Certainâ—…â—…lies of m. Ioâ—â—â—… 〈…〉 ne / conteining proâ—… 〈…〉 necessarie / admonitio for this time / with an Apologie of Robert Horn. â—riÌ„ted at Rome / before the castle of s Angel / at the signe of s Peter Anno. M. D. Liii ¶ Grace / peace / and mercye from God the father of our lord Iesus Christe Amen AFter that god had striken our head shepherd vndre Christe / that worthye king and confessour Edward the sixt / good Christian brethren / which he threatened by his faithfull seruaÌ„tes long before / yf we wolde not turne from oure sinnes and wickednes j perceaued that it coulde not be auoyded god so disposing the mater / for oure vuthaÌ„kfulnes but that the kingdom of God / at the leaste for a time / must be taken from vs / and the Christian flock dispersed The whiche thinge beganne to appeare to me more plainly / when j sawe gods booke conteininge the worde of lyf taken forth of the churches in the byshoprick of duresme / aÌ„d a foul sorte of jdoles called laye mennes bookes / brought in therfore when the comon praier commaunded by publyke autoritie / set forth after s Paules rule to the edifieÌ„ge of Christes congregation in the vulgare toÌ„ge / was against Gods lawe / and also against the lawes of the realme / bannishede / and in the place therof a kiÌ„de of praier vsed far dissonaun te from Gods lawe / and the example of the primitive churche / in a strange tonge / farced ful of superstition / jdolatrye / and false fables / having nothing tolerable in it saving that the people coulde not vndrestaÌ„d it / and therfor were lesse harmed ther by although j suppose the popish prelates kepe it in a strange language / least that yf the commoÌ„ sorte of men shold here it in their owne tonge / thei wold perceav it to be vaine / false / lieng fables / and therfor credit their doinges moche worse in all other thinges but especially when j saw the lordes table / wher on was ministred the holy supper of the lorde / according to his owne institution and ordinaunce / was caried away / the coÌ„munioÌ„ abhorred as heresye / and for thes / Baals altares reared vp / and his prestes and moÌ„kish hypocrites / returned to their abhominable / blasphemouse / jdolatrous masse as dogges to their vomit Wherfor j begaÌ„ne to recorde with my selff / and call to my remeÌ„brauÌ„ce / not wtout earnest calling on gods name for the assistaunce of his spirit min owne state / and coÌ„dition / and to examine mor depelye / both the doctrin which j had taught / wherof j ê‘ceaved that of necessitie j must rendre an accompt and that wtin short time / and also my dutie of allegeance vnto the quenes highnes / wher in j fouÌ„d my selfe so cleare blameles / that if the devel himselff and all myne enemies shold doo their worste / thei could not have accused me iustly / nother of worde nor dede perpetrated against her grace And as coÌ„cerniÌ„g the doctrine which j had taught / the more diligeÌ„tly j did examine it / by the holye scriptures / and the testimonye of the aunciente fathers / the more syncere and pure it appeared / j was the more earnestly ê‘swaded / settled in the truthe therof / my coÌ„science did more plainly laye to my charge / that j could not revoke / saye against / nor dissemble it / wtout blasphemous contempt of god / most horrible denial of his sonne Iesus Christ So that j found no fault in my selff as towching my preaching / but that as an vnprofitable servaunt / j did not so moche as j ought to have done / although j had done moche more then some thought j shold have thankes for But what so ever meÌ„ne thought or spake as towching thankful reward for my labour / j perswaded my selff that j sholde have all thinges waied after equitie / and therfor considering both mine owne integritie / that j had offeÌ„ded no lawe of the Realme / but lived like an obedient subiecte / also that the same men bare the chefe rule vndre the quenes hyghnes / shold be my judges as did knowe that the swerd was delivered them for the defence of the good obedient subiect / so sone as j herd tell that j was exempted the quenes highnes pardon / j toke my journey towardes London with so much convenieÌ„t spede as j might Wher j fouÌ„d all thinges farre other waies then j wold have beleved yf j had not bene put in experience therof my selff For j found in the place of equitie / preindice for law / lust for reason / will soche as shold have geven sentence accordinge as mater had bene obiected justly proved / playe bothe the part of the accusare / of the witnesses and also of the judge and gave this sentence immediatly / that j sholde other vndoo that j had doon / or ells what that or ells ment j knew well jnough / for j had the exposition therof by his owne holy ghost TheÌ„ my good lord chanceloure / who is alwaies sure at a nede / perceiving that j stode to this that j had offended no law / to help at a pinch / obiected yea thre or foure times for failing a mater no less malitious thene false And bycause nothiÌ„g shold be lefte out that myght help forward the mater this good olde father of Duresme who had plaid thre partes befor right well / chargethe me with a mater not only malitious falss but so folish / that j had moche to do to refraine my self from laughter / j could not chose but smile At the last my l. chanceloure after certain talk had vnto me and myn answer made / concludeth that it was not only preachiÌ„g wherw t j must be charged / the whiche he ê‘ceived j sufficiently defended by the kinges law in dede j had asked counsall of them that wer wel learned in the lawes of the Realme but also materes to wchiÌ„g the quenes highnes / which were the same wherw t he and the bushope of duresme had charged me befor / as j lerned by thre or foure of the bushopes owne servaÌ„tes / who had made no falss reporte of their master before in my materes / but as they wrote home to duresme to their companions what thinges j shold be charged wtal what shold be my judgement / so afterward j fouÌ„d it true And therfor vpon the monday at after noÌ„ne which was the thirtyth of octobre / after it was tolde me by a frende of myne dwelling in London / who is familiar in the bushopes howse / and at that time frequented it the more to here somwhat as towching me / that he had learned and was credibly informed / both that all my goodes at duâ—â—sme was sensed in the quenes graces name and that j my self shold on the morow be coÌ„mitted to the tower / bothe bycause
veritati cedat coÌ„suetudo quia et Petrus qui circuÌ„cidebat cessit Paulo veritatem praedicaÌ„ti Igitur cuÌ„ Christus veritas sit magis veritatem quaÌ„ coÌ„suetudinem sequi debemus He yecon temniÌ„g the truth doth presume to folow custom is other envious malignaunt to his brethren to whom the truth is revealed / or ells he is vnth ankfull to god by whos inspiration his church is istructed / for the lord in the gospel saith / jam the truth / he said not / jaÌ„ the custoÌ„ Therfor when the truth appeareth / let custom geve place to the truth / for Peter him self who did circuÌ„cise / did geve place to Paul preachiÌ„g the truth Therfore seing Christ is the truth / we ought rather to folowe the truth then the custom Herin is to be marked this / that the holy father doth geve exaÌ„ple of s Peter who forsoke custom to folow truth Our prelates say thei be Peters successours / why will thei not theÌ„ folow Peter herin Thei be his folowers in title name but nothiÌ„g in dede SaviÌ„g that thei denie Christe pluk out their swerds to persequut them that serve and beleve in Christ / as Peter did smite Malchus one of theÌ„ that came to apprehend Christ And yet thei differ from Peter / that wher he of blinde zeall drew out his swerd to defend Christ / thei of malitious purpose bend all their power with fier swerd to destroy Christ And is it ani merveill though we ruÌ„ne away from that cruell clawes of thes wilde beastes / in whos handes ther is no mercy We fled not bycause we did suspect our doctriÌ„e / but bycause we knew well their crueltie We went not away bycause we could not abide bi our doctrine prove it true / but for that truth could not be herd with indiffereÌ„t judgment j pray you mark this practise / loke yf the like were ever fouÌ„de in any historie Thei cast the chiefest learned meÌ„ in prisone / or coÌ„maundeth them to kepe their houses not to coÌ„m a brode / or banisheth them the realm as Peter martyr I. alasco with others / wheÌ„ thei be sure of theÌ„ / that thei shall not meadle / for thei were not hable to abide their lerniÌ„g / then to blinde the eies of the people / thei preteÌ„d a disputation / call the matter in to question / when ther is no maÌ„n to answer theÌ„ as thei thiÌ„k also when thei be already determined / let the truth apear never so plaine to the contrarye / what thei will decree Then crieth a stoute chaÌ„pioÌ„ at paulls crosse boldly / wherbe our new preachers now Why doo thei not now come forth dispute ThiÌ„k youe this lusty roysterkiÌ„ doth not know full well that thei be fast j nough / they may not coÌ„m to answer hiÌ„ Yet by thos whom god hath delivered out of their haÌ„des / although thei be nothiÌ„g to be coÌ„pared in learniÌ„g to them thei have lokked fast vpe / it shall plainly apeare to all indifferent men that their doctrine is true / may easely be maiÌ„tained by the scripture testimonie of the auncieÌ„t fathers of christes church And that the coÌ„trarie caÌ„ not be defeÌ„ded / nother by gods word / the auncieÌ„t church / norby no honest way / and therfor thei ar driven with shame j nough to bolster kepe it vp / with fier swerd / with thus will we / thê° shall it be And by cause thei wold seem in the face of the world to doo it by learniÌ„ng the coÌ„sent of most part of learned men of the realme / thei gather a sorte of bliÌ„de prestes to gether in to the coÌ„vocation house whos lyviÌ„ges haÌ„geth / as thei call it of makiÌ„g Christes bodye / of preteÌ„sed chastitie / beiÌ„g for the most ê‘te / vnlerned asses / filthy whormongers / and thes with a showte of yea yeayea / or nay nay nay / must determine thes matters Act. xiij as yf the maisters of the pythonise / whiche had a spirit of pytho and ther by brought to them great profet and Demetrius the gold smith with the wholl coÌ„gregation of the artificers / who had riche liviÌ„gs by jdolatrie / shold had bene appoiÌ„ted clerkes in the convocation house at philippos or at Ephesus and with their yea yea or nay nay have determined this question / whether Paull Silas had bene seditiouse heretikes wold not / trow youe / the more parte have cried with alowd voice yea yea yea oh / aurisacra fames quid noÌ„ mortalia pectora cogis Whether this stand with reason that thos prestes whos living depeÌ„deth only of superstition / jdolatrie and fals religion / ar for the most parte blind ignoraunt asses / shold be oÌ„ly judges in the waightye matters of our religion / j reporte me to the indifferent man Another practise / whiche in veray dede was / that moved me most to save my self from them by flieng out of the realme / thei have / not latly invented / but derived frome their forfathers the jewish pharises / yet not put in vre of many years And that is / that thei will not leave a lyve one learned maÌ„ in the realme whiche is not of their owne secte / no nor yet or thei have done one noble mane that now liveth / although thei wil not preteÌ„d religioÌ„ to be the cause / but invent some other waighty matter I must nedes here geve the noble men warniÌ„g of that j herde / by cause j love them / and am sorye to here / straungers speak this dishonour of theÌ„ that thei ar not hable to rule them selves and ther for must desier a pollshorne bushope to governe them the wholl realme At my last being at LoÌ„don waitinge at the parlameÌ„t house of my lordes of the counsall as j was coÌ„maunded / j mett with a familiar acquaintaunce of mine / although not of my opinion in religion / but one that for the matters of religion dothe favour the popish bushopes / and is both familiar with the best of them / and also taken to be a wise man and of a great forsyght as he is in dede He asked me of my state / saing thus vnto me / did not j tell youe that youre religioÌ„ wold not coÌ„tinew And so wold have perswaded me to have geven place / revoked myn opinioÌ„ wher in when he saw he prevailed not / he said frendly / he was sory for me / wished that he were of power to doo me pleasure to whome j said / it was sufficient to me that he wold coÌ„tinew his familiar frendship with me ther vpoÌ„ j charged him as j was often wont of frendship to tell me what he thought of our bushoplike procediÌ„gs Wherto he answered / as in maters of religioÌ„ veray well But in other maters nothiÌ„g so For / saith he / j have entred talk with som that be most nygh
all them befor his father whiche denye the truth for fear of losing this life / for whom he declareth destruction both of bodye and soull to be prepared Mat. x. Also in an other place he protesteth that he will refuse all maner of communion with them that deny him befor men Thes words onlese we be vtterlye void of all sence ought vehemently to move our minds and so to fray vs / that for fear the hears of our heade shold stert vpp But how so ever it be / onles we be so affected and moved as the greatnes of the mater and daunger requireth / ther remaineth nothiÌ„g ells for vs but to look for horrible and most miserable confusion wherin we may excuse our fault so moche as we lust / we may say that in this great frailtie and weaknes of nature / we rather ar worthye of mercy then of any severitie and sharpnes of punishment / it will not serve Heb. xj For it is written on the coÌ„trarie part / that Moses after he had sene god by faith was so hardned and strengthened / that no violence of teÌ„ptation coâ—â—melt his mind / and beÌ„d him from that great coÌ„stancye Wherfore wheÌ„ we be so tendre and flexible that ther appear in vs no power of firme and constant minde / we signifie and declare plainlye that we be vtterly ignoraunt of god and his kingdome Also wheÌ„ we ar werned that we ought to be joyned cowpled with our head / we have gotten a goodly couler to exempt separat our selves frome him / yf we say we ar meÌ„ And were not yei that were befor vs men so well as we are Yea yf we had nothinge ells / but even the bare doctrin of godlines / yet were al the excuses with we can brig weack and of no value But now ar we worthy more greater chek and condemnation / sence we have so great notable exaÌ„ples / whos great authoritie ought vehemently to excite confirme our minds Ther ar two chefe partes of this our exhortation or consolation to be coÌ„sidered The firstis / that this hath ben a commoÌ„ state to the vniversal bodye of the church alwaies and ever shal be to the end of the world / that it was vexed with soche iniuries and contumâ— lies of the wicked / as it is reported in the Psalme Psalm â— xxix / Thei have vexed me eveÌ„ now froÌ„ my iouth hether to / have drawn a plough over and over e veri ê‘t of my bak The holy ghost in this place doth briÌ„g in the old church speakiÌ„g on this wise that it shold not seme now vnto vs a new ying nor greavouse / if we see in thes daies our cause coÌ„dition to be like S. Paul also recitiÌ„g the same place of an o yer Psal wher it is said / We were as it were shepe led to the slaughter / doth declare that this ê‘tained not onli to one age / but it was shal be the coÌ„moÌ„ / vsual coÌ„tinual state of Christs church So that if we see in this time the church to be so haÌ„dled vexed / bi the insoleÌ„cie pride of the wicked / that some bark at her / some bite her / mani afflict her / alwaies inveÌ„t some mischef pestileÌ„t destructioÌ„ to her / yea set vp on her wtout ceasig as it were mad dogges wil de raveniÌ„g beastes / let vs cal to remeÌ„brauÌ„ce that she was so vexed afflicted oppressed iÌ„ al times before God doth geve vnto her soÌ„time / some rest refreshiÌ„g as it were a time of true And this is that which is spoken in the psalme above allegâ—d / the righteous lord doth cut iÌ„ sodre the cordes of the wicked iÌ„ an other place / that he breaketh their rodde / Psal c. xxv lest the good being to moche pressed shold faiÌ„t move yeir haÌ„des to iÌ„iquitie But god wold alwaies have his church to be tost in this world / as it were alwaies in a certaiÌ„ coÌ„flict / reserviÌ„g for her quiet rest in heven The end of thes afflictions was alwaies blessed / yea truly god wrought this that the church alwaies pressed with mani great difficult calamities / was never vttrely oppressed ij Cor. iiij As it is saide in an other place / the wicked with all their labour did never optain that thei desiered S. Paul also doth so glorye of like happye end issue of afflictions / that he sheweth this grace of god to be ê‘petuall in his church We saith he / ar prest with all kind of afflictions / but we ar not killed with sorow care / we live in greatnede povertie / iet ar we not for saken we are cast down but we ê‘ish not / alwaies carrieÌ„g aboute the mortificatione of our lord Iesus Christe / that his lyf also mai be declared in our mortal bodye This issue and end / as we see that god hath alwaies made it happie and prosperouse in the persequutioÌ„s of the church / ought to bolden vs / seing we knowe that our fathers / who also acknowledged their frailty weaknes / had alwaies the victorie over their enemies / by cause thei continued constant in paciencye I do entreat this first part of my exhortatione briefli / that j may come the soner to the secoÌ„d / which doth more pertaine to the purpose And that is / that we applie certaine examples of the martyres which were before vs / to our consolation and confort And in this kinde or nuÌ„bre ther be not two or thre / but a great thik cloude as the apostle writeth to the Hebrues Heb. xij Wherby he signifieth / that ther is so great a multitude of them / which hath suffred for the testimonie of the truth / that so well the aboundaunce of excellent examples / as the most grave autoritie ought to provoke vs to coÌ„tentatioÌ„ patiencie / and moderation of minde And least my oration shold waxe to long in heaping vp together an iÌ„finite multitude of exaÌ„ples / j will oÌ„ly speak af y s jewes / which suffered most grevouse ê‘sequutioÌ„ for the true religioÌ„ / both vndre the tyraÌ„nie of kiÌ„g Antiochê° / also shorthly after his death We can not saie that theÌ„ the nuÌ„bre of the afflicted meÌ„ was smal / wheÌ„ a great mighty army as it were of martyrs was prepared to maitaine and defend the religion Nether can we allege that thei were certaine excellent prophets / whoÌ„ god had chosen forth and separated frome the comon sort of people / for ther were women / boyes / and infants / also in that nuÌ„bre of martyrs Nether wil we say that thei passed thorow the ê‘secution / only with some light losse / without great peril of lyfe / without great paines tormeÌ„ts of bodies / seing / ther was no kiÌ„de of cruelty vnproved in afflictiÌ„g / vexing / tormeÌ„tig them Let vs here also what the