doe exercise iudicials among you Wherefore doe you not rather suffer wrong c. 209. col 1 Also S. Hierome sayth It is â—inne vnto you that you doe agaynst the com maundement of Christ that you haue iudgementes among you the which ought alwayes to keepe peace yea though it were with the losse of your temporall goods Wherefore doe you not rather suffer wrong Where
DIEV ET MON DRIOT ¶ THE WHOLE workes of W. Tyndall Iohn Frith and Doct. Barnes three worthy Martyrs and principall teachers of this Churche of England collected and compiled in one Tome togither beyng before scattered now in Print here exhibited to the Church To the prayse of God and profite of all good Christian Readers Mortui resurgent AT LONDON Printed by Iohn Daye and are to be sold at his shop vnder Aldersgate An. 1573. ¶ Cum gratia Priuilegio Regiae Maiestatis ARISE FOR IT IS DAY A Table of the seuerall Treatises conteyned in M. William Tyndals workes A Preface to the Christian Reader The lyfe of Wylliam Tyndall A protestation of the state of the soules departed A preface that he made before the v. bookes of Moses A prologue shewyng the vse of the Scripture Seuerall prologues that he made to the v. bookes of Moses fol. 2. 7. 11. 15. 21. Certaine harde wordes expounded by him in the fyrst second and fourth booke of Moses fol. 5. 10. 16. A prologue vpon the Prophet Ionas 23. Prologues vpon the iiij Euangelistes 32. Prologues vpon the Epistles of S. Paule 39. Prologues vpon the Epistles of S. Peter 54. Prologues vpon the iij. Epistles of S. Iohn 55. The parable of the wicked Mammon 59. The obedience of a Christian man and how Christian rulers ought to gouerne 97. An exposition vpon the v. vj. vij chapters of S. Ma. thewes Gospell 184. An answere to Syr Thomas Mores dialogues 244 The practise of popishe Prelates 340. A pathway into the holy Scripture 377. The exposition vpon the first Epistle of S. Iohn 387. The exposition vpon M. William Tracies will 429. A fruitfull treatise vpon signes Sacraments 436. Two notable letters that he sent vnto Iohn Frith 453. The Supper of the Lord wherein is confuted the letter of M. More sent vnto Iohn Frith supposed to be written by Tyndall 457. ¶ The Epistle or Preface to the Christian Reader AS we haue great cause to geeue thankes to the high prouidence of almighty God for the excellent arte of Printing most happely of late found out and now commonly practised euery where to the singular benefite of Christes Church wherby great increase of learnyng and knowledge with innumerable commodities els haue ensued and dayly doe ensue to the lyfe of man and especially to the fartheraunce of true Religion so agayne of our parte it is both of vs all in generall to be wished and especially of them to be procured who occupie the trade therof rightly to vse the same to the glory of hym which gaue it and to the ende wherefore it was ordayned and not to abuse vnworthely that worthy facultie eyther in thrusting into the worlde euery vnworthy trifle that commeth to hand or hauing respecte more to their owne priuate gayne then regarde to the publike edifiyng of Christes Church or necessary preferment of Religion For therefore I suppose this science of Printing first to be set vp and sent of God to mans vse not so much for temporall commoditie to be taken or mans glory to be sought thereby but rather for the spirituall and inwarde supportation of soulehealth helpe of Religion restoring of true doctrine repayring of Christes Church and repressing of corrupt abuses which had heretofore ouerdarckened the doctrine of fayth to reuiue agayne the lost lyght of knowledge to these blynde tymes by renuing of holsome and auncient writers whose doinges and teachinges otherwise had lyen in obliuion had not the benefite of Printing brought them agayne to light or vs rather to light by them Wherfore such Printers in my mynde are not to be defrauded of their due commendation who in pretermitting other light triflyng pamflets of matter vnneedful and impertinent little seruing to purpose lesse to necessitie doe employe their endeuour and workemanship chiefly to restore such fruitfull workes and monumentes of auncient writers and blessed Martyrs who as by their godly lyfe and constant death gaue testimonie to the trueth in tyme wherein they suffered so by their doctrine and learning geeue now no lesse lyght to all ages and posteritie after them In the number of whome may rightly be accompted and no lesse recommended to the studious Christen Reader these three learned fathers of blessed memory whom the Printer of this booke hath diligently collected in one volume togither inclosed the workes I meane of William Tyndall Iohn Frith and Robart Barnes chiefe ryngleaders in these latter tymes of thys Church of England Wherein as we haue much to prayse God for such good bookes left to the Church and also for such Printers in preseruing by their industrie and charges such bookes from perishing so haue I to exhorte all studious readers wyth lyke diligence to embrace the benefite of God offered and seriously to occupie them selues in markyng and folowing both the valiaunt actes and excellent wrytinges of the sayd godly persons Concernyng the prayse whereof I shall not neede in thys place to bestow much commendation because neither is it the prayse of men but profite of the godly that they doe seeke nor yet the contempt of the vngodly that they doe feare Moreouer what is to be sayde or thought of them rather by their owne workes then by other mens wordes by readyng their bookes then by my preface is to be seene In perusing whereof thou shalt fynde gentle Reader whether thou bee ignoraunt what to learne or whether thou be learned what to folowe and what to sticke to Briefly whatsoeuer thou art if thou be yong of Iohn Frith if thou be in middle age of W. Tyndall if in elder yeares of D. Barnes matter is here to be founde not onely of doctrine to enforme thee of comfort to delyte thee of godly ensample to directe thee but also of speciall admiration to make thee to wonder at the workes of the Lord so mightely workyng in these men so oportunely in stirryng them vp so graciously in assisting them Albeit diuers other also besides these I say not nay as well before them as after through the secrete operation of Gods mighty prouidence haue beene raysed vp both famous in learnyng florishyng in witte and stout in zeale who labouryng in the same cause haue no lesse valiantly and doughtely stoode in the like defence of Christes true Religion agaynst blynde errour pestilent superstition and perillous hypocrisie namely agaynst the Arche enemye of Christ and hys flocke the Byshop I meane of Rome with hys tyrannicall seate as namely here in England Iohn Wicklyffe Rigge Aston Swynderby W. Thorpe Walter Brute L. Cobham wyth the residue of that former age And also after them many other moe freshe wittes faythfull preachers and learned writers haue sprong vp by the Lord of hoastes to furnishe hys fielde Briefly no age nor tyme hath euerlacked some or other styll bayting at the beast but especially nowe in these our present dayes such plenty yea whole armyes the Lord hath powred vppon hys Church of heauenly souldiours who not
conclusion not to bee doubted of that there must be first in the hart of a man before he do any good worke a greater and a preciouser thyng then all the good workes in the world to reconcile him to God to bryng the loue and fauour of God to him to make him loue God agayne to make him righteous and good in the sight of God to do a way his sinne to deliuer him and lose him out of that captiuitie where in he was conceaued and borne in whiche he could neither loue God neither the will of God Or els how can he worke any good woorke that should please God if there were not some supernaturall goodnes in him giuen of GOD freely where of the good worke must spryng euen as a sicke man must first be healed or made whole yer he can do the dedes of an whole man and as the blind man must first haue sight geuen him yer he can see and he that hath his feete in fetters giues or stockes must first be loosed or he can go walke or runne and euen as they whiche thou readest of in the Gospel that they were possessed of the deuils could not laude God till the deuils were cast out That precious thing which must be in the hart yer a man can worke any good worke is y ◠word of God which in the Gospell preacheth profereth bryngeth vnto all that repent and beleue the fauour of God in Christ Who soeuer heareth the word and beleueth it the same is thereby righteous and thereby is geuen hym the spirite of God which leadeth him vnto all that is the will of God and is loosed from the captiuitie and bondage of the deuill and his hart is free to loue God and hath lust to do the will of GOD. Therfore it is called the word of lyfe the word of grace the word of health the word of redemption the word of forgiuenes and the word of peace he that heareth it not or beleueth it not cā by no meanes be made righteous before God This confirmeth Peter in the xv of the Actes seyng that GOD through fayth doth purifie the hartes For of what nature so euer the word of God is of the same nature must the hartes be whiche beleue thereon and cleaue thereunto Now is the word liuyng pure righteous and true euen so maketh it the hartes of them that beleue theron IF it be sayd that Paul when he saith in the iij. to the Romaines no fleshe shal be or can be iustified by the deedes of the law meaneth it of the ceremonies or sacrifices it is an vntrue saying For it foloweth immediatly by the law commeth the knowledge of sinne Now are they not the ceremonies that vtter sinne but the law of cōmaundementes In the iiij he sayth the law causeth wrath whiche can not bee vnderstand of the ceremonies for they were geuen to reconcile the people to God agayne after they had sinned If as they say the ceremonies which were geuen to purge sinne and to reconcile iustifie not neither blesse but temporally onely much more the law of commaundementes iustifieth not For that whiche proueth a man sick health him not neither doth the cause of wrath bring to fauour neither can that whiche damneth saue a man When the mother commaundeth her childe but euen to rocke the cradle it grudgeth the commaundement doth but vtter the poyson that lay hid and setteth him at bate with hys mother and maketh hym beleue shee loueth him not These commaundements also thou shalt not couet thy neighbours house thou shalt not lust desire or wishe after thy neighbours wife seruaunt mayde oxe or asse or what soeuer pertaineth vnto thy neyghbour geue me not power so to doe but vtter the poyson that is in me and damne me because I can not so do and proue that God is wrath with me seing that his wil and mine are so contrary Therefore sayth Paul Gal. iij. If there had ben geuen such a law that could haue geuen lyfe then no doubt righteousnes had come by the law but the Scripture concluded all vnder sinne sayth he that the promise might bee geuen vnto them that beleue through the fayth that is in Iesus Christ The promises when they are beleued are they that iustifie for they bring the spirite whiche looseth the hart giueth lust to the law and certifieth vs of y t good will of God vnto vs ward If we submit our selues vnto God desire him to heale vs he wil do it and will in the meane tyme because of the consent of y ◠hart vnto y ◠law count vs for full whole wil no more hate vs but pitie vs cherish vs be tender harted to vs loue vs as he doth Christ him selfe Christ is our redemer Sauiour peace attonement and satisfactiō and hath made amendes or satisfaction to Godward for all the sinne whiche they that repēt consentyng to the law and beleuyng the promises do haue done or shal do So that if through fragilitie we fall a thousand tymes in a day yet if we do repent agayne we haue alway mercy layd vp for vs in store in Iesus Christ our Lord. WHat shall we say then to those Scriptures whiche go so sore vpō good workes As we read Math. xxv I was an hungred and ye gaue me meate c. And such like Whiche all sound as though we should be iustified and accepted vnto the fauour of God in Christ through good workes To this I aunswere Many there are which whē they heare or read of fayth at once they cōsent therunto and haue a certaine imagination or opinion of fayth as when a man telleth a story or a thyng done in a straunge lande that pertayneth not to thē at all Which yet they heleue and tell as a true thyng And this imagination or opinion they call faith They thinke no further then that fayth is a thyng which standeth in their own power to haue as do other naturall workes whiche men worke but they feele no maner workyng of the spirite neither the terrible sentence of the law the fearefull iudgements of God the horrible damnation and captiuitie vnder Sathan Therefore as soone as they haue this opinion or imaginatiō in there hartes that sayth verely this doctrine semeth true I beleue it is euē so Then they thinke that the right fayth is there But afterward when they feele in them selues and also see in other that there is none alteration and that the workes folow not but that they are altogether euē as before and abide in their old estate then thinke they y t faith is not sufficient but that it must be some greater thing then fayth that should iustifie a man So faule they away from fayth agayne and crye saying fayth onely iustifieth not a man and maketh him acceptable to GOD. If thou aske them wherfore They aūswere see how many there are that beleue and yet do no more
vpon them till they be vtterly brought to nought as thou readest most terribly euen in the same place Neither may the inferior person auenge hymselfe vpon the superior or violently resiste hym for what so euer wrong it be If he doe he is condemned in the deede doyng in as much as he taketh vpon hym that which belongeth to God onely which sayth Vengeaunce is mine and I will rewarde Deut. xxxij And Christ sayth Mat. 26. All they that take the sworde shall perishe with the sworde Takest thou a sworde to auenge thy selfe so geuest thou not rowme vnto God to auenge thee but robbest hym of his most hye honour in that thou wilt not let hym be iudge ouer thee If any mā might haue auenged him selfe vpon his superior that might Dauid most righteously haue done vpon kyng Saul which so wrongfully persecuted Dauid euen for no other cause thē that God had annointed him kyng and promised him the kyngdome Yet when God had deliuered Saul into y t handes of Dauid that he might haue done what he would with him as thou seest in the first booke of kynges the xxiiij Chapter how Saul came into the caue where Dauid was And Dauid came to hym secretly and cut of a peace of his garment And as soone as he had done it his hart smote him because hee had done so much vnto hys Lord. And when his mē couraged him to slea him he aūswered the Lord forbid it me that I should lay myne hand on him Neither suffered he his men to hurt him When Saul was gone out Dauid folowed and shewed hym the peece of his garmēt and sayd why beleuest thou the wordes of men that say Dauid goeth about to do thee harme perceaue and see that there is neither euill nor wickednesse in my hand and that I haue not trespassed against thee and yet thou layest awayte for my lyfe God iudge betwene thee and me and auenge me of thee but myne hand be not vpō thee as the old prouerbe sayth sayd Dauid out of the wicked shall wickednesse proceede but myne hand be not vpō thee meanyng that God euer punisheth one wicked by another And agayne sayd Dauid GOD be iudge and iudge betwen thee and me and behold pleate my cause geue me iudgement or right of thee And in the. xxvj Chapter of the same booke when Saul persecuted Dauid againe Dauid came to Saul by night as he slept and all his men and tooke away his speare and a cuppe of water from his head Then sayd Abisai Dauide seruaūt God hath deliuered thee thine enemie into thine hand this day let me now therfore nayle hym to the ground with my speare and geue hym but euen one stripe and no more Dauid forbad him saying Kill hym not For who sayd he shall lay handes on the Lordes annoynted be not giltie The Lord liueth or by the Lordes life sayd he he dyeth not except the Lord smite him or y ◠his day be come to dye or els go to battaile there perish Why did not Dauid slea Saul seyng he was so wicked not in persecutyng Dauid onely but in disobeying Gods commaundements and in that he had slayne lxxxv of Gods priestes wrongfully Verely for it was not lawfull For if he had done it he must haue sinned agaynst God For God hath made the kyng in euery Realme iudge ouer all and ouer him is there no iudge He that iudgeth the kyng iudgeth God he that layeth handes on the king layeth hand on God and he that resisteth the kyng resisteth God and damneth Gods law and ordinaunce If the subiectes sinne they must be brought to y t kynges iudgement If the kyng sinne he must be reserued vnto y t iudgement wrath and vengeaunce of God And as it is to resiste the kyng so is it to resiste his officer whiche is set or sent to execute the kynges commaundement And in the first Chapter of the secōd booke of Kings Dauid commaunded the young man to be slayne whiche brought vnto him the crown bracelet of Saul and sayd to please Dauid with all that he hym selfe had slayne Saul And in the fourth Chapter of the same booke Dauid commaunded those two to be slayne whiche brought vnto hym the head of Isboseth Sauls sonne by whose meanes yet the whole kingdome returned vnto Dauid accordyng vnto the promise of God And Luke xiij When they shewed Christ of the Galileans whose bloud Pilate mingled with their owne sacrifice he aūswered suppose ye that these Galileās were sinners aboue all other Galileās because they suffred such punishment I tell you nay but except ye repent ye shall lykewise perish This was told Christ no doubt of such an entent as they asked him Math. xxij Whether it were lawfull to geue tribute vnto Cesar For they thought that it was no sinne to resist an Heathē Prince as few of vs would thinke if we were vnder the Turke that it were sinne to rise agaynst him and to ryd our selues from vnder his dominion so sore haue our Bishops robbed vs of the true doctrine of Christ But Christ cōdemned their dedes and also the secrete thoughtes of all other that consented thereunto saying except ye repēt ye shall likewise perish As who should say I know that ye are within in your hartes such as they were outward in their dedes and are vnder the same damnation except therfore ye repent betimes ye shall breake out at the last into lyke deedes and likewise perish as it came afterward to passe Hereby seest thou that the kyng is in thys worlde without lawe may at his lust doe right or wrong shall geue acomptes but to God onely An other conclusion is this that no person neither any degree may be exempt from thys ordinaunce of God Neither can the profession of Monkes and Fryers or any thyng that the Pope or Byshops can laye for themselues except them from the sworde of the Emperour of kings if they breake the lawes For it is written let euery soule submitte hymselfe vnto the aucthoritie of the hyer powers Here is no man except but all soules must obey The hyer powers are the temporall kynges and Princes vnto whom God hath geuen the sword to punishe who soeuer sinneth God hath not geuen them swordes to punishe one and to let an other goe free and sinne vnpunished Moreouer with what face durst y ◠spiritualtie which ought to be the light an example of good lyuing vnto all other desire to sinne vnpunished or to be excepted frō tribute toll or custome that they would not beare paine with their brethrē vnto y ◠maintenaunce of kings and officers ordayned of God to punishe sinne There is no power but of God by power vnderstand the aucthoritie of kynges and Princes The powers that be are ordayned of God Whosoeuer therfore resisteth power resisteth god Yea though he be Pope Byshoppe Monke or Fryer They
the commyng of the truth of Gods word as the night vanisheth away at the presence of day The childrē of Israell slew not those gyauntes but the power of God Gods truth promises as thou mayst see in Deut. So it is not we that shal destroy those gyauntes as thou mayst see by Paule ij Thess ij speakyng of our Ham Antichrist Whom the Lord shall destroy saith he with the spirite of his mouth that is by the wordes of truth and by the brightnes of his comming that is by the preachyng of his Gospell ANd as I haue sayd of allegories euen so it is of worldly similitudes which we make either whē we preach either when we expound the Scripture The similitudes proue nothyng but are made to expresse more playnly that which is contayned in the Scripture and to lead thee into the spirituall vnderstanding of the text As the similitude of Matrimony is taken to expresse the Mariage that is betwene Christ and our soules and what excedyng mercy we haue there wherof all the Scriptures make mention And the similitude of the members how euery one of them careth for other is taken to make thee feele what it is to loue thy neighbour as thy selfe That preacher therfore that bringeth a naked similitude to proue that which is contayned in no text of Scripture nor foloweth of a text count a deceauer a leader out of the way and a false Prophet and beware of his Philosophie and persuasions of mās wisedome as Paul i. Corinth ij sayth my wordes and my preachyng were not with entysing wordes persuasions of mans wisedome but in showyng of the spirit and power that is he preached not dreames confirming them with similitudes but Gods word confirmyng it with miracles and with working of the spirite the which made them feele euery thing in their hartes That your fayth sayth he should not stand in the wisedome of man but in the power of God For the reasons and similitudes of mans wisedome make no fayth but waueryng vncertaine opiniōs onely one draweth me this way with his argumēt another that way of what principle thou prouest blacke an other proueth white and so am I euer vncertaine as if thou tell me of a thyng done in a farre land and an other tell me the contrarie I wote not what to beleue But fayth is wrought by the power of God that is when Gods word is preached the spirite entereth thyne hart and maketh thy soule feele it and maketh thee so sure of it that neither aduersitie nor persecution nor death neither hell nor the powers of hell neither yet all the paynes of hell could ones preuayle agaynst thee or moue thee frō the sure rocke of Gods word that thou shouldest not beleue that which God hath sworne And Peter ij Pet. i. sayth we folowed not deceauable fables when we opened vnto you the power and commyng of our Lord Iesus Christ but with our eyes we saw his maiestie And agayne we haue sayth he a more sure word of prophesie wherunto if ye take hede as vnto a light shynyng in a darke place ye do well The word of prophesie was the old Testamēt which beareth record vnto Christ in euery place without which recorde the Apostles made neither similitudes nor argumēts of worldly witte Hereof seest thou that all the allegories similitudes persuasions argumentes which they bryng without Scripture to proue praying to Saintes Purgatory care confession and that God will heare thy prayer more in one place thē in another and that it is more meritorious to eate fish then flesh and that to disguise thy selfe put on this or that maner cote is more acceptable then to go as God hath made thee and that widowhode is better then matrimony and virginitie then widowhode and to proue the Assumption of our Lady and that she was borne without originall sinne yea with a kisse say some are but false doctrine Take an example how they proue that widowhode and virginitie excede matrimony they bryng this worldly similitude He that taketh most payne for a man deserueth most and to him a man is most bound so likewise must it be with God and so forth now the widow and virgine take more payne in resisting their lustes then the maryed wife therfore is their state holier First I say that in their owne sophistry a similitude is the worst and feblest argument that can be and proueth lest and soonest deceaueth Though that one sonne doe more seruice for hys father then an other yet is the father free and may with right reward thē all a like For though I had a thousand brethren and did more thē they all yet do I not my dutie The fathers and mothers also care most for the lest and weakest and them that can doe lest ye for the worst care they most and would spend not their goodes onely but also their bloud to bryng them to the right way And euen so is it of the kyngdome of Christ as thou mayst well see in the similitude of the riotous sonne Luke xv Moreouer Paul sayth i. Cor. vij It is better to marie then to burne For the person that burneth can not quietly serue God in as much as hys mynde is drawē away the thoughts of his hart occupyed with wonderfull and monstrous imaginations He can neither see nor heare nor read but that his wittes are rapt and he cleane from him selfe And agayne sayth he Circumcision is nothyng vncircumcision is nothyng but the kepyng of the cōmaundementes is all together Looke wherein thou canst best kepe the commaundemētes thether get thy selfe and therin abyde whether thou be widow wife or mayde and then hast thou all with God If we haue infirmities that draw vs from the lawes of God let vs cure them with the remedyes that God hath made If thou burne mary For God hath promised thee no chastitie as long as thou mayst vse the remedy that hee hath ordeyned no more then hee hath promised to slake thine honger without meate Now to aske of God more then he hath promised commeth of a false faith and is playne Idolatry and to desire a miracle where there is naturall remedy is temptyng of God And of payne takyng this wise vnderstand He that taketh payne to kepe the commaundementes of God is sure therby that he loueth God and that hee hath Gods spirite in hym And the more paine a man taketh I meane paciently and without grudgyng the more he loueth God and the perfecter hee is nearer vnto that health which y ◠soules of all Christen mē long for the more purged from the infirmitie and sinne that remaineth in the flesh but to loke for any other reward or promotion in heauen or in the life to come then that which God hath promised for Christes sake and which Christ hath deserued for vs with his payne takyng is abhominable in the sight of
of their heauenly father confirmed with y ◠bloud of their Lord Christ For vnto them it is harder to enter into y ◠kingdome of heauen then for a camel to enter through y ◠eye of an nedle Mar. 10. No they haue no part in the kyngdome of Christ God Ephe. v. Therefore is it euident why Christ so diligētly warneth all his to beware of couetousnesse and why hee admitteth none to be his Disciples except he first forsake all together For there was neuer couetouse person true yet either to God or man If a couetous mā be chosē to preach Gods word he is a false Prophet immediatly If he be of the lay sorte so ioyneth he him self vnto the false Prophetes to persecute the truth Couetousnesse is not onely aboue all other lustes those thornes that choke y t word of God in them that possesse it But it is also a deadly enemy to all that interprete Gods word truly All other vices though they laugh thē to scorne that talke godly yet they can suffer thē to lyue and to dwell in the countrey But couetousnes cannot rest as long as there is one that cleaueth to Gods word in all the land Take hede to thy preacher therfore and be sure if he be couetous and gape for promotion that he is a false Prophet leaueneth the Scripture for all his crying fathers fathers holy Church and fiften hūdred yeares and for all his other holy pretenses Blessed are they that mourne for they shall be comforted This mournyng is also in the spirite and no kinne to the sowre lokyng of hipocrites nor to the impaciēt weywardnesse of those fleshely which euer whyne and complayne that the world is naught because they cānot obtayne and enioy their lustes therin Neither forbiddeth it alwayes to be mery and and to laugh make good chere now and then to forget sorrow that ouermuch heauynesse swalow not a man cleane vp For the wise man sayth sorow hath cost many their lyues And Prouer. xvij an heauy spirite drieth vp the bones And Paule commaundeth Philip. iiij to reioyse euer And Roma xij he sayth reioyse with them that reioyse and sorow with thē that sorow and wepe with them that wepe which seme two contraries This mourning is that crosse without which was neuer any Disciple of Christ or euer shal be For of what soeuer state or degree thou be in this world if thou professe y ◠Gospell there foloweth the a crosse as warmenesse accompanieth the sonne shynyng vnder which thy spirite shall grone and mourne secretly not onely because the world and thyne owne flesh carie thee away cleane cōtrary to the purpose of thyne hart But also to see and behold the wretchednesse misfortunes of thy brethrē for which because thou louest them as well as thy selfe thou shalt mourne and sorow no lesse thē for thy selfe Though thou be King or Emperour yet if thou knowest Christ and God through Christ and entendest to walke in the fight of God and to minister thyne office truly thou shalt to kepe iustice with all be compelled to do dayly that which thou art no lesse loth to do then if thou shouldest cut of arme hand or any other member of thyne owne body yea and if thou wilt folow the right way and neither turne on the right hand nor on the left thou shalt haue immediatly thine own subiectes thyne owne seruauntes thyne owne Lordes thyne own coūsellours and thyne owne Prophetes thereto agaynst thee Vnto whose froward malice and stubburnesse thou shalt be cōpelled to permitte a thousand thynges agaynst thy conscience not able to resiste them at whiche thyne hart shall blede inwardly and shalt sawse thy swete soppes which the world weneth thou hast with sorowes mough and still mournyng studyeng either alone or els with a few frēdes secretly night and day and sighing to God for helpe to mitigate the furious frowardnesse of them whō thou art not able to with stand that all go not after the will of the vngodly What was Dauid cōpelled to suffer all the dayes of his lyfe of his own seruauntes the sonnes of Seruia Beside the mischaūces of his own children And how was our king Iohn forsaken of his owne Lordes when he would haue put a good and godly reformatiō in his owne land How was Henry the secōd compassed in lyke maner of his own Prelates whom he had promoted of nought with the secrete conspiracie of some of his own temporal Lordes with thē I spare to speake of y e mournyng of the true preachers the poore cōmon people which haue none other helpe but the secret hand of God and the word of his promise But they shal be cōforted of all their tribulatiō and their sorrow shal be turned into ioye and that infinite euerlastyng in the lyfe to come Neither are they without comfort here in this world for Christ hath promised to sēd them a comfortour to be with them for euer the spirite of trouth whiche the world knoweth not Iohn xiiij And they reioyse in hope of the comfort to come Rom. xij And they ouercome through fayth as it is written Hebr. xj the Saintes through fayth ouercame kyngdomes obtained the promises And. i. Iohn v. this is the victorie that ouercōmeth the world euē our faith But the blind world neither seeth our comfort nor our trust in God nor how God thorough faith in his word helpeth vs maketh vs ouercome How ouercome they wilt thou say that be alwayes persecuted and euer slayne verely in euery battaile some of them that wynne the field be slayne yet they leaue the victorie vnto their deare frēdes for whose sakes they toke the fight vppon them and therfore are conquerours seyng they obtayne their purpose maynteine that they fought for The cursed riche of this worlde whiche haue their ioye and comfort in their riches haue sence the begynnyng fought agaynst them to wede thē out of the worlde But yet in vayne For though they haue alwayes slayne som yet those that were slayne wanne the victory for their brethren with death euer increased the nūber of them And though they semed to dye in the sight of the foolish yet they are in peace and haue obtayned that euerlastyng kyngdome for which they fought And beside all this when God plagueth the world for their sinne these y ◠mourne and sorrow are marked with the signe of Thau in their foreheades and saued from the plague that they perish not with the wicked as thou seest Ezech. ix as Lot was deliuered frō among the Sodomites And contrariwise cursed are they that laugh now ▪ that is to say which haue their ioy solace and comfort in their riches for they shall sorrow and weepe Luke vj. And as it was answered the rich man Luke xvj sonne remember how that thou receauedst thy good dayes in thy life tyme and Lazarus likewise euill
Not onely foule and beast but also tree herbe all the floures of the earth do crye vnto vs to trust God and to cast away all care that is coupled with couetousnesse of more then sufficient to beare the charges whiche we haue in our handes by the reason of the state we be in the world and all care that is annexed with mistrust that God shuld not minister inough to beare all our charges if we endeuer our selues to keepe his commaundementes and to do euery man his craft or office he is in truly and when God to proue vs suffereth vs to haue neede of our neighbours we first complayne to God desire him to prepare the hartes of our neighbours agaynst we come to desire their helpe But MaÌ„mon pypeth an other song saying if thou shouldest make no other maner of labour for a benefice then as if thou careddest not whether thou had dest it or haddest it not it would be loÌ„g ere thou gattest one all would be take out of thyne hand I aunswere as thy labour was to get it such shal be thy be hauiour in it as thou flatteredest to haue it so shalt thou it it And as thou boughtest and souldest to get it so shalt thou sell in it to bye â—auour and to be set by in the world If thy principall in tent that thou seekest a benefice for be lucre then take hede to the example of thy forefather Symon Magus Let thy care therefore be to do the office that God putteth thee in trulye and the blessyng that he coupleth thereto that take with thankes and neither care nor couet further Take no thought therefore saying What shall we eate or what shall we drinke or what shall we put on all these thynges the heathen seke Yea and your heauenly father knoweth that ye neede all these things But seke first the kyngdome of God and the righteousnesse therof and all these thynges shal be ministred vnto you Be not like the heathen which haue no trust in God nor his word nor beleue any life to come Let them vexe them selues and ech be a deuill to an other sor worldly thynges But comfort thou thy self with y â— hope of a better life in another worlde euer assured that y â— shalt haue here sufficient onely if thou keepe couenaunt with the Lord thy God and seke his kyngdome and the righteousnesse therof aboue all things The kyngdome of God is the Gospel and doctrine of Christ And the righteousnesse therof is to beleue in Christes bloud for the remission of sinnes Out of which righteousnesse springeth loue to God thy neighbour for his sake which is also righteousnesse as I haue sayd afore so farre as it is perfect and that which lacketh is supplied by faith in Gods word in that he hath promised to accept that til more come Then foloweth the outward righteousnesse of workes by the which and diligent recording of Gods word together we grow and waxe perfect and keepe our selues from goyng backe and losyng the spirite agayne And these haue our spiritualtie with their corrupt doctrine myngled together that is to say the righteousnes of the kyngdome of God which is fayth in Christs bloud the outward righteousnes of the meÌ„bers that we ascribe to the one that pertaineth to the other Seke the kingdome of heauen therfore and the righteousnesse of the same and be sure thou shalt euer haue sufficient and these thynges shal be ministred vnto the that is to say shall come of their owne accord by the promise of God yea Christ promiseth thee an huÌ„dredfolde euen in this life of all that thou leauest for his sake If that were true would some say who would not rather serue him then Mammon yet is it true For first if thou be seruaunt of MammoÌ„ thou must kepe thy God and thy God not thee And euery man that is stroÌ„ger then thou will take thy God from thee Moreouer God will take either thee from thy Mammon or thy Mammon from thee ere thou wouldest to aduenge â–ª him selfe of thy blynd vnkyndnesse that when he hath made thee and geuen thee all thou forsakest him and seruest his mortall enemy But if thou folow Christ all the world and let them take all the deuils in hell to them shall not be able to disappointe thee of a sufficieÌ„t lyuing And though they persecute thee from house to house a thousand tymes yet shall God prouide thee of an other with all things sufficient to liue by Now compare y e suretie of his with y â— incertaintie of the other then the blessed end of this that heaueÌ„ is promised thee also with the miserable departyng from the other so sore agaynst thy will and then the desperation that thy hart â—eeleth that thou art all ready in hell And theÌ„ may not this be wel called a thousand fold more then the other Care not then for the day folowyng but let the day folowyng care for it selfe For the day that is present hath euer inough of his owne trouble If thou looke well on the conenauÌ„t that is betwene thee thy Lord God on the one side and the temptations of the worlde the fleshe and Satan on the other thou shalt soone perceiue that the day present hath euer inough to be cared for for which thou must â—ry instantly to God for helpe also though thou do thy best Now theÌ„ seing y t day present is ouercharged with her owne care what madnesse is it to lade vpon her also the care of the day folowing yea the care of a yeare ye of xx yeare or as though thou neuer entendest to die and to torment and vexe the soule thorow mistrust and vnbeliefe to make thy life soure and bitter and as vnquiet â–ª as the lyfe of the deuilles in hell Therefore care day by day houre by houre earnestly to keepe the couenaunt of the Lord thy God and to recorde therein day and night and to do thy part vnto the vttermost of thy power And as for Gods part let hym care for it himselfe and beleue thou his wordes stedfastly and be sure that heauen and earth shal sooner perishe then one iote bide behinde of that he hath promised And for thine owne part also care not of that maner as though thou shouldest do all alone Nay God hath first promised to helpe thee Secondarily to accept thine hart and that little y â— thou art able to do be it neuer so imperfect Thirdly though wynde weather the streame cary thee cleane contrary to thy purpose yet because thou bidest still in thy profession ready to turne the right course as soone as y â— tempest is a little ouer blowen God promiseth to forgeue that not y t lesse to fulfill his promises of one iote Doth Christ so defend his that they neuer come in daunger of trouble yes they come into such straites oft that no witte
their obedience they destroy the obedience that God ordayned in this world desireth no other With their pouerty they destroy the pouertie of the spirit which Christ taught onely whiche is onely not to loue worldly goodes With their fast they destroy the fast which God commaundeth that is a perpetuall sobernesse to tame the fleshe With their patteryng prayer they destroy the prayer taught by God whiche is either thankes or desiryng helpe with fayth trust that God heareth me Their holynesse is to forbyd y t God ordeined to be receaued with thankes giuyng as meate matrimony And their owne workes they maintayne let Gods decay Breake theirs they persecute to the death But breake Gods and they either looke through the fingers or els geue thee a flappe with a Foxe tayle for a litle money There is none order among them that is so perfect but that they haue a prison more cruell theÌ„ any iayle of theues and murtherers And if one of their brethren commit fornication or adultery in the world he finisheth his penaunce therin in three Wekes or a moneth and then is sent to an other place of the same religion But if he attempt to put of the holy habite he commeth neuer out is so straytly dioted therto that it is meruell if he liue a yeare beside other cruell murther that hath bene found among them and yet is this shamefull dyoting of theirs murther cruell inough Be not deceaued with visions nor yet with miracles But go to iudge their workes for the spiritual iudgeth all thinges sayth Paule i. Cor. ij Who is that spirituall not such as we now call men of holy Church But all that haue the true interpretation of the law written in their harts The right fayth of Christ and the true inteÌ„t of workes which God byddeth vs worke he is spirituall and iudged all thinges and is iudged of no man Not all that say to me Lorde Lorde shall enter into the kyngdome of heauen But he that fulfilleth the will of my father which is in heauen Many will say vnto me at that day Lord Lord dyd we not prophesie in thy name and in thy name cast out deuils and dyd we not in thy name many miracles Then will I confesse vnto theÌ„ I neuer knew you depart from me ye workers of iniquitie This doublyng of Lord hath vehemency and betokeneth that they which shal be excluded are such as thinke theÌ„ selues better and perfitter then other men and to deserue heauen with holy workes not for them selues onely but also for other And by that they prophesied by which thou mayst vnderstand the interpretyng of Scripture and by that they cast out deuils did miracles in Christes name and for all that they are yet workes of wickednesse and do not the will of the father which is in heauen it is playne that they be false Prophetes and euen the same of which Christ warned before And now for as much as Christ and his Apostles warne vs that such shall come and describe vs the fashions of their visures Christes name holy Church holy fathers and xv hundred yeares with Scripture and miracles and commaunde vs to turne our eyes from their visures and consider their frutes and cut them vp and loke with in whether they be sound in the core kernell or no and geue vs a rule to try them by is it excuse good inough to say God will not let so great a multitude erre I will folow the most part and beleue as my fathers dyd and as the preachers teach and will not busie my selfe chose them the faute is theirs and not ours God shall not lay it to our charge if we erre Where such wordes be there are the false Prophetes all ready For where no loue to the truth is there are y â— false Prophetes where such wordes be there to be no loue to y e truth is plame Ergo where such woordes be there be the false Prophetes in their full swyng by Paules rule ij Thessa ij An other conclusion where no loue to the truth is there be false Prophetes The greatest of the world haue least loue to the truth Ergo the false Prophetes be the Chaplaines of the greatest which may with the sword compel the rest As the kynges of Israell compelled to worshyp the golden Calues And by false Prophetes vnderstand falâ—e teachers as Peter calleth them and wycked expounders of the Scripture Who soeuer heareth these words of me and doth them I will lyken him vnto a wise man that built hys house vppon a rocke and there fell a rayne and the floudes came and the windes blew and beate vppon that house but it fell not for it was grounded vpon a rocke And all that heare of me these wordes and do them not shal be lykened vnto a foolishe man that buylt his house vpon the sand and there fell a rayne and the floudes came and the windes blâ—w and dashed vpon that house and it fell and the fall therof was great Christ hath two sortes of hearers of which neither of them do there after The one wil be saued by fayth of theyr owne makyng without workes The other with workes of their owne makyng without faith The first are those voluptuous which haue yelded them selues vp to sinne saying tushe God is mercyfull Christ dyed for vs that must saue vs onely for we cannot but sinne without resistaÌ„ce The second are the hypocrites which will deserue all with theyr owne imagined woorkes onely And of fayth they haue no other experience saue that it is a litle meritorious where it is paynefull to be beleued As that Christ was borne of a virgin and that he came not out the way that other children do he no that were a great inconuenience but aboue vnder her arme yet made no hole though he had a very naturall body as other meÌ„ haue and that there is no bread in the Sacrament nor wyne though the fiue wittes say all ye And the meritorious payne of this belefe is so heauy to them that except they had fayned them a thousand wise similitudes and lowsye lykenesses and as many madde reasoÌ„s to stay them with all and to helpe to captiuate their vnderstandyng they were like to cast all of their backes And the onely refuge of a great many to keepe in that fayth is to cast it out of their myndes not to thinke vpon it As though they forgeue not yet it they put the displeasure out of their myndes and thinke not of it til a good occasion be geueÌ„ to adueÌ„ge it they thinke they loue their neighbour well inough all the while and be in good charge And the fayth of the best of them is but like theyr fayth in other worldly stories But the fayth which is trust and confidence to be saued and to haue their sinnes forgeuen by Christ which was so borne haue they not at all
through yea what thyng maketh both the Turke the Iew abhorre our fayth so much as our imageseruice But the Pope was then glad to finde an occasion to picke a quarell with the Emperour to get the Empire into hys owne handes which thyng he brought to passe with the sword of Fraunce clame so highe that euersence he hath put his own authoritie in stede of Gods word in euery generall Councell and hath concluded what him liste as agaynst all gods word and agaynst all charitie he condemned that blessed dede of that Councell and Emperour M. They blaspheme our Lady and all Saintes Tyndall That is vntrue We honour our blessed Lady and all holye Saintes and folow their fayth and liuing vnto the vttermost of our power and submit our selues to be scholers of the same schole M. They may not abyde Salue regina Tyndall For therin is much blasphe mie vnto our blessed Lady because Christ is our hope and lyse onely and not she And ye in ascribyng vnto her that she is not dishonour God worshyp her not M. They say if a woman beyng alyue beleue in God and loue him as much as our Lady she may helpe with her prayers as much as our Lady Tyndall Tell why not Christ whē it was told him that his mother his brethren sought him aunswered that his mother his sisters and his brethrē were all they that did his fathers will And vnto y e womā that sayd to Christ blessed be the wombe that bare the and pappes that gaue thee sucke Christ answered Nay blessed are they that heare the word of God keepe it As Paule sayth 1. Cor. ix I haue nought to reioyce though I preach for necessitie lyeth vpon me and wo is me if I preach not If I do it vnwillingly an office is committed vnto me but and if I do it with a good will then I haue a reward So now carnall bearyng of Christ and carnall geuyng hym sucke make not our Lady great But our blessed Ladyes greatnesse is her fayth and loue wherein she exceeded other Wherfore if God gaue his mercy that an other woman were in those twoo poyntes equall with her why were she not like great and her prayers as much heard M. Item that men should not worship the holy crosse Tyndall With no false worship and superstitious fayth but as I haue said to haue it in reuerence for the memoriall of him that dyed theron M. Item Luther hateth the festes of the crosse and of Corpus Christi Tyndall Not for enuy of the crosse which sinned not in the death of Christ nor of malice toward the blessed body of Christ but for the idolatrie vsed in those festes M. Item that no man or woman is bound to kepe any vow Tyndall Lawfull vowes are to be kept vntill necessitie breake them But vnlawful vowes are to be broken immediatly M. Martine appealed vnto the next generall Councell that should bee gathered in the holy ghost to seke a long delay Tyndall Of a truth that were a lōg delay For should Martine liue till the Pope would gather a Councell in the holy ghost or for any godly purpose he were like to be for euery heere of hys head a thousand yeares old Then bringeth he in the inconstancie of Martine because he saith in his later booke how that he seeth further then in his first Paraduenture he is kynne to our Doctours whiche when with preachyng agaynste pluralities they haue got them thre or foure benefices alledge the same excuse But yet to say the truth the very Apostles of Christ learned not all truth in one day For long after the Ascention they wist not that the heathē should be receaued vnto the fayth How then could Martin brought vp in the blyndnesse of your sect aboue xl yeares spye out all your falsehead in one day M. Martine offered at Wormes before the Emperour and all the Lordes of Germany to abyde by his booke and to dispute which he might well doe sithens he had his safe conduct that he should haue no bodyly harme Tyndal O mercyful God how come ye out your owne shame ye cā not dispute except ye haue a mā in your owne daunger to do hym bodyly harme to diote him after your fashion to tormēt him and to murther him If ye might haue had him at your pleasure ye wold haue disputed with him first with sophistrie and corrupting the Scripture then with offeryng hym promotions thē with the sword So that ye would haue bene sure to haue ouercome hym with one Argument or other M. He would agree on no Iudges Tyndall What Iudges offered ye hym sane blynd Byshops and Cardinals enemyes of all truth whose promotions and dignities they feare to be plucked from them if the truth came to light or such Iudases as they had corrupt with money to maynteine their sect The Apostles might haue admitted as well the heathen Bishops of Idoles to haue bene their iudges as he them But he offered you autenticke Scripture and the hartes of the whole world Which ij iudges if ye had good consciēces and trust in God ye would not haue refused The iiij Chapter THe fourth Chapter is not the first Poetrie that he hath fayned The v. Chapter IN the end of the fift he vntruly reporteth that Martine sayth no man is bound to kepe any vowe Lawfull promises are to be kept and vnlawfull to he broken The vj. Chapter IN the beginning of the vj. he describeth Martine after the example of his own nature as in other places he describeth God after the complection of Popes Cardinals worldly tyraūts M. Martin will abyde but by the Scripture onely Tyndall And ye will come at no scripture onely And as for the old doctours ye will heare as litle saue where it pleaseth you for all your crying old holy fathers For tell me this why haue ye in England condēned the vnion of Doctours but because ye would not haue your falshead disclosed by the doctrine of them M. They say that a Christen man is discharged of all lawes spirituall and temporall saue the Gospell Tyndall Ye iuggle we say that no Christen man ought to bynde his brother violently vnto any law wherof he could not geue a reason out of Christes doctrine and out of y e law of loue And on the other side we say that a Christen man is called to suffer wrong and tyranny though no man ought to bynde hym vntill God rid vs therof so farre yet as the tyranny is not directly agaynst the law of God and fayth of Christ and no further More Martin was the cause of the destruction of the vplandish people of Germanie Tyndall That is false for then he coulde not haue escaped himselfe Martin was as much the cause of their cōfusion as Christ of the destruction of
t tyme the one halfe of Christendome And when any Pope since exhorteth them to vnitie they aunswere that he which will raigne ouer his brethren with violence breaketh vnitie and not they and that they will not be vnder his tyranny wherunto he calleth them vnder a colour of vnitie And from henceforth with the helpe of hys Byshoppes which weresworne to be true ligemen vnto hym when beforetyme they were admitted to theyr byshopprikes of the Emperours and Kinges he beganne to lay a baite to catch the whole Empyre into his handes also By what meanes the Pope inuaded the Empyre AT that same season Mahomete the auctor of the sect of the Turckes and Saracenes beganne And assoone as he had got much people vnto hym with wyles and fayned myracles he inuaded the Empyre of Rome in those quarters And looke how busie Mahomete was in those parries so busie was the Pope in these quarters to inuade the Empyre with the helpe of his sworne Byshoppes which preached all of none other God then the Pope while the Emperour was occupyed a farre of in resisting of Mahomete And within few yeares after when the kynges of Italy now and theÌ„ vexed our holy fathers for their couetous ambicion then Gregory the third ioyned amitie with the Frenchmen and called them to helpe by whose power they gatte al they haue and also maintaine it vnto this day For if any man since that tyme hether displeased the Pope neuer so little he immediatly curssed him and excommunicate him and proclaymed him no right enheritour and that it was not lawfull to holde of him and absolued his Lordes and subiectes of their allegeaunce and sent his blessing vnto the French king and remission of sinnes to go and conquere his land the Pope and French kyng alway deuiding the spoyle betwene them the Byshops and all that serued God for the belye preaching the Popes might how that he had power so to do and all thynges to bynde and loose at his will wrestyng the Scriptures to serue for their purpose corruptyng all the lawes both of God man to proue his Godhead with all THen came Pope Zacharias the first in whose tyme Hildericus was K. of Fraunce a man that gouerned hys Realme as it oft chaunceth by a Debite as persons preache one Pipine a Lord of his owne and his sworne subiect This Pipine sent an holy Byshop to Pope Zacharias that he should helpe to make him kyng of Fraunce and he would be his defender in Italy as the maner of scalled horses is the one to claw the other and Zacharias aunswered that hee was more woorthy to be kyng that ruled the Realme and tooke the labours then an idle shadow that went vp and downe and did nought And so vpon that the Lords of FrauÌ„ce by the persuasions of the Prelates consented vnto Pipine and thrust downe their right king vnto whom they were sworne made a Monke of hym And both the Lordes and also Pipine tooke dispensations for their othes of our holy father and were forsworne Thus was our holy father the Pope crept vp into the consciences of men with hys false interpretation of byndyng loosyng good viij hundred yeares agone THen came Pope Stephanus the second out of whose hands Estulphus kyng of Lombardy would fayne haue scratched somwhat for he thought that the holy fathers gathered to tast and had all ready raked to much vnto theÌ„ But the new kyng Pipine of Fraunce warned of his duty and seruice promised and mindfull of old frendshyp and hopyng for part of the praye came to succour the Pope And when hee had subdued the kyng of Lambardy hee gaue vnto our holy father or rather to S. Peter y t hungry begger great Prouinces and countreys in Lombardy and in Italy with the I le Corsica and many great Cities of which some pertayned vnto the Emperour beyng theÌ„ at Constantinople and yet the Emperour had sent before vnto kyng Pipine that he should not geue of his townes vnto the Pope But Pipine aunswered that he came for the same intent and to enhaunce our holy father And our holy father receaued them And thus the Empire was deuided in two partes the Pope the French kyng partyng the one halfe betwene them And as the Emperour decayed the pope grew And as the pope grew so the sect of Mahomete grew for the Emperour halfe his empire lost was not able to defend him selfe agaynst the infidels And the Pope would suffer no helpe hence to come for two causes One lest the Emperour should recouer his Empyre agayne and an other because the Prelates of the Greekes would not submitte them selues vnto his Godhead as the Prelates of these quarters of the world had done AFter Pipine raigned his sonne the great Charles whom we call Charle mayne which knew no other God but the pope nor any other way to heauen then to do the Pope pleasure For the Pope serued him for twoo purposes One to dispence with him for whatsoeuer mischief he did an other to be stablished in the Empyre by his helpe for without his fauour hee wist it would not be so great a God was our holy father become all ready in those dayes This Pope Stephen in his latter dayes fell at variaunce with Desiderius kyng of Lombardy about the Archbyshop of Rauenâ—a AFter Stephen succeded AdriaÌ„ y â— first with whom Desiderius the K. of LoÌ„bardy would fayne haue made peace but pope Adrian would not And shortly vpon that the brother of this Charlemayne which raigned with him in half the dominion of Fraunce dyed whose wife for feare of Charles fled with her ij sonnes vnto Desiderius king of Lombardy for succour Defiderius was glad of their comming trusting by the meanes of these two children to obtaine fauour among many of the Frenchmen and so to be able to resist Charles if hee would medle and to bryng Italy vnto the right Emperour agayne would haue had that pope Adrian should haue annoynted them kynges in their fathers roome But Adrian refused that to do for he saw Charles mighty and mete for his purpose and was as wyly as Desiderius thought to kepe out the right Emperour and be Emperor of Rome him selfe though he gaue an other the name for a season till a more conuenient tyme came Then Desiderius warred vppon the Popes iurisdiction And Adrian sent to Charles And Charles came with his army and draue out Desiderius and hys sonne which sonne fled vnto the right Emperour to Constantinople And Charles the Pope deuyded the kyngdome of Lombardy betwene theÌ„ And Charles came to Rome And the Pope he were sworne together that who soeuer should be enemy vnto the one should be enemy also vnto the other This Adrian gathered a Councell immediatly of an C. liij Bishops Abbotes and religious persones gaue vnto Charles his successours the
inch of her honour or Saint Peters seate one iot of her right And Anselmus that was Byshop in short tyme after neuer left striumge with that mighty prince kyng William the second vntill he had compelled him maugre his teeth to deliuer vp the inuestiture or election of Byshops vnto Saint Peters vicar which inuestiture was of olde tyme the kynges dutie And agayne when the sayde kyng William woulde haue had the tribute that Priestes gaue yearely vnto theyr Byshoppes for their whores payde to hym did not Rāfe Byshop of Chichester forbid Gods seruice as they call it and stoppe vp the Church doores with thornes thoroughout all his diocesse vntill the kyng had yelded hym vp his tribute agayne For when the holy father had forbode Priestes theyr wyues the Byshop permitted them whores of their owne for a yearely tribute do still yet in all landes saue in England where they may not haue any other saue mens wiues onely And agayne for the election of Steuē Langton Archbyshop of Canterbury what mysery and wretchednes was in the realme a long season Then was y e land interdited many yeares And whē that holpe not then Ireland rebelled agaynst kyng Iohn immediatly not without the secrete workinge of our Prelates I dare well say But finally when neither the interditing neither that secrete subtiltie holpe and when Iohn would in no meanes consent that Saint Peters vicar should raigne alone ouer the spiritualtie and ouer all that pertayned vnto them and y t they should sinne and do all mischiefe vnpunished the Pope sent remission of sinnes to the kyng of Fraunce for to goe and conquere his land Whereof kyng Iohn was so sore afrayde that he yelded vp his crowne vnto the Pope and sware to holde the land of him and that his successours should do so likewyse And againe in king Richardes dayes the second Thomas Arundell Archbyshop of Canterbury and Chauncellar was exiled wyth the Earle of Darby The outward pretence of the variaūce betwene the king and hys Lords was for the deliueraunce of the towne of Breste in Britayne But our prelates had an other secrete mistery a bruyng They could not at their owne lust slea the poore wretches which at that tyme were conuerted vnto repētaunce to y t true fayth to put their trust in Christes death bloud sheding for the remissiō of their sinnes by the preaching of Iohn Wiclefe As soone as the Archbyshop was out of the realme the Irishmen began to rebell agaynst kyng Richarde as before agaynst kyng Iohn But not hardly without the inuisible inspiration of thē that rule both in the courte and also in the consciences of all men They be one kyngdome sworne together one to helpe an other scatered abroad in all realines And howbeit that they striue amōg themselues who shal be greatest yet agaynst the temporal power they be alwayes at one though they dissemble it faine as though one helde agaynst the other to know their enemies secretes to betray them withall They can enspyre priuely into the brestes of the people what mischiefe they liste no man shall know whence it cōmeth Their letters go secretly from one to an other thoroughout all kingdomes Saint Peters vicar shall haue worde in xv or xvj dayes from the vttermost part of Christendome The Byshops of Englande at their neede can write vnto the Byshops of Ireland Scotland Denmarke Douchland Fraūce and Spayne promising them as good a turne an other tyme putting thē 〈◊〉 remembraunce that they be all one holy Church and that the cause of y t tone is the cause of the tother saying if our iugglinge breake out youres can not belong hid And the other shall serue their turne and bring the game vnto their handes and no man shall know how it commeth about Assoone as kyng Richard was gone to Ireland to subdue these rebellions the Byshop came in againe and preuēted the kyng and tooke vp his power agaynst hym and tooke him prisoner and put him downe and to death most cruelly and crowned the Erle of Darbye Kyng O mercifull Christ what bloud hath that coronacion cost England but what care they their causes must be auenged He is not worthy to bee kyng that will not auenge their quarels For do not the kyngs receaue their kyngdome of the beast sweare to worship hym and maintayne hys throne And thē whē the Erle of Darbye which was king Henry the fourth was crowned the prelates tooke hys sworde and his sonnes Henry the fift after hym as all the kynges swordes since and abused them to shed Christē bloud at their pleasure And they coupled their cause vnto the kynges cause as now and made it treasō to beleue in Christ as the scripture teacheth and to resiste the Byshops as now and thrust them in the kinges prisons as now so that it is no new inuention that they now do but euen an olde practise though they haue done theyr busie cure to hide their sciēce that their conueyaunce should not be espyed And in kyng Henry the sixt dayes how raged they as fierce Liōs against good Duke Humfrey of Glocester the kynges vncle and protectour of the realme in the kynges youth and childhod because that for him they myght not slea whom they would and make what cheuysaunce they lusted Would not the Byshoppe of winchester haue fallen vpon him and oppressed him openly with might and power in the citie of London had not the Citizens come to his helpe But at the last they founde y t meanes to contriue a drift to bring their matters to passe and made a Parlyament farre from the Cityzens of London where was slayne the good Duke and onely wealth of the realme and the mighty shylde that so long before that kept it from sorow which shortly after his death fell theron by heapes But the chronicles can not tell wherfore he dyed nor by what meanes No maruell verely For he had neede of other eyes then such as y e worlde seeth withall that should spye out their priuy pathes Neuerthelesse the chronicles testifie that he was a vertuous man a godly and good to the commō wealth Moreouer the proctour of purgatory saith in his Dialoge quod I and quod he and quod your frende how that the foresayd Duke of Glocester was a noble mā and a great clarcke and so wise that he coulde spye false myracles and disclose them and iudge them from the true which is an hatefull science vnto our spiritualtie and more abhorred amongest them then Necromancye or witchcrafte and a thyng wherfore a man by their lawe I dare well say is worthy to dye and that secretly if it be possible Now to be good to the common wealth and to see false myracles and thyrdly to withstand that Fraūce then brought vnder the foote of the Englishmen should not be set vp agayne by whose power the
wise The body of our Sauiour which was broken on the crosse for the sinne of all that repent and haue good hartes and would fayne keepe his law be broke vnto my danmation if I breake this othe then is it a terrible othe and they had nede to take hede how they make it and if it be lawfully made not to breake it at all But as they care for their othe whiche they make in wedlocke so they care for this What soeuer nede the Pope hath he wil not send to the Emperour to come and helpe him in Italy for feare lest he would take to him selfe what soeuer he conquered of the Frenchmen and waxe to strong and minish our holy fathers power and become our holy fathers Vicare as he is S. Peters Neuerthelesse if we Englishmen wil hyre the Emperour to come and fight agaynste Fraunce for the right of the Churche in these quarters that be next vnto vs his fatherhode is content to admitte his seruice When our kyng hath graunted to take our holy fathers part then the pretence and cloke outward must be that the kyng will chalenge his right in Fraunce And to ayde the kyng in hys right must the commons be milked till they blede agayne Thē to do the kyng seruice the Lordes sel or lay their lādes to morgage Then is cleane remission geuen to flea French dogges He that dyeth in the quarell shall neuer see Purgatory but flye to heauen streight euē with a thought WHen the Pope hath what he desireth in Italy then must we make peace with the Frēchmen agayn immediatly that Fraunce be not all to gether troden vnder the foote but that it remayne alwaye in a meane state strōg inough to match the Emperour and to keepe him downe but not to mighty for oppressing the Pope And then our Prelates to bryng the peace about send immediatly a Frier Forest or a Vicare of Croyden to preach before the Kyng and his Lordes which preacher roareth and crieth vnto them as though he halowed his houndes maketh exclamations saying Alas what will ye do spare Christen bloud will ye sea your owne soules Be not the Frenchmen as wel Christen as ye Moreouer ye slea poore innocētes that neuer offended Make peace for the passion of Christ Kill not one an other as though Christ had not dyed for you but fight rather agaynst the Turkes Then come in the Ambassadours of Fraunce and money a few Prelates certaine other the kinges playfelowes that be sworne with them to betray both the kyng and the Realme to And then is peace concluded But outwardly there is nothyng saue a truce taken for halfe an yeare till our souldiers be at home agayn for feare lest they wold not bee content Then commeth the whole host home beggarde both great and small And the poore that can not sodenly get worke fall to stealyng and be hanged at home This could More tell in hys Vtopia before he was the Cardinals sworne Secretary and fallen at his foote to betray the truth for to get promotion Take an example the Bishops sent kyng Henry the fifte out to conquere Fraūce The cause was saith the Chronicles that the kyng wēt about to take their temporalities from them And therfore to bryng the kyng into an other imagination they monyed hym sent him into Fraunce When they had sent out the kyng he conquered more then was their will and more then they supposed possible for him in so short space and brought Fraunce cleane vnder the foote so that our Prelates had much secret businesse to set it vp agayne but what is impossible vnto so great Gods In kyng Henryes dayes the vi our holy father of Rome made the Bishop of winchester a Cardinal which went shortly after into Fraunce to treate of a truce betwene England Fraunce And him mette a Legate of Rome a Cardinall also after which meatyng Englishemen had euer the woorse in Fraunce and their chiefest frende the Duke of Burgaine forsoke them For when Cardinals and Byshops mete together they haue their secret counsell by them selues wherin they conclude neither what is good for England nor yet for Fraunce but what is best for our holy fathers profite to kepe him in his state When kyng Henry was of age there was a mariage made betwen him and the Earle of Arminackes daughter in Gyan with the which should haue ben geuen many Castles and Townes in Gyan a great somme of money therto But that mariage was broken not without the secret working of our Prelates and dispensation of our holy father thou maist be sure And a mariage was made betwen him and the kyngs daughter of Cecile for which England gaue vp the whole Dukedome of Gyā and Earledome of Mayne wherby we lost all Normandy whereof they were the kaye And beside that the commons gaue a fiftene and an halfe to fette her in wyth pompe And then was the good Duke of Glocester trayterously murthered partly because he coulde iudge false myracles partly because of the deliueraunce of these two countryes For he beyng a liue they durste not do it And when kyng Edwarde had put downe kyng Harry a mariage was made and concluded betwene him and the kyng of Spayne this quenes mother that now is But yet the Embassadours were come home our Prelates had bewitched kyng Edwarde by their apostle Fryer Bongaye and maryed hym vnto a wydow that was a knyghtes wyfe least if Spayne and England had bene ioyned together kyng Edwarde should haue recouered Fraunce agayne But what folowed after the breaking of the mariage betwene kyng Edwarde and the Erle of Warwicke and what came of his children yea and what came on king Hēry of Windsores children also But what care our prelates what vēgeaūce or mischiefe fall on Princes or on their realmes so their kingdome prosper In kyng Henryes dayes the vij the Cardinall Murton and Byshop Fox of Winchester deliuered vnto y t kinges grace the confessions of as many Lordes as his grace lusted Who so euer was mistrusted if he shroue himselfe at the Charter houses Sion Grenewich at Saint Iohns or wheresoeuer it was the confessour was commaunded by the auctoritie of the Pope to deliuer his confession written sworne that it was all And Cardinall Murton had a licēce of the Pope for xiiij to to studie Necromācy of which he him self was one other I haue heard named which at this tyme I passe ouer with silence And how the holy Friers obseruauntes caryed fayned letters to trye who was true I passe ouer with silence also Howbeit such tēptations fayned profers were inough to moue thē that neuer would haue thought amysse yea in cōfession mē will shrine thē selues of thoughtes which they neuer went about in the outward deede Whē any great man is put to death how his confessour entreateth him what
sister considered the old amitie betweene the house of Burgaine the old kings of England so that they could neuer do ought in Fraunce without their helpe last of al considered the course of marchandise that Englād hath in those parties also the naturall hate that Englishmen beare to Frenchmen Wherefore if we shall vse our old practise and set the French king against him then he shall lightly obtayne the fauour of the King of Englande by the meanes of his aunt and his wife ayd with men and money Wherefore we must take heed betimes and breake this amitye Which thing we may by this our old craft easely bring to passe Let vs take a dispensation and breake this mariage and turne the Kinges sister vnto the French King If the Frenche King gette a male of her then wee shall lightly make our king protector of Fraunce and so shall England and Fraunce be coupled together and as for the Queene of England we shall trim hir well enough and occupy the king with strainge loue and keepe hir that she shall beare no rule And as the goddes had spoken so it came to passe Our fayre yong doughter was sent to the old pocky king of Fraunce y ◠yeare before our mortall enemie and a miscreant worse them a Turke and disobedient vnto our holy father and no more obedient then he was compelled to be against his will The cause of the iorny to Callice IN shorte space thereafter Thomas Wolfse now cardinall and Legate a latere and greatly desirous to be pope also thought it exceding expedient for his many secret purposes to bring our king the king of Fraunce that now is together both to make a perpetuall peace and amitie betweene them and that while the two Kinges and theyr lordes dalied together the great Cardinales and Bisshops of both parties might betray them both and the Emperour and all christen kinges therto Then he made a iourney of gentlemen arayed altogether in silk so much as their very shoes and lining of their bootes more like their mothers then men of warre yea I am sure that many of their mothers would haue bene ashamed of so nice and wanton array Howbeit they went not to make war but peace for euer a day longer But to speake of the pompous apparell of my Lord himself of his chaplaines it passeth y ◠xij Apostles I dare swere that if Peter and Paule had sene them sodenly at a blush they would haue bene harder in beleefe that they or any such should be their successoures then Thomas Didimus was to beleeue that Christ was risen againe from death When all was concluded betweene the King of Fraunce and oures that Thomas Wolfse had deuised and whē the Prelates of both parties had cast their peniworthes against all chaūces and deuised remedies for al mischeifs Thē the right reuerend father in God Thomas Cardinal Legate wold go see the yong Emperour newly chosen to the roome and haue a certaine secreat communication with some of his prelates also And gatte him to Bridges in Flaunders where he was receaued with great solemnity as belongeth vnto so mighty a pillar of Christes church and was saluted at the entring into the towne of a mery fellow which sayd Salue rex Regis tui atquè regni sui Hayle both king of thy king and also of his Realme And though there were neuer so greate striffe bewene the Emperour and the French king yet my lord Cardinal iugled him fauour of them both finally brought the Emperour to Cales to the kinges grace where was great triumph and great loue and amitie shewed on both parties insomuch that a certaine man marueiling at it asked the old Bishop of Deram How it might be that we were so great with the Emperour so shortly vpon so strong and euerlasting a peace made betwene vs the frenchmen the Emperour and the King of Fraūce being so mortall enemies My lord aunswered that it might be well enough if he wist all but there was a certaine secret sayd he wherof all men knew not Yea verily they haue had secrets this vi◠hundred yeres which though all the lay men haue felt them yet few haue spyed them saue a few Iudases which for lucre haue bene confederate with them to betray their own kinges and all other Then were we indifferent stood still and the Emperour the French king wrasled together and Ferdinādus the Emperors brother wan Millane of the frenchmen and the Emperour Turnay our great cōquest which yet after so great cost in building a castle we deliuered vp againe vnto the Frenchmen in earnest and hope of a mariage betweene the Dolphine and our Princesse How the Emperour came thorow England AFter that the Emperour would into Spaine came through England where he was receaued w t great honour and with all that partaineth to loue and amitie The kings grace lent him mony and promised him more the Emperour should tary a certayne yeres and mary our princesse not that the Cardinal entended that thou maist be sure for it was not profitable for their kingdome but his minde was to daly with the Emperour and to keepe him without a wife that insomuch as he was yong and lusty he might haue bene nozeled entangled with hores which is their nurturing of kinges made so effeminate and beastly that he should neuer haue bene able to lift vp hys hart to any goodnesse or vertue that Cardinals and Bishoppes might haue administred hys dominions in the meane time vnto our holy fathers profite The king of Fraunce hearing the fauour that was shewed vnto the Emperour sent imediatly a defiaunce vnto our king not without our Cardinals and Bishops counsell thou mayst well wite For frenchmen are not so folish to haue done it so vnaduisedly and so rashly seing they had to many in their toppes already Then our king spake many great woordes that he would driue the frenchking out of his realme or els the frenchking should driue him out of his But had he added as the legate Pandulph taught king Iohn with the Popes licence his words had soūded much better For there can no vow stand in effecte except the holy father confirmed it We sent out our souldiers two summers agaynst the Frenchmen vnto whose cheef Captayne 's the Cardinall had appointed how far they should go and what they should do and therfore the French king was nothing afrayd but brought all his power against the Emperour in other places so was the Emperor euer betrayed And thus the Cardinall was the Emperours frend openly and the french kinges secreatly For at the meeting with the french king beside Cales he vtterly betrayed the Emperour yet for no loue that he had to Fraunce but to helpe the Pope and to haue bene Pope happly to saue their kingdome Which treason
hys neighbour and is a thefe And he that is proude of the giftes of God thinketh hym selfe by the reason of them better then his feeble neighbour not rather as the truth is knowledgeth hym selfe a seruaunt vnto hys poore neighbour by the reason of them the same hath Lucifers spirite in hym and not Christes These thynges to know first the law how that it is naturall right and equitie that we haue but one God to put our hope and trust in and hym to loue with all the hart all the soule and all our might and power and neither to moue hart nor hand but at his commaundemēt because he hath first created vs of nought and heauē and earth for our sakes And afterward when we had marred our selfe through sinne he forgaue vs and created vs agayne in the bloud of his beloued sonne And that we haue the name of our one God in feare and reuerence that we dishonour it not in swearyng therby about light trifles or vanitie or call it to recorde for the confirming of wickednesse or falshead or ought that is to the dishonour of God whiche is the breakyng of hys lawes or vnto the hurt of our neighbour And in asmuch as he is our Lord and God and we his double possessiō by creation and redemption and therfore ought as I sayd neither to moue hart or hand without his commaūdement it is right that we haue nedefull holy dayes to come together learne his will both the law which he will haue vs ruled by and also the promises of mercy whiche he will haue vs trust vnto and to geue God thankes together for his mercy and to commit our infirmities to hym through our Sauiour Iesus and to reconsile our selues vnto hym and eche to other if ought be betweene brother and brother that requireth it And for this purpose and such lyke as to visite the sicke and nedy and redresse peace and vnitie were the holy dayes ordeined onely so farforth are they to be kept holy frō all maner workes that may be conueniently spared for the tyme till this be done and no further but then lawfully to worke And that it is right that we obey father and mother Master Lord Prince and Kyng and all the ordinaunces of the world bodely and ghostly by which God ruleth vs and ministreth frely his benefites vnto vs all And that we loue them for the benefites that we receaue by them and feare them for the power they haue ouer vs to punish vs if we trespasse the law and good order So farre yet are the worldly powers or rulers to be obeyed onely as their commaūdements repugne not against the commaundement of God and thē hoo Wherefore we must haue Gods commaundement euer in our hartes and by the hygher law interpret the inferiour that we obey nothyng agaynst the belefe of one God or agaynst the fayth hope and trust that is him onely or agaynst the loue of God wherby we doe or leaue vndone all thyng for his sake that we do nothyng for any mans cōmaundement agaynst the reuerence of the name of God to make it despised and the lesse feared set by and that we obey nothyng to the hynderaunce of the knowledge of the blessed doctrine of God whose seruaūt the holy day is Notwithstandyng though the rulers which God hath set ouer vs commaunde vs agaynst God or do vs open wrong and oppresse vs with cruel tyranny yet because they are in Gods rowme we may not auēge our selues but by the processe and order of Gods law and lawes of mā made by the authoritie of Gods law whiche is also Gods law euer by an hygher power and remittyng the vengeaunce vnto God and in the meane seasō suffer vntill the houre be come And on the other side to know that a man ought to loue his neighbour equally and fully as well as hym selfe because his neighbour be he neuer so simple is equally created of God and as full redemed by the bloud of our sauiour Iesu Christ Out of which commaundement of loue spring these Kill not thy neighbour defile not his wife beare no false witnesse agaynst hym finally not onely do not these thynges in deede but couete not in thyne harte his house his wife his manseruaunt maydeseruaunt oxe asse or what soeuer is his So that these lawes pertaynyng vnto our neighboure are not fulfilled in the sight of God saue with loue He that loueth not hys neighbour kepeth not this commaundemēt defile not thy neighbours wife though hee neuer touch her or neuer see her or thinke vpon her For the commaundement is though thy neighbours wife be neuer so fayre thou haue neuer so great oportunitie geuen thee and she contēt or happly prouoke thee as Putiphers wife did Ioseph yet see thou loue thy neighbor so well that for very loue thou can not finde in thine hart to do y t wickednes And euē so he that trusteth in any thing saue in God onely in his sonne Iesus Christ kepeth no cōmaundemēt at all in the sight of God For he that hath trust in any creature whether in heauen or in earth saue in God his sonne Iesus cā see no cause to loue God with all his hart c. neither to absteine from dishonoryng his name nor to keepe the holy day for the loue of his doctrine nor to obey louing ly y t rulers of this world nor any cause to loue his neighbour as him selfe to absteine from hurtyng hym where he may get profite by hym saue him selfe harmeles And in likewise against this law loue thy neighbour as thy selfe I may obey no worldly power to do ought at any mans cōmaundemēt vnto the hurt of my neighbour that hath not deserued it though he be a Turke And to know how cōtrary this law is vnto our nature how it is dānation not to haue this law writtē in our hartes though we neuer committe the dedes how there is no other meanes to bee saued from this damnation then through repentaūce toward the law fayth in Christes bloud which are the very inward baptisme of our soules the washyng the dippyng of our bodyes in y t water is the outward signe The plungyng of the body vnder the water signifieth that we repent professe to fight against sinne and lustes to kill them euery day more and more with the helpe of God our diligence in folowyng the doctrine of Christ and the leadyng of his spirite and that we beleue to be washed from our naturall damnation in which we are borne and from all the wrath of the law and frō all the infirmities weakenesses that remayne in vs after we haue geuen our consent vnto the law and yelded oure selfe to be scholers thereof and from all the imperfectnesse of all our deedes done with cold loue and from all actuall sinne which shall chaunce on vs while we
and he will therto consider our mekenes and what soeuer chaunceth neuer taketh away hys mercy till we cast of the yoke of our profession first and runne away with vtter defiaunce that we will neuer come more at schole Then our stubburne and hard hartes mollifie waxe soft and in the confidēce and hope that we haue in Christ and his kindnes we go to God boldly as vnto our father and receaue life that is to say loue vnto God and vnto the law also That whiche we haue seene and heard we declare vnto you that ye may haue felowshyppe with vs and that our felowshyppe may be with the father and with his sonne Iesus Christ And these thynges we write vnto you that your ioye may be full To bryng vnto the felowshyp of God and Christ and of them that beleue in Christ is the finall intent of all the Scripture why it was giuen of God vnto man and the onely thyng which all true preachers seke wherby ye shall euer know and discerne the true word of God from all false and counterfayted doctrine of vayne traditions the true preacher from the wylie hypocrite We preache vnto you sayth Iohn y t euerlastyng lyfe which we haue heard and in hearyng receaued through fayth and are sure of it to draw you to vs out of the felowshyp that ye haue with the damned deuils in sinnefull lustes and ignoraunce of God for we seeke you and not yours as sayth Paul ij Cor. xij We loue you as our selues in God therfore wold haue you felowes and equall with vs build you vpon the foundation layd of the Apostles and Prophetes which is Christ ▪ Iesus and make you of the houshold of God for euer that ye and we felowes and brethren and coupled together in one spirit in one fayth and in one hope might haue our felowship thereby with God and become his sonnes heyres with Iesus Christ beyng his brethren and coheyres and to make your ioy ful through that glad tydinges as the aungell sayd vnto the shepheardes Luke ij Behold I shew you great ioye that shal be vnto all the people how that there is a Sauiour borne vnto you this day whiche is Christ the Lord. And these tydinges we bryng you with the worde of God onely which we receaued of his spirit and out of the mouth of his sonne as true messengers We preach not our selues but Christ our Lord and vs your seruauntes for hys sake we do not loue our selues to seke yours vnto vs that after we had with wiles robbed you of all ye haue we should exalte our selues ouer you separate our selues frō you and make our selues a seuerall kyngdome free and frāke raygnyng ouer you as heathen tyrauntes holdyng you in bondage to serue our lucre and lustes tanglyng your conscience with doctrine of man whiche draweth from God and Christ and fearing you with the bugge of excommunication agaynste Gods word Or if that serued not shakyng a sword at you And this is the tydinges whiche we haue heard of hym and declare vnto you that God is lyght and in hym is no darknes at all If we say that we haue felowshyp with hym and yet walke in darkenes we lye and do not the truth But and if we walke in light as he is in light then haue we felowshyp together and the bloud of Christ his sonne clenseth vs from all sinne As the deuill is darknes and lyes so is God light and truth onely and there is no darknes of falshead consentyng to wickednes in hym And the brightnes of his light is his word and doctrine as the. C. and. xix Psalme sayth Thy worde is a lanterne vnto my feete a light to my pathes And Christe is the light that lightneth all men And the Apostles are called the light of the world because of the doctrine And all that knowe truth are light Ye were once darkenes sayth Paule Ephes v. but now light in the Lord walke therfore as the children of lyght And good workes are called the frutes of light And all that lyue in ignoraūce are called darknes as he sayth afterward he that hateth his brother walketh in darknes For if the light of the glorious Gospell of Christe dyd shyne in his hart he could not hate his brother By walking vnderstande consenting doing and working If then we walke in darcknes that is consent and worke wickednes and say we haue felowship with God we ly For to haue felowship with him is to knowe and consent and professe his doctrine in our hartes Now if the commaundementes of GOD bee written in our hartes our members can not but practise thē shew the fruite So whether light or darknes be in the hart it will appeare in y t walking For though our members be neuer so dead vnto vertue yet if our soules knowledge the truth consent vnto righteousnes we haue the sprite of life in vs. And Paule sayth Rom. viij If the spirite of him y t raysed vp Iesus from death be in you thē wil he y t raised vp Iesus frō death quicken your mortall bodies by the reasō of the spirit that dwelleth in you So that it is not possible for him that knoweth the truth consenteth thereto to continue in sinne And then finally if we haue the light in our harts and walke therein then we haue fellowship with God and are his sonnes and heires and are purged from all sinne through Christes bloud If we say we haue no sinne we deceaue our selues and trueth is not in vs. If we think there is no sinne in vs we are beguiled and blinde and the light of Gods word is not in vs and eyther folow sinne as beastes without consciēce at all Or if we see the grosse sinnes as murther theft and adultery yet we haue hanged a vayle of false gloses vpon Moses face and see not the brightnes of the law how that it requireth of vs as pure an hart to God and as great loue vnto our neighbours as was in our sauiour Iesus ceaseth not before to condemne vs as sinners If we knowledge our sinnes he is faythfull and iust to forgeeue vs our sinnes and to clense vs from all vnrigh teousnes If we confesse our sinnes not in the preistes eare though that tradition restored vnto the right vse were not dānable but in our hartes to God with true repentaunce and fast beleife then is he faythfull to forgeue and to purge vs because of his mercifull truth and promise For he promised Abraham that in his seede all the worlde should be blessed from the curse of sinne And hath aboundantly renued his euerlasting mercy vnto vs in the new testament promising that our sinnes shall be forgeuen vs in Christes bloud if we repent and trust thereto If we say we haue not sinned we make him a lyer and hys woord is not in vs. For his
one sayth so and an other thus confirming their assertions with glorious persuasions of wisedome but not after the wisedome of God whiche reasons an other denyeth with cōtrary sophismes so riseth brauling about vayne wordes without all certaintie And now litle children abide in hym that when hee shall appeare we may haue confidence and not bee made ashamed of hym at hys commyng Here are ij thinges to be marked one if we cleaue vnto Christ after the doctrine of the Apostles and as they built vs vpon him we shall be bolde sure of our selues at his comming As a seruaunt which in his maisters absence doth onely his maisters commaūdements cannot be confounded at his comming home againe But and if we folow mens doctrine how can we be bold yea how should we not be ashamed with our teachers vnto whome thē he shall say whē they boast thē selues how y t they haue bene his vicars I know you not depart from me ye that haue wrought wickednes and vnder my name haue brought in damnable sectes and haue taught your disciples to beleue in other thinges then in me Now the summe of all that the Apostles taught and how they built vs vpon Christ is the new testament But the popes doctrine is not there found but improued Confounded therefore shall he be which witting and willing shutteth his eyes at the true light and openeth them to beleue his lyes An other thing is this all the scripture maketh mentiō of the resurrectiō comming againe of Christ that all men both they that go before and they that come after shall then receiue their rewardes together we are cōmaunded to looke euery houre for that day And what is done with the soules frō their departing their bodies vnto that day doth the Scripture make no mentiō saue onley that they rest in y e Lord in their faith Wherfore he that determineth ought of the state of them that be departed doth but teach the presumptuous imaginations of his owne braine neither can his doctrine be any article of our fayth What God doth with them is a secreat layd vp in the treasury of God And we ought to be patient being certefied of the scripture that they which dye in the fayth are at rest ought no more to search that secret thē to search y e houre of the resurrection whiche God hath put onely in his owne power But this remember that the whole nature of mā is poysoned infected with sinne And y e whole life of sinne must be mortefied And the roote of al sinne and first vice we were infect with is that we would be wise where God hath not taught vs as ye see how Eue would haue ben as God in the knowledge of good bad And therefore hath God hid many thinges in his power and commaunded that we shall search none of his secrets further then he hath opened them in his scripture to mortefy this poyson of all poysons the desire to appeare wise that we be ashamed to be ignoraunt in any thing at all Wherfore they that violently make articles of the fayth with out Gods woord are yet aliue in the roote of all sinne and vice and grow out of the deuill and not out of Christ And their articles are of the blindnes of the deuill and not of the light of Christ for Christes light hath testimonie of the scripture euery where If ye know that he is righteous know that all that woorke righteousnes are borne of him Our nature is to worke wickednes and so blinde therto that it can see no righteousnes And then it foloweth that we must be borne a new in Christ ere we can either do or yet know what is righteous And in him we must first be made righteous our selues ere we can worke righteous woorkes which conclusion is contrary vnto the Pope for he sayth that the woorkes do make the man righteous And Christes doctrine sayth that the man maketh the workes righteous A righteous man springeth out of righteous woorkes sayth the Popes doctrine Righteous works spring out of a righteous man and a righteous man springeth out of Christ sayth Christes doctrine The workes make y t man righteous which before was wicked sayth the Pope The woorkes declare that the man is righteous sayth Christes doctrine but the man was first made righteous in Christ and the spirite of Christ taught him what righteousnes was and healed his hart made him consent therto to haue his lust in righteousnes and to worke righteouslie Chap. 3. BEholde what loue the Father hath shewed vs that we shold be called the sonnes of god For this cause the worlde knoweth you not because it knoweth not him Dearely beloued now wee are the sonnes of God though yet it appeareth not what we shall be But we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is The loue of God to vs ward is exceeding great in that he hath made vs his sonnes without al deseruing of vs and hath geuen vs his spirite through Christ to certifie our hartes thereof in that we feele that our trust is in God that our soules haue receaued health and power to loue the law of God which is a sure testimonie that we are sonnes vnder no damnation Neyther ought it to discourage vs or to make vs thinke we were lesse beloued because the world hateth vs and persecuteth vs for the world knoweth vs not Neyther any maruell for y t world could not know Christ him selfe for all his glorious commyng with miracles and benefits in healing the sicke and raysing the dead But for al the oppression of the world we are yet sure that we are Gods sonnes And in like maner though the glory that we shall be in appeare not yet we are sure that we shall be like him when he appeareth As darknes vanisheth away at the cōming of the sunne and the worlde receaueth a new fashion and is turned in to light and suddenly made glorious Euen so when he appeareth and we shall see him as he is we shal with the sight of him be chaunged into the glory of his image and made like him And then shall the world both know him and vs vnto their shame and confusion And all that haue thys hope in him purge thēselues as he is pure The fayth and hope of a Christen man are no dead idle or barren thinges but liuely woorkes and fruitfull For when the law through conscience of sinne hath slayne the soule thē hope and trust in Christes bloud thorough certefying of the conscience that the damnation of the law is taken away quickeneth hir agayne maketh hir to loue the law which is the purifying of the soule and hir life and seruing the law in the inner man And then the sayde giftes of hope and fayth stretch them selues forth vnto the members dead with
that should come and blesse all the world and to loue the law and certified them also on the other side of the good will of God if they so did thought I say it was the chief and most principall signe for so are such ceremonies called in the Hebrue because they yet signifie other things then appeareth to the outward sence yet God gaue thē diuers other signes both to styrre vp fayth in the promise made thē and also to kepe the benefite of the mercy of God in minde As in Exodus 13. all the first borne both of mā and beast are sanctified and dedicated vnto the Lord for a remembraunce that the Lord siue all the first borne of Egypt This did God commaund to be obserued that their children should aske why and he cōmaunded their fathers to teach their childrē whē they should aske what was ment thereby Also Exodus 20. the Saboth is cōmaunded to be obserued to be a signe and to testifie that God had sanctified and dedicated or chosen them that they shuld be his people to kepe his lawes that he would be their God to kepe them and to testifie also that God hath created all thynges of nought in sixe dayes and rested the seuenth Also Nume x. where almighty God commaunded the children of Israell to blow a trompet when they entered in to battell agaynst their enemies and promised that they should be thought vppon before the Lord their God and saued from their enemyes And likewise in their solēne feastes God commaūded them to blow trompettes ouer the sacrifice to be a signe vnto them that God would thinke on them accordyng to the couenaūt made in the bloud of the sacrifice Loe the trōpets were commaunded to be blowen not that God delighted in the noyse of the trompettes but in the faith of hys people Also Nume 15. the Israelites are cōmaunded to make yelow gardes vpon their garmentes to put them in remēbraunce to kepe his commaūdements that they should do nothing after their own imagination nor obserue any fashion that pleased their owne eyes Wherby ye see that ceremonies are not a seruice to God but a seruice to man to put him in minde of the couenaunt and to styrre vp fayth and loue which are Gods spirituall sacrifices in mans hart c. And Iehosua 4. when the water of Iordane had geuen place to go ouer by dry ground God commaunded Iehosua to take xij stones out of the bottom of Iordan and to pitch them on the land to kepe the deede in memorie commaūded when the childrē should aske what the stones meant that their father should teach them In the 3. of kynges 11. Ahiah the Prophet tare the clocke of Ieroboam in xij peeces and bad him take x. in signe that he should raigne ouer x. of the tribes In 4. Reg. 13. Eliseus made Iohab kyng of Israell open a window Eastward toward the Syrians and made him to shoote out an arrow and sayd it is the arrow of victory thorough the Lord agaynst the Syrians and that did he to stablishe the kynges fayth in God that he should with Gods helpe ouercome the Syriās and then he bad the kyng smite the ground with an arrow and the kyng smote it thrise wher by hee prophecied and certified the kyng that hee should thrise ouercome the Syrians And Esayas in his xij chapter was commaunded to goe naked and barefoote to be a signe that Egypt in whō the childrē of Israell trusted should be so caried away of Nabuchadnezzar And Ieremias 27. commeth among the people with bondes and chaynes put about his necke and sheweth them vnto all the kyngs of those countreys in token that they must be vnder the yoke of Nabuchadnezzar kyng of Babilō God so vsed to giue them signes that they would not beleue without signes as ye may see not onely in the old Testament but also in the new How the Iewes asked Christ saying what signe doest thou shew vs c. And Paule 1. Cor. 1. the Iewes asked signes Also Zacharias Iohn Baptistes father asked a signe and the aungel gaue it him Christes mother also asked a signe and the aungell gaue her Elizabeth to a signe And vnto the shepheardes gaue the aungell a signe as ye read Luke 2. And Exod. xij God gaue the children of Israel the signe of Pesah which we call the Easter Lambe for a signe that the time was come that the children of Israell should be deliuered out of Egypt And therfore God sent Moyses and Aaron to them whiche wrought many miracles among them to styrre vp their faith to the promise of that deliueraunce agaynst the manifold and sore temptations to the contrarie thorough the most straight and greuous bondage mercylesse oppressiō And in that most specially that Pharao was waxed ten tymes worse to them after the comming of Moses and Aaron thē before yet in the last night in which he had promised to smite the first borne of Egypt both of man and of beast and to deliuer them he commaunded them to take for euery house a Lambe or a kidde and to slay them and to strike the doore postes with the bloud to bee a signe to them and a seale of the promise that God would deliuer thē that night both out of the handes of Pharao and also from the smittyng of the aūgell that went about all Egypt and slue the first borne in euery house And this signe Pesah beside that it was a seale of the promise to be deliuered the same night to stablish y e fayth and commaunded to be obserued euer after yearely to keepe the benefite in memorie it was also a verie prophecie of the passion of Christ describyng the verie maner and fashion of his death and the effect vertue thereof also In whose stede is the Sacrament of the body bloud of Christ come as Baptisme in the roome or stede of Circumcision To see how Christ was prophecied and described therin cōsider marke how that the kidde or Lambe must be without spot or blemish and so was Christ onely of all mākind in the sight of God and of his law It must be taken vp the tēth day of the first moneth which is y e x. day of y e first new mane in March for so coūt they their monethes frō the new Moone there began in 〈◊〉 tyme of March with vs. And the same day came Christ to Ierusalem there to be offered and to suffer his passion It must be offered the xiiij day of the same moneth at night and the same houre begā Christ his passion he was the same houre betrayed and persecuted all night and taken in the morning early The feare of death was the same houre vppon him neither slept he any more after but went immediatly as soone as he had comforted his Disciples into the place where he was taken to abide his persecuters where also he
may feele and not in the imaginations of the brayne in feare and not in boldnes in open necessary things and not to pronounce or define of hyd secretes or thynges that neither helpe or hinder whether they be so or no in vnitie and not in seditious opinions in so much that if you be sure you know yet in thinges that may abyde laysure you wil deferre or say till other agree with you me thinke the text requireth this sense or vnderstandyng yea and that if you be sure that your part be good and in other hold the contrary yet if it be a thyng that maketh no matter you will laugh and let it passe and referre the thyng to other men and sticke you stifly and stubburnely in earnest and necessary thynges And I trust ye be persuaded eueÌ„ so of me For I call God to recorde against y e day we shall appeare before our Lord Iesus to geue a recknyng of our doings that I neuer altered one sillable of Gods word agaynst my coÌ„science nor would this day if all that is in the earth whether it be pleasure honour or riches might be geuen me Moreouer I take God to recorde to my conscience that I desire of God to my selfe in this world no more then that without whiche I can not keepe hys lawes Finally if there were in me any gift that could helpe at hand ayde you if nede required I promise you I would not be farre of and commit the end to God my soule is not faynt though my body be wery But God hath made me euill fauoured in this world and without grace in the sight of meÌ„ spechles and rude dull slow witted your parte shal be to supply that lacketh in me remembryng that as lowlynes of hart shall make you hygh with God euen so mekenes of wordes shal make you sinke into the hartes of men Nature geueth age authoritie but mekenes is the glory of youth and geueth theÌ„ honour Aboundaunce of loue maketh me excede in bablyng Syr as concernyng Purgatory and many other things if you be demaunded you may say if you erre the spiritualtie hath so leâ— you that they haue taught you to beleue as you do For they preached you all such thynges out of Gods word and alledged a thousaÌ„d textes by reason of which textes you beleued as they taught you But now you finde theÌ„ lyers and that the textes meane no such thynges and therfore you can beleue no longer but are as you were before they taught you and beleue no such thing Howbeit you are ready to beleue if they haue any other way to proue it For without profe you can not beleue theÌ„ when you haue founde them with so many lyes c. If you perceiue wherin we may helpe other in being still or doyng somewhat let vs haue word and I will do myne vttermost My Lord of London hath a seruauÌ„t called Iohn Tisen with a red beard and a blacke reddish head and was once my scholler he was seue in Antwerpe but came not among the Englishmen whether hee is gone an Embassadour secret I wote not The mighty God of Iacob be with you to supplant his enemies and geue you the fauour of Ioseph and the wisedome the spirite of Stephen be with your hart and with your mouth and teach your lippes what they shall say and how to aunswere to all thynges He is our God if we despayre in ourselues and trust in him and his is the glory Amen William Tyndall ¶ I hope our redemption is nigh ¶ This letter was written an 1533. in the moneth of January Whiche letter although it do pretende the name of Iacob yet vnderstand good reader that it was written in very deede to Iohn Frith as is aboue told thee For more profe and euidence whereof read Frithes booke of the Sacrament and there thou shalt finde a certeine place of this Epistle repeted word for word beginning this I call God to recorde agaynst the day we shall appeare before our Lord Iesus to geue a rekening of our doings that I neuer altered one sillable of Gods word agaynst my conscience c. Whiche Epistle Iohn Frith him selfe witnesseth that he receaued from Tyndall as in hys testimonie aboue appeareth The end of all M. William Tindals workes newly Imprinted accordyng to his first copies which he himselfe set forth Gods name be blessed for euer Amen ☞ Here foloweth a short and pithy treatise touching the Lordes Supper compiled as some do gather by M. William Tyndall because the methode and phrase agree with his and the tyme of writyng are concurrent which for thy further instruction learnyng gentle Reader I haue annexed to his workes leâ—t the Church of God should want any of the paineful trauels of godly men whose onely care endeuour was to aduaunce the glory of God to further the saluation of Christes flocke committed to their charge The Supper of the Lord. After the true meanyng of the vi of Iohn and the xi of the first Epistle to the Cor. And incidently in the exposition of the Supper is confuted the Letter of Master More agaynst Iohn Frith Anno. 1533. the v. day of Aprill WHen Christ sawe those glottons seekyng theyr bellye 's flockyng so fast vnto him after his woÌ„ted maner the occasion taken to teach preach vnto them of the thing now moued he sayd Verely verely I say vnto you ye seeke me not because ye haue sene my miracles but because ye haue eaten of the loaues and were well filled But as for me I am not commen into this world onely to fill mens bellyes but to fede and satisfie their soules Ye take great paines to folow me for the meate of your bellyes but oh sloughardes worke take paynes labour rather to get that meate that shall neuer perish For this meate that ye haue sought of me hetherto perisheth with your bellyes but the meate that I shall giue you is spirituall and may not perish but abideth for euer giuyng lyfe euerlastyng For my father hath consigned and confirmed me with his assured testimonie to bee that assured sauyng health and earnest peny of euerlastyng life When the Iewes vnderstode not what Christ meant biddyng them to woorke and labour for that meate that should neuer perishe they asked hym what shal we do that we might worke the workes of God supposing that he had spoken of some outward woorke required of them Wherfore Iesus auÌ„swered saying EueÌ„ this is the worke of God to beleue and trust in him whoÌ„ the father hath sent Lo here may ye see that worke of God which he requireth of vs euen to beleue in Christ Also coÌ„sider agayn what this meate is which he bad them here prepare and seeke for saying worke take paynes and seeke for that meate c. and thou shalt see it none other meate then the belief in Christ wherfore he coÌ„cludeth that this meate so
oft mencioned is fayth of the whiche meate â—ayth the Prophet the iust liueth Fayth in him is therfore the meate whiche Christ prepareth dresseth so purely poulderyng and spicyng it with spirituall Allegories in all this Chapter folowyng to giue vs euerlastyng life through it Then sayd the Iewes vnto hym What token doest thou whereby we might know that we should beleue in thee Do somwhat that we might beleue in thee what thyng workest thou that we might know thee to be God Thou knowest well inough that our fathers did eate bread or MaÌ„na in the deserte as it is written hee gaue them bread from aboue Iesus aunswered Verely verely I say vnto you Moses gaue ye not that bread from heaueÌ„ for though it fell downe from the ayre yet was it not heaueÌ„ly foode for it dyd but feede the belly but this bread of God that is descended from heauen whom my father giueth refresheth the soule so aboundauntly that it geueth life vn to the world When the Iewes vnderstode not this saying whiche was nought elles then the declaryng of the Gospell for by the eatyng of this bread hee meant that belefe of this his Gospell they sayd Syr giue vs this bread euermore Iesus sayd vnto theÌ„ I am the bread of life and who so commeth to me shall not hunger who so beleueth in me shal neuer thyrst When the Iewes hard Christ say the bread that descended from heaueÌ„ should giue lyfe to the world they desired to haue this bread giuen them for euer And Iesus perceiuing that they vnderstode not the sence of this Gospel he expouÌ„ded vnto them who was this so liuely bread that giueth life to all the world saying I am the bread of life and who so commeth to me that is to say who so is graffed and ioyned to me by faith shall neuer hunger that is who so beleueth in me is satisfied It is fayth therefore that stancheth this hunger and thyrst of the soule Fayth it is therfore in Christ that filleth our hungry hartes so that we caÌ„ desire none other if we â–ª once eate drinke him by fayth that is to say if we beleue his flesh and body to haue bene broken his bloud shed for our sinnes For then are our soules satisfied and we be iustified Ouer this it foloweth But I haue told you this because ye looke vppon me and beleue me not that is ye be offended that I sayd he that commeth to me shall neither hunger nor thyrst seyng that your selues beyng present be yet both hungry and thyrstie But this commeth because ye haue sene me with your bodily eyes and yet see me beleue not in me but I speake not of such sight nor commyng but of the sight of fayth which who so hath he shall haue none other desire he shall not seeke by night to loue an other before whom be would lay his grief He shal not runne wandering here and there to seke dead stockes and stones for he is certified by his â—ayth to whom hee shall cleaue he is coupled by fayth vnto me his very spouse liuely foode the onely treasure of his soule neuer more to thyrst for any other This light of fayth ye haue not for ye beleue not nor trust in me wherfore ye vnderstand not how I am the very bread and meate of your soules that is to say your faith hope And the cause of this your blyndnes is I will not say ouer hardly to you that the father hath not drawne you in to the knowledge of me or els ye had receiued me For all that the father giueth me must come vnto me And as for me I cast out no maÌ„ that commeth to me For I am not come downe froÌ„ heauen to do my will whiche ye attribute vnto me as vnto eche any other man for I am verely a very man accordyng to that nature I haue a speciall proper will but much more obedieÌ„t to my father then one of you For your will oft resisteth and repugneth Gods will but so doth mine neuer I am therfore come downe to doe his will that hath sent me And to do you to witte what his will is This I say is my fathers will y t hath sent me That of all that he hath giueÌ„ me I leeâ—e none but must rayse hym vp agayne in the last day and to be playne This is the will of him that sent me That who so seeth that is to know the sonne and beleueth in him he shall haue lyfe euerlalastyng and I shall styrre hym vp in y e last day Here may ye see what meate he speaketh of God sent his sonne into this world that we might liue thorough him Who liueth by him They that eate his flesh drinke his bloud Who eate his flesh drinke his bloud They that beleue his body crucified his bloud shed for their sinnes these cleaâ—e vnto his gracious fauour But how could they cleane thus vnto him except they knew him And therfore he added saying Euery man that seeth the sonne that is to say vnderstandeth wherfore the sonne was sent into this world and beleueth in him shall haue euerlastyng lyfe Here it appeared to the carnall Iewes that Christ had taken to much vpon him selfe to say I am the bread of lyfe which am come downe froÌ„ heauen to giue life to the world wherfore the flesh that is to say the Iewes now murmured and noâ— maruelled as M. More sheweth his owne dreame to an other text folowyng whiche I shall touch anone they murmured at this saying of Christ I am the bread which am come from heauen saying Is not this Iesus Iosephes sonne whose father mother we know well inough How then sayth he I am come from heauen Iesus auÌ„swered saying Murmour not among your selues Heard ye not what I told you euen now All that my father giueth me come to me your vnbelefe wherof foloweth this false vnderstanding of my wordes spiritually spoken compelleth me to tell you one thyng more theÌ„ once or twise This therfore it is No maÌ„ may come to me the onely earnest peny pledge â–ª of your saluatioÌ„ vnlesse my father that sent me draw him and whoÌ„ he draweth vnto me that is ioyneth vnto me by fayth him shall I styrre vp in the last day I wonder that ye take my wordes so straungely beleuyng them to be some hard râ—dels or darke parables when I say nothyng els theÌ„ that is written in your owne Prophetes both in Esay and Ieremy saying that all shall be taught of the Lord. Sith eueÌ„ your Prophetes testifie this knowledge to be giueÌ„ you of my father what can be spokeÌ„ more playnly then to say what my father giueth me that commeth to me or this no man may come to me except my father draw him And yet haue it more manifestly Who so hath heard my father and is learned of him he commeth
make aunswere to thus Supper of the Lorde bringyng â—o â—or them their vnwritteÌ„ wordes dedes dreames for we haue compelled More with shame to flitte froÌ„ the Scripture strewed with their vame straunge termes which Paul damneth and geueth Timothe warning of I shall by gods grace so set the almighty word of God against them that all Christen shall see falshead and deceite in this SacrameÌ„t and so disclose theyr deuilish doctrine and fleighty iugglyng that all that can read Englishe shall see the trouth of Gods word openly beare downe their vnwritten lyes For it is verely the thyng that I desire euen to be written agaynst in this matter for I haue the solutions of all theyr obiections ready And know right well that the more they styrre this Sacrament the broder shall theyr lyes be spread the more shal theyr falsehead appeare and the more gloriously shall the trouth triumph as it is to see this day by long contention in this same and other lyke Articles which the Papistes haue so long abused and how More hys lyes vtter the truth euery day more and more For had he not come beggyng for the Clergy from Purgatory with his supplication of soules and Rastel and Rochester had they not so wysely played theyr partes Purgatory peraduenture had serued them yet another yeare neither had it so soone haue bene quenched nor the poore soule and Proctour there bene with his bloudy Byshop ChristeÌ„â—atte so farre coniured into hys owne Vtopia with a sachell about hys necke to gather for the proude Priestes in Synagoga Papistica When Christ was ascended into heauen and had sent his Apostles the spirite of truth to leade them into all truth perteinyng vnto our saluation euen â—nto hym that sayd I am the truth of whiche truth hee instructed them after his resurrection Luke xxiiij and they had preached the same truth nowe at IerusaleÌ„ Actes ij at which preachyng there were that receiued their wordes and were Baptised about iij. M. hys Apostles remembryng how their maistâ—â— Christ at his last Supper did institute and leaue them this holy Sacrament of his body and bloud to be celeâ—â—ated and done in his remembraunce among such as had receiued his Gospell were Baptised had professed hys fayth and would perseuer in his Religion dyd now in this first congregation celebrate the Lordes Supper breakyng the bread and eatyng it as Christ dyd teach them which Supper Luke and Paule called afterward the breakyng of the bread As Actes ij saying That they which gladly had now received Peters acte were baptised were perseuering in the doctrine of the Apostles and in the communioÌ„ and in the breakyng of the bread and in prayer whiche Sacrament was now a token of the perseueraunce in theyr Christen Religion now professed Of this breakyng of bread Luke writyng of Paule commyng vnto Troades sayth also that their vpon a Sabboth day when the Disciples were come together vnto the breakyng of the bread Paule made a Germon duryng to mydnight c. And that this was no common nor prophane vse but an heauenly Sacrament and a reuerent rite and vsage the circumstaunces of the action declare both in Luke and Paule shewyngit to be the very institutioÌ„ that Christ ordeyned at his Supper Paule thus recitynge this breakyng of the breake saying The bread whiche we breade is it not the felowshyp of the body of Christ y t is to say doth it not signifie vs to be the body of Christ that is hys congregation and people as doth the wordes folowyng declare Paule addyng the cause saying For we beyng many are all together siguified by the one loafe to be one body for that we be partakers of the same bread Also before he calleth in the same Supper the cup of thankes geuyng the felowshyp of the bloud of Christ that is to say the congregation redemed with Christes bloud The holy Sacrament therefore would God it were restored vnto the pure vse as y e Apostles vsed in it their tyme. Would God the secular princes which should be the very pastours and head rulers of their congregations coÌ„mitted vnto their cure would first coÌ„maunde or suffer the true preachers of Gods woorde to preache the Gospell purely and playnly with discrete libertie and constitute ouer eche particulare Parish such Curates as caÌ„ and would preach the word and that once or twise in the Weeke appoyntyng vnto theyr flocke certeyne dayes after their discretion and zeale to Godward to come together to celebrate the Lordes Supper At the which assemble the Curate would propone and declare them first this texte of Paule i. Corinthians xj So oft as ye shall eate this bread and drinke of this cuppe see that ye be ioyous prayse and giue thankes preachyng the death of the Lord c. whiche declared and euery one exhorted to prayer he would preach them purely Christ to haue dyed and bene offered vpon the altare of the Crosse for theyr redemption whiche onely oblation to be sufficieÌ„t sacrifice to peace the fathers wrath and to purge all the sinnes of the world Then to excite them with humble diligence euery man vnto the knowledge of hym selfe hys sinnes and to beleue and trust to the forgyuenesse in Christes bloud and for this so incomparable benefite of our redemption whiche were sold bondemen to sinne to geue thankes vnto God the father for so mercyfull a deliueraunce through the death of Iesu Christ euery one some singyng and some saying deuoutly one or other Psalme or prayer of thankes gyuyng in the mother toung Then the bread and wyne set before them in the face of the Churche vpon the table of the Lord purely and honesty layed let hym declare to the people the significations of those sensible signes what the action and deede moueth teacheth and exhorteth them vnto and that the bread and wyne be no prophane common signes but holy Sacramentes reuerently to be considered and receiued with a depe fayth and remembraunce of Christes death and of the shedyng of his bloud for our sinnes those sensible thynges to represente vs the very body and bloude of Christ so that while euery man beholdeth with his corporall eye those sensible Sacraments the inward eye of his fayth may see beleue stedfastly Christ offred and dying vppon the Crosse for his sinnes how his body was broken and his bloud shed for vs and hath giuen hym selfe whole for vs hym selfe to be all ours and what soeuer he dyd to serue vs as to bee made for vs of hys father our righteousnes our wisedome holynesse redemption satisfaction c. Then let this preacher exhort them louyngly to draw neare vnto this table of the Lord and that not onely bodely but also their hartes purged by fayth garnished with loue and innoceney euery man to forgyue eche other vnfaynedly and to expresse or at least wise to endeuour them to folow that loue whiche Christ dyd set before our
the Lord as it is also written Dani. iij. And Paule sayth Roma 8. All maner of creatures long for our redemption and prayse God for it yea and mourne that the last day is not yet come that the elect children of God might enter into rest for then shall also those creatures be deliuered frō their corruptiō and bondage into the libertie and glory of the children of God Now iudge Christen reader whiche sentence standeth most with the Scripture and glory of God Doth not the blessed Apostle S. Peter as it appeareth Actes ij say of our Sauiour Christe in this wise Quem Deus suscitauit solutis doloribus inferni In these woordes he shewed that paynes of hell were losed but those paynes were not the paynes of damned soules And in limbo patrum there was no payne Ergo it was the payne of Purgatory which he loosed Alas what shall I say I am in a maner compelled to say that this mā wandreth in wilfull blindnesse For els were it not possible that he should erre so far as to bring in this text for hys purpose The woordes of Peter are these Ye men of Israell heare these wordes Iesus of Nazareth a man set foorth of God for you wyth powers wonders and tokens which God hath done by hym among you as you your selues know after he was deliuered by the purposed counsell and foreknowledge of God and you receyued hym of the handes of the wicked ye crucifyed and kylled him whom God hath raysed dissoluing the paynes of death for it was imposible that he should be subdued of it Here in stead of these wordes The paynes of death he setteth the paynes of hell as it is most like euē of a purposed deceit For albeit the mā would not take the payne to read the gréeke yet if he had but once looked vpon the translation of hys olde frende and companion Erasmus it would haue taught him to haue sayd solutis doloribus mortis that is dissoluing the paynes of death according to the Gréeke and very woordes of Luke which wrote these actes in the gréeke tongue And albeit the old translation vseth thys worde Infernus which is diuersly taken in scripture both for death for a graue for hell yet in this place is maister More wythout excuse which calleth it hell in our English tongue For albeit the woord of it self were indifferent in the Latine yet it is not indifferent in the English for there is no English man that taketh thys woord hell eyther for death or for a graue no not maister More himself For first he translateth the text falsely calling it hell and then he descanteth on a false ground and calleth hell not death but purgatory when S. Peter brought in these wordes for no other purpose but to proue y t Christ was risen from death through the power of hys Father meaning that God the Father dyd rayse hys Sonne Christ notwythstanding the sorowfull paynes and panges which he suffred vnto y t death for it was impossible that Christ should be vtterly subdued of death So that thys text proueth no more purgatory then it proueth that maister More was hyred of the spiritualty to defend purgatory Besides that if it should serue for Purgatory which no wise man wil graunt whē he séeeth the processe of the Text it should proue nothing but that Christ should lye in the paynes of purgatory vntill God hys Father had holp him out for the paynes ▪ which he speaketh of were Christes paynes which no man can deny if he read the Text. But what a fond opinion were that to fayne that Christ which was without sinne should be tormented in the paynes of purgatory The blessed Apostle Paule in his first epistle to the Corinthians the third chapter speaking of our sauiour Christ the very and only foundation of all our fayth and saluation sayth If any man builde vpon this foundation gold siluer precious stones wood hay or strawe euery mans worke shall be made open for the day of the Lord shall declare it for in the fire it shal be shewed the fire shall proue what maner of thyng euery mans worke is If any mans worke that he hath builded thereon do abide he shall haue a reward if any mans worke burne he shall suffer harme but he shal be safe but yet as by fire And finally he concludeth that thys woord fyre must néedes signifie the fyre of Purgatorye He that considereth the order or proces of the text shall easely perceiue that thys man erreth for the Text speaketh of the preachers blameth the Corrinthians that they made such sectes and dissentions among them selues for one sayd that he was Paules man and held on hys side an other sayd that he was Peters man the thirde did sticke to Apollo and so foorth euen as our friers do now a dayes one sect holdeth on S. Fraunces an other of S. Dominike the thyrd of S. Austen c. S. Paule rebuketh these sectes called the persons carnall commaunding them to take Christ for theyr head to cleaue onely to him and as for Apollo Peter and Paule he sayth that they are but ministers of the woord ▪ euery mā according to the gyfte geuen hym of God the one more the other lesse Paule planted Apollo watred that is Paule set the Corinthians in the ground of Christes fayth and then came Apollo and preached them further of Christ and comforted them to abide in the way which they walked in howbeit it was onely God that made them prosper in the woord and gaue the encrease Neuertheles euery man shall receaue according to his labour if he preach much the more shall be his reward if he preach litle therafter shall he be rewarded For we are Gods workmē to preach hys worde and you are Gods husbandry whom we must till and dresse in declaring you the woord and perpetuall will of God you are become Gods building thorough the grace of God which he hath geuen me whome we must frame and so couch by the word of God that we may make of you a temple of liuing stones Lyke a wise woorkemaister haue I layd the foundation for I first beganne to preach you Christ Now commeth there an other and buildeth vpon this my foūdation entendyng to instruct you further in the wayes of Christ But let euery mā take hede how he buildeth or preach vnto you for no man cā lay any other foundation then is layed already for all our buildyng and preachyng leneth onely on this pointe and principall stone to declare vnto you what Christ hath done for you If any builde on this foundation gold siluer or precious stones that is if any man preach purely the word of God which is likened to gold siluer and precious stones because that as these are not consumed with matteriall fire but rather made more pure euen so the pure word of God suffreth neither hurt
And so must we graunt hym that this fire is very hote Now may you wel perceaue what a slender foūdation their hote purgatory hath For by this confutatiō may you easely sée that it hath no grounde nor authority of Scripture Notwithstandyng it is the foundation of all religions and cloysters yea and of all the goodes that nowe are in these spiritualtie Are not they witty worke men whiche can buylde so much on so slender a foundation Howbeit they haue made it so toppeheuye that it is surely lyke to haue a fall Thus hath Master More a full aunswere both to hys Scriptures whiche were to farre wrested out of theyr places and also to hys owne apparent reasons Howbeit if hys mastershyppe be not fully pacified let hym more groundly open hys mynde and bryng for his purpose all that he thinketh to make for it and I shall by Gods grace shortly make hym an aunswere and quyet his mynde ¶ Thus endeth the second booke ¶ The third booke which aunswereth vnto my Lord of Rochester and declareth the mynde of the old Doctours NOw will I addresse me to the thirde part which shall be an aunswere vnto my lord of Rochester And all his reasons and argumentes both of the Scriptures and doctoures which are not before dissouled in the seconde part wyll I clene confute by Gods grace in this thirde booke Howbeit the chéefest of his scriptures hath M. More perused and hath in a maner nothing but that was before writtē by my lord of Rochester sauing that he maketh the selye soules to pull to helpe his matter withall My lord of Rochester is the first patrone and defender of thys phantasie And euē as M. More tooke his worke out of my lord of Rochesters euen so plucked Rastell hys booke out of M. Mores My lord of Rochester to confirme hys sentence rekoneth vp the doctors by heape M. Iohn M. William M. Thomas omnes But as concerning the doctors that they are not so fully on hys side as he woulde make thē séeme is sone proued And where should I better begin to confute him then of hys owne wordes for he writeth himselfe vpon the xviij article on this maner THere is no man now a daies that doubteth of Purgatorye sayeth he and yet among the olde auncient fathers was there eyther none or els very seldome mention made of it And also among the Grecians euen vnto this day is not purgatory beleued Let him read that will the commentaries of the olde Grecians and as I suppose he shal finde eyther no worde spoken of it or els very few These are my lordes wordes I wonder what obliuiousnes is come vppon hym that he so cleaueth vnto the Doctors whome he affirmed before eyther to make no mention of it or els very seldome Notwythstanding I will declare you somewhat of the Doctors that you may the better know theyr meaning To speake of the Doctors what theyr minde was in thys matter it were necessarye to declare in what time they were and what condition the worlde was in theyr dayes S. Austine Ambrose Hierome were in one time euen about iiij hundred yeares after Christ and yet before theyr time were there arisen infinite heretikes by whole sectes as the Arrians Domitians Eunomians Vigilanttians Pelagians with infinite other which had so swerued from the truth and wrested the Scripture out of frame that it was not possible for one man no nor for one mans age to restore it agayne vnto the true sense Among these there were some which not onely fayned a purgatory but also doted so far that they affirmed that euery man were he neuer so vicious should be saued through that fire and aleaged for them the place of Paul 1. Corinthians 3. These holy doctours perceauing those greate erroures thought it not best by and by to condemne all thinges indifferētly but to suffer and dissemble wyth the lesse that they might wéede out the opinions which were most noysom as the Apostles graunted vnto the Iewes that the Gentiles should kéepe some of Moyses law Actes xv that they might the better com to their purpose to saue the Iewes with the Gentiles For if they had at the first vtterly set of the law then would the Iewes neuer haue geuen any audience vnto the Apostles And euen so S. Austen went wisely to worke First condemning by the Scripture that errour which was most noysome and wrote on thys maner Albeit some might be purged through fire yet not such as the Apostle condemneth when he sayeth that the persons which so do shal not possesse the kingdome of heauen And where they woulde haue stucke vnto Paules text 1. Cor. 3. and affirme that they shoulde be saued thorough fire S. Austen answered that Paules texte was vnderstande of the spirituall fire which is temptation affliction tribulation c. Thys wrote he in the 67. 68. of hys Enchiridion to subuert that grosse errour that all should be saued through y t fire of purgatory Yet in the 69. he goeth a litle neare them and sayth that it may be doubted whether there be any such purgatory or not He durst not yet openly cōdemne it because he thought that men could not at that time beare it But after in his booke which he entituled De vanitate huius soeculi there doth he fully shew his minde in these wordes Scitote quòd cum anima a corpore auellitur statim aut pro meritis bonis in Paradiso collocatur aut pro merit is malis in inferni tartara praecipitatur i. Wote ye well that when the soule is departed from the body eyther it is by and by put into paradise according to hys good desertes or els it is thrust hedlong into hell for hys sinnes Here he cleane condemneth purgatory for if thys be done by and by assoone as the soule is departed from the body then can there be no purgatory and so maketh S. Austen wholy with vs. Thinke ye that S. Austen dissenteth from his companion S. Hierome or from hys owne Master S. Ambrose Nay verely Howbeit I will alleage theyr owne wordes and then iudge SAint Ambrose dissenteth not from S. Austine but doth stablysh hys sentence as fully as is possible for he writeth in the second chapter of hys booke which is called De bono mortis on this maner bringing in the words of Dauid Psal 39. Aduena ego sum in terra peregrinus sicut omnes patres mei Et ideo tanquam peregrinus ad illā sanctorum communem omnium patriam festinabat Petens pro huius commorationis inquinamento remitti sibi peccata priusquam discederet de vita Qui enim hîc non acceperit remissionem peccatorum illic non erit Non erit autem quia ad vitam aeternam non potuerit peruenire quia vita aeterna remissio peccatorum est Ideoque dicit remitte mihi vt refrigerer priusquam abeam
are all ready damned in hell and some are all ready in heauen And to proue this true he alledgeth the parable of the rich mā Luke xv I am sure my Lord is not so ignoraūt as to say that a parable proueth any thyng But the right vse of a parable is this to expound an harde texte or poynte that was before touched could not entre into euery mans capacitie Neither are all thynges lyke which are spoken in a similitude neither yet all thynges true that are touched in a parable but we must consider the thyng wherefore they be spokē and apply them onely to that they are spoken for and let the residue go as William Tyndall hath well declared vnto you in the parable of wicked Mammon This parable is very hard to be expounded The cause is this no man can wel espye by the text for what purpose it was spoken But this should séeme to be the cause that there were many of the Phariseis other multitude which would not beleue the preaching of Christ although he confirmed his wordes with the authoritie of Moses and the Prophetes but they were curious and some deale phantasticall and therfore would they not beleue his woordes except some apparitions had bene made vnto thē that they might haue bene assured by them that were before dead that hys wordes were true Vnto such it is lyke that hee speaketh this parable playnly concludyng that they should haue no such apparitions of the dead and also that it was not necessary but that they had Moses the Prophetes to whom if they would geue no credence then should they not beleue although one of the dead should ryse againe tell it them Notwithstandyng let me graunt it hym that some are all ready in hell and some in heauen which thyng he shall neuer bee able to proue by the Scripture yea and which playnly destroyeth the resurrection and taketh awaye the argumentes wherewith Christ and Paule doe proue that we shall ryse yet I say let me graunt it hym to sée how he will cōclude What foloweth on that Neither it is credible sayth he that all whiche are cast into hell should streight way goe to heauen therfore must we put a Purgatorye where they may be purged I aunswere All that liue are faythfull or vnfaythfull If he be vnfaythfull then is he damned Iohn 3. If he beleue then is he not condemned but is gone from death to lyfe Iohn 3. 5. The righteous man when hee dyeth shall rest in peace Sapi. 3. And euery faithful mā is righteous before God as y t whole Epistle to the Romaines proueth Ergo then euery faythfull man shall rest in peace and be tormented in the paynes of Purgatory And as touchyng this poynte where they rest I dare be bold to say that they are in the hand of God and that God would that we should be ignoraunt where they be and not to take vpon vs to determine the matter Peraduenture you would enquire of me sith the parable sayth that Lazarus rested in Abrahams bosome what Abrahams bosome is To that would I aūswere that Abrahams bosome were nothyng els then Abrahams fayth For all we are called the children of Abraham because of hys perfite fayth whiche we ought to folow In this fayth are many and in a maner infinite degrées notwithstandyng if it be no greater thē a mustard séede that is to say very small yet shal it saue vs. He that departeth in this fayth resteth in peace and wayteth for the last day when God shall geue vnto hys faythfull that is to his elect for onely are the elect faythfull the faythfull elect the crowne of his glorie which he hath prepared for them that loue hym This crowne doth Paule say that he shall receaue it in that day 2. Timo. 4. that is in the day of iudgement And in the meane season God hath so prouided for vs that they shall wayte vntill the number of their brethren which dayly suffer and shall suffer for Christ be wholy fulfilled and so shall they not be made perfite without vs. Hebr. xj If my Lord will vnderstād by Abrahams bosome heauen I will not be contentious let the Christen iudge which sentence semeth most true But this is once a cleare case that of this he cā proue no Purgatory For the vnfaythfull are all ready dāned and the faythfull rest in peace let him call that what he wil whether to rest in heauen or to rest in their fayth vntill the last day For I am sure there is no man so madde as to say that to rest in peace should signifie to lye in the paynes of Purgatory Furthermore this text shal rather make sore agaynst hym thē any thyng with hym For Lazarus whiles hée was lyuyng was not without sinne nor no man els 1. Iohn 1. so that no man as long as he hath breath in hys body can say that he is without sinne for then should hee make S. Iohn a lyar And yet was not Lazarus caried into purgatory to be purged of his sinnes which were remainyng in his body the houre of his death wherefore I may conclude that there is no such Purgatory For God is as iust vnto hym as vnto vs and therefore would he purge hym as well as vs agayne he is as mercyfull vnto vs as vnto him and will as wel forgeue vs as hym without broyling on y t coales in purgatory for his iustice and mercye are euer one and not alterable But our perfite purgatiō is the pure bloud of Christ which washeth away the sinne of the world And albeit we euer haue the remnauntes and dregges of sinne and rebellion of our mēbers as long as we haue lyfe yet are they wholy finished in death for of such efficacitie is Christes death that it hath turned the death of hys faythfull which was layed vpon vs as the payne of sinne into a medicine agaynst sinne which fully cureth it and maketh an end of it as it was well figured in Golias that was slaine with hys owne sword ANd where as my Lord bryngeth for his purpose Math. xij that mē shal geue accoumptes of euery idle worde I haue soluted that before agaynst M. More that I thinke he shal say hym selfe that he is aunswered For if men shall geue a rekonyng for them on the day of dome as the text sayth that should rather argue that there were no Purgatory wherein those sinnes should be purged for if they had bene purged before of them then shoulde they not geue an accoumpte for them And if it proued any thyng at all it should proue that there were a Purgatory after domesday which no man was euer so foolish as to graunt But the true vnderstādyng of this text is this There are two kyndes of men one faythfull the other vnfaythfull The faythful through their fayth in Christes bloud are all
that ensue his steppes yet let them surely reken vppon it for there is no doubt but all whiche will deuoutly lyue in Christ must suffer persecution for whom the Lord loueth he correcteth and scourgeth euery child that he receaueth for what child is that whom the father chastiseth not If ye be not vnder correction of which we are all partakers theÌ„ are ye bastardes and not children Neuertheles we may not suppose that our most louyng father should do that because he reioiseth in our bloud or punishment but he doth it for our singular profite that we may be partakers of holynes and that the remnaunt of sinne whiche through the frayltie of our meÌ„bers rebell agaynst the spirite will causing our workes to go vnparfectly forwardes may somedel be suppressed lest they should subdue vs and reigne ouer vs as I haue sufficiently declared in the Epistle of my booke whiche intreateth of Purgatory to the which I remit theÌ„ that desire to be further instructed in this matter Of these thynges God had geuen me the speculation before and now it hath pleased hym to put in vre and practise vpon me I euer thought and yet doe thinke that to walke after Gods word would cost me my life at one tyme or an other And albeit that the kynges grace should take me into his fauour and not to suffer the bloudy Edomites to haue their pleasures vpon me yet will I not thinke that I am escaped but that God hath onely differred it for a season to the intent that I should woorke somewhat that he hath appointed me to do and so to vse me vnto his glory And I beseche all the faythfull followers of the Lord to arme them selues with the same supposition markyng theÌ„ selues with the signe of the crosse not from the crosse as the superstitious multitude doth but rather to the crosse in token that they be euer readye willingly to receaue the crosse when it shall please God to lay it vpon them The day that it coÌ„meth not counte it cleare wonne geuyng thankes to the Lord which hath kept it from you And then when it commeth it shall nothing dismay you for it is no new thing but eueÌ„ that which ye haue continually looked for And doubt not but that god which is faythfull shall not suffer you to be tempted aboue that which ye are able to beare but shall euer send some occasion by the which ye shall stand stedfast for either he shall blind the eyes of your enemies and diminish theyr tyrannous power or els when he hath suffred them to do theyr best and that the Dragon hath cast a whole floudde of waters after you he shall cause euen the very earth to open hir mouth and swalow them vp So faith full is he and careful to ease vs what time the vexation should be too heauy for vs. He shall send a Ioseph before you against ye shall come into Egypt yea he shal so prouide for you that ye shall haue an hundred fathers for one an huÌ„dred mothers for one an hundred houses for one and that in thys lyfe as I haue proued by experience And after this life euerlasting ioy wyth Christ our Sauiour Not withstandyng sith this stedfastnes commeth not of our selues for as S. Austen sayth there was neuer man so weake or frayle no not the greatest offender that euer lyued but that euery man of hys owne nature should be as frayle and committe as great enormities except he were kept from it by the spirite power of God I beseche you brethren in the Lord Iesu Christe and for the loue of hys spirite to pray with me that we may be vessels to his laude prayse what tyme soeuer it pleaseth hym to call vpon vs. The father of glory giue vs the spirite of wisedome vnderstandyng and knowledge and lighten the eyes of our mynde that we may know hys wayes praysing the Lord eternally If it please any of our brethren to write vnto vs of any such doubtes as peraduenture may be founde in our bookes it should be very acceptable vnto vs and as I trust not vnfrutefull for them For I will endeuour my selfe to satisfie theÌ„ in all poyntes by Gods grace To whom I committe to be gouerned and defended for euer Amen Iohn Frith the prisoner of Iesu Christ at all tymes abydyng his pleasure A treatise made by the sayd Iohn Frith whiles he was prisoner in the Tower of London Anno. M. D. xxxij called a Myrrour or glasse to know thy selfe I Was desired of a faith full frende to whom I am so much bound that he might lawfully haue commaunded me that I would make him a litle treatise by the which he might be somewhat instructed to knowe himselfe and so geue God thanckes for the benefites which he hath so aboundantly poured vpon him This thing I tooke vpon me very gladly partly to fulfill his right wise request which I trust shall be to the great profite of Christes flocke and partly to declare what I thinke both of my selfe and of all other Herein may all men sée what they haue receaued of God and how they ought to bestow the talent that is coÌ„mitted vnto them which if you note well it will cause you to say with the wise man Salomon Vaiuersa vanitas omnis homo viuens that is Euery maÌ„ liuing is nothing but vanitie which also the Prophet Dauid confirmeth saying If all men liuing were pondered in one ballance and vanitie hanged in the ballaunce agaynst them it should quite way them downe and be heauier then all they As by example if a man prayse a very foole and thinke his witte good and profounde then is that person in déede more foole theÌ„ the other And eueÌ„ so uÌ„th maÌ„ doth prayse and commende riches honour beautie strength and such other vaine and transitorie things which are but as a dreame and vanishe lyke a flower in the fielde when a man shoulde haue moste néede of them it foloweth well that he hymselfe is more vayne then those thyngs whych are but vanitie For if it were possyble that thou shuldest haue al these things an hundreth yeare continually wythout any trouble or aduersitie as neuer man had yet were it but a vaine dreame if it be compared vnto that euerlasting lyfe whych is prepared for Christes electe and faythfull followers So that all flesh is as hay and all hys glory lyke a flower of the hay is withered and the flower fallen but God and his worde endure for euer Therfore let not the wyse man reioyse in his wisedom neither y e strong man in hys strengthe nor the ryche in hys riches But he that reioyseth let hym reioyse in the Lord to whome be all honor praise without end Amen The first Chapter That all goodnesse commeth of God and all câ—… o. ourselues THe Philosophers to 〈◊〉 God had enspired 〈…〉 of truthe knowledged
are infinite other thynges wherein hee contrarieth Christ in so much that if it be diligētly examined I thinke there is no word that Christ spake but the other hath taught or made a law agaynst it Howbeit for to auoyde tediousnes we shall leaue them vnto your owne iudgement for they are soone searched out espyed Iudge Christē reader all these things with a simple eye be not parcially addict to the one nor to the other But Iudge them by the Scripture And knowledge that to be the truth which Gods word doth alow auoydyng all other doctrine for it springeth of Sathan be not ashamed to confesse poore Christ and to take him for thy head before these rauenous Wolues for then shall he cōfesse thée agayn before his father the aungelles in heauen Then shalt thou bee inheritour with Iesu Christe And the faythfull sonne of thy father whiche is in heauen to whom be all glory eternally Amen ¶ Here endeth the Antithesis betwene Christe and the Pope A booke made by Iohn Frith prisoner in the Tower of London aunsweryng vnto M. Mores letter which he wrote against the first litle treatise that Iohn Frith made concernyng the Sacrament of the body and bloud of Christ vnto which booke are added in the ende the articles of hys examination before the Bishops of London Winchester and Lyncolne in Paules Churche at London for which Iohn Frith was condemned and after burned in Smithfield without Newgate the fourth day of Iuly Anno. 1533. ¶ The Preface of this booke GRace and increase of knowledge from God the father through our Lorde Iesus Christ be with the Christen reader and with all them that loue the Lord vnfaynedly Amen I chaunced beyng in these parties to be in company with a Christen brother which for his commēdable conuersation and sober behauiour might better be a Byshop then many that weare miters if the rule of S. Paule were regarded in their election This brother after much communication desired to know my mynde as touchyng the Sacrament of the body and bloud of our sauiour Christ Which thing I opened vnto hym accordyng to the gift that God had geuen me First I proued vnto hym that it was no article of our fayth necessary to be beleued vnder payne of damnation Then I declared that Christ had a naturall body euen as myne is sauyng sinne and that it could no more bee in two places at once thē myne cā Thirdly I shewed him that it was not necessarie that the wordes should so be vnderstand as they sound But that it might be a phrase of Scripture as there are innumerable After that I shewed him certaine phrases and maner of speakynges And that it was well vsed in our English toung and finally I recited after what maner they might receiue it according to Christes institutiō not fearyng the froward alteration that the Priests vse contrary to the first forme and institution When I had sufficiently published my mynde hee desired me to entitle the sūme of my wordes and write them for hym because they seemed ouerlong to be well reteined in memorie And albeit I was loth to take the matter in hand yet to fulfill his instant intercession I tooke vpon me to touche this terrible tragedie and wrote a treatise whiche beside my paynfull imprisonmēt is like to purchase me most cruell death which I am ready and glad to receiue with the spirite and inward man although the fleshe be frayle when soeuer it shall please God to lay it vpon me Notwithstādyng to say the truth I wrote it not to the intēt that it should haue ben published For then I would haue touched the matter more earnestly and haue written as well of the spirituall eating drinking which is of necessitie as I dyd of the carnall which is not so necessarie For the treatise that I made was not expedient for all men albeit it were sufficient for them whom I tooke in hand to instruct For they knew the spirituall and necessarie eatyng and drinkyng of his body bloud which is not receiued with the teth and bellye but with the eares and faith and onely neded instructiō in the outward eating whiche thing I therfore onely declared But now it is cōmon abroad and in many mēs mouthes in so much that M. More whiche of late hath busied hym selfe to medle in all such matters of what zeale I will not define hath sore labored to confute it but some mē thinke that he is ashamed of his part and for that cause doth so diligently suppresse the woorke whiche he printed For I my selfe saw the worke in Print in my Lord of Winchesters house vpon S. Stephens day last past But neither I neither all the frēdes I could make might attaine any copie but onely one written copie whiche as it seemed was drawen out in great hast notwithstandyng I can not well iudge what the cause should bee that his boke is kept so secret But this I am right sure of that he neuer touched the foundation that my treatise was builded vpon And therefore sith my foundation standeth so sure and inuincible for els I thinke verely he would sore haue laboured to haue vndermined it I will thereupon builde a litle more and also declare that his ordinaūce is to slender to breake it downe although it were set vppon a woorse foundation ¶ The foundation of that litle treatise was that it is no article of our fayth necessary to be beleued vnder payne of damnation that the Sacrament should be the naturall body of Christ which thyng is proued on this maner FIrste we must all acknowledge that it is no article of our fayth which can saue vs nor which we are bound to beleue vnder the paine of eternal damnation For if I should beleue that hys very naturall body both flesh and bloud were naturally in the bread and wine that should not saue me seyng many beleue that and receiue it to their damnation for it is not his presence in the bread that can saue me but his presence in my hart through faith in his bloud which hath washed out my sinnes and pacified y t fathers wrath toward me And agayne if I doe not beleue his bodely presence in the bread and wyne that shall not damne me but the absence out of my hart thorough vnbelefe Now if they would here obiect that though it be truth that the absēce out of the bread could not damne vs yet are we bounde to beleue it because of gods word which who beleueth not as much as in him lyeth maketh God a lyer And therfore of an obstinate mynde not to beleue hys word may be an occasion of damnation To this we may answere that we beleue Gods worde and knowledge that it is true but in this we dissent whether it be true in the sence that we take it in or in the sence that ye take it in And we say agayne that though
sayth but because the Scripture of God doth so conclude determine I take not Luther for such an author that I thinke hee can not erre but I thinke verely that he both may erre and doth erre in certayne poyntes although not in such as concerne saluation and damnation for in these blessed be God all these whom ye call heretickes do agrée right well And likewise I do not alow this thing because Wickleffe Oecolampadius Tyndall and Zwinglius so say but be cause I sée them in that place more purely expoūde the Scripture and that the processe of the text doth more fauour their sentence And where you say that I affyrme it to be bread still as Luther doth the same I say agayne not because Luther so sayth but because I cā proue my wordes true by scripture reason nature and doctors Paule calleth it bread saying the bread whiche we breake is it not the fellowship of the body of Christ For we though we be many are yet one body and one bread as many as are partakers of one bread And againe he sayth as often as ye eate of thys bread or drinke of thys cuppe you shall shewe the Lordes death vntill he come Also Luke calleth it bread in the Actes saying they continued in the fellowship of the Apostles and in breaking of bread and in prayer Also Christ called the cuppe the fruite of the vyne saying I shall not from hence forth drinke of the fruite of the vyne vntill I drink that new in the kingdome of my father Furthermore nature doth teach you that both y ◠bread and wine continue in their nature For the bread mouleth if it be kept long yea and wormes bréede in it And the poore mouse will runne away with it and desire no other meate to her dinner which are euident inough that there remayneth bread Also the wine if it were reserued would waxe sower as they confesse them selues and therefore they housell the laye people but with one kinde onely because the wine can not continue nor be reserued to haue ready at hand whē nede were And surely as if there remayned no bread it could not mould nor waxe full of wormes Euē so if there remained no wine it could not waxe sower and therefore it is but false doctrine that our prelates so long haue published Finally that there remayneth bread might be proued by the authoritie of many doctors which call it bread and wine as Christ and his Apostles did And though some sophisters would wrast their sayings and expound them after their phantasie yet shall I alleage them one doctor which was also Pope of Rome that maketh so plaine with vs that they shall be compelled with shame to hold their tongues For Pope Gelasius writeth on thys maner Certe sacramenta quae sumimus corporis sanguinis Christi diuine res sunt propterea per illa participes facti sumus diuinae naturae tamē nō desinit esse substantia vel panis vini sed permanent in suae proprietate naturae Et certe imago similitudo corporis sanguinis Christi in actione misteriorum celebrantur That is to say Surely the sacramentes of the body and bloud of Christ are a godly thing and therfore through them are we made partakers of the godly nature And yet doth it not cease to be the substance or nature of bread and wine but they continue in the propertie of their owne nature and surely the image and similitude of the body and bloud of Christ are celebrated in the acte of the mysteries Thys I am sure was the olde doctrine which they can not auoyde And therefore with the Scripture nature and fathers I will conclude that there remaineth the substaunce and nature of bread and wine And where ye say that we affyrme it to be nothing els I dare say that ye vntruely report on vs all And here after I will shewe you what it is more then bread And where ye say that it is méetely well knowen what maner of folke they be and that God hath in part with his open vengeance declared I aunswere that master Wickliffe was noted while he was liuing to be a man not onely of most famous doctrine but also of a very sincere life and conuersation Neuerthelesse to declare your malicious mindes and vengeable hartes as men say xv yeare after he was buryed you tooke hym vp and burnt hym which facte declared your furye although he felt no fire but blessed be God which hath geuen such tyrantes no further power but ouer thys corruptible body For the soule ye can not binde nor burne but God may blesse where you curse and curse where you blesse And as for Oecolampadius whō you also call Huskyn his most aduersaries haue euer commended his conuersation and godly life which when God had appoynted hys tyme gaue place vnto nature as euery mā must and dyed of a canker And Tyndall I trust liueth well content with such a poore Apostles life as God gaue hys sonne Christ and hys faythfull ministers in thys world which is not sure of so many mites as ye be yearely of poundes although I am sure that for hys learning and iudgement in Scripture he were more worthy to bee promoted then all the Bishops in England I receaued a letter from hym which was written since Christmas wherein among other matters he writeth thus I call God to recorde agaynst the day we shall appeare before our Lorde Iesus to geue a reckoning of our doings that I neuer altered one sillable of Gods worde agaynst my conscience nor would doe thys day if all that is in earth whether it be honour pleasure or riches might be geuen me Moreouer I take God to recorde to my conscience that I desire of God to my selfe in thys world no more then that without which I can not kéepe hys lawes c. Iudge Christē reader whether these words be not spoken of a faythfull clere innocent hart And as for hys behauiour is such that I am sure no man cā reproue hym of any sinne howbeit no mā is innocent before God which beholdeth the hart Finally Zwinglius was a man of such learning and grauitie beside eloquence that I thinke no man in Christendome might haue compared with hym notwithstanding he was slaine in battell in defending hys Citie and common wealth agaynst the assaulte of wicked enemies whiche cause was most righteous And if hys mastership meane that that was the vengeaunce of God and declared hym to be an euill person because he was slaine I may say nay and shew euident examples of the contrary for sometyme God geueth the victorye agaynst them that haue most righteous cause as it is euident in the booke of Iudges where all the children of Israell were gathered together to punishe y e shamefull sodomitrie of the Tribe of Beniamin which
were in number but 25. thousand And the Israelites were 400. thousand fighting men which came into Silo and asked of God who should be theyr Captaine agaynst Beniamin And they being but 25. thousand slue of the other Israelites 12. thousand in one day Then fledde the children of Israell vnto the Lord in Silo made great lamentation before hym euen vntill night and asked hym counsell saying shall we go any more to fight agaynst the tribe of Beniamin our brethren or not God sayd vnto them yes goe vp and sight agaynst them Thē went they the next day fought agaynst them and there were slaine agayne of the Israelites 18. thousand men Then came they backe agayne vnto the house of God and sat down and wept before the Lord and fasted that day vntill euen and asked hym agayn whether they should any more fight agaynst theyr brethren or not God sayd vnto them yes to morrow I will deliuer them into your handes And the next day was y e tribe of Beniamin vtterly destroyed sauyng 600. men which hid thē selues in the wildernes Here it is euident that the children of Israell loste the victorye twise and yet notwithstanding had a iust cause and fought at Gods commaundement Besides that Iudas Machabeus was slaine in a righteous cause as it is manifest in the first booke of the Machabées And therfore it can be no euident argument of the vengeance of God that he was slaine in battell in a righteous cause and therefore me thinketh that thys man is too malaparte so bluntly to enter into Gods iudgement and geue sentence in that matter before he be called to counsell Thus haue I sufficiently touched hys Preface for those pointes y e he afterward touched more largely haue I willingly passed because I shall touch thē earnestly hereafter Now let vs sée what heproueth ¶ It ys a great wonder to see vppon how light and sleight occasiōs he is fallē vnto these abhominable heresies For he denieth not nor cā not say nay but that our Sauiour sayd him selfe my fleshe is verely meate my bloud is verely drinke he denieth not also that Christ him selfe at his last Supper takyng the bread into his blessed handes after that he had blessed it sayd vnto his disciples Take you this and eate it this is my body that shal be geuen for you And likewise gaue thē the chalice after his blessyng and consecracion and sayd vnto them this is the chalice of my bloud of the new testament which shal be shed out for many do ye this in remembrance of me ¶ It is a great wonder to see how ignoraunt their proctour is in the playne textes of scripture For if he had any Iudgmēt at all he might wel perceiue y ◠when Christ spake these wordes my flesh is verely meate and my bloud is verely drinke he spake nothing of y e sacramēt For it was not institute vntill his last supper And these wordes were spokē to y e Iewes long before ment them not of y e carnall eatyng or drynking of his bodye or bloud but of the spirituall eating which is done by fayth and not with tothe or bellye Wherof S. Austyn sayth vppon his gospell of Iohn why preparest thou other tothe or bellye beleue and thou hast eaten him So y e Christes words must here be vnderstāded spiritually And that he calleth hys fleshe very meat because that as meate by the eating of it disgetting it in our bodye doth strengthen these corruptible mēbres so likewise doth Christes fleshe by the beleuing that it taketh our sinne vpon it selfe suffered the death to deliuer vs strengthen our immortall soule And likewise as drinke when it is dronken doth comfort and quicken our frayle nature So likewise doth Christes bloud by the drinkyng of it into the bowelles of our soule that it is by the beleuing and remembring that it is shed for our sinnes comfort and quicken our soule vnto euerlasting lyfe And this is the eating and drinking y e he speaketh of in that place And that it is so you may perceaue by the text following which sayth he that eateth my body drinketh my bloud dwelleth in me and I in him which is not possible to be vnderstād of the sacrament For it is false to say that he y e eateth the sacrament of his body and drinketh the sacrament of his bloud dwelleth in Christ and Christ in hym For some man receiueth it vnto his condemnation And thus doth Saint Austen expound it sayinge Hoc est enim Christum manducare in illo manere illum manentem in se habere This is the very eating of Christ to dwell in him to haue him dwelling in vs So y e who so euer dwelleth in Christ y e is to say beleueth y ◠he is sēt of God to saue vs from our sinnes doth verely eate and drinke his body and bloud although he neuer receiued the sacrament This is y e spirituall eating necessary for all y ◠shal be saued for there is no man that cōmeth to God wtout this eating of Christ that is the beleuing in hym And so I denye not but that Christ speaketh these wordes but surely he ment it spiritually as Saint Austen declareth and as the place playnely proueth And as touching y e other wordes y e Christ spake vnto hys disciples at the last Supper I deny not but y ◠he sayd so but y ◠he so fleshly ment as ye falsly faine I vtterly deny For I say y e his wordes were then also sprite life were spiritually to be vnderstāded y e he called it his body For a certaine propertie euen as he cauled him self a very vyne his disciples dery vine braunches and as he cauled himselfe a dore not y e he was so in dede but for certaine properties in the similytudes as a mā for some propertie sayeth of his neighhours horsse this horsse is mine vp and downe meaning that it is in euery thing so like And lyke as Iacob builded an aulter and cauled it the house of God as Iacob called y e place where he wrastled with the aungell the face of God and as the pascall lambe was cauled the passing by of the Lord. And as a broken potsherd was cauled Hierusalem not for that they were so in dede but for certaine similitudes in the properties and that the very name itself might put men in remēbraunce what is ment by the thing as I sufficiently declared in my first treatise He must nedes confesse that they that beleue that it is the very body and his very bloud in dede haue the playne wordes of our sauiour him selfe vpon their side for the ground foundacion of their fayth That is very true and so haue they y e very wordes of god which say that a broken potsherd is Hierusalem and that Christ is a stone
that all maner of creatures were euill Thys thyng doth Tertulian improue by the Sacrament and sayth Christ dyd not reproue or discōmend bread whereby he doth represent hys body as though he shoulde saye if Christ had counted the bread euill then woulde he not haue left it for a Sacrament to represent hys body meaning that it is a sacrament signe token and memoriall of hys body and not the body it selfe And that thys is hys minde doth playnly appeare in hys fourth booke where hée sayth Christus acceptum panem distributū discipulis corpus suum illud fecit hoc est corpus meum dicendo id est figura corporis mei figura autem non fuisset nisi veritatis esset corpus Caeterum vacuares quod est phantasma figuram capere non posset That is to say Christ taking bread and distributing vnto hys disciples made it hys body saying thys is my body that is to say a figure of my bodye but thys bread coulde not haue bene a figure of it except Christ had had a true bodye For a vaine thyng or a phantasie can take no figure For the vnderstāding of thys place you must marke that thys hereticke Marcion agaynst whom thys author writeth dyd hold opinion that Christ had no naturall body but only a phantasticall body and thys opinion doth thys Doctor improue by the sacramēt of y e altar saying the sacrament is a figure of hys body ergo Christ had a true body and not a phātasticall bodie For a vaine thing or phantasie cā take no figure Lo here doth this olde father which was long before S. Austen or S. Hierome expound these wordes of Christ This is my body that is to say a figure of my body therfore you are to blame to call it new learning Now because they shall not of temerarious presumption reiecte this olde father I shall establishe his wordes by S. Austē which commendeth Christes merue lous pacience for suffering so long y e traitor Iudas as though he had bene a good man and yet was not ignorant of his wicked thoughtes Adhibuit inquit ad conuiuium in quo corporis sanguinis sui figuram discipulis commendauit ac tradidit That is to say he admitted hym sayth S. Austē vnto the maundye wherein he did be take and deliuer vnto the disciples y e figure of his body and bloud Here doth this holy father S. Austen call it a figure of his body And I am sure there is no man so childishe but that he knoweth that the figure of a thing is not the thing it selfe As by example the figure of Christ is not Christ hym selfe the figure of S. Peter is not S. Peter him selfe And yet we do neuerthelesse cōmonly call those figures by the name of the thing that they do represent As I may say when I sée y e figure of S. Peter this is S. Peter to whom Christ deliuered y e keyes of the kingdome of heauen And yet he were a foole that would thinke that figure to be S. Peter him selfe for it is only a represētatiō of him Besides that S. Austen sayth Non hoc corpus quod videtis estis manducaturi nec bibituri illum sanguinem quem effusuri sunt qui me crucifigent Sacramentū aliquod vobis commendaui spiritualiter intellectum viuificat vos That is to say you shall not eate this body that you see nor drinke that bloud which they that crucifie me shall shed out I haue geuen a certayne sacrament vnto you if it be spiritually vnderstād it quickeneth you What thinges can bee more playnly spoken Furthermore S. Austen sayth Sepe it a loquimu◠vt pascha appropinquāte crastinam vel perendinam Domini passionem dicamus cum ille ante tam multos annos passus sit nec omnino nisi semel illa passio facta sit Nempe ipso die dominico dicimus bodie Dominus resurrexit cum ex quo surrexit tot anni transierunt Quare nemo tam ineptus est vt nos it a loquentes arguat esse mentitos quia istos dies secundum illorum quibus haec gest a sunt similitudinem nuncupamus vt dicatur ipse dies qui non sit ipse sed reuolutione temporum similis eius dicatur illo die fieri propter Sacramenti celebrationem quod nō illo die sed iam olim factū est Nonne semel immolatus est Christus in scipso tamen in Sacramento nō solum per annuas pascha solennitates sed omni die pro populis immolatur nec vtique mentitur qui interrogatus responderit eū immolari Si enim Sacramenta quādam similitudinē earū rerū quarū sunt Sacramenta non haberent omnino Sacramēta non essent Ex hac autem similitudine plerūque etiam ipsarū rerū nomina accipiunt Sicut ergo secundū quendam modū Sacra mentū corporis Christi corpus Christi est Sacramentum sanguinis Christi sanguis Christi est It a Sacramentum fidei sides est Nihilest autem aliud credere q fidem habere ac per hoc eum respōdetur paruulus credere qui fidei nō dum habet effectum respondetur fidem habere propter fidei Sacramentum et conuertere se ad Deum propter conuersionis Sacramentum Quia ipsa responsio pertinet ad celebrationem Sacramenti Sicut de ipso Baptismo apostolus consepulti inquit su mus Christo per Baptismum in mortem Non ait sepulturam significamus sed prorsus ait consepulti sumus Sacramentū ergo tantae rei non nisi eiusdem rei vocabulo nuncupauit That is to say We often vse to say when Caster draweth nye that to morow or the next day is the Lordes passion and yet it is many yeares sith he suffered and that passiō was neuer done but once And vppon that Sonday we say this day the Lorde dyd rise agayne and yet it is many yeares since hee rose Now is there no man so foolish to reproue vs as lyers for so saying because we name these dayes after the similitude of those in whiche these thynges were done so that it is called the same day whiche is not the very same but by the reuolution of tyme like it And it is named to be done the same day through the celebration of the Sacrament through kéepyng the memoriall of the thyng once done whiche is not done that day but was done lōg agone Was not Christ once crucified in his owne person and yet in a mysterye whiche is the remembraunce of his very passion he is crucified for the people not onely euery feast of Easter but euery day neither doth he lye which when he is asked aunswereth that he is crucified for if the Sacramentes had not certayne similitudes of those thynges whereof they are Sacramentes then should they be no Sacraments at all And for this similitude for the most part they take the names of
the sacrament of his body and bloud that that which was once offerd for the price of our redemption might continually be honored through the mistery To consecrate a thing is to aply it vnto an holy vse Here you may see y e he calleth it the sacrament of his body and bloud which body is caried vp in the heauen And also he calleth it a mistery whiche is inough for them that will see Also Druthmarius expoundeth these wordes this is my body on this manner Hoc est corpus meum in misterio That is to say this is my body in a mistery I thinke you know what a mistery meaneth Christ is crucified euery day in a mistery that is to say euery day his death is represeÌ„ted by the sacramentes of remembraunce The Masse is Christes passion in a mistery that is to say the Masse doth represent his passion and kéepeth it in our memory The bred is Christes body in a mistery that is to say it representeth his body that was broken for vs and kéepeth it in our remembraunce You haue heard all ready the mind of the doctours how the sacrament is Christes body And now I shall shew you how the sacrament is our body which doth not a litell helpe to the vnderstanding of these wordes which are in controuersie The sacrament of the aulter is our body as well as it is Christes body And euen as it is our body so is it Christes But there is no man that can say that it is our naturall bodie in déede but onely a figure signe memoriall or representation of our body Wherfore it must also followe that it is but onlye a figure signe memoriall or representation of Christes body The first part of this argumeÌ„t may thus be proued S. Austen wryting in a sermon sayth on this manner Corpus ergo Christi si vultis intelligere apostolum audite diceÌ„tem Vos estis corpus Christi meÌ„bra 1. Cor. 12. Si ergo estis corpus Christi et membra misterium vestrumque in meÌ„sa Dominipositum est misterium Domini accipitis ad id quod estis Amen respondetis respondendo subscribitis That is to say Yf you will vnderstand the body of Christ heare y e apostle which sayth ye are the body of Christ and members 1 cor 12. therfore if ye be the body of Christ members your misterie is put vpon the Lordes table yereceiue the misterie of the Lord vnto y e you are you aunswere Amen And in aunswering subscribe vnto it Here may you sée that the sacrament is also our body and yet is not our naturall body but onely our body in a misterie that is to say a figure signe memorial or representation of our body for as the bread is made of many graines or cornes so we though we be many are one bread one body And for this propertie and similitude it is cauled our body and beareth the name of the very thing which it doth represent and signifie Agayne S. Austen sayth Quia Christus passus est pro nobis commenda uit nobis in isto sacramento corpus et sanguinem suum quod etiam fecit nos ipsos Nam et nos ipsius corpus facti sumus per misericordiam ipsius quod accipimus nos sumus Et postea dicit IaÌ„ in nomine Christi tanquam ad calicem Domi ni venistis ibi vos estis in mensa ibi vos estis in calice That is because Christ hath suffered for vs he hath betaken vnto vs in this sacrament his bodie and bloud which he hath also made euen our selues For we also are made his body and by his mercy we are euen the same thing that we receiue And after he sayth now in y t name of Christ ye are come as a man would say to the chalice of the Lord there are ye vpon the table and there are ye in y t chalice Here you may sée that the sacrament is our body And yet it is not our naturall body but onely in a mistery as it is before sayd Furthermore S. Austen sayth HuÌ„c itaque cibum potum societatem vult intellegi corporis membrorum suorum quod est sancta ecclesia in praedestinatis et vocatis et iustificatis et glorisicatis sanctis fidelibus eius Huius rei sacrameÌ„tum alicubi quotidie alicubi certis inter vallis dieruÌ„ in dominico preparatur de mensa Domini sumitur quibusdaÌ„ ad vitam quibusdam ad exitium Res vero ipsa cuius est omni homini ad vitam nulli ad exitium quicuÌ„que cius particeps fuerit That is to say he will that this meat and drinke should be vnderstaÌ„d to be the felowship of his body meÌ„bers which is the holy Church in the predestinate and called and iustified and glorified his saintes faythfull The sacrament of this thing is prepared in some place dayly in some place at certaine appoynted dayes as on y e Sonday And it is receiued from the table of the Lord to some vnto life and to some vnto destruction but the thing it selfe whose sacrament this is is receiued of all men vnto life and of no man to destruction who so euer is partaker of it Here doth S. Austen first say that thys sacrament is the fellowship of hys bodye and members which are we And yet it is not our naturall bodye as is before sayd And then he sayth that the Sacrament of thys thyng is receaued of some vnto life and saluation and of some vnto death and damnation for both faythfull and vnfaythfull may receiue the sacrament And after he sayth that the thing it selfe whose sacrament it is is receiued of all men vnto lyfe and of no man vnto destruction who so euer is partaker of it And of this saying it must nedes follow that onely the saythfull eate Christes body and the vnfaithfull eate not For he is receiued of no maÌ„ vnto destruction And of this it must also follow that the sacrament is not Christes body in déede but onely in a mysterye for if the sacrament were his naturall bodye then should it follow that y â— vnfaithfull should receiue his bodye which is contrarye to the minde of S. Austen and against all truth Thus haue we sufficiently proued the first parte of our argument that the sacrament is our body as well as it is Christes And now will I proue the second part more plainely although it be inough declared all ready to them that haue eares that euen as it is our bodye so is it Christes Fyrst you shall vnderstand that in the wyne whiche is called Christes bloud is admixed water which doth signifie the people that are redemed with hys bloud so that y e head which is Christ is not without hys bodye which is the faythfull people nor the body without hys head Nowe if the wyne when it â—s consecrated
of their deliueraunce and toke in his hande bread blessed brake it and gaue it to his disciples saying this is my body which shal be geuen for you For this night shall y ◠power of Pharao y e diuell be distroyed and to morow shall you be deliuered from Egypt y e place of sinne and shall take your iourney towardes the heauenly mansion which is prepared of God for all that loue him Now cōpare them togeather 1 The paschall lābe was instituted eaten the night before the children of Israell were indeede deliuered from Egipt Likewise was the sacrament instituted and eatē y t night before we were deliuered from our sinnes 2 The pascall lambe was a very lambe in deede And so is the sacrament very bread in déede 3 The pascall lambe was cauled the passing by of y e Lord which destroyed the power of Pharao and deliuered thē The sacrament is called the body of y e Lord whiche destroyed y e power of the deuill and deliuered vs. 4 ¶ As many as did eate the pascall lambe in fayth were very mery and gaue God greate thankes For they were sure the next day to be deliuered out of Egipt as many did eate his sacrament in fayth were mery gaue God great thākes for they were sure the next day to be deliuered frō there sinne 5. They that did not eate the pascall lambe in fayth could not be merye For they were not so sure of deliueraunce from the power of Pharao They y ◠did not eate this Sacrament in fayth could not be mery For they were not sure of deliueraunce from the power of the deuill 6. They that beleued the worde of the Lord did more eate the passing by of the Lord which should deliuer thē then they did the lambe They that did beleeue the word of the Lord did more eate y e body of the Lord which should be geuen for their deliuerance then they did the bread For y ◠thing doth a man moste eate y t he most hath in memory most reuolueth in mynd as appeareth by Christ Iohn 4. I haue meate to eate y t ye know not 7. They that beléeued not y e next day to be deliuered from Egipt did not eate y e passing by of y e Lord although they did eate the lambe They y ◠beleued not the next day to be deliuered from sinne dyd not eate the body of the Lorde although they eate the breade 8. The children of Israell were but once deliuered from Egypt notwithstanding they did euery yeare eate y e lambe to kéepe that facte in perpetuall remembraunce Euen so Christ bought and redemed vs but once for all and was offered and sacrificed but once for all though y e sacrament therof be daylye broken amonge vs to kéepe that benefite in continuall memorye 9. As many as dyd eate y e Paschall Lambe in fayth and beleued Gods word as touching their deliueraunce from Egypt were as sure of their deliueraunce through fayth as they were sure of the Lambe by eating it As many as doe eate this sacrament in fayth and beleeue Gods word as touching their deliueraūce frō sinne are as sure of their deliueraunce through fayth as they are sure of the bread by eating it 10. As many as did eate of that Paschall Lambe did magnifie theyr God testifying that he onely was the God almighty and they his people sticking to hym to be deliuered by his power from all daunger As many as do eate of thys sacrament doe magnifie their God testifying that he only is the God almighty and they his people sticking by him to be deliuered by hys power from all danger 11. When the Israelites were deliuered frō Egypt they eate neuerthelesse the Paschall Lambe which was still called the passing by because it was y e remēbraunce of the passing by of y e Lord and hartely reioyced offering hym sacrifice acknowledgyng w t infinite thākes that they were the fellowship of thē that had such a mercifull God Now Christes electe are deliuered frō sinne they eate neuerthelesse the sacramēt which is still called hys body that once dyed for their deliueraunce and hartely reioyce offering to hym the sacrifice of prayse knowledging with infinite thākes that they are of the fellowship of thē that haue such a mercifull God 12. The Paschall Lābe after their deliueraunce it was yearely eaten brought as much myrth and ioye vnto them that did eate it in fayth as it did to their fathers which felt Pharao hys fury and were not yet deliuered For they knew right well that except God of his mercy and wonderful power had so deliuered them they shoulde also them selues haue been bond in the land of Egypt and vnder that wicked prince Pharao of which bondage they greatly reioyced to bee rid already and thanked God highly because they found thē selues in that plenteous land which God prouided for them The sacrament which after our deliueraunce is yearely and dayly eaten bringeth as much myrth and ioye vnto vs that eate it in fayth as it did to the Apostles which were not yet deliuered For we know right well that except God of hys mercye through y e bloud of hys sonne had so deliuered vs we shoulde also our selues haue been bonde in Egypt the place of sinne vnder y t wicked prince the deuill of which bōdage we greatly reioyce to be rid already thanke God highly because we finde our selues in y e state of grace haue receaued through faith the first fruites and a taste of the spirite which testifyeth vnto vs y ◠we are the childrē of God ¶ Thys Maundy of remēbraunce was it that Paule receaued of the Lorde and deliuered to the Corinthians in the xi chapter For though he borrowe one propertie and similitude of the sacrament in the x. chapter that in my minde maketh neither with vs nor against vs albeit some thinke that it maketh whole for the exposition of Christes wordes this is my body But in my minde they are deceaued For y e occasion that Paule spake of it in the x. chapter was thys The Corinthians had knowledge that all meates were indifferent and whether it were offered to an Idole or not that the meate was not the worse and they might lawfully eate of it whether it were solde thē in the Shambles or set before them when they dyned and supped in an vnfaithfull mans house asking no questions except some man did tell them that it was offered to an Idoll and then they should not eate of it for offendyng his conscience that so tolde them albeit they were els frée and the thing indifferent thys knowledge because it was not annexed with charitie was the occasion of great offending For by reason thereof they satte downe among the Gentiles at their feastes where they eate in the honor of their Idols and so did not onely wound the conscience of their weake brethrē but
also committed Idolatry in déede And therfore S. Paule said vnto thē My deare beloued flée from worshipping of Idols I speake vnto them which haue discretiō Iudge ye what I say Is not y e cup of blessing which we blesse the fellowship of the bloud of Christ Is not the bread which we breake the fellowship of the bodye of Christ For we though we be many are yet one bread and one body in as much as we are partakers of one bread Christ did call him selfe bread and the bread his bodye And here Paule calleth vs bread and the bread our body Now may you not take Paule that he in thys place should directly expound Christes minde And that the very exposition of Christes wordes when he sayd this is my body should be that it was the fellowship of hys body as some say which seeking the key in this place of Paule locke them selues so faste in that they can finde no way out For Christ spake those wordes of his owne body which should be geuen for vs but the fellowship of Christes body or congregation was not geuē for vs. And so he ment not as Paule here sayth but ment his owne bodye For as Paule calleth the bread our body for a certaine propertie euen so doth Christ call it his body for certaine other properties In that y e bread was broken it was Christes owne body signifying that as that bread was broken so should hys body be broken for vs. In that it was distributed vnto hys disciples it was hys owne bodye signifying that as verely as y ◠bread was distributed vnto them so verely should the death of his body and fruit of his passion bee distributed to all faythfull folke In that the bread strengtheneth our bodyes it is hys own body signifying that as our bodyes are strengthened and comforted by bread so are our soules by y t fayth in hys body breaking And likewyse of the wine in that it was so distributed and so comforteth vs and maketh vs mery Furthermore the bread and wine haue an other propertie for the which it is called our body For in that the bread is made one bread of many graines or cornes it is our body signifying that we though we bee many are made one bread that is to say one body And in that the wine is made one wine of many grapes it is our bodye signifying that though we are many yet in Christ through Christ we are made one body members to ech other But in thys thyng Paule and Christ agrée For as Paul calleth the bread our body and vs the bread because of thys propertie that it is made one of many euen so doth Christ call it hys body because of the proporties before rehearsed Furthermore in thys they agrée that as Paules wordes must be taken spiritually for I thinke there is no man so mad as to iudge that the breade is our body in deede although in that propertie it representeth our body euen so must Christes wordes be vnderstand spiritually that in those properties it representeth his very body Now when we come together to receaue thys bread then by the receauing of it in the congregation we doe openly testifie that we all which receaue it are one body professing one God one fayth and one baptisme and that the body of Christ was broken and his bloud shed for remission of our sinnes Now sith we so do we may not company nor fit in the congregation or fellowship of them that offer vnto Idols and eate before thē For as Paule sayth ye cā not drinke the cup of the Lorde and the cup of the deuils ye can not be partakers of the table of the Lord and of the table of the deuills I would not that you should haue fellowship with deuills The heathen which offered vnto Idolls were the fellowship of deuils not because they eate the deuills body or dranke the deuils bloud but because they beleued put their confidence in the Idoll or deuill as in their God and all that were of that fayth had their ceremonies and gaue hartye thākes to their God with that feast which they kept They came to one place and brought their meate before the Idoll and offered it and with their offering gaue vnto the deuill godly honour And then they sat down and eate the offering together geuing prayse and thankes vnto their God and were one body and one fellowship of y t deuill which they testify by eating of that offering before that idole Now doth S. Paule reprehend the Corinthians for bearyng the gentiles companye in eating before the Idole For they know that the meate was like other meate And therefore thought them selues frée to eate it or leaue it But they perceiued not that that congregregation was the fellowship of deuiles which were there gathered not for the meat sake but for to thanke and prayse the Idole there God in whō they had their confidēce And all that there assembled and dyd there eate and did openly testifie y t they al were one body professing one fayth in their God that Idole So Paule rebuked them for because y t by there eating in that place and fellowship they testefied openly that they were of the deuils body and reioysed in the Idole their God in whō they had fayth and confidence And therfore fayth Paule that they cā not both drinke the cup of the Lord testifying hym to be their God in whom onely they haue trust and affiaunce the cup of the deuill testifiyng y t Idole to bée their God and refuge Here you may note that the meate and the eatyng of it in this place fellowshyp is more theny t cōmon meate and eatyng in other places For elles they myght lawfully haue dronkē the deuils cup with them the one day the cup of the Lord the next day with hys Disciples What was it more verely it was meate which by the eatyng of it in that place and felowship dyd testifie openly vnto all men that he was their God whose cuppe they dranke and before whom they eate in that felowshyp and so in their eating they praysed and honored the idole And therfore they that had their trust in the lyuing God and in the bloud of his sonne Christ might not eate with them And lykewise it is the in sacrament the bread and the eatyng of it in the place and felowshyp where it is receiued is more then common bread What is it more Verely it is bread which by y t eatyng of it in that place and felowshyp doth testifie openly vnto all men that he is our very God whose cup we drinke and before whom we eate in that felowship that we put all our afsiaūce in hym and in the bloud of hys sonne Christ Iesu geuyng God all honour infinite thankes for his great loue wherwith he loued vs as it is testified in the bloud of hys
the olde doctoures which séeme contrary to our sentēce And therefore marke it well Thus haue you my mynde farther vppon the Sacrament of the bodye and bloud of Christ Wherein if you recken that I haue béene too long in repeating one thing so often I shall pray you of pardon But surely mée thought I coulde not bée shorter For the worlde is such now a dayes that some woulde heare and can not and some doe heare and will not And therfore I am compelled so oftē to repeate that thing which a wise man woulde vnderstand with halfe the wordes ¶ Praye Christen reader that the worde of God may encrease and that God may bee glorified thorough my bondes Amen The Articles wherfore Iohn Frith dyed whiche hee wrote in Newgate the. 23. day of Iune the yeare of our Lord. 1533. I Doubt not deare brethren but that it doth some deale vexe you to sée the one part haue all the wordes and fréely to speake what they lifte and the other to bée put to silence and not to bée heard indifferently But referre your matters to God whiche shortly shall iudge after an other fashiō But in the meane reason I shall rehearse vnto you the articles for which I am condemned ¶ They examined me but of two articles which are these FIrste whether I thought there were no Purgatory to purge the soule after this present lyfe And I sayd that I thought there was none For man is made but of two partes the body and the soule And the body is purged by y t crosse of Christ which hée layeth vpon euery child that hée receaueth as affliction worldly oppression persecution imprisonment c. and death finisheth sinne And y t soule is purged by the word of God which we receaue thorough fayth vnto the health saluatiō both of body soule Now and if I did know any thyrd part wherof we are made I would also gladly graunt the thyrd Purgatory but seyng I know none such I must deny the Popes Purgatory Neuertheles I count neither part a necessary article of our faith necessarely to bée beléeued vnder payne of damnation whether there bée such a purgatory or not The second article was this whether that I thought that the Sacrament of the aulter was the body of Christ And I sayd yea y t I thought that it was both Christes body and also our bodye as S. Paule sayth 1. Cor. 10. chapter In that it is made one bread of many graynes it is our body signifying that we though we bée many are yet one body and likewise of the wyne in that it is made one wyne of many grapes And agayne in that it is broken it is Christes body signifying that his body should bée broken that is to say suffer death to redeme vs from our iniquities In that it was distributed it was Christes body signifying that as verely as that Sacrament is distributed vnto vs so verely is Christes body the frute of his passiō distributed vnto all faithfull men In that it is receaued it is Christes body signifying that as verely as outward man receaueth the Sacrament with his téeth and mouth so verely doth the inward man through fayth receaue Christes body frute of his passion and is as sure of it as of the bread that hée eateth Well sayd they do you not thinke that his very naturall body both flesh and bloud is really contained vnder the Sacramēt and there actually present beside all similitudes No said I I do not so thinke Notwithstandyng I would not that any should counte that I make my saying whiche is the negatiue any article of the fayth For euen as I saye that you ought not to make any necessary article of y t fayth of your part which is y t affirmatiue So I say agayne that we make none necessarye article of the fayth of our parte but leaue it indifferent for all men to iudge therein as God shall open his hart and no side to condemne or despise the other but to nourish in all thynges brotherly loue to beare others insirmities The text of S. Augustine which they there alleged agaynst mee was this that in y t Sacramēt Christ was borne in his owne handes Whereunto I sayd y t S. Augustine doth full well expoūd him selfe For in an other place hēe sayeth Ferebatur tanq in manibus suis That is hee was horne after a certeine maner in his owne handes And by that hée sayth after a certeine maner ye may soone perceaue what hée meaneth Howbeit if S. Augustin had not thus expounded himselfe yet hée sayth ad Bonifacium that y t Sacrament of a thyng hath a similitude or propertie of the thyng whiche it signifieth And for that cause it hath many tymes y t name of y t very thyng which it signifieth And so hée sayth y t he bare himself because hée bare y t Sacramēt of his body bloud which did so earnestly expresse him selfe that nothyng might more doe it If you read y e place of S. Augustine ad Bonifacium which I alleage in my last booke ye shall soone sée them aunswered An other place they alleaged out of Chrisostome which at the first blush séemeth to make well for them But if it bée well wayed it maketh much lesse for them then they wéene The wordes are these Doest thou see bread and wine doe they depart from thee into the draught as other meates doe God forbid for as in waxe when it commeth to the fier nothing of the sub staunce remayneth nor aboūdeth so lykewise thinke that the mysteries are cōsumed by the substaunce of the body These wordes I expounded by the wordes of the same Doctour S. Chrisostome whiche in an other Homilie sayth on this maner The inwarde eyes as soone as they see the bread they flye ouer all creatures and thinke not of the bread that is baken of the baker but of the bread of euerlastyng life whiche is signified by the mysticall bread Now conferre these places togither and you shall perceaue that the last expoūdeth the first clearely First hée sayth wilt thou sée bread wyne I aunswere by the second nay For the inward eyes as soone as they sée y e bread thinke not of it but of y t thyng it self y t is signified therby And so hée séeth it séeth it not He séeth it with his outward and carnall eyen but his inward eyen séeth it not That is to say regarde not the bread or thinke not on it Euen as we commonly say when we play a game negligētly by my truth I sée not what I doe meanyng that our myndes is not vppon that thing which we sée with our outward eyen And lykewise we may aūswere the next part where he sayth Doe they depart from thée into the draught as other meates doe Nay forsooth sayd I for other meates doe onely come to nourish y t body to depart into the
were here with his nette on his necke I thinke you would bid hym walke beggar if you called him not heretik Why doe you not sweare to folowe hys lyuing and to preach and teach his doctrine but that maketh nothing for your purpose Therefore you swerre all onely to S. Peters name But wherein wyll you bée faythfull to S. Peter to mayntane his worldly honours dignities or riches you know well hée sayth that hée hath forsaken all these thinges for Christes sake And for these thinges I thinke hée will require none othe of you Wherfore if you will néedes bée faythfull sworne vnto S. Peter it muste bée in mayntayning and in defending spirituall thynges as preaching of Christes Gospell purely and sincerely mynystring truelye after the institution of our master Christ y e blessed sacramentes of holy church and in vertuous lyuyng geuing example to the holy church of Christe But now if this bée your othe truely you are periured worthy to weare papers for you doe reken your selues to hye and to honorable to goe aboute such simple thinges as these bée And therfore you haue applyed your selues to other greater matters as to christening of belles to halowing of churches to blessing of candels to consecrating of holy oyle to halowing of chalesies vestementes and aulters and to geuing 40. dayes of pardon to them that receiueth your blessings in the streate and to some that visyte holy saintes such like greate matters which partayneth nothing to your othe wherefore I doe recken y e after the true forme of your othe we haue but few byshops but y e bée periured or abiured call it as you will both against God agaynst S. Peter and against their prince It foloweth And to the holy church of Rome what néedeth this what good can you doe to y e holy church of Rome Or what profyte is it to her that you sweare where is any request of her in holy scripture that you shoulde sweare Thinke you that she will compell you by your othe to bée true to her then must shee néedes sue you of periurie if you breake your othe But marke how y e church of Rome is set in your othe as the better person before the Pope wherefore it must néedes followe that y e Pope is vnder y e church and lesse then the church and no hed of the church except you will make hym a third person that neither pertayneth to S. Peter nor yet to holy Churche but is a thyng of him selfe and as your law sayth neither God nor man but middle betwéene them both that is as much to say after my learnyng as the deuill hym selfe But what meaneth it that you sweare onely to the holy Churche of Rome will you bée traytours to the holy Church of Constātinople or els to the holy Churche of England Or doe you thinke other Churches not holy tell vs what you meane for it séemeth a marueilous thyng and also a speciall thyng that you make such an othe all onely to the holy Church of Rome naming none other church Why are you not rather sworne to kéepe and to féede to norish and to bée true to your owne Church of the which you haue taken cure charge As S. Peter commaundeth you Sée that you féede Christes flocke which is among you For of these you haue taken your name lyuyng and dignitie You are called Byshop of Winchester of London and of Lyncolne And of these you are fed but these bée forgotten in your othe and these you litle regarde but to mayntayne the holy Churche of Rome that geueth you neuer a peny but robbeth all other Churches you must bée straitly sworne And why Antichrist must haue a cloke for his treason For now if hée bée a traytour hée is to bée excused why for hée is sworne to it But shall I tell you what I doe take out of it The truth is that you sweare to betray to kil and slay all members of all other Churches sauyng those that liueth after the whoredome and mischief that is vsed in Rome For if you should bee bounde to séeke out in Rome Christened men and those that doth liue after the liuyng of holy church I thinke you should finde but few Yea and vnto those you would thinke scorne to bée sworne Ergo it must folow that you are sworne to the worst sort of Rome and that your holy Churche of Rome is taken for such a sorte as liueth agaynst God agaynst his blessed worde agaynst the liuyng of holy Aposties agaynst the cōditiōs of our holy mother y e church I could say in all whoredome in all oppression in all Sodomytrie in all murther in all pōpe pride summa summarum in all maner of mischief what toung cā tell or hart can thinke But I will not say so for men would reken me vncharitable and to vehement Neuerthelesse all the worlde knoweth that you doe recken your selfe by the vertue of your oth boūde to no men but vnto such as in very déede liueth after this vngracious maner and yet will you bée faithfull and true vnto them agaynst all men Yea I dare say if that their conscience had not cōdemned them of such mischief they would neuer haue desired this assistence of you or els haue thought it necessary to haue required an othe of you But the veritie is they bée naught and haue néede of mayntainers in their mischief And also suspect you not to bée true except you made an othe to them yea and scarsly then onles that you in very déede at tyme and place conuenient doe betray your Princes for that is y e cause of your othe and other profite hath not the kyng by it I will bée reported by all practise that euer came out of your othe It foloweth And to my Lord the Pope I would gladly learne where the Pope hath got the dignitie of a Lord. This thyng is litle regarded of my Lordes the Byshops to bryng in such a worldly dignitie yea they will say it is but a trifle and mocke men for speaking agaynst it But the truth is if they durst as much now as in times past they would burne for this litle trifle the best Lord in England For I dare say it hath cost many a mans lyfe or euer they brought the Pope to Lordshyp Blessed S. Peter whose successour the Pope boasteth him selfe to bée knew nothing of this Lordshyp for bée sayth vnto hys felowes they shall not exercise no Lordshyp ouer the congregation And likewise S. Paule durst not take vppon him to commaunde as a Lord collections to bée made for poore men but mekely desires thē without any Lordshyp Also in an other place Let no man iudge vs but as the Ministers of Christ Blessed S. Paule rekeneth him selfe but a minister a seruaunt And yet y e day hath béene that he was so good as my Lord the Pope Our master Christ that
agaynst hym and when hée might saye and doe what he would And as your lawe commaundeth no man so hardye to aske hym why hée doth so Then began decrées ordinances depocytions disposycyons reseruations prouysions with like shamefulnes sor to spring and there is no remedy but they must contynue And why Because you are sworne to kéepe them your selfe and to compel other men also to kéepe them And out of the kéepinge of this part of your othe springeth out an other sentence that foloweth which is this All heretykes sysmatikes and rebelles towardes our sayd Lorde y e Pope to my power I shall persecute and withstand This is the cause that hath made vs poore men so great heretykes For it can neuer bée proued that euer we spake agaynst God or our king and yet bée we heretikes And why Forsooth because the Byshops are sworne to the Popes decrées the which condemneth all them for heretikes that speaketh against his holynes though hée bée as holy as my horse For hée sayth hym selfe in his lawe that hée nedeth not to bée holy hym selfe but it is sufficient that hée sytteth in an holy seat These be his wordes who doubteth but hée is holy y e which is exalted to so great a dignitie In whō though good workes of his owne merites be wantinge yet are those good workes sufficyent the which were done by his predecessours Vpon the which texte their glose sayth that if it bée openly knowen that the Pope bée an aduoulterer or a murderer yet ought hée not to bée accused c. Now we poore men can not suffre such myscheuous vyces wherefore we must bée heretikes But why because my lords y e byshops are sworne to persecute vs. But neuertheles I trust to Gods grace and the Kinges that my Lordes the Byshops wyll not bée so hard in this poynt of their othe as they haue béene And why Because mē may nowe come to their aunswere Surely there bée many clauses in his last othe added that bée cleare iniury vnto princes against Gods lawe and mans lawe And yet our Byshops will swere them yea that which is worst of all they will accuse other men of treason rebelliō And there is no mā sworne to treason nor rebellion but they onely ¶ Wherfore most gracious prince with all mekenes and lowlynes that is due to soe noble a prince and also that doth béecome a true subiecte to doe I lowly and méekely require and desire your grace to Iudge betwéene the Byshops and me whiche of vs is trewest and faythfullest to God and to your grace I speake all onelye of those that hath and also would nowe if they durste defende the Pope and his lawes Agaynst them I make this supplication and agaynst them haue I declared the learning and doctrine that I haue both taught and wrytten And as for my factes déedes what I haue done agaynst God and your grace I require them to say their vttermost that they can proue or elles by your gracious fauour I am bere presente and offer my selfe to proue thē lyars And that vnder any maner of payne that your grace shal assigne And agaynst them I haue declared the learnyng and doctrine of theyr Churche and also brought examples of their factes and déedes with the whiche they haue put theyr doctrine in exercise Nowe if they bée gréeued or thinke thē selues wrongfully handled of mée then I require no more of your grace but indifferētly and graciously to here both them and me the which thing no doubt as your grace doth knowe our heauēly father doth require of you who preserue your highnes in all honor dignite Amen The cause of my condemnation MOste gracious Prince y e your grace shoulde knowe what cause of heresye the Byshops had agaynst me for y e which they so vncharitablye and so cruelly hath cast me away Therefore haue I set out y e articles y e were layde agaynst me And as they were layd agaynst me as I will bée reported by their owne actes and bookes The which articles doubtles were vncharitably falsly gathered agaynst me in a sermon y e I made in Cābridge in S. Edwardes Churrh Wherfore I will beséech your grace with all méekenes lowlynes to bée my gracious Lord Prince And not to suffer me thus shamefully cruelly agaynst all law conscience vtterly to bée vndone cast away But of your most highe goodnes to suffer me to come to mine aunswere and then if I can not iustifie my cause I will be at your gracious commaundement to bée punished after right and conscience IF thou beléeue that thou art more boūd to serue God to morow which is Christmas day or of easter day or of whitsonday for an holynes that is in one day more then in an other then art thou no faythfull christean man but supersticious And S. Paule is against thée saying You doe obserue dayes yeares monthes and tydes For vnto a faythfull christean man euery day ought to bée Christmas day Easter day and whitsonday The which thinge the fathers considering that thou diddest not obserue yea that thou wouldest neuer obserue if it were lefte to thy iudgmēt because thou art geuen so much to worldly businesses For that cause they haue assigned thee certaine dayes to come to the certayn dayes to come to y e church to pray togither to heare the worde of God togither and to receaue the blessed sacramēt togither what faulte fynde you in this article because I say that one daye is not holyer then an other I pray you what is y e cause or what nature is in one day that is not in an other wherby that it should bée holyer then the other Because you will say that we halowe the remembraunce of Christes birthe and of Christes resurrection in one day and not in an other This thing I say must you doe euery daye for Christe is euery day borne euery day rysen euery day ascended vp And this must you beléeue euery day stedfastly This must you sanctifie in your hartes dayly and not one day ¶ Now vary we but in this thing You say that we are bound to sanctifie but one Christmas day in the yeare and that is supersticiousnes heresy say I not that I condemne your one day but that you set it to one daye all onely that we are bound to do euery daye Briefely my Lord of Rochester alowed this article saying he would not condemne it for heresy for an C. li. this was a great sūme of money but it was folishely sayde quod hée to preach this afore the butchers of Cambryge As who say they were all butchers that were at the sermon And not y e most parte of y e vniuersity But the byshop of Bathe asked me whether we mighte labour on the holy dayes or not séeing it is written Thou shalt obserue thy holy day I aunswered
Lord Cardinall were myne ordinarye iudge or not wyth other lyke captious interogations at the last they came to my first article and inquyred of mée if all dayes were alyke I sayde after the mynde of S. Hierome that all dayes were equall Then asked they mée if wée shoulde kéepe any holy dayes I sayde yes And in this matter wée had a great disputation till at the last my Lord of Rochester came And hée asked mée if this commaundement Sabatum sanctifices were a ceremoniall or a morall precepte I answered that it was a ceremoniall alleaging for mée S. Augustine ThaÌ„ sayd hee that I was not learned But alwayes when they had asked of mée a question and I had assoyled it so that they neyther woulde nor coulde abiecte any thyng agaynst mée than was I commauÌ„ded alwayes to stand a parte And they layde their heades togither till they had inuented an other captious question Than was I called agayne and myne answere geuen I was coÌ„maunded backe agayn Thus they continued with me thrée dayes in the which space their Notary wrote a reuocation of all my articles before the tyme that myne aunswere was heard And on the thyrde day after noone about iij. of y e clocke was there a greate long rolle offered vnto me for to read word by word as it there stode and commaundement was geuen me by y e Byshop of Bath â–ª that I should not speake one word afore the people more or lesse theÌ„ was written in the rolle for if I did hée would handle me well inough So I required first to sée what was writteÌ„ in the rolle or I would grauÌ„t vnto it Aunswere was made that if I would read it as it was written well good if not I should stand to the ieoperdy So I desired them to know if they had condemned any of my articles for heresie They sayd yea I asked theÌ„ which it was They sayd they would not tell me more then was writteÌ„ I aunswered Alas my Lordes y e truth is that to my iudgement I haue spoken nothyng but that standeth with S. Augustine with S. Hierome and with other Doctours of holye Churche Wherfore if it shall chaunce me thus to bée coÌ„deÌ„ned and not to bée taught wherein I can not tell what I should preach in tyme to come The Byshop of Bathe aunswered that I shoulde take no care for that for as for preachyng hée would prouide for me But I should alonly aunswere if I would read this rolle or not I desired that they would first pointe with their finger if they wold not speake it which article they had condemned for heresie and I would bée bounde to proue it true by S. Augustine or els by S. Hierome or I would bée takeÌ„ for an hereticke To this said the Byshop of Bathe that if S. Augustine and S. Hierome were here they should staÌ„d to the determination of the Church Vnto whom I sayd that the Church had so determined of S. Augustine S. Hierome that if any other church determined agaynst them I would suspect it Well sayth hée If you will stand vnto them doe We are conteÌ„t alonely tell vs whether you will read this rolle or not Then sayd I. My Lordes I beséech you in the way of charitie and for Christes sake deale charitablye with me doe me no wrong For S. Paule sayeth that you haue power geuen to edifiyng and not to destruction Very well sayd the Byshop of Bath ye néede not to feare Here bée to many witnesses that we should oppresse you wrongfully But sayd hée tell vs whether you will read this rolle or not This is the thyrd tyme the last Then sayd I. I will not grauÌ„t to it except I may first sée it Doe as it shall please you At this they sat all still wone looking on the other Then the Bishop of Bath commaunded me to departe aside So tooke they their counsell togithers And at the last I was called agayne and this was sayd to me Syr ye shall haue a man that shall read it vnto you afore Well said I. I am content And so one of their Notaries a lay maÌ„ was assigned vnto me and we departed a litle aside there hée began to read The yeare of our Lord such a day of the moneth was one Doct. Barnes conuented before the byshops in Westminster for certeine articles which were gathered out of a Sermonde that hée preached in Cambridge of the whiche some of them bée sclaunderous some bée erronious some bée contentious some bée seditious some bée foolishe and some bée hereticall When that hée came to this worde hereticall I asked hym which of them were hereticall Hée answered mée agayne yée haue heard what my Lordes sayth I can make you no answere Alas sayd I shall I bée thus condeÌ„ned for an hereticke and can not tell what is myne heresie Then sayd hée it belongeth not to me speake vnto them Well said I. Read no more So went I agayne before the Byshops And â—ell downe on my knées and desired them for the better passion of Christ that they would shewe vnto me whiche article they condemned for heresie and then if I would not bée taught they should handle me after the forme of law But to this the Byshop of Bath auÌ„swered sayd I should chose whether I would read y e rolle or els bée burned y e one of both I should doe TheÌ„ sayd I Iesus haue mercy on me I wil surely not read it And so I deliuered it to them againe Then the other Doctours cryed vppon me the one here the other there that I shoulde remember my selfe and not to cast my selfe awaye after this manner For to read the rolle said they was but a small thing and I was neuer the worse maÌ„ And I should sée that my Lord Cardinall should bée good gracious vnto me and they would all speake for me so that I supposed in very déede that they would haue required no more of me but for to haue read the rolle afore y e face of the world that I should not séeme to haue the victory agaynst them all which thing I did not greatly regarde But in very déede and if I had knowen that there had beene so mischieuous poyson tyranny and cruelnes in them as I founde afterward I would neuer haue read it to haue dyed for it But God bryngeth all thinges to passe at his pleasure Now vpon this opinion that I had in them and by the reason of theyr good wordes and pituous that they spake vnto mée I graunted to reade the roolle But than when I woulde haue read it the Byshoppe of Bathe sayd it was to late so was there a great disputation betwéene them vppon the matter Till that Doctour Quarton sayd my Lorde it is not to late for it is all in one session and in the tyme of one iudgement But the Byshop of Bathe our Lord forgéeue him sought all y e meanes y e hée
name This was about y t yeare of our Lorde 1186. So that meÌ„ may perceaue how the pope doth not greatly regarde the vowe of hys spiritualtie if any thing may bée gotten to pay for a dispensation And it wil not helpe to say that the pope did dispense with this woman for a common wealth For the stories maketh mention that the pope dispeÌ„sed with him vnder a coÌ„dition that hée should paye hym a yearely pencion for the kyngdome of Cecyll and should recouer it of his owne charges out of the handes of Tancredus which was then in possession of it And béecause that hée myght haue the better title to the kyngdome hée gaue hym the onely daughter of Cecill So that y t pope did it not for a common wealth but for his owne lucre But now graunt that it were for â–ª a common wealth therefore first it was not Gods commaundemeÌ„t that priestes should liue sole For gods word géeueth no place to no common wealth And if y â— pope did then dispence for a coÌ„moÌ„ wealth why doth hée not now dispence for auoyding of fornication in so many innumerable priestes Doth not meÌ„ recken it for a common wealth to expell fornication all occasions therevnto But now there is no commoÌ„ wealth to bée regarded béecause there is no shyning golde offered But at y t least wayes mée thinketh that priestes which marry bée very farre from heresie for it is neyther agaynst Gods lawe nor yet agaynst the common wealth Here were many examples to bée brought in how the pope hath dispensed both with Monkes Friers and Nunnes the which I will passe ouer and will she we as neare as I can out out of Chronicles how loÌ„g â–ª it is that the pope hath gone about to bryng in the vow of chastitie Doctour Eckius doth say that Calixtus primus dyd firste make the statute that priestes should vow chastitie bâ—t that is false For all Chronicles beareth witnesse that priestes had wyues in the Councell of Nicene the which was almost an hundreth yeares after Calixtus dayes Wherfore it can not bée supposed that y t statute was made béefore the Councell of Nicene But authenticall hystories doth make mention that Nicholas the first whiche was Byshop of Rome the yeare of our Lord 860. did goe about this thyng but hée could not bryng it to passe by the reason of an holy man S. Huldericke Episcopus Augustensis the which wrote a very sharpe Epistle agaynst hym reproouyng hym sore bycause hée would compell priestes to vow chastitie Hys woords bée these Thou hast not swarued a litle from discretion y t where as thou oughtest to haue counsayled priestes to chastitie thou hast with a Lordly violence compelled them to it Is not this after the iudgement of all wise men a great violence wheÌ„ that thou agaynst the institution of the Gospell and agaynst y e decrée of the holy ghost wilt compell men to obserue thy priuate decrée c. Hée reciteth also agaynst y e Byshop of Rome all those same scriptures that I haue brought herein my booke of this matter and alâ—o certain of the counsels to that purpose that I haue brought them So that men ought not to thinke that I am the first that thus hath vnderstande the Scriptures nor yet the first that hath spoken agaynst priestes vowes Note also how this holy maÌ„ sayth that priests ought to bée admonyshed counselled to chastitie but not compelled For that sayth hée is a great violence and agaynst Christes holy Gospell and y t blessed spirite of God These bée as vehement wordes as I haue spokeÌ„ For out of these woordes men may gather that it is not farre from heresie to compell priestes to vow chastitie This holy man procéedeth farther with y t Bishop of Rome and telleth a fact of S. Gregory the which went about to compell priestes to vow chastitie Vpon a day S. Gregory sent vnto hys pondes for fish and in the nettes that they fished withall were brought vp aboue sixe thousand young childrens heades the which thyng when S. Gregory saw stroke hym sore to the hart hée was very heauy of that sight and perceyued anone that hys decrée that hée made for priester chastitie was the occasion of this great murther In that that priestes could not lyue sole nor yet they durst not auow theyr children for feare of the decrée And so for sauegarde of theyr honesty they fell into a fearefull and abhominable sinne to kyll theyr own children And for this cause S. Gregory sayth this holy Byshop dyd reuoke hys decrée agayn and did greattly alow the saying of the Apostle Iis better to marry then to burne Addyng vnto it of hys owne It is better to marry then to geue occasion to murther Here note good reader what a terrible and a fearefully example this is Is not this a piteous case that so many thousandes innoceÌ„tes bée thus slayne When shall the chastitie keepyng of all the priestes in the worlde bée an occasion of so great goodnes as the law of chastitie hath béene hereof mischief Alas is there no pyty in â—…eÌ„s hartes that are nothyng moued wheÌ„ they read such horrible factes in holy mens writyngs Or doe men thinke that there is no mischief now in our dayes done by the reason that priests are compelled to chastitie If men thinke that there come any mischiefe by the reason of it how can men recken to auoyde Gods vengeauÌ„ce that will so stifly and strongly mayntayne the same I haue béene informed of credible persons the whiche if néede were I could yet bryng foorth that in a place of Religion within this fewe yeares there was a religious man that dyd get a woman with child the whiche woman was brought a bed in the brothers chamber of a fayre sonne This child was Christened in the same chaÌ„ber and as soone as it was christened hée brake the necke of it and buryed it in the night in the Churcheyarde This is the trueth I caÌ„ prooue it Is not this a terrible thyng dooth not nature abhorre this And yet men had rather here this abhominablenes theÌ„ for to release a litle of theyr own will But oh Lorde God howe streightly shalt thou punish this It is not yet out of y t minde of maÌ„ sinnes y t an honest man lost his daughter by the reason that a priest defiled her the which bycause hée would not bée dishonested kylled the mayde priuely and afterwarde cast her into a well If men will not bée moued at this and such lyke other factes I can not tell what will moue them I could recite a great many of abhominable and detestable factes if I were not more ashamed to tell them then priestes hath béene to doe them Neither will I recite how shamefully that mens daughters mens wyues mens seruauntes hath béene and are dayly cast awaye by the â–ª reason that priestes are so hoate of courage and can not
good worke except we beleue that our sinnes are forgeueÌ„ in Christ More Sinne. Tyndall More Vnbelâ—efe Tyndall More Frewill Tyndall We haue no freewill to preuent grace prepare our selues Math. 12. Iohn 5. 1. Cor. 6. The hearing of gods word causeth repentaunce Iohn 19. There can be no repeÌ„taunce in vs but god doth first worke in vs by hys grace More Tyndall All power that we haue to good or euil is of God But y e croked and naughty vsage of the same is of our owne câ—â—kerd corrupt nâ—ture More Matrimonye Tyndall Matrimony caÌ„ be no SacrameÌ„t except a doctrine be added therunto that the people may know the benefite of Christ that we haue by matrimony More Orders Tyndall No Sacrament is wtout signification More CoÌ„secrate Tyndall WomeÌ„ that are vertuous and discrete may in cases of necessitie minister the Sacramentes as well as the Priest More Sacrifice Tyndall In ensample The supper of the Lord is geuen vs to be a memoriall of his death once offered for all Christes memoriall Masse More Bread Tyndall The corrupt and vayne disputations of men to proue christ to be really in the Sacrament Iohn 〈◊〉 More Masse Tyndall The Sacrament of Christes body when it is faithfully ministred doth profite as many as do beleue in Christes death More Tyndall More Touch. Tyndall More Worship Tyndall The true worshipping of the SacrameÌ„t is to beleue that it is a true signe that Christ suffered death for vs. More Tyndall More Purgatory Tyndall More Soules sleepe Tyndall The soules departed rest at Gods will pleasure Deut. 2â— More Saintes Tyndall More Tyndall More Tyndall Saintes are not to be called vpon for we haue no promise nor assuraunce that either they heare vs or can profite vs. The children of god are obedieÌ„t to hys lawes Images Hierome Images were not allowed in the primitiue church Epiphanius cut the Image Gregory Cirenus A Councel gathered in Grece dyd put downe all Images Ezechias Images are not to be had in Churches More Our Lady Tyndall More Salue Regina Tyndall â–ª Mors. Tyndall Math. 12. Luke 1â— The prayers of all good womeÌ„ are aswell accepted of God as the prayers of our Lady More Crosse Tyndall More Tyndall More Vow Tyndall More Martine Tyndall Martine All falsehode is not espyed on in one 〈◊〉 More Tyndall ☜ More Martine Tyndall More Martin Tyndall â–ª Vnâ—â—n More Tyndall How far a Christen man is bounde to suffer More Tyndall More Tyndall More Tyndall More Tyndall More Tyndall More Tyndall More Tyndall Vnlawfull vowes are not to be obserued Vowes All vowes are to be made wyth great aduisement We mâ—st vse Gods creatures for our necâ—…e All our abstinence chastising of our selues is to our owne profite Freewiâ—t More blasphemeth God Our dedes are euill because we lacke know ledge to referre them vnto the glory of God 2. Cor. 4. The deuill is the blinder kepee of vs froÌ„ y â— vnderstanding of gods wyll The deuill is the blindeâ— and keper of vs from the vnderstandyng of Gods wil. We may not be curious to search gods secretes A Papisticall opinioÌ„ Witte reason iudgement goeth before will Faith is the gift of God commeth not by free wil. Phil. 1. Phil. 2. God is the first worker bringger to passe of our well doynges Math. 24. The Christians seeke helpe of Christ O abhominable blasphemy Doct. Ferman Master doctour Fermon was a vertuous godly and learned maÌ„ A true note to know hypocrites M. More 〈◊〉 a iuggleâ— with termes The order of iustifying A lyuely descriptioâ— of our 〈◊〉 fication The great mercy and kindenes of God moueth maÌ„ to repeÌ„tauÌ„ce The right order of our iustificatioÌ„ 1. Iohn 4. Faith only apprehendeth our iustification what faith iustifieth There are diuersities of faith and but one faith that iustifieth vs. Workes Out of a liuely and iustifiyng faith springeth good workes Fayth alone iustifieth A similitude More is maliciously blynde An apâ— and proper exsample of loue Rom. 5. God loued vs first that we should loue him againe ☜ He that loueth God loueth hys neighbour Note here the mercy goodnes of God Faith may be had wtout loue but it is a barreine naked faith Ciprian Martyrs that suffered all a yeare long The deuils Martyrs We must doe good workes of loue and not for reward Our doynges can deserue nothyng but Christe hath deserued for vs. Iames. 〈◊〉 Iames â—eproueth selâ—â—â—â—â—tes and not a true and liuely sayth Fayth that will not woorke when oportunitie serueth caÌ„ not iustifie How workes iustifie Rom. 4. Iohn 8. AbrahaÌ„ beleued gods promises therefore was iustified Hee that seeth hys neighbour in necessitie hath no compassion on him hath no fayth The Papistes preach workes that are profitable to them selues More Dauid Tyndall Psal 51. When we haue offended God we must returne quiâ—kly by repentaunce and call vpon God to heare vs for Christ our Sauiours sake Poena culpa As we haue receaued at the haÌ„d of God mercy so must we shewe mercy to our neyghbours Workes of them selues iustifie not He that loueth hys neighbour for Christs sake the same is righteous All our workes if they procede not of loue are nothyng Fayth in Christ maketh our small workes acceptable ☞ The righteous lyueth by â—aith Faith in Christes bloud doth onely iustifie vs. More Tyndall Iohn Baptist and our Lady also were sinners looked for the redemptioÌ„ in Christ Chrisostomus There was neuer any but Christ that was without sinne 1. Iohn 1. Workes are vnder the law Fayth is vnder no law More Tyndall More Tyndall The blinde and â—ond reasoning of More Luke 22. Iohn 17. The difference betwene Peters fall the fall of Iudas Iudas Iudas perished in desperatioÌ„ By Adam we are all made the children of the wrath of God Rom. 9. God worketh by diuers to make vs to call vpoÌ„ and to trust in his mercy Frewill The witte leadeth the will Mores wittes are captiuated A prety example ☞ King Henry the. v. King HeÌ„ry the 4. was an vsurper of y e crowne ☜ The Turk is to be resisted The vnion of Doctors a good booke ☜ More Tyndall sweareth More Tyndall Eare confession More Purgatory Tyndall More Clergy Tyndall Note More Tyndall Paule dyd excommunicate but our Byshops do burne Math. 23. An old practise of the Phariseis newly practised by the Pope his Prelates Wordly prefermentes are leâ—â—es to true Christianitie The Jewâ—◠〈◊〉 accuâ—ed Christ The câ—â—ell Iewes by persecutyng Christ his Apostles procured the vengeaunce of God to lighten vpoÌ„ them selues The Apostles 〈…〉 all oâ—… The practise of our Prelates in these dayes The geneâ—ation of Seâ—pentes A good admunition to all blynde guides Our Prelates seeke to be chiefe and highest Swarmes of sectes set vp by the Pope his Prelates Our Prelates professethe Pope to be their Lord but yeâ— keepe no part of hys lawe The Popes clergie are murtherers A good admonition to all rulers The commoÌ„ perswasion