Origen writeth agaynst Selsus doo rather plucke awaye the memorie of man from god / do tourne the eyes of the mynde bacwardes / to behold consyder erthly thinges For euery man knoweth / that the more nere that one thynge resembleth another in nature and proprietie / so moche the more strongly it doth renewe the remembraunce in vs of that thynge / to whom it is lyke For trees or stones do more surely and lyuely putte vs in remembraunce of god / whan they are coÌ„sydered of vs / hauyng their owne naturall shape facyon / so as they were fyrst created of god than whan by the worke and craft of men beynge beryued of theire owne naturall shape / they doo expresse resemble vnto vs the image and lykenesse of man / or of any other thynge For soner shall the remembraunce come to thy mynde of the Caruer or Paynter / whose workmanship thou dost marueyle at / than the remembrance of god / the creatour maker of all thingê It is therfore nothynge els but a pure disceyte of the deuyll / which calleth vs from the praisynge and charytable louynge of the lyue ymages of god / vnto deed ymages of wood or stone / which some maÌ„ a folysshe couÌ„terfaiter of god / hath folysshlye carnen or paynted We coulde also allege manye other testymonyes oute of the writynges of the fathers but it shulde be all in vayne / to recyte any mo to him whiche is nat moued with these / which we haue all redy rehersed ¶ Here we haue thoughte it very expedyent necessary to declare make playne / accordiÌ„g to the truth of hystories / whan / by what begynners ymages begane to come vp amonge Christen men who agayne on the other syde did their endeuour to put them downe / and with how moche busynesse / how great ieoperdy / good well disposed men haue attempted this thiÌ„ge vntyll the church was brought in to this present condityon state of thiÌ„ges fallyng styl apece to worse and worse Vndoutedly the lawes as well of the christen emperours / as of the christen counsels / made agaiÌ„st ymagê / came thaÌ„ fyrst forth whan through the slouthfulnesse neglygence of bysshoppes their vayne curyouse desyre to wyn the fauour of god / nat only images pyctures crepte into the churches / but also which is wont comunely to chaunce they began to be worshipped of the peple We rede that Serenus / the bysshoppe of Massilia Serenê° Bysshop of Massilia / a very holy man / was so displeased toke it so greuously as mete was that ymages were set vp in churches that he dyd caste down all the ymages at ones whiche were in his churche / dyd breke them / at the laste dyd also burne theÌ„ We do nat deny / but that this dede of Serenus was sore rebuked of Gregorie / which was called Gregorius magnus Gregorius magnus / that the seyde Serenus was admonished couÌ„selled of the seid Gregori / that he shulde nat forbyd or let images to be had but that he shuld teche the honouring of theÌ„ in any wise to be auoyded But what other thynge shuld the staÌ„dredberer of relygioÌ„ and vertue fallyng in decay / do in this mater / as well as in many other For about that tyme the churche of Rome beganne to thretten / and gyue lykelyhod of gret ruyne of the fayth afterwardê to folowe ¶ But amonge the Grekes / Leo themperour / the .iii. Leo Emperoure of the Grekes of that name / a man both well learned / and also vertuouse and godly he raygned in the yere of our lorde .vii. C. lxxxiiii distroied al images vniuersally / coÌ„mauÌ„ded Gregori the .iii of that name by his letters / that he shuld do the same thinge lykewyse at Rome Gregory the third But this Gregorie nat onely refused to be obedyent to the emperours coÌ„mauÌ„demeÌ„t / but also at Rauenna was the authour begynner of sedition / to which cytie he called a certayne menye of bysshoppes made a counsel / in whiche he decreed agaynste themperours coÌ„mauÌ„dement / that images ought to be had in moche more honoure / than euer they were before And to the entente that he might the moore boldely instytute thys thynge agaynst themperour withoute any punysshmente nat very longe before / he had gone aboute traytorously to forsake theÌ„perour / and to fall vnto the parte of the freÌ„che kynge After the deth of Leo / Constantyne his sonne / the fyfth of that name / wyllyng to confyrme his fathers coÌ„mauÌ„dement decre / called togyther all the lerned men and bysshoppes / oute of all Grece lande / beyng in noÌ„bre Constantin the. v CCC.xxx which comparyng the scryptures to the reasons of the couÌ„sell / which we spake of before / called by Gregorie determyned with one coÌ„sent That it is nat lauful to theÌ„ which by christ do beleue in god / to haue any images / either of the creator / or the creatures to honour theym but rather of the ieoperdyes of offensyons / that they were all to be taken away at ones So to the begynnynge of Leo / Constantyne his sonne / and all his successoures dyd cleue abyde by it vntyll suche tyme / that the cruell woman Hirene Hiren went about that horryble and excedynge wicked tragedye / whereof we shall speke / nat longe hereafter But the decrees of that wycked woman / were vertuously abrogated by CoÌ„stantynes sonne / the syxte of that name There cometh nowe happely to my mynde / the decre of Theodosius Valens whiche Petrus Crinitus / a man that had red many thynges / doth recyte in the .ix. boke / De honesta disciplina His own very wordes I shall faythfully truly reherse Valens Theodosius the noble emperours wrot to the officer called Prefectus pretorius The decree of Theodosius and Valens Forasmoch as our dilygent study care is / in all thingê to maynteyne vphold the faith honour of god we forbid any maner maÌ„ to graue or make the image of christ our sauyour of stone / of wood / or of any other stuffe / orels to paynte the same with colours yea / and whersoeuer any such ymage be fouÌ„de / we coÌ„mauÌ„de that it be taken awaye / and they sore punysshed / who so euer shall attempte any thynge contrarye to our decrees and commauÌ„dement / in whiche thynge if anye man do requyre an authoure let him rede the decrees and commandementes of Emperoures / whiche haue ben collected and gathered by a satyre of the righte connynge men Trybunianus / Basylydes / Theophilus / Dioscorus / and other at the commaundement of the moost noble Emperoure Iustiniane Thus farre saythe Crinitus It is therfore euydente and manyfest / that themperours also whiche were before the tyme of Leo / dydde dilygentlye prouyde / that the superstityon of Images shulde natte by anye manner meanes pollute and
The preface ¶ All the whole coÌ„pany of them which at Argentoratum do preche and teache Christ / vnto the good and godly reders do wyssh grace BYcause our most noble and also moste godlye Senatours dyde perceyue / that the offensyons and manyfolde euyls / which haue ben hytherto by the reason of pyctures ymages / ar nat suffyciently taken away by the only exhortacyons of prechers And agayne dyd consydre / that it was nat possyble for any man to decree or coÌ„maunde any thing concernynge them more wysely / than god had prescrybed coÌ„maunded in his lawe and prophetes They decreed and ordeined gaue forth a coÌ„maundemeÌ„t / that whatsoeuer pycture or ymages hath ben wont to be worshypped in holye places / shulde both they and their aulters be clene taken away / and avoyded out of syght Bycause .iiii. yeres ago / they had abrogated priuate masses / and a tweluemoneth a go foure coÌ„mune and open masses For fyrst coÌ„sultatyon and delyberatyon of more pure ceremonyes to be brought into their places Secondarily they lokinge for certayne counsels and assembles / of whiche it was hoped / that some what shulde be decreed coÌ„cerning the generall reformation of the churche And thyrdly the wekenesse of certayne parsones / whiche coulde nat yet se / how gret impyetie and abusyon is in masses / hadde saued the resydewe of masses And they hadde suspended theym vpon this condityon / that if any man coulde proue by the scryptures / that they were nat contrary to Christ / they shuld be restored againe euerione Moreouer / seyng there ar many men / whiche do nat yet perceyue nor knowe / how moche these thinges do hyndre fayth trew godly lyuynge we do easely coniecture / that there are nat a fewe / whiche shall accompte this dede of oure coÌ„mune we le / to be a folysshe and a wycked presumption And therfore / for as moch as it is the dutye of all christen men / as moch as in them lyeth to gyue dilygence to prouyde / that the thynge whiche they haue godly done wrought / maye be accompted knowen of other men / to be none other wyse than godly done And also to take good hede / that no man may haue occasyon worthely to speke euyl of their goodnesse as Paule sayth Herefore we haue iudged it to be our parte and dutye which taught that the thynge ought to be done / which nowe our senate hath done in very dede / brought to passe very dilygently to shewe the cause of all this whole dede but with as moche brefenesse as maye be / that if it wolde be / we might happely pacify apease the myndes / at the lest wyse of some persones / whom this busines hath troubled gretly disconteÌ„ted / doubtelesse if we may optayn this one thyng whiche is denyed to no man / be he neuer so gret a malefactour that we maye haue the one eare open to here what we shall saye We feare nat / but that whosoeuer can fynde in their hertes / and abyde to know these fewe thinges / which we shall allege fyrst out of holy scriptures Secondarily of the writynges of the fathers And thyrdly of the decrees of emperours agaynst pyctures and ymages If it be shewed also of whom / for what cause consyderation both they were first brought vp in the churches of christen men / and also beynge defeÌ„ded haue contynued in the same We doute nat I saye but that all suche persones if it be so / that it be graunted vnto them to knowe the truthe / wyll also desyre with vs / that this thynge whiche is done here with vs / all other churches of christen men / dyd folowe execute in lyke maner Therfore we praye and beseche all those / whosoeuer caÌ„ nat yet lyke nor alowe this our exaÌ„ple which thinge it is no merueyle thoughe it happen to many men / if a man consydre what thinges haue euerywhere goten strengthe amonge Christen men that they wyll vouchesafe to rede this shorte lytell treatyse to the ende / which fyrst was made in our maternall tongue / and nowe by oure most welbeloued brother / Iames Bedrote / is translated into laten But let them fyrste before they begynne to rede / call for the spyrite of Christ / which only ledeth into all verytie and truth / that done let them than gyue sentence of vs. Christ the sauyour of mankynde graunt to all those which bere his name / grace to reiecte all suche thiges which do call away the mynd from him that they maye lyfte vp their myndes vnto him syttynge in heuen / and worshippe the father by him / in spiryte and truth Amen ¶ That ymages wont to be worshipped / ar nat to be suffred in the churches of Christen men ALbeit / there are verye manye causes / whyche mighte suffycyently satisfy the myndes of christen meÌ„ / and perswade them to take awaye images out of theire churches yet no man wyll deny this cause to be without dout chefe and princypall / bycause it is forbydden in the fyrste of goddes coÌ„maundementes / that any maner of images shulde be had amonge his peple For thus we rede in the scrypture Ex. 20 I am that euerlastyng god I am thy god which haue delyuered the froÌ„ Aegypt / the house of thraldom and bondage Thou shalt haue no straunge goddes besydes me Thou shalt make vnto thy selfe no grauen or caruen image / nor the symilytude of any maner thinge which is aboue in heueÌ„ or beneth in the erth nor of those thynges whiche are in the waters vnder the erthe Thou shalte nat bowe thy selfe before them / neither worship them For I am thy lord god euerlasting / stronge / mighty / punysshynge the fautes of the fathers in the chyldren / euen vnto the thyrd generatyon of theÌ„ which do hate me powringe forthe my goodnes / euen vnto the thousanth generation of them which do loue me / and do obserue kepe my commaundementes Lo / here are .ii. lawes of the lord set forth vnto the whiche natte without good cause amonge other / do chalenge vnto them selues the fyrste place The fyrst of them requyreth of vs / that we do take this eternall and euer beinge god so as he is in very dede for oure god The later doth nat only forbyd straunge goddes / but also it forbyddeth bothe the ymages of them / also of all other thynges / to be hadde amonge the people of god / vnto which people doutlesse / that is to wytte vnto all true beleuers / all such maner preceptes do apperteyne For these ar the trewe Israelyties / as it appereth in the scryptures Rom. 2 iiii ix Gala. 3 iiij For Christ came nat to breke the lawe but to fulfyll it fyrst of any man Nowe in very dede thei ar annexed to the lawe of god / also enclosed and conteyned in it / whatsoeuer thingê do
shalt cause euen wicked men also / that they can nat chuse / but at the lest wyse closely in their hertes confesse their conscyence dryuynge theym thervnto that thou wast nat only moued / but also coÌ„pelled by the zele of god to put awaye images And though in the meane season / manye thynges be wantynge in vs yet that natwithstandynge we oughte to be neuerthelesse dilygent / to prouyde that all suche maner thinges be putte awaye / whiche soeuer are repugnaunte to the worde of god Let vs take no thoughte for anye maner thynge / which may cast vs out any maner way of the fauoure of men let vs go streyght forth / and take the nexte waye to fulfyll the rule of a Christen mans lyfe for a true Christen man / although he doth in many thinges acknowlege him selfe to be a synner as he is iÌ„ very dede yet doth he neither alowe nor excuse any maner thing which doth minysshe or deface the honour of his lord maister christ ¶ Of the abuse of ymages we haue spoken somewhat here to fore But if any man do somwhat dilygently consyder way the mater / he shall perceyue vndoutedly / that ymages ar falleÌ„ into a farre gretter abuse amonge Christen men / than euer was amonge any heathen men Images haue gyuen answeres with vs / they haue wepte / one of theÌ„ hath ben thoughte more holy and of more power than another One more louely more gratious than another / a man shall fynde some / whiche in a certayne place haue shewed forth their power in workyng of miracles / whan they haue beÌ„ translated remoued into another place / they haue cessed to do the same Of the ymage at Lauretum / and dyuerse other / syth the mater is knowen wyll inoughe we nede nat to saye any thynge at all And I praye you / howe moche rychesse in the meane season hath this superstition of ymages gathered togyther / nat with out plentuouse occasyon of offensyons which sayd ryches the glotony pompe of a sort of vnthrifty idle belyes hath destroyed wastfully consumed In as moch therfore / as trewe / full / parfyte faith can nat suffre so great abhominatyon / syth it can nat be plucked vp by the rootes with the worde alone For with the goodly gloriouse apperaunce of holynesse / and also by the reason of long custome and contynuance / it hath gotten so great auctoryte estymation to it selfe it is to be put awaye by the dede selfe And wherto nedeth it to suffre those thingê amonge christen men / whiche as they can nat but engendre euylles out of nombre / so can they cause no hope nor lokynge of anye maner profyte to come by theÌ„ vnto any man It dyd become vs christen men most of al to be moued styred with the worde of god / which doth so playnly and so expressely forbyd all maner of ymages Whatsoeuer is redde concernynge ymages in the lawe / in the Prophettes / in the Psalmes dothe moche more rightefully appertayne vnto vs / whiche are taughte by Christe / that god is to be worshipped in spyrite and truthe / and that Christe also is natte to be honoured in Images of woode / of stone / or of syluer but that he is to be worshypped raither syttynge on the right hande of his father / and that all the membres of the sayde Christ / that is to wytte / oure neyghbours are to be focoured with dedes of charytie ¶ And these fewe thinges amonge manye / it hathe lyked vs to borowe of the scryptures against pyctures and images / which scriptures alone / a christen man hathe regarde vnto / as vnto the shote ankre / in all thynges / both whiche ar to be desyred / and also whiche are to be eschewed But yet bycause it can nat be but pleasure and conforte to the same Christen man / whatsoeuer either doctryne or exaÌ„ples he shal fynde in the saintes of god / which is coÌ„sonant and agreyng to the scriptures we haue thought it expedient to brynge forth a fewe thynges of the wrytyngê of the fathers / by which the godly reder shall easely perceyue / that the apostles / martyrs / and all the best lerned most auncyent fathers taught the same thinge / whiche is ordeyned coÌ„maunded by the word of god / vntyll such tyme as by the Gothyans the Vandalyanes / the christen faythe and the more pure knowlege of the truthe began to be gretly minisshed and brought in decay For in the tyme of saynte Hieronymie / certayne yeres after him / we doo nat rede / that any bysshop beynge of wyse iugemente / dyd suffre pyctures or images in the churches of christen men Of whiche thynge Epiphanius / the moste holy bysshoppe of Salamine / in the yle of Cyprus sheweth an euydent exaÌ„ple in his epystel to Iohan the bysshoppe of Hierusalem / which epystel saynte Hieronyme translated into latyn For thus he writeth Epiphanius whan we wente togyther to the holye place which is called Bethell / to make a collectyon there for poore people with the / accordiÌ„ge to the custome and maner of the churche and I was come vnto the vyllage which is called Anablatha / as I passed by / dyd se a burnynge lampe / I had asked what place it was / and had lerned that it was a churche / and had entred into it to praye I dyd fynde there a vayle hangynge in the churche dores / coloured and paynted / hauynge as it were the ymage of Christ / or of some saynt For I do nat wel remeÌ„bre whose ymage it was I say whan I had sene that in the churche of Christ / ther dyd haÌ„ge the ymage of a man agaynst the auctoritie of the scriptures I dyd cut it / gaue counsel rather to the kepers of that place / that they shulde wynde some pore man that were deed / bury him in it And they agayne grudgynge / sayd by me If he had mynded to cutte it / it was reason right that he shuld gyue another vayle and chaunge this / which thinge whan I had herde / I promysed that I wolde gyue one / and sende it forth with Howbeit I deferred the sending of it somwhat the longer / by the reason that I entended for to sende a very good vaile in the sted of it / I thought that I shulde haue had one seÌ„t vnto me out of Ciprus Nowe I haue sent suche one as I coulde get / I pray you / that you wyll byd the preestes of that same place / to receyue this vayle of the bringer / which we haue sent / and afterwardê to coÌ„maunde / that no mo suche maner vayles / which ar contrary to our relygyon / be hangen vp in the churche of Christ Lo / here the sentence of the moost vertuouse bysshop / in whiche he gyueth iugemente by expresse and playne wordes / that
the hast / accordyng to the example of Esechias the most holy kyng / whiche did cast down breke the braseÌ„ serpeÌ„t / which was set vp by the coÌ„mauÌ„dement of god whan he had parceyued that it was worshypped contrary to the coÌ„maundemeÌ„t of god These thynges / which we haue hytherto recyted / if he that fauoureth the glori of Christ / wyll dilygently way consyder iÌ„ his mynd he shall vndoubtedly perceyue / that whatsoeuer ymages ar honoured in churches / or anye maner waye maye be honoured neither ought / neither may be suffred amoÌ„ge crysten meÌ„ / vnlesse we wyl do against the manifest precepte of god / despyse set at nought both the faith and also the exaÌ„ples of the apostels martyrs / and also of holy fathers Fynally except we can fynde in o r herte in the stede of the lawes / whiche haue beÌ„ made both by christen emperours / also counsels to receyue the traditions of the bisshop of Rome / of the most wycked womaÌ„ / whose delyte plesure both of theÌ„ / was in traisoÌ„ / robbries / coÌ„tynuall study to deuide distroy the ¶ Fynally as coÌ„cerniÌ„g empire the takyng down putting away of altres / the which haue knowen the wicked abusyons of the masse / may wyll be sone satisfied conteÌ„ted wtout any gret busynes / they which do nat know / can nat be pacifyed with moch busynes vnlesse thei be taught first / how gret abhomination the masse is in the sight of god Therfore this one thinge we desyre to be consydered of theÌ„ that fere drede god / in what maner forwhat ende enteÌ„t / christ our sauyour did iÌ„stitute his holy souper Truly to th entent / that this discyples that is to say / they which wil lyue accordinglye to his doctryne and coÌ„maundement assemblynge togyther / shuld take that misticall breed misticall drinke in comen / eueryone put other in remeÌ„braÌ„ce of that incomparable charytie of christ / by which he suffred doth for their saluation by the reasoÌ„ therof / their fayth trust in god beiÌ„ge encreased / shuld be enflamed both with the hatred of sines / also with loue of all vertues / professyng theÌ„ selues to be one body one breed in Christ By this meanes onely / holy meÌ„ ar nourysshed with christ the meate of lyfe Now coÌ„pare vnto these thingê / that which is done coÌ„menly in masses Masses most specyally ar done for the belyes sake or els at the lestwise to purchase some merite afore god / which thiÌ„g eueÌ„ it selfe alone / although al this busynes were coÌ„mauÌ„ded by god / shuld yet make it abhomynable to god Besydes this / there ar sayd done so many thinges / whiche do turne away our myndes froÌ„ christ which raigneth in heuen / vnto the worke of the prest The coÌ„gregation hereth no doctryne or exhortatyon in their mother tongue / that they miÈt be edifyed therby Ther is no coÌ„munion had / although the wordes whiche the prest reherseth do make mentyon of it And whyles the preest alone dothe receyue the breed the cuppe of the lorde there is natte / as Paule sayth / the souper of the lorde represented There ar sayd also many thinges which ar playne repugnant to the scripture for they do teche to trust vnto the merytes intercessyon of saintes And which thing is most highly to be abhorred where as the oblation of Christ by whiche only beyng made vpon the crosse / we ar assoiled sanctified for euer more ought to be preached The prest bosteth / that as ofteÌ„tymes as he doth his masse / so oftentimes he doth offre Christ to his father / and therfore doth by it obtayne the puttyng away of all euyls / a hepe of al good thinges to theÌ„ only / which by gyuyng any thinge to the prest do make theÌ„ selues partakers of the masse / by the / reason wherof it is come to passe / that so many meÌ„ / al care of innoceÌ„cye layde aparte / do hope that heuen shal be opened vnto theÌ„ / euen by masses alone Whosoeuer acknowlegeth the lorde Iesus as our only sauyour sanctyfyer / if he do coÌ„syder these thinges dilygently / with the same do coÌ„pare those thingê / which our lorde both sayd dyd and besydes that / dyd betake to vs for to be reiterated / ofteÌ„times put in vse he shal esely perceyue se / that there was neuer anye superstityon in tymes past / which had in it selfe so great impyetie wickednesse / so gret coÌ„tempte of god / so gret distructioÌ„ of all vertues / as hathe the masse / so as it hath ben vsed to be had nowe these certayne yeres And hereof whaÌ„ he knoweth / that nothiÌ„g is so moch to be hated abhorred of cristen meÌ„ he shall ê‘ceyue that all remeÌ„brance of it is vtterly to be takeÌ„ away therfore that the alters / which were the forgers of such ydolatry / in dede the rich wyues of prestê but very hurtfull to all crysten people wer in no wyse to be suffred of that gouernour ruler / which princypally enteÌ„ded to execute his offyce to the honour pleasure of christ Let cristen meÌ„ know the truth of the mater / than afterwardê let them Last of all / this thiÌ„g also iuge is to be obserued in this matter / though neuer so gret offensyons occasyons of euyls come through pyctures images / that yet for all that / it is nat laufull for any man but the hed offycer ruler to caste theÌ„ out / namely out of open comeÌ„ places For in asmoche as they are outward thingê / no man ought to take vpon hiÌ„ more power ouer theÌ„ than the condition state of euery maÌ„ shall requyre / that it is to wit / that euery maÌ„ priuatly banysh theÌ„ out of his owne mynde / reiectiÌ„g the folyshe estimation of theÌ„ Now to an housholder it belongeth / accordynge to the exaÌ„ple of Iames the patriarch Iames the Patriarche / to clense rid his house of theÌ„ But to cast theÌ„ out of churches comen places / is the duty of the hedofficer gouernour / which duty thanke be to Christ our gouernour hath knoweÌ„ / hath executed with crysten grauyte And one thyng is to be eschewed in this busynes / lykewise as in al other / whiche it belongeth to cristen mennes charge for to do it is the couÌ„sell of S. Paule that we do nat betraye set forth our good to the euyll wordê of men that the thiÌ„g which was instytuted to the helth and saluatioÌ„ of many men / be nat an occasyon of hurte to any man Wherfore if any man in distroyeÌ„g of ymages / shulde do any thynge presumputously / outragyously / past the mesure of charite / he shuld bynde hiÌ„selfe by so moch to the more greuouse sine / by howe moche the thynge is more holy / in whiche he foloweth his owne sensuall lust / the offycer ought nat wtout good cause to punysshe him for brekiÌ„ge of loue charite Also it ought nat to be ascribed to any outragiousnesse / though vnsensyble ymages be nat so softely so tenderly handled / as certayn meÌ„ through a folish ymaginatioÌ„ / as though with the fygure symilytude of man / they had also mannes wyttes reason are wont to haue compassyon / and to sorowe somwhat whan they ar broken For if we were dysposed to take awaye images / after suche maner and facyon as scripture techeth and coÌ„maundeth / whiche facyon doutlesse must nedes be best we ought to breke them / yea / and that all to pouder / that they might neuer be made whole agayne / nor be restored into so wycked an vse in whiche we ought nat to haue so gretly regarded the labour craft of man / syth it is our duty to offre euen oure owne selues also to the crosse / and to all maner afflyction / rather than to be wyllynge to gyue occasyon of fallynge to any maÌ„ that walketh in the waye of vertue and godlynesse And wolde god there were in all men as moch care and dilygence to make moche of / and to beware of offendynge or hurtynge the verye lyue ymages / whiche god him selfe hathe made to his owne lykenesse as we doo see to be in very manye men / that those deed dombe ymages shuld nat be hardlye / nor vnreuerently entreated To conlude shortlye to plucke downe ymages and pictures / and to ryd them quyte oute of churches / is an holy thynge / and ought to be begon accordyng to the commaundemente of god It is conuenyente therefore and mete / that it be performed and fulfylled in suche wyse / that it maye be accepted and alowed of all mightye god That is to wytte / that they be so taken away / that there be no whytte of them remaynynge / namely to lyke vse / and also that yet neuertheles / nothinge be done pÌ„sumptuousely / nor outragyousely / nothynge that maye gyue anye man good cause to be troubled but that all thynges be done charytably / of pure and perfyte loue / and desyre to do profyte to all men And after this facyon god graunte that his people maye be delyuered from ydoles and ymages / throughout the whole world / froÌ„ the tone ende to the tother AMEN ¶ Printed for W. Marshall With the Kynges moost gratiouse priuylege