prince as my lordes the bisshoppes were wont et cet But yf the kyng will do it by violence they must suffre it but not obeie to it by agrement Item Now is it cleare that we maie not resist this temporall power in no wise by violence et cet but yf anye thing be commaunded us that is against the word of god wherby oure faith is hurt that shuld we not do in any wise but rather suffre persecucion and also death Be these wordes now as much to saye as yf the Kyng commaunde anie thing by tirannie mē shall not suffre him What meane ye so vntruly to reporte of the deed But no maruail whan ye shame not to belie so many textes of gods holy word Touching mens lawes it is manifest that such as are not grounded in gods word do not bind the conscience of man to deadly sinne For yf they be not grounded in gods worde and agreable to the faith therof then are they synfull and naught Who is bound now to obeie sinne But a man maie smel you a farre of whose successours ye be You will not sticke to call it a laufull acte for a prince to condemne gods word and to forbid that thinge which is institute and ordeyned of god Yee yf oure prince wold take such a thing in hand which god forbid he shuld lacke no instigacion of your malignaunt church Nether can I yet coniecture the contrary but that ye are aboute such a tragedy Now go to set your watch men to kepe the sepulchre suffre not Christ to ryse vp in any wyse let not the souldiers lack money the church is riche ynough cast your greate heades together and let Caiphas geue you his most so tel counsaill For whan ye haue done your best and lyed all that euer ye can yet shall god make your policye to serue for the glorye of his trueth Amen Barnes YEe and I saye further yf the kyng shuld commaunde you any thing agaynst gods law yf it be in your power to resist him yet maye you not do it Standish Se here the stedfastnesse et cetera Couerdale This man nether wrote ner sayd that we must obeye an erthly prynce more then allmightie god and yet are ye not ashamed so to reporte of him He saieth that though the Kyng commaunde us anye thing agaynst gods lawe yet maye we not resist him Which saieng ye call an abhominable heresie Thus declare ye your selfe manifestly to be of the nombre of them that teach how that it is lauful for a man to resist his prince Which thing whether it be not both heresie and treason let them iudge that haue auctorite Because Amos the Prophet preached agaynst ydolatry at Bethel that false prest Amasias whom ye speake of told that Kyng that he was a sedicious felow and so found the meanes to get him out of the court Yet played Amasias a more honest parte with Amos then you do for he laied rebellion to his charge that was alyue and your accusacion is agaynst the deed Agayne Amasias being yet a false prest saieth not that it is laufull for a man to resist his prynce and you call it abhominable heresie to teach the contrary Though Peter and Iohn do teach that we must obeye and harken vnto god more then vnto men do they therfore teach that we must resist our prynce Where fynd ye that example in them Peter smote of Malcus eare in dede but litle thanke had he for his laboure Doth he not teach us to endure grefe to suffre wrong and to take it paciently Saieth he not that we are called ther vnto Setteth he not Christ vnto us for an example of suffryng Because our Sauioure wylleth us not to feare them that kyll the body must we therfore resist them Whan a prynce doth persecute us for gods wordes sake in one citie must we resist him and not rather flye in to another Doth he call them blessed that resist and not them rather that suffre for persecucion sake Dyd Christ entre in to his Kyngdome by resisting or by suffryng As for that saieng qui timet hominem et cet I can not find it in the xix of the prouerbes but I fynd ther written that a false witnesse shall not remayne vnpunished and that he which speaketh lies shall not escape Ye call it an abhominable heresie to teach that we ought not to resist our prince though he commaunde us any vnlaufull thing And to proue your purpose ye poynt us to the fifth of Esaye where ther is no such words as ye speake of But these wordes fynd I there Wo vnto them that call good euell et cet As for the ensample of the seuen brethren and their mother it utterly condemneth you for they saie these wordes We are ready rather to suffre then to offende the lawes of god et cete And as they said so they dyd without makyng resistaunce though the Kynges commaundement was vnlaufull What other thing now dyd D. Barnes teach in his fore rehearced wordes but as he had said in his boke afore that yf the Kyng wolde cōmaunde us anie vnlaufull thing we must suffre him though we obeie not to it by agremēt What daunger you be in then for teaching the contrary I will not define I praie god acording to his good pleasure haue mercy vpon you Barnes THen spake he to the shereffe and sayde M. shereffe I requyre you of gods behalfe to haue me commended vnto the kynges grace and to shew him that I require of his grace these requestes first that wher his grace hath now receaued in to his handes all the goodes and substaunce of the abbayes Then the shereffe desyred him to stoppe there He answered M. shereffe I warraunt you that I wil speake no harme for I know it is well done that all such supersticion be taken cleane awaye and the kynges grace hath well done in takyng it awaye But seyng his grace is made a hole kyng and obeyed in his realme as a kyng which nether his father ner graundfather ner his ancestours that raigned before him euer had and that thorow the preaching of us and such other wretches as we are which allwayes haue applied our hole studies and gaue our selues for the setting forth of the same and this is now our reward Well it maketh no matter Now he raigneth I praye god long maye he raigne among you Wold god it might please his grace to bestow the sayd goodes or some of them to the comforte of his poore subiectes which surely haue great nede of them The second that I desire his grace is that he will se that matrymony be had in more reuerence then it is and that men for euery light cause inuented cast not of their wifes and lyue in aduoutry and fornicacion and that these that be not maried shuld not abhominably lyue in whordome folowing the filthy lustes of the flesh The third that the
A confutacion of that treatise which one John Standish made agaynst the protestacion of D. Barnes in the yeare M. D. XL. Wherin the holy scriptures peruerted and wrested in his sayd treatise are restored to their owne true vnderstonding agayne by Myles Couerdale Iacobi iij. Nolite gloriari mendaces esse aduersus ueritatem To the Reader To all them that either reade or heare gods holy worde and geue ouer them selues to lyue vnfannedly acording to the same do I hartely wysshe the grace peace and mercy of god the father in and thorow oure lorde and onely Sauioure Iesus Christ THe seuenth daye of Decembre was delyuered vnto me a certayne treatyse composed by one Iohn Standish Felow of Whittington college in londoÌ„ so is the tytle of it and prynted by Robert Redeman Anno M. D. XL. iij. Nonas Octobris At the reading wherof I mourned sore within my selfe for certayne occasions offred vnto me in the sande treatyse First that vnder the Kynges priuilege any thing shuld be set forth which is either agaynst the worde and trueth of allmightye god or agaynst the Kynges honoure Secondlye that good wholsome and Christen wordes shulde be calumpniated and reuyled Thirdly that the sayde Iohn Standish pronouncyng Doctoure Barnes to haue taught heresye so longe is not ashamed all this whyle to haue hold his penne but now first to wryte agaynst him whan he is deed et ce As touching the first whether I haue cause to mourne or no I reporte me to all true Christen hertes for as I am credibly enfourmed and as I partly haue sene there is now a wonderful diuersite in writing bokes and balates in England one enueyenge agaynst another one reuylinge and reprouyng another one reioysinge at anothers fall and aduersite And not onely this but also at the ende of euery balate or boke in maner whether it be the better partye or worse is set the Kynges priuilege Which as it is agaynst the glorye of god that one shulde reuyle another Is it not euen so agaynst the Kynges honoure Yee the shame is it of all Englande that vnder his priuilege anye erroneous contentious or slaunderous boke or papyre shulde be prynted Men wonder in other contrees that ther is so greate negligence of this matter in a realme where so wyse and prudent a counsail is â–ª And they that are moued with godly compassioÌ„ do lament Englande sory that ther is so great discencion in it sory that blasphemous ieasting and raylinge balates or bokes agaynst the manifest worde of god shulde either be suffred or priuilegied sory that gods trueth shulde thus spitefully be intreated of so greate a nombre Now the reformacion of this and all other defaultes lyeth onely in the hande of god To whom I referre it and to the rightfull admynistracion of his holy ordinauÌ„ce and auctorite in the kynges hyghnesse who whan he knoweth of the saide inconuenience how tryflinge and raylinge bokes and rymes are prynted vnder his priuilege wyll no doubte set a redresse herein Concernyng the seconde occasion aboue rehearced Is it not cause ynough forme and all other Christen to be right sory to mourne and lamente that the wordes which are good wholsome and acordinge to the holy scripture and Chrisies faith shulde be either blasphemed or taken to the worst Yf the Kynges grace shulde put forthe an wholsome proclamacion iniunction or commaundement as he doth many what true subiecte louynge gods holy ordinaunce and auctorite in his prynce wold not be greue to se anye man either spytt at those his soueraignes wordes or to defye them Yf we now which are Christen haue so iust occsion and are bownde to be thus wise mynded in this outward regiment wherein god hath appoynted us to be obedient to the hyer powers how much more cause haue we to water our eyes with sory hertes whan the proclamacion iniunction coÌ„maundement and worde of him which is kyng of all Kynges and lord of all lordes is thus reuyled and euell spoken of That the wordes of D. Barnes spoken at tbe houre of his death and here vnder written are good wholsome acording to gods holy scripture and not worthy to be euell taken It shalbe euidently sene whan we haue layed theÌ„ to the twych stone and tryed them by gods worde To the open text wherof yf ye take good hede ye shal se the peruerse doctryne and wycked opynions of Standish clerely confuted And no doubte god wyll so haue it because that vnder the pretence of bearing a zeale toward gods worde he taketh apon him to be iudge and geuer of sentence agaynst gods worde and to condemne it that gods worde aloweth And this as I sayde is another cause of the sorynesse of my hert that he which darre auowe another man to be an opeÌ„ heretike is not ashamed thus longe nether to haue written ner openly preached agaynst him by name but now to starte vp whan he is deed Is it not a greate worshippe for him to wrestle with a shadow and to â—â—ll a deed man Is he not a worthy souldyer that all the battayll tyme thrusteth his hand in his bosome and whan meÌ„ are deed then draweth out his swerde and fighteth with them that are slayne allreadye Iudge ye gentle readers yf Standish playeth not such a parte with D. Barnes To whom also he imputeth treason and yet proueth neuer a poynte therof agaynst him Yet were it as charitable a dede to confute all treason and to geue us warnynge of it by name as either to establishe false doctryne or to enueye agaynst good sayenges Yee a Christen and charitable acte were it in reprouyng anye traytoure to tell the Kynges subiectes in what thing he committed the treason that they maye beware of the same But thus doth not Standishe here in this his treatise which because it is buylded on sande and on a false foundacioÌ„ I doubte not but with gods worde which is the swerde of the sprete and a weapen mighty to ouerthrow euery ymaginacion that exalteth it selfe agaynst the knowlege of god To geue it a fall and with holy scripture to shewe euydently that Standishe hath farre ouershott himselfe in condemnynge the sayenges which gods word doth not disalowe He that wolde wryte agaynst anye man shulde leuell his ordinaunce agaynst his euell wordes yf he had spoken or written anye and not agaynst his good wordes ffor god is the authoure of all good which as his holy scripture aloweth so will he himselfe defende the same He that is therfore an enemye to the thinge which is good or resisteth it is gods aduersary and withstondeth him Wherfore let Standish froÌ„ hensforth and all other beware that they take no parte agaynst gods worde ner defende any false matter lest god be the auenger ffor yf the lyon begynne to roare he will make all his enemies afrayed And yf D. Barnes dyed a true Christen man be ye sure his death shalbe a greater
him preach agaynst any such sens he was conuerted first from the wicked Papistrie Agaynst some of the ordinaunces or ceremonies vsed in youre church haue I heard him preach oft and many times As for you ye are none of Christes church by your owne saieng For herafter in youre treatise ye cōfesse your selfe that the congregacion of Christes church in this region of England is the Kynges Maiestye with his lerned counsaill And truly like as I am sure that ye are not Kyng of England so do I perceaue by youre wryting that ye are none of the Kynges lerned counsail And so by youre owne confession none of Christes church The ordinaunce of Christes church is that euery one from the prince to the lowest subiecte shall be diligent to wayte vpon his office and to do the thinge that god hath called him vnto To the ordinaunce of Christes church pertaineth all that is written concerning the dewtie of euery estate and also concerning such ordre as is mete to be kepte in the church acordinge to the doctrine of the Apostle .j. Cor. xiiij j. Cor. xj Dyd you euer now heare D. Barnes preach agaynst any such holy ordinaunce of god or of his church No verely I suppose For then doutlesse we shulde haue heard of it in this youre thondringe treatise Where as D. Barnes now hath kene erneste against youre wicked church of the Papistrie and preached agaynst the horrible abuses therof cal ye that erroneous railinge and traiterous speaking By that reason were the Prophetes erroneous raylers which rebuked the abuses of the Iewes church so ernestly Yee and agaynst the supersticious obseruynge of fasting dayes did the Prophetes preach as dyd also the Apostle S. Paul All these and many other moo of gods seruauntes did speake agaynst supersticious obseruynge of vayne fastes and agaynst the abusinge of that fast which god had commaunded But agaynst true fasting wherof mencion is made in many places of holy scripture haue not ye yet proued that D. Barnes dyd euer preach in his sermons nether agaynst such daies as by lauful auctorite are appoynted without supersticion for generall fastinges Yf ye will blame him for preaching against the abuse of prayer why do ye not also blame the Prophet Esaye oure sauyoure Christ himselfe the Apostle S. Iames S. Ambrose Gregory Barnard Chrysostome Hierome Cirillus Fulgentius Origen et cet Can ye saie now that ye haue iustly blamed D. Barnes in this behalfe But thankes be vnto god agaynst the right vse of prayer wherof mencion is made by oure sauioure and his Apostles thorow out the new Testament haue ye not yet proued that D. Barnes at any tyme dyd preach sens he forsoke the Papistrie nether agaynst such laufull dayes as by iust auctorite are appoynted for generall prayers and thankesgeuynges to god and for the accōplishinge of other spirituall exercyses grounded vpon gods worde Neuertheles I maruayll the lesse that ye blame him vnworthy in this poynte for ye are not ashamed also to belye him and to reporte of him that he denied godly ordinaunce to bynde vnto deedly sinne contrary to S. Paul Roman xiij which chapter with the contentes therof he defended in his sermons and writynges very ernestly and diligently set forth due obedience to the hyer powers to the great hynderaunce of ypocrites and their wicked church whose ordinaunce he denied utterly to bind vnto deedly synne because it is not grounded on gods worde But godly ordenaunce that is to saie the ordinaunce and institucion of god dyd not he denie but that the breakers and offenders therof do committe deedly synne As for mans ordinaunce not institute of god ner iustly grounded vpon his worde what Christen man hauynge witte to discerne betwene chalke and chese will saie or graunt excepte it be such wauering redes as feare man more then god that it byndeth vnto deedly synne seinge it is sinfull wicked and abhominable it selfe inuented by Sathan and repugnaunt vnto gods worde Is not such stuffe most vehemētly rebuked by gods owne mouth and also by his holy Apostle Are ye not ashamed then to affirme that man of his auctorite maie restrayne the thinges which are fre by the gospell Maye a man binde that god lowseth condemne that god saueth or holde him in preson whom god deliuereth Is man stronger then god or mans auctorite aboue the auctorite of god Or be they both alyke Where as ye saie that it is the church which hath this auctorite to restrayne the thinges that are fre by the gospell I answere The church of Cyrist is his spouse and the folde of those shepe that harken to his voyce vnto his voyce I say and not vnto the voyce of straungers He him selfe also sendinge out his Apostles biddeth them teach all that he hath commaunded them and not to bynde that he hath made fre nether to make fre that he hath bownd Agayne the nature and condicion of an honest wife is to harken to the wholsome wordes of hir husbande to preferre his commaundement and to se tyat his housholde folkes kepe it A strompet in dede and an harlot careth not to controlle hir husbande to disobeye him and to maynteyne euell rule in his house agaynst his minde That church therfore which taketh vpō her anye such auctorite as is not geuen her by Cyrist is not his laufull spouse nether can ye proue that he hath geuen your church anye power to restrayne the thinges which he hath made fre excepte ye do it with the wordes of S. Iames that saieth There is one lawgeuer which is able to destroie and to saue Or els with the wordes of S. Paul that asketh the Collossians this question Yf ye be deed with Christ from the ordinaunces of the worlde why are ye holden then with such tradiciōs as though ye liued after the world etc. Standishe Who hath not heard him preach a carnal libertie with a damnable iustificacion of onely faith to iustifie et cete Couerdale Truly it wolde make youre headeake to reade all the names of them that neuer heard D. Barnes preach anie such vnlauful libertie as you speake of But first I praie you what carnall or fleshly lybertye doth he preach that exhorteth men with well doinge to put to silence the ignoraunce of foolish men as fre and not as hauynge the libertie for a cloke of wickednesse How oft hath he taught this doctryne as they that haue heard him can tell yf they be not either malicious or els forgetfull Who can iustly denie but he oft and many times vpon due occasion in his wrytinges and sermons did exhorte his hearers that they wolde not lyue after the flesh ner accomplishe the lustes therof but to cast awaie the workes of dacknesse to put on the armoure of lighte to walke honestly in the light that god hath geuen them to folow such thinges as pertaine to peace and thinges wher by one maye edifye another to walke
wherof he mainteined the prerogatyue of prynces against the tiran̄ie and vsurped power ye wote of whom I saye nomore but yf ye be at that poynt and may so frely write what ye wil I cōmitte my part of the playe to god Who as I doubte not wil defend the king in his right so am I sure that though ye be now in your ruffe he is not yet hard aslepe Where as ye saie that at D. Barnes death there were thre sortes of men and that the first sorte which by your reporte wer moost contrary to him wolde geue him no answere at his honest request Ye declare planely that either they had nothing to saie agaynst him or els litle charite seing that acording to S. P. wordes which ye alledge they found not thē selues greued to se the weake offended yf it were as you saie Nether proueth it thē to leane stedfastly vnto the piler of trueth to loue gods lawe to haue true quyetnesse in their conscience or to be endewed with feruent charite that folow not the same law of loue in the tyme of nede How do those places of scripture then that ye bring in alowe their acte Let all indifferent readers iudge how the cxviij Psalme the third of the first to Timothe or the eight to the Romaynes agreeth with their purpose In describing the secōde sorte of people that were at D. Barnes death ye faile also First in reporting of thē that they euer be and shal be as apte to receaue the euel preaching as the good Secondly that they are cōtent in these matters to go whither they be led Thirdly that they are cōtent to beleue what they be taught Fourthly that they know not whan they be in the right waye ner whan they be forth of it Now saieth our sauyoure in the same text which ye your self do alledge that they beleue in him Then like as they harkē to his voice and not to the voice of straunges so folow they him and are led of his holy sprete And not onely proue all doctrines whether they be of god but also kepe that which is good for they knowe Christes voice and not the voice of straūgers Morouer yf that third sorte of people did fauour no worse opinions and were no fuller of fleshly and carnall sensualite then this present protestacion of D. Barnes teacheth them that text dilexerunt magis tenebras et cet maye rather be verified of you and your sorte then of thē Barnes BVt they that haue bene the occasion of it I praye god forgeue them as I wold be forgeuen my self And. D. Stephin Byschopp of wynchester that now is yf he haue sought or wrought this my death ether by word or dede I pray god forgyue him as hartely as frely as charitably and without fayning as euer Christ forgaue thē that put him to death Standishe Se now whether this be fayned charite or nor et cetera Couerdale It is no poynt of fained charite a man to forgeue them that offend against him and to praie for them that persecute him As it is manifest by our sauiours doctryne and example also at his death Ye take vpon you here the office of a iudge afore ye be called ther to yee euen gods onely office in iudging mens hertes take ye vpon you As who saie he goeth aboute to ouerthrow and cast downe a man that agreeth not with him in his doctryne As touching any contencious maner betwene my lord of winchester and. D. Barnes though you and I both as I suppose be ignoraunt what direction the Kynges highnesse dyd take therin Yet seyng the one was reconciled to the other openly at the Spittle ye shulde now not take the matter so whote But a pyke thanke will ye be still What mynde hath he to be reuenged that first asketh a man forgeuenesse and than praieth god to forgeue him as Christ forgaue his death yf he be giltie Agayne Will the. B. of winchestre iudge him selfe to be either sediciously or disdainfully named or without reuerence whan he is called a bisshoppe I darre saye he will not Why plaie ye Philippe flatrers part thē as though the name of a bisshoppe were not a reuerent name Barnes ANd yf any of the counsaill or any other haue sought or wrought it thorow malice or ignoraunce I praye god forgyue them their ignoraunce and illumynate their eyes that they maye se and aske mercy for it Standish O what ignoraunce et cetera Couerdale This praier is nether malicious against gods word ner preiudicial to any man and yf they that suffred D. Barnes to liue so long were to blame for their so doing then make ye your selfe giltye of the same fault that haue played the coward all that whyle and not helped him to his death Barnes I Besech you all to pray for the kynges grace as I haue done euer sens I was in preson and do now that god maie geue him prosperite and that he maie lōg raigne amōg you ād after him that goodly prynce Edward may so raigne that he maye fynishe those thinges that his father hath begon I haue bene reported a preacher of sedicion and disobediēce to the kynges maiestie but here I saye to you that you all are bound by the cōmaundement of god to obeye youre prince with all humilite and with all your hert yee not so much as in a looke to shew yourselues disobedient vnto him and that not onely for feare of the swerd but also for conscience sake before god Standish Thou hast bene truly reported a sedicious preacher et cetera Couerdale Will ye then winke at sediciō so long and not be an accuser therof where as by your awne confession ye haue heard him preach so oft Ye and knowing his boke to haue bene so long prynted But how vntruly ye belye him it shall be euydent to all the worlde that will reade his boke Ye reporte of him that he shuld saye in his boke prynted ten yeares agoo that yf the Kyng wold by tiranny take the new Testament from his subiectes they shuld not suffre him Now is it manifest that like as he saieth here in this parte of his protestacion so saieth he also in his boke and bringeth in the same xiij chapter to the Romaynes that ye alledge and addeth morouer these wordes In no wise be it right or wrong maiest thou make any resistaunce with swerde or with hand et cet Itē Yf the Kyng forbyd the new Testament et cete men shall first make faithfull praiers to god and humble supplicacion to the Kyng that his grace wold release that commaundement Yf he wil not do it they shall kepe their testament with all other ordinaunce of Christ and let the Kyng exercise his tiranny yf they can not flie and in no wise vnder paine of damnacion shall they resiste him by violence but suffre paciently et ce Nor they shal not go aboute to depose their