Now let vs consider your foresayd causes ponder whether your booke haue or may do any such good as you say pretended whether it haue conuerted those sortes of people or els be any thyng lykely to do such a fact And first let vs sée what it profiteth y t first sort which are infidels not beleuyng in Christ nor his scripture Our sauiour Christ sayth he that beleueth is not damned Iohn Baptist confirmeth the same saying he that beleueth in y e sonne hath euerlastyng lyfe but he that beleueth not in the sonne shal not sée life but the wrath of God abydeth vpon hym Here it is euidēt not by my exposition but by the consent of all Christen men that those infidels are damned for what entent then should Rastell teach them that there is a Purgatory without Christ ther is no way but dānation as scripture all faythfull men testifie Then would I know by what way he wold persuade that there were a Purgatory which should be away a meane to saluation and not to damnatiō for thē which beleue not in Christ This I am sure of and I thinke Rastell be leueth it also that the infideles shall neuer come in it though there were one This you may sée that his first cause is very vayne and that if they dyd beleue it they were in déede deceyued Now let vs procéede vnto the second sort of people which beleue in Christ and his scripture and yet misconstrue it expoundyng it after theyr own willes And let vs sée what frute they take of this booke what it profiteth them we shall finde that it lesse serueth these men then the first for if this men beleue in Christ and in hys Scripture then is it not possible that they should receaue or admitte that thyng which is agaynst the Scripture both by the exposition of them selues of all the world For this is both agaynst Scripture and all faithfull mē that there should be any way to health if we exclude Christ and hys Scripture And sith Purgatory is counted away to health he that would go about to proue it secludyng Christ and Scripture is agaynst Scripture and all faythfull men Besides that if they be so obstinate that they will not receaue the verye Scripture but expounde it after their own willes wrest it after the same then wil they much lesse receaue your booke which is so playne agaynst scripture therfore if you would thinke that they could bee tamed by your booke which notwithstandyng so wresteth Scripture then may I very wel lyken you to hym that hath a wilde horse to tame which when he perceiueth that hee can not hold hym with a scoktishe snafle will yet labour to breake him with a rootē twine threde So that I can espye no maner of profite that cā come of your booke if you can alledge no better causes then you yet shew but that it had bene a great deale better vnwritten And brother Rastel where you say that I auaunce boast my selfe much more then becommeth me and that I detract and slaūder my neighbours that I prouoke all men that read my booke rather to vyce then to vertue with such other thynges as ye lay to my charge I trust I shall declare my inconuenience and geue you a sufficient aunswere ¶ An aunswere to Rastels first chapter which reproueth me for boastyng my selfe IN the first chapter of this booke Rastell laboureth to proue that I am sore ouer séene in laudyng boastyng my selfe that I lyke my selfe so well that he is sure that other men do lyke me the lesse and that he feareth that God will therfore lyke me fauour me rather the worse then the better Here he iuggeleth wyth me and would make me beleue that he tossed me mine own ball agayne but when I beholde it I perceaue it to be none of mine for he hath cut out all that shoulde make for me so that he hath geuen it cleane an other shape then euer I entended that it should haue as it appeareth by hys writing which rehearseth my words in this maner I am sure there are many that maruell that I being so yong dare attempt to dispute thys matter agaynst these thrée persons But my wordes are these I am sure that there are many that will much maruell that I being so yong and of so smal learning dare dispute this matter c. Here Rastell leaueth out the wordes and of so small learning for if he had put that in he had bewrayed himselfe For I thincke no man so mad as to say that he which sayeth himselfe to be both yong and of small learning shoulde prayse and boaste hym selfe Also immediatly after the wordes of hys first allegation I say on thys maner And as touching my lerning I must needes acknowledge as the truth is that it is very small which I thinke is but a base boasting and anone after I say I would not that any man should admit my wordes or learning except they will stand wyth the scripture and be approued therby Lay them to the touchstone and trye them with Gods word if they be found false and contrary then damne them and I also shall reuoke them with all mine hart c. Finally I exhorted them to read my booke not aduertising who speaketh the wordes but rather what is spoken by which wordes you might well see that I entended not to boast my selfe and all this haue I written and be left it out euē in the first page as he calleth it wherin he reporteth that I boast my selfe Notwithstanding one thing doth sore vexe him that I should recite the Epistle of S. Paule wherby he saith I would haue men beleue that I had the spirite of God and thinke that though I be young that I sée visions and espye the truth and that myne elders haue dreamed dreames and wandered in phantasies Thys he recounteth to be a great boast and that thys one place shoulde winne him the fielde whereunto I aunswer that indéede my wordes do not proue that thing which you séeme so surely to gather of them but my wordes do argue on this maner that no man ought to condemne a thing before he read it and then to geue sentence and because you séeme ignoraunt in the matter I shall declare it vnto you and how it standeth It is a coulour of Rhetorike and is called Auantopodosis that is to saye An aunswere to an obiection that a man might haue here made on thys maner thou grauntest thy self yong and of so small learnyng doost thou then thinke that we shall once read or regard thy booke specially sith it is written against auncient mē both of great wit dignity To these two pointes I aunswer preuenting theyr obiection that they should not despise it because of my youth for as the spirite of God is bound to
no place euen so is he not addict to any age or person but enspyreth where he will when he will and bring in for an example that he enspyred yong Timothy prouing thereby that the youth of it selfe is not to be despised but according to the learning which it bringeth and that therfore they may not despise my youth but first read what doctrine I bring and therafter to iudge it No more in this I proue not that I am enspyred and haue the spirite of God as Timothie had but onely proue that God may enspyre youth as he did Tymothe and that therefore ye ought first to read before you condemne for you know not who is enspyred and who not vntill you haue read theyr workes or séene theyr factes Thus you may sée that my wordes define not that all youth is enspired although some may be but I exhort that no man despise prophesies but proue all and approue that is good And to make the matter more playne I shall bring you an example out of Paule to the Hebrues which exhorteth them to hospitalitie for by that some men vnwares haue receaued Angels to harbour be not therefore vnmindfull of it Here Paule exhorteth you to hospitalitie and shewing you that by those meanes some men haue receaued angels into their house he would not haue you thinke y t all the gestes that you shall receaue shall be angels but some shall be leud losels And likewise I in exhorting you to read my booke and not despising my youth because that sometime God enspireth the yong would not haue you thinke that the bookes made of yong men which ye shall receaue shall be holesome doctrine but some men be lewd and vnfruitfull neuerthelesse euen as if they receaued not those gests they should also put away angels if any came So if you despise to read such bookes as be written by young men you may also fortune to despise them which are written by the inspiration of Christes spirit and therefore ye ought to read But be it in case I had indéed praised my selfe as I haue not and that I had sayd that I had the Spirite of God what inconuenience should folow thereof would you therof argue that my doctrine were false If that were a good argument then were Christes Doctrine false then were Paule a false prophet and our fayth nothing for Christ said to the Iewes that he was the light of the worlde And againe he sayd It is my Father that glorified me whome ye call your God Now if it had bene a sufficient argument to condemne hys doctrine because the world calleth it boasting thē should we haue beleued no truth at all Besides that Paul séemeth not a little to boast him selfe if men looke on it with a carnall eye for he sayth that he thincketh not him selfe inferiour vnto y t hyest Apostles and sayth againe that if they glory to be the ministers of Christ though he speake vnwisely he is more copious in labours in stripes aboue measure in prison more often often at the poynt of death c. Should we for these words thinke that his doctrine were not right Nayverely that doth not improue the doctrine but that it may be good holesome for a man may boast him selfe do well so he referre y t prayse to God from whom all goodnes commeth but be it in case that I should say that God of hys mere mercy and for the loue that he oweth me in Christ and hys bloud had geuen me hys spirite that I might be to his laude prayse to whom be thankes for euer Amen would you thinke that this were so greate a boastyng that the doctrine should be impayred therby Ah blinde guides I pray God geue you the light of vnderstandyng I beseche you brother Rastell be not discōtent with me if I aske you one question be ye a Christen man or no I am sure you will aunswere yes then if I brought you the text of Paule which sayth he that hath not y t spirite of God is none of his I pray you how will you auoyde it notwithstādyng if you wold auoyde y t text yet will I lay an other blocke in the way that you shal not be able to remoue and that is the saying of Paule 2. Corin. 13. Know ye not your selues that Christ is in you except ye be reprobate persons now how soeuer you would iudge of your selues I thinke verely that I am no such therfore whereas before I dyd not so write Now I certifie you that I am Christes cōclude what ye wil the day shall come that you shall surely know that so it is albeit in meane season I be reputed a laughyng stoke in this world for I know in whom I trust and he can not deceaue me Then bryngeth he against me that I say we haue bene long secluded frō the Scripture and also that our fore fathers haue not had y t light of Gods word opened vnto them I maruell what Rastell meaneth by bryngyng this for his purpose for I thinke it no boastyng of my selfe but if ye thinke that it be vntrue I thinke he is very blynde For what Scripture hath the poore commons bene admitted vnto euen til this day It hath bene hid and locked vp in a straunge tounge and from them that haue attayned the knowledge of that toung hath it bene locked with a thousand false gloses of Antichristes makyng and innumerable lawes And where I say our forefathers haue not had the light of Gods worde opened vnto them I meane that they haue not the Scripture in their owne mother toung that they might haue conferred these iugglyng mistes with the light of Gods word as the processe of my wordes can testifie which he hath holy left out but I besech the Christē reader once to read the place for my discharge and his confusion ye shall finde it in the secōd leafe of my booke And now he alledgeth agaynst me that I should say this iudge Christen reader what reasons Rastell hath brought and how he hath soluted thē for in my minde both his reasons and solutions are so childish and vnsauery so vnlearned and baren so full of faultes and phantasies that I rather pitie the mans déepe ignoraunce and blyndnes which hath so deceiued him selfe through Philosophie and naturall reason then I feare that he by his vayne probations should allure any man to consent vnto hym I thinke Rastell layeth not this agaynst me because I boast my selfe in these wordes And verely as touchyng the truth of those woordes I will adde thus much more vnto thē that I neuer wyst man y t was coūted wise whiche hath brought so slender reasons except he entended to destroy a thing which ye séeme to haue build And finally where as I exhorte all men to iudge and conferre the Scriptures which Syr Thomas
as God it knoweth there are a full ignoraunt sorte whiche haue sene no more Latin then that they read in their Portesses and Missales which yet many of them can scarcely read except it be Albertus de secretis mulierū in which yet though they be neuer so sorily learned they poore day and night and make notes therein all to teach the mydwiues as they say and Linwode a booke of constitutions to gather tithes mortuaries offeringes customes and other pillage whiche they call not theirs but Gods part and the duety of holy church to discharge their consciences with all for they are boūd that they shall not diminishe but encrease all thyng vnto the vttermost of their powers therfore because they are thus vnlearned thought I when they come together to the Alehouse whiche is their preachyng place they affirme that my sayinges are heresie And besides that they adde to of their own heades which I neuer spake as the maner is to prolōg the tale to short the time with all and accused me secretly to the Chauncellour and other the Byshops officers And in dede when I came before the Chauncellour hee threatned me greuously and reuiled me and rated me as though I had ben a dogge and layd to my charge wherof there could be none accuser brought forth as their maner is not to bryng forth the accuser and yet all y t Priestes of the coūtrey were the same day there As I this thought the Byshop of London came to my remembraunce whom Erasmus whose toung maketh of litles gnattes great Elephants and lifteth vp aboue the Starres whosoeuer geueth him a litle exhibition prayseth excedyngly amōg other in his annotations on the new Testament for hys great learnyng Then thought I if I might come to this mans seruice I were happy And so I gatte me to London and thorow the acquaintance of my master came to Syr Harry Gilford the Kynges graces Controller and brought hym an Oration of Isocrates whiche I had translated out of greeke into English desired hym to speake vnto my Lorde of London for me whiche hee also dyd as he shewed me and willed me to write an Epistle to my Lord and to go to hym my selfe whiche I also dyd and deliuered my Epistle to a seruaunt of his own one William Hebilthwayte ' a man of myne old acquaintaunce But God which knoweth what is within hypocrites saw that I was begyled and that that counsayle was not the next way vnto my purpose And therfore he gatte me no fauour in my Lordes sight Whereupon my Lord aunswered me his house was full he had mo then he could well finde and aduised me to seeke in Londō where he sayd I could not lacke a seruice And so in London I abode almost a yeare and marked the course of the world and heard our praters I would say our Preachers how they boasted thēselues and theyr hye authoritie and beheld the pompe of our Prelates and how busie they were as they yet are to set peace and vnite in the world thoughe it be not possible for them that walke in darkenesse to continue long in peace for they cā not but either stomble or dash themselues at one thyng or an other y t shall cleane vnquiet all together and sawe thynges wherof I deferre to speake at this tyme vnderstode at the last not onely that there was no rowme in my Lord of Londons Palace to translate the new Testamēt but also that there was no place to do it in all Englād as experience doth now openly declare Vnder what maner therfore should I now submit this booke to be corrected and amended of them whiche can suffer nothyng to bee well Or what protestation should I make in such a maner vnto our Prelates those stubburne Nimrothes whiche so mightely fight against God and resiste hys holy spirite enforcyng with all crafte and sutletie to quench y t lyght of the euerlastyng Testament promises and appointement made betwene God and vs and heapyng the fierce wrath of God vpō all Princes and rulers mockyng them with false fayned names of hypocrisie and seruyng their lustes at all pointes and dispensyng with them euē of the very lawes of God of which Christe hym selfe testifieth Mathew 5. That not so much as one title therof may perish or be broken And of whiche the Prophet sayth Psalme cxviij Thou hast commaunded thy lawes to bee kept meod that is in Hebrew excedyngly with all diligence might and power and haue made thē so mad with their iugglyng charmes and craftie persuasiōs that they thinke it a ful satisfactiō for all their wicked lyuing to torment such as tell them trouth and to burne y t word of their soules health and slea who soeuer beleue thereon Notwithstandyng yet I submitte this booke and all other that I haue either made or translated or shall in tyme to come if it bee Gods will that I shall further labour in his haruest vnto all them that submit them selues vnto the word of God to be corrected of them yea and moreouer to be disalowed and also burnt if it seme worthy when they haue examined it with the Hebrue so that they first put forth of their owne trāslatyng an other that is more correct A prologue by Williā Tyndall shewyng the vse of the Scripture which he wrote before the fiue bookes of Moses THough a man had a precious iuell a rich yet if hee wiste not the value therof nor wherfore it serued he were neither the better nor richer of a straw Euē so though we read the Scripture and bable of it neuer so much yet if we know not the vse of it and wherfore it was geuen and what is therein to be sought it profiteth vs nothyng at all It is not enough therfore to read and talke of it onely but we must also desire God day and night instantly to open our eyes and to make vs vnderstand and feele wherefore the Scripture was geuen that we may applye the medicine of the Scripture euery man to his own sores vnlesse then we entend to be idle disputers and braulers about vaine wordes euer gnawyng vppon the bitter barcke without and neuer attaynyng vnto the sweete pith within and persecuting one an other in defendyng of lewde imaginations and phantasies of our owne inuentions Paule in thyrd of the second Epistle to Timothe sayth That the Scripture is good to teache for that ought men to teach and not dreames of their owne makyng as the Pope doth and also to improue for the Scripture is the touch stone that tryeth all doctrines and by that we know the false from the true And in the vj. to the Ephesians he calleth it the sword of the spirite by cause it killeth hypocrites and vttereth and and improueth their false inuentions And in the xv to y t Romains he saith All that are written are written for our learnyng that we thorow patience
here also a woorde or twayne We had neede to take hede euery where that wee bee not begyled with false allegories whether they be draweÌ„ out of the new Testament or the old either out of any other story or of the creatures of the world but namely in this booke Here a man had neede to put on all his spectacles and to arme him selfe agaynst inuisibles spirites First allegories proue nothyng and by allegories vnderstand examples or similitudes borowed of straunge matters and of an other thyng then that thou entreatest of And though circuÌ„sion be a figure of Baptisme yet thou canst not proue Baptisme by Circumcision For this argument were very feble the Israelites were Circumcised therfore we must be Baptised And in like maner though y e offering of Isaac were a figure or example of the resurrâ—ction yet is this argument nought Abraham would haue offered Isaac but GOD deliuered him from death therefore we shall rise agayne and so forth in all other But the very vse of allegories is to declare and open a text that it may bee the better perceaued and vnderstand As when I haue a cleare text of Christ and of the Apostles that I must be baptised then I may borow an example of CircumcisioÌ„ to expresse the nature power and frute or effect of baptisme For as Circumcision was vnto them a common badge signifiyng that they were all souldiers of god to warre his warre and separating them from al other nations disobedient vnto God euen so baptisme is our coÌ„mon badge and sure earnest and perpetual memoriall that we pertaine vnto Christ and are separated frome all that are not Christes And as Circumcision was a token certifyeng them that they were receaued vnto the fauour of God and their sinnes forgeueÌ„ them euen so Baptisme certifieth vs that we are washed in the bloud of Christ and receaued to fauour for his sake and as CircumcisioÌ„ signified vnto them the cuttyng awaye of their owne lustes and sleayng of their free will as they call it to folow the will of GOD euen so Baptisme signifieth vnto vs repentaunce and the mortifying of our vnruly members and bodyes of sinne to walke in a new life and so forth And likewise thoughe that the sauing of Noe of them that were with him in the shyp thorough water is a figure that is to say an example and likenesse of Baptisme as Peter maketh it 1. Peter 3. yet I can not proue Baptisme therewith saue describe it onely for as the shyp saued them in the water thorough fayth in that they beleued God and as y â— other that would not beleue Noe perished euen so Baptisme saueth vs through the worde of fayth whiche it preacheth when all the world of the vnbeleuyng perish And Paule 1. Corin. 10. maketh the sea and the cloude a figure of Baptisme by which and a thousaÌ„d mo I might declare it but not proue it Paule also in the sayd place maketh the rock out of which Moses brought water vnto the children of Israell a figure or example of Christ not to proue Christe for that were impossible but to describe Christ onely euen as Christ him selfe Iohn 3 boroweth a similitude or figure of the braien serpeÌ„t to lead Nichodemus froÌ„ his earthy imagination into the spiritual vnderstaÌ„dyng of Christes saying As Moses lifted vp a Serpent in the wildernesse so must the sonne of man be lifted vp that none that beleue in hym perish but haue euerlasting lyfe By which similitude the vertue of Christes death is better described then thou couldest declare it with a thousaÌ„d wordes For as those murmurers agaynst God as soone as they repented were healed of their deadly woundes thorough lookynge on the brasen Serpent onely without medicine or any other helpe yea and without any other reason but that God hath sayd it should be so and not to murmure agayne but to leaue their murmuryng euen so all that repent and beleue in Christ are saued froÌ„ euerlastyng death of pure grace without and before their good works and not to synne agayne but to fight agaynst sinne and henceforth to synne no more Euen so with the ceremonies of this booke thou canst proue nothyng saue describe and declare onelye the putting away of oure sinnes thorowe the deathe of Christe For Christe is Aaron and Aarons sonnes and all that offer the sacrifice to purge sinne And Christ is all maner offering that is offered he is the oxe the shepe the gote the kyd and lambe he is the oxe that is burnt without the host and y t scape-gote that caried all the sinne of the people away into the wildernesse for as they purged the people from their worldly vncleanesses thorow bloud of y e sacrifices euen so doth Christ purge vs froÌ„ the vncleannesses of euerlasting death with hys owne bloude and as their worldly sinnes coulde no otherwise be purged then by bloud of sacrifice euen so can our sinnes bee no otherwise forgeuen then thorowe the bloud of Christ All the deedes in the worlde saue the bloude of Christ can purchase no forgeuenesse of sinnes for our dedes do but help our neighbour and mortify the flesh and help that we sinne no more but and if we haue sinned it must be freely forgeuen thorow the bloud of Christ or remayne euer And in lyke manner of the Leapers thou canst proue nothing thou canst neuer coniure out confession thence howbeit thou hast an handsome example there to open the binding losyng of our priests with the key of Gods worde for as they made no man a Leper euen so oures haue no power to commaund any man to be in sinne or to go to purgatory or hell And therefore in as much as binding and loosing is one power as those Priestes healed no man euen so oures can not of their innisible and domme power driue any mans sinnes away or deliuer hym from hel or fayned purgatory how be it if they preached Gods worde purely which is the authoritie that Christ gaue them then they shold binde and lose kill and make alyue agayne make vncleane and cleane agayne and send to hel and fetch thence agayne so mighty is gods worde For if they preached the lawe of God they shold bynd the consciences of sinners with the bondes of the paynes of hell and bring them vnto repentance And then if they preached vnto theÌ„ y e mercy that is in Christ they shold loose them and quiete their ragyng consciences certifie them of the fauour of God and that their sinnes be forgeuen Finally beware of allegories for there is not a more handsome or apte thyng to beguile withall then an allegory nor a more subtle and pestilente thyng in the world to perswade a false matter then an allegory And contrariwise there is not a better vehementer or mightier thyng to make a man vnderstand with all theÌ„ an allegory For allegories make a man
raigne ouer all and will obey no man If the father geue you ought of curtesie ye will cōpell the sonne to geue it violently whether he will or not by crafte of your owne lawes These deedes are against Christ When a whole parish of vs hyre a scholemaister to teach our children what reason is it that we shoulde be compelled to pay thys scholemaister his wages and he should haue licence to goe where he wil and to dwell in an other contrey and to leaue our children vntaught Doth not the pope so Haue we not geuen vp our tithes of curtesie vnto one for to teach vs Gods worde and commeth not the pope and compelleth vs to pay it violently to them that neuer teach Maketh he not one Parson which neuer commeth at vs yea one shall haue v. or vj. or as many as he can get and wotteth oftentimes where neuer one of them standeth Another is made Vicare to whom he geueth a dispensation to goe where he will and to set in a parishe priest which can but minister a sort of dumme ceremonies And he because he hath most labour and least profite polleth on hys part and fetteth here a masse peuy there a trentall yonder dirige money and for his beadroule with a confession peny and such like And thus are we neuer taught and are yet neuertheles compelled ye compelde to hyre many costly scholemasters These deedes are verely agaynst Christ Shall we therefore iudge you by your dedes as Christ commaundeth So are ye false Prophetes and the Disciples of Antechrist or agaynst Christ The Sermons which thou readest in the Actes of the Apostles and all that the Apostles preached were no doubt preached in the mother tongue Why then might they not be written in the mother tounge As if one of vs preach a good sermon why may it not be written Saint Hierome also translated the Bible into his mother tounge Why may not we also They will say it can not be translated into our tounge it is so rude It is not so rude as they are false lyers For the Greeke tounge agreeth more with the English then wyth the Latin And the properties of the Hebrue tounge agreeth a thousand tymes more wyth the Englishe then wyth the Latyn The maner of speaking is both one so that in a thousand places thou needest not but to trāslate it into the English worde for worde when thou must seeke a compasse in the Latin and yet shalt haue much worke to translate it welfauouredly so that it haue the same grace swetenesse sence pure vnderstanding with it in the Latin as it hath in the Hebrue A thousand partes better maye it be translated into the English thē into the Latin Yea and except my memory fayle me and that I haue forgotten what I red whē I was a childe thou shalt finde in the Englishe cronicle how that kyng Adelstone caused the holy Scripture to be translated into the tounge that then was in Englande and how the Prelates exhorted him thereunto Moreouer seyng that one of you euer preacheth contrary to an other and when two of you meete the one disputeth brauleth wyth the other as it were two scoldes And forasmuch as one holdeth this Doctor and an other that One foloweth Duns an other Saint Thomas an other Bonauenture Alexāder de hales Raymond Lyre Brygot Dorbell Holcot Gorram Trumbett Hugo de sancto victore De monte regio De noua uilla De media villa and such lyke out of nūber So that if thou haddest but of euery authour one booke thou couldest not pyle them vp in any ware house in London and euery authour is one contrary vnto an other In so great diuersitie of spirites how shall I know who lyeth and who sayeth truth Whereby shall I trye thē and iudge them Verely by Gods worde which onely is true But how shall I that do when thou wilt not let me see scripture Nay say they the scriptures is so harde that thou couldest neuer vnderstand it but by the Doctours That is I must measure the mete yarde by the cloth Here be twenty clothes of diuers lengthes of diuers bredthes How shall I be sure of the length of the mete yarde by them I suppose rather I must be first sure of the length of the mete yarde and thereby measure and iudge the clothes If I must first beleue the Doctour then is the Doctour first true and the truth of the scripture dependeth of hys truth so the truth of God springeth of the truth of man Thus Antechrist turneth the rotes of the trees vpwarde What is the cause that we damne some of Origenes workes and alowe some How know we that some is heresy and some not By the scripture I trow How know we that Saint Augustine which is the best or one of the best that euer wrote vpon the Scripture wrote many thynges amisse at the beginning as many other Doctours doe Verely by the Scriptures as he hymselfe well perceaued afterward when he looked more diligently vpon them and reuoked many thynges agayne He wrote of many thinges which he vnderstode not when he was newly conuerted yer he had throughly seene the Scriptures and folowed the opinions of Plato and the common perswasions of mans wisedom that were then famous They wyll say yet more shamefully that no man can vnderstād the Scriptures without Philautia that is to say Philosophy A man muste first bee well seene in Aristotle yer he cā vnderstand the Scripture say they Aristotles doctrine is that the worlde was wythout beginning and shall be wythout ende and that the first man neuer was and the last shall neuer be And that God doth all of necessitie neither careth what we doe neither wyll aske any accomptes of that we do Wythout thys doctrine how coulde we vnderstande the Scripture that sayth God created the world of nought and God worketh all thyng of hys free wyll and for a secret purpose that we shall all ryse agayne and that God will haue accomptes of all that we haue done in thys lyfe Aristotle sayth Geue a man a lawe and he hath power of hymselfe to doe or fulfill the lawe and becōmeth righteous wyth workyng righteously But Paule and all the scripture sayth that the lawe doth but vtter sinne onely and helpeth not Neyther hath any man power to doe the lawe tyll the spirite of God be geuen hym through fayth in Christ Is it not a madnes then to say that we coulde not vnderstand the Scripture wythout Aristotle Aristotles righteousnes and all hys vertues spring of mans free wyll And a Turke and euery Infidell and Idolater may be righteous and vertuous wyth that righteousnes those vertues Moreouer Aristotles felicitie and blessednes standeth in auoyding of all tribulatiōs and in riches health honour worship frendes and authoritie which felicitie pleaseth our spiritualty well
That fayth haue they in theyr owne workes onely But the true hearers vnderstand the lawe as Christ interpreteth it here and feele thereby theyr righteous damnation and runne to Christ for succour and for remission of all their sinnes that are past and for all the sinne which chaunce thorough infirmities shall compel theÌ„ to do for remission of that the law is to stronge for their weake nature And upon that they consent to the lawe loue it and professe it to fulfill it to the vttermost of their power and then go to and worke Faith or confidence in Christes bloud without helpe and before the workes of the law bringeth all maner of remission of sinnes satisfaction Faith is mother of loue fayth accompanieth loue in all her workes to fulfill as much as there lacketh in our doing the lawe of that perfect loue which Christ had to his father and vs in his fulfilling of the law for vs. Now when we be reconciled then is loue fayth together our righteousnesse our keeping the lawe our continuing our proceeding forwarde in the grace which we stand in our bringing to the euerlasting sauing and euerlasting life And the woorkes be esteemed of God according to the loue of the hart If the woorkes be great loue little and colde then the woorkes be regarded thereafter of God If the workes be small and loue much and feruent the workes be taken for great of God And it came to passe that when Iesus had ended these sayinges the people were astonied at his doctrine for he taught them as one hauing power and not as the Scribes The Scribes and Phariseyes had thrust vp the sworde of the woorde of God into a scabbarde or shethe of gloses and therein had knit it fast that it coulde neither sticke nor cut teaching dead workes without fayth and loue which are the life and the whole goodnes of all workes and the onely thing why they please God And therefore their audience abode euer carnall and fleshly mynded without faith to God and loue to their neighbours Christes wordes were spirit life Ioh. vi That is to say they ministred spirite and life and entred into the hart and grated on the conscience and thorow preaching the lawe made the hearers perceaue their duties euen what loue they ought to God what to man and the right dampnation of all them that had not the loue of God and man written in their hartes and thorow preaching of fayth made all that consented to the lawe of God fele the mercy of God in Christ and certified them of their saluation For the worde of God is a two edged sworde that pearceth and deuideth the spirite and soule of man a sonder Heb. 〈◊〉 A man before the preaching of Godes woorde is but one man all fleshe the soule consenting vnto the lustes of the fleshe to follow them But the sworde of the worde of God where it taketh effect diuideth a man in two and serteth him at variaunce against his own selfe The fleshe haling one way and the spirite drawing another the fleshe raging to follow lustes and the spirite calling backe agayne to follow the lawe and will of God A man all the while â—e consenteth to the flesh before he be borne again in Christ is called soule or carnall But whe he is renued in Christ through y t word of lyâ—e and hath the loue of God and of hys neighbor and the fayth of Christ written in his hart he is called spirite or spirituall The Lord of all mercy send vs preachers with power that is to say 〈◊〉 expounders of the worde of God and speakers to the hart of man and deliuer vs from Scribes Phariseyes hypocrites and all false Prophetes Amen An aunswere vnto Syr Thomas Mores Dialogue made by William Tyndall 1530. ☞ First he declareth what the Church is and geueth a reason of certaine wordes which Master More rebuketh in the translation of the new Testament ¶ After that he aunswereth particularly vnto euery Chapter which semeth to haue any appearaunce of truth thorough all his foure bookes ¶ Awake thou that slepest and stand vp from death and Christ shall geue the light Ephesians 5. THe grace of our Lord the light of his spirite to see to iudge true repeÌ„taunce towardeâ— Gods lâ—we a fast fayth in the mercyfull prâ—…es y â— are in our sauiour Christ serueÌ„t loue toward thy neighbour after the exaÌ„ple of Christ his Saints be with thee O Reader with all that loue the truth loÌ„g for the redemption of Gods elect Amen Our Sauiour I esus in the 16. of Iohn at his last Supper when he tooke his leaue of his Disciples warned them saying the holy Ghost shall come and rebuke the world of iudgemeÌ„t That is he shall rebuke the world for lacke of true iudgement and discretion to iudge and shall proue that the tast of theyr mouthes is corrupt so that they iudge swete to be sowre and sowre to be swete the eyes to be blynd so that they thinke that to be the verâ— seruice of God which is but a blynd superstition for zeale of which yet they persecute the true seruice of God and that they iudge to be the lawe of God whiche is but a false imagination of a corrupt iudgement for blynd affection of whiche yet they persecute the true law of God and them that kepe it And this same it is that Paul sayth 1. Corinth ij how that the naturall man that is not borne agayne and created a new with the spirite of God be he neuer so great a Philosopher neuer so well sene in the law neuer so sore studied in the Scripture as we haue examples in the Phariseis yet hee cannot vnderstaÌ„d the thynges of the spirite of God but sayth he the spirituall iudgeth all thyngs and hys spirâ—e searcheth the deepe secretes of God so that what soeuer God commauÌ„deth hym to do he neuer leaueth searchyng till he come at the bottome the pith the quicke the lyâ—e the sâ—… the mâ—â—ow very cause why and iudgeth all thyng Take an example in the great commaundement loue God with all thyne hart y t spirituall searcheth the cause and looketh on the benefites of God and so conceaueth loue in his hart And when he is commaunded to obey the powers and rulers of the world hee looketh on the benefites which God sheweth the world through them and therefore doth it gladly And when hee â–ª is commauÌ„ded to loue his neighbour as hym selfe he searcheth that his neighbour is created of God and bought with Christes bloud and so forth and therefore he loueth hym out of his hart and if he be euill forheareth hym and with all loue and pacience draweth hym to good as elder brethren wayte on the youÌ„ger and serue them and suffer them when they will not come they speake fayre flatter and geue some gaye thyng and
him in their dedes as fast as they can runne The Turkes being in number fiue tymes moe then we are knowledge one God and beleue many thinges of God moued onely by the authoritie of their elders and presume that God will not let so great a multitude erre so long tyme. And yet they haue erred and bene faithlesse these eight hundred yeares And the Iewes beleue this day as much as the carnall sort of them euer beleued moued also by the authoritie of their elders onely and thinke that it is impossible for them to erre being Abrahams seede and the childrē of them to whom the promises of all that we beleue were made And yet they haue erred and bene faythlesse this xv hundred yeares And we of like blindnesse beleue onely by the authoritie of our elders and of like pride thinke that we can not erre beyng such a multitude And yet we see how God in the old Testament did let the great multitude erre reseruyng alway a litle flocke to call the other backe againe and to testifie vnto them the right way ¶ How this word Church hath a double interpretation THis is therfore a sure cōclusion as Paule sayth Rom. ix that not all they that are of Israell are Israelites neither because they be Abrahās sede are they all Abrahams childrē but they onely that folow the faith of Abraham Euen so now none of them that beleue with their mouthes moued with the authority of their elders onely that is none of thē that beleue with M. Mores fayth the Popes fayth and the deuils fayth which may stand as M. More cōfesseth with all maner abhominatiōs haue the right fayth of Christ or are of his Church But they onely that repēt feele that the law is good And haue the law of God written in their harts and the fayth of our Sauiour Iesus euen with the spirite of God There is a carnali Israell a spirituall There is Isaac and Ismaell Iacob Esau And Ismaell persecuted Isaac Esau Iacob the fleshly the spiritual Wher of Paul complayned in his tyme persecuted of his carnall brethrē as we do in our tyme and as the elect euer dyd shall do till the worldes end What a multitude came out of Egypt vnder Moses of which the Scripture testifyeth that they beleued moued by y ◠miracles of Moses as Symon magus beleued by the reason of Philippes miracles Actes viij Neuerthelesse the Scripture testifieth that vj. hundred thousād of those beleuers perished thorough vnbelief and left their carcasses in the wildernesse and neuer entred into the land that was promised them And euen so shal the children of M. Mores faythlesse faith made by the persuation of mā leap short of the test which our Sauiour Iesus is risē vnto And therfore let them embrace this present world as they do whose children they are though they hate so to be called And hereby ye see that it is a playne an euident conclusiō as bright as the sunne shynyng that the truth of Gods word dependeth not of the truth of the congregation And therfore when thou art asked why thou beleuest that thou shalt be saued thorough Christ and of such like principles of our fayth aunswere thou wottest and felest that it is true And when he asketh how thou knowest that it is true aunswere because it is written in thyne hart And if he aske who wrote it aūswere the spirite of God And if he aske how thou came first by it tell him whether by readyng in bookes or hearyng it preached as by an outward instrumēt but that inwardly thou wast taught by y ◠spirite of God And if he aske whether thou beleuest it not because it is written in bookes or because the Priestes so preach aunswere no not now but onely because it is writtē in thyne hart and because the spirite of God so preacheth and so testifieth vnto thy soule And say though at the beginning thou wast moued by readyng or preachyng as the Samaritans were by y ◠wordes of the woman yet now thou beleuest it not therfore any lēger but onely because thou hast heard it of the spirite of God and read it written in thine hart And concernyng outward teachyng we alledge for vs Scripture elder thē any Church that was this xiiij hundred yeares and old antenticke stories which they had brought a slepe where with we confounde their lyes Remēber ye not how in our owne tyme of all that taught Grammer in England not one vnderstode the Latin toung how came we thē by the Latin toung agayne not by them though we learned certaine rules principles of them by which we were moued had an occasion to seke further but out of the old authours Euen so we seke vp old antiquities out of whiche we learne and not of our Church though we receaued many principles of our Church at the begynnyng but more falsehead then truth It hath pleased God of his exceding loue wherewith he loued vs in Christ as Paul sayth before the worlde was made and whē we were dead in sinne and his enemies in that we did cōsent to sinne and to liue euill to write with his spirite ij conclusions in our harts by which we vnderstād all thyng that is to were the fayth of Christ and the loue of our neighbours For whosoeuer feleth the iust damnation of sinne and the forgeuenes and mercy that is in Christes bloud for all that repent forsake it and come and beleue in that mercy the same onely knoweth how God is to be honoured and worshipped and can iudge betwene true seruing of God in the spirite and false Image seruing of God with workes ▪ And y e same knoweth that sacramētes signes ceremonies and bodely things can be no seruice to God in his person but memorials vnto men and a remēbraunce of the testament wherewyth God is serued in the spirite And he that feeleth not that is blynde in hys soule and of our holy fathers generation and maketh God an Image a creature worshippeth him with bodely seruice And on the other side he that loueth his neighbour as himselfe vnderstandeth all lawes and cā iudge betwene good and euil right wrong godly and vngodly in all conuersation deedes lawes bargaines couenaunces ordinaunces and decrees of men and knoweth the office of euery degree and the due honour of euery person And he that hath not that writen in his hart is popishe and of y ◠spiritualtie which vnderstādeth nothing saue his own honour his own profite what is good for himself onely and when he is as he would be thinketh y ◠all the world is as it should be ¶ Of worshipping and what is to be vnderstand by the worde COncerning worshipping or honouring which two termes are both one M. More bringeth forth a difference a distinction or diuision of Greke wordes
therof and our neighbours yea our enemies as our selues inwardly from the grounde of the hart because God hath made them after the likenesse of his owne image they are his sonnes as well as we and Christ hath bought them with his bloud and made them heyres of euerlastyng lyfe as well as vs And how we ought to do what soeuer God biddeth and absteine from what soeuer God forbiddeth with all loue and mekenes with a feruent and a burnyng lust from the center of the hart then begynneth the conscience to rage against the law and against God No sea be it neuer so great a tempest is so vnquiet For it is not possible for a naturall mā to cōsent to the law that it should be good or that God should be righteous which maketh the law in as much as it is contrary vnto hys nature and damneth him and all that he cā do neither sheweth him where to fetch helpe nor preacheth any mercy but onely setteth mā at variaunce with God as witnesseth Paule Rom. iiij and prouoketh hym and styrreth hym to rayle on God and to blaspheme him as a cruell tyraunt For it is not possible for a mā till he be borne agayne to thinke that God is righteous to make hym of so poyson a nature either for his own pleasure or for the sinne of an other man and to geue him a law that is impossible for him to do or to cōsent to his witte reason and will beyng so fast glued yea nayled and chayned vnto the will of the deuill Neither can any creature louse the bondes saue the bloud of Christ onely This is captiuitie and bondage whence Christ deliuered vs redemed and loused vs. His bloud his death his pacience in suffering rebukes and wronges his prayers and fastynges his mekenes and fulfillyng of the vttermost point of the law peased the wrath of God brought the fauour of God to vs agayne obteined that God should loue vs first and be our father and that a mercyfull father that will consider our infirmities and weakenes and wil geue vs his spirite agayn which was taken away in the fall of Adam to rule gouerne strength vs and to breake the bondes of Sathan wherein we were so straite bounde When Christ is thus wise preached the promises rehearsed which are contained in the Prophetes in the Psalmes and in diuers places of the fiue bookes of Moses which preachyng is called the Gospell or glad tydinges then the hartes of them which are elect and chosē begyn to waxe soft and melt at the bounteous mercy of God and kyndnes shewed of Christ For when the Euangelion is preached the spirite of God entreth into them which God hath ordeined and appoynted vnto eternall lyfe and openeth their inward eyes and worketh such belefe in them When the wofull consciences feele and tast how swete a thyng the bitter death of Christ is how mercyfull louing God is through Christes purchasyng and merites they begin to loue gayne and to consent to the law of God how that it is good and ought so to be and that God is righteous which made it and desire to fulfill the law euen as a sicke man desireth to be whole and are an hungred and thirst after more righteousnes and after more strength to fulfill the law more perfectly And in all that they do or omit and leaue vndone they seke Gods honour and his will with meekenesse euer condemnyng the vnperfectnes of their deedes by the law Now Christ standeth vs in double stede and vs serueth two maner wise First he is our redemer deliuerer reconciler mediator intercessor aduocate atturney soliciter our hope comfort shield protectiō defender strēgth health satisfaction and saluation His bloud his death all that he euer dyd is ours And Christ him self with all that he is or can do is ours His bloud shedyng and all that he dyd doth me as good seruice as though I my selfe had done it And God as great as he is is myne with all that he hath as an husband is his wiues through Christ and his purchasing Secondaryly after that we be ouercome with loue and kindnes and now seke to do the will of God which is a Christen mans nature Then haue we Christ an exāple to counterfeit as saith Christ him selfe in Iohn I haue geuen you an example And in an other Euāgelist he sayth He that wil be great among you shal be your seruaunt and Minister as the sonne of man came to minister and not to be ministred vnto And Paule sayth Counterfeit Christ And Peter sayth Christ dyed for you and left you an example to folow hys steppes What soeuer therefore fayth hath receaued of God through Christs bloud and deseruyng that same must loue shed out euery whit and bestow it on our neighbours vnto their profite yea and that though they be our enemyes By fayth we receaue of God and by loue we shed out agayne And that must we do frely after the example of Christ without any other respect saue our neighbours wealth onely neither looke for reward in earth nor yet in heauen for the deseruyng merites of our deedes as Friers preach though we know that good deedes are rewarded both in this lyfe and in the lyfe to come but of pure loue must we bestow our selues all that we haue all that we are able to do euen on our enemyes to bryng them to God consideryng nothyng but their wealth as Christ dyd ours Christ dyd not hys deedes to obteyne heauen therby that had bene a madnes heauē was his all ready he was heyre therof it was his by inheritaunce but dyd them frely for our sakes consideryng nothyng but our wealth and to bryng the fauour of God to vs agayne and vs to God As no naturall sonne that is his fathers heyre doth his fathers will because he would be heyre that he is already by byrth his father gaue him that yer hee was borne and is lother that he should go without it then he him selfe hath wit to be but of pure loue doth he that he doth And aske him why he doth any thing that he doth he aunswereth my father bade it is my fathers will it pleaseth my father Bond seruauntes worke for hyre Children for loue For their father with all he hath is theirs already So doth a Christen man frely all that he doth considereth nothyng but the will of God his neighbours wealth onely If I liue chaste I do it not to obteine heauen therby For then should I doe wrong to the bloud of Christ Christes bloud hath obteined me that Christes merites haue made me heyre therof He is both doore and way thether wardes Neither that I loke for an higher roume in heauē thē they shal haue which liue in wedlocke other thē a whore of the stewes if she repēt for that were the pride of Lucifer But frely to wayte on the Euangelion and
instinctions and loue vnto learning where vnto he was addict He had also a wonderfull promptnes of wit and a redye capacitie to receaue and vnderstand any thing in so much that he semed not to bee sent vnto learning but also borne for the same purpose Neither was there any diligence wanting in him equall to that towardnes or worthy of his disposition Whereby it came to passe that he was not onely a louer of learning but also became an exquisite learned man And at that tyme it happened that Thomas Wolsey Cardinall of Yorke prepared to buyld a College in Oxforde whiche had the name and title of Frideswyd but now named Christes Church And vnto this College the sayd Cardinall gathered togither such men as were founde to excell in any kinde of Learning and knowledge Amonge whom this Iohn Frith the Author of these notable workes was one who then being a studient in Cambridge and Bacheler of arte was called from thence and placed in y e said College And when he had diligently Labored in most godly study certaine yeares not without great profite both of Latyn and Greeke Then being suspected to be a fauorer of Martyn Luthers doctrine He was aprehended and committed to prison from whence afterward being deliuered he resorted to the Citie of London and there came in acquayntaunce with William Tyndall And not long after the sayd William Iohn Frith had many metinges and great conferences and by the sayd William he fyrst receaued into his hart the seede of the Gospell and sencere godlines after with great perill and Daunger they both being inquired sought for fled William Tyndall first placed him selfe in Germany and there did first translate the Gospell of S. Mathewe into Englishe and after the whole new testament c. And not long after the departure of Tyndall Iohn Frith escaped and fled into Flaūders where he remayned almost the space of iij. yeares and there he made his booke against purgatory and dyuerse other Godly and learned workes as in the perface of the sayd booke doth appeare But at the last he being driuē to necessitie and lacke of money was forced secretly to returne ouer into this Realme to be releued of his frendes namely of the Prior of Reading And as it was thought he purposed to haue had the Prior ouer with him And he being at Reading it happened that he was there taken for a vagabond and brought to examination Where the simple man loth to vtter him selfe what he was and vnacquainted with their maner of examinations and they greatly offended with him committed him to y e stockes where when he had sitten a long tyme and was almost pined with hunger would not for all that declare what he was At the last he desired that y e Schoolemaster of the towne might be brought vnto him which at that tyme was one Leonard Coxe a man very well learned Assone as he came vnto him Frith by and by in the Latyn tongue began to bewaile his Captiuitie The schoole master being ouercome with his eloquence did not onely take pitie and compassion vpon him but also began to loue and embrace such an excellent witt and disposition vnlooked for especially in suche state of mysery Afterward they conferring more togither vpon many thinges as touching the Vniuersities Schooles and tonges fell frō the Latyn tongue to the Greeke wherein Frith did so inflame the loue of the sayd schoole master towardes him that he brought him into a merueilous admiration especially when as the schoolemaster hard him so promptly by hart rehearese Homers verses out of his first booke of Iliades Wher vpon the schoolemaster went with all speede vnto y e Magistrates greuously cōplayning of the iniury which they did shewe vnto so excellent and innocent a yong man And so through the helpe of the sayde schoolemaster the said Frith was freely set at libertie All be it his sauetie cātynued not long through the great hatred and deadly persute of Sir Thomas More who at that tyme being Chauncelor of England persecuted him both by land and Sea besettyng all the wayes hauens and portes yea and promysing great rewardes if any man could bring hym any newes or tydinges of hym Thus Frith being on euery part beset with troubles not knowing which way to turne hym sought for some place to hide him in And so flyeng from one place to another often chaunging both his garmentes and place yet could he be in safetie in no place no not long amongest his very frendes so that at the last he comming to a Porte towne in Essex called Milton shore and there purposing to haue taken shipping to haue passed ouer into Flaunders was betrayed and brought bounde backe agayne and layed in the Tower of London And diuerse tymes after was called before Sir Thomas More also before the Byshops with whom he had many conflictes And he continuing long prisoner in the Tower at the last a false brother resorted vnto him whose name was William Holt a Taylour who feyning that he bare great frendship vnto him so slattered him and he himselfe being vtterly voyde of all suspicious nature that he began to communicate vnto him his very Secretes and among other entred into a longe discourse of the sacrament which Frith had penned in a booke in the tyme that he was Prisoner in the Tower And when the sayd Holt had seene the sayd booke he required him most instantly to lend him the same onely to reade ouer the which the sayd Iohn Frith did vnaduisedly graunte which after was the occasion of his greate trouble and finally of his death So sone as this false brother had the booke he departed for now he had the praye that he had long watched for And forth with he caried the sayde book◠vnto Sir Thomas More who reioyced not a litle at the hauing thereof and forthwith whetted his wittes and cauled his spirites togither meaning to refute his opinion by a contrary booke but that was more then he could doe Yet he attempted to doe asmuch as he might and at the last wrote a booke agaynst him the Copie whereof when it came to Frithes handes although he were then prisoner in the Tower and destitute both of bookes and conference yet he aunswered it omitting nothing that any man coulde desire to the perfect and absolute handeling of the matter Beside all these cōmendations of the afore sayde Learned yong man there was also in him a frendly and prudent moderation in vttering of the trueth ioyned with learned godlines which vertue hath alwayes so much preuayled in the Church of Christ that without it all other good giftes of knowledge be they neuer so great can not greatly profite but oftentimes doe very much hurt And in all matters where necessitie did not moue him to contend he was ready to graunt all thinges for quietnes sake After he had sufficiently contended in his writynges with More Rochester and Rastall Mores sonne