praye you master Chrispine what spirite ment Christe here What lyfe speaketh he of Can ther any man bring out of hys breast either by writting preachinge or otherwise teacheinge or speakeinge the sentence of the holie spirite wythout goddes worde Is not the sentence or worde of the holye gooste the worde of God Is it not to be vnsterstand of the lyueynge fayth that the holy goste worketh in the soule of man in beleuing the word Is not the scriptur called the two edged sworde Is it not also called the sworde of the spirite Maye ye separate the spirite from the wordes seynge he calleth them spirit and lyfe I thynke not ▪ No more than heate can be separated from fire Why then in the name of the holye gooste do you vndermine Christe The churche you saye must be iudge and the scripture muste be wytnesse onlye So must Christe be inferioure to mē For I am sure you wyll not denye but these holye fathers which you cal the church were be men And those you saye must be the iudges And Christe to be the worde and promise of the father he hymselfe wytnesseth sayeinge I am that I saye vnto you and hym you make but a witnesse or iudge Therefore I saye your churche is to be suspected As toucheynge the true spose and catholyke churche of Christe which are verye membres of hys bodye and he the head this churche hath so muche authoritie as the scripture geueth them and take vpon them no more for the scripture and they are one and for the scripture they ieoparde theyr liues as many haue done whome you and your forfathers bishopes and prelates haue alwayes put to dath Who persecuted y e prophets and put them to death Who procured Christe to the crosse Whoe the Apostles wyth manye othere holy men Were they not byshops and prelates of the churche Howe manye godlye preachers wyth other good soules hath the byshop of Rome put to death by the helpe of prelates in diuers contries syth he came to the supremitye and beareynge a rule ouer kynges and emperours Hath there not ben some put to death here in Englād wythin these .xx. yeres for speakeynge agaynste the Pops pardons and pylgrymages wyth suche lyke abuses Was not the Pope chiefe of these holye fathers whom you cal holye churche and woulde haue them iudges But I knowe what you meane You would perswad the multitude that you and youre churche be the verye true churche and haue the holye gooste and that what so euer you do is well But whereby do ye perswad thē By olde custome for you haue nothynge else and longe continuaunce of tyme the whyche if you coulde beate in to the heades of the communaltye your reformacion of thynges that are amysse shoulde be as you luste But maister Chrispyne if you were not in darckenesse you coulde not refuse the light Christ sayth if you cōtinue in my worde then are you mi verye Disciples and ye may know the trueth and the trueth shall make you fre But he that refuseth me and receyueth not my wordes hath one alredye that iudgeth hym the worde that I haue spoken shall iudge hym in the laste daye Beholde Christe sayeth hys worde shal be iudge All that be of Christ heare Christes wordes Mayster Chrispyne my lettere is longer then I thoughe it should haue ben howe it shal lyke you I can not tell but hertily desire you if you loue the truth and desire the glorye of God answere wyth the trueth and defende the trueth and do not wyllfully resist the truth But defend it not with the authoritye of men but wyth the power of God and that wyth charitie For if I haue by any meanes spoken any thynge in this letter more rigorously then charitye requireth whereby you myght be offended at me iustlye I am redie in such case wyth all myne herte to be reformed Wherfore I eftsones desire you to answere me as it becometh a true preacher for quietynge of my conscience And so doynge I comitte you to Christ and hys worde Amen ¶ Yours lokinge for an answer Philip Nicolles Written xxiii of Aprile MDxlvii HEre haste thou my letter gentle reader euen worde for worde as it was deliuered to mayster Chrispyne And trueth it is I wrote it inmediately after my retoune frome hys sermon euen whyle it was hotte For it greued me that it had not been lawful for me to haue answered him euen incontinente before all the audience For he perswaded them al for the mooste parte that nothynge coulde be sayde to the contrarie Which greued me to heare Not wythstandynge when I hadde written my letter I dyd not sēde it furth w t but paused a whyle partelye seeinge ther was suche a greate audience to se whether any man of woship or some better learned then I woulde take the mattier in hande But after I had rested vpō thys a moneth or .vi. weakes and perceiued that no man busied hym selfe in it al though ther were present men of worship pretēding to haue knowledg I sent furth my letter the laste daie of Apriel or nere there aboute And because the mesenger dyd not in all thynges fulfyl my request I wrote agayne to maister Chrispyne desireinge hym to sende me an answere by the sayede bearer of my letter to whō he gaue thys answer That he would not writ but cōmune wyth me him selfe I lefte him not thus but wtin a while after he cam to a benefice y t he hath called Herbertō besyd Totnes and preached there y e sūday after corpus Christi day as they cal it y e mūdaie in the morning I wente to him and communed w t hym and spent wel most y e whole day In which cōmunicaciō we swarued not frō these .iii. questiās I I resorted vnto him againe not long after y e and had much talke w t him al which cōmunicaciō I haue not nor wyll babble out al thought it be reported y t I came to him for non other purpose but to haue matter to talk of and to accuse him But yet they be to blame so to reporte of me For if Maister Chrispine or other y t be more busie peraduēture in talking then he him selfe can say ▪ y t I haue accused him of any such priuat cōmunicatiō let thē lay it to my charge else let thē for shame hold theyr peace and say y e thing they knowe As for the wordes that he or any other shal speake in a pulpyt or any suche like audiēce I am sure they wil be cōtēted to heare of thē againe If not let thē hēce forth desire their audience to kepe coūsel or else truly if I be presente heare any thing spoken againste god or my prince especially agaynste the doctrine of Christe I muste needes disclose it If they wyll blame me for this I am cōtented to beare it howe be it vn worthye in my owne conceyte let other iudge But if he were
doctours saye they and beleue the catholyke churche whiche hath continued frome Christes tyme hitherto we can shewe say they bi auncient writers from tyme to tyme sence Christs ascention But what can these men shewe Be not these writters whiche I haue rehersed of the chieffest of theÌ„ And al thes agre that their wrytinges must be tried by the scripture and if that allowe theÌ„ not they would not in any wise that we should beleue them This is a wonderfull thynge y t they would haue vs geue such credite to the doctours whiche thynge the docters them selues forbyd But they haue alwayes this sayeinge of Augustine in their mouthes I would not beleue the gospel except the authoritie of the câ—urch did moue me Nowe as sone as they haue caught thys in theyr sermons thei triumph Lo say they what authorite did this gâ—eat doctour attribute to y e church in so much that y e gospel is and must be iudged by y e church For wtout the church he would not beleue christes gospel manye wordes haue they which I caÌ„ not remembre But me think these meÌ„ mought be answered out of Augustines owne wordes before rehersed For he wil geue no such credit to any mans writtinges what so euer he be as he doth to the scripture neither would he y t any maÌ„ woulde he that any man should so esteme his writtynges For al hys wryttynges dooe not please hym Therefore if they wil haue me beleue Augustines wordes they muste proue them true bye the scripture or else by some other probable and sure reasone that dissenteth not frome the truethe else maye not I beleue Austens wordes For thys he counselleth hym selfe But admytte Austens wordes to be true wythout anye contradicion What moughte then be sayed to it These be Augustines wordes I shoulde not beleue the Gospell onlesse the authoritye of the churche moued me Nowe I aske you what the authority of the churche is What cal you y e authorite of y e church Is it long continuance of time TheÌ„ was christes doctrine doubtful For the scribes and phariseis had that on theyr syde Or is it the greater number With lyke reasone we maye refuse Christes Gospell For many be called sayeth he and fewe elected Or else was it the consent of learned wise men All thys had the great byshopes and high pristes in christes time For they were great learned and wyse men But saynt Paule axeth wher be the wyse Wher are the scribes where are the disputers of the worlde Hath not god made the wysdome of the worlde foleishenesse Therfore let them declare vnto me the verie true authoritye of the churche And I make heare distinctioÌ„ of churches For Christe and the Apostles haue prophicied that theyr shal come false prophetes in Christes name and shal rise euen froÌ„ amonge our selues shall speake peruerse doctryne These men come in Christes name and saye they be christes chruch But I am assured they be not Christes true spouse For Lira writinge vpon Mathe sayth The church standeth not in men by the reason of spirituall powre or secular dignitie For many princes and many popes and other inferiour persones haue swarued frome the fayth Wherfore the church doth stande in those persones in whom is y e true knowledge and coÌ„fession of fayth and veritie Therefore it must nedes by Lira his wordes consiste in the scriptures For the gyfte of fayeth and vnderstandeynge the veritye is the worckeynge of the holye spirite that confortour which the Lorde promised to those that beleue hys worde But because they alledge me Austens wordes I wyl answere theÌ„ with Austen him selfe wrytinge vpon the .lvii. Psal Wee speake true thynges sayth he which haue heard true thinges that the lorde sayth not that maÌ„ sayth It may be that man may lie it can not be that god should lye By the worde of trueth do I knowe Christe the same verie trueth By the worde of trueth do I knowe the church to be partaker of the trueth Nowe lette them scan these wordes and tell me where the true touchestonne is Then alledge they these wordes of Christe I haue yet muche to saye vnto you but you can not nowe beare it a waye Nowe be it when the spirite of the trueth commeth he shall leade you into all trueth etc. And agayne Manye other tokens dyd Iesus before hys his disciples Which are not writen in this boke Here staye they and go no farder for it foloweth But these are written that you shoulde beleue etc. But seynge we haue begone wyth Saynte Augustine we wyll ende wyth him He wryteth vpon this same place of Iohn and sayeth They were chosen and pycked out as many as were thought necessarie and sufficient for the saluacion of the faythfull Cirillus also affirmeth the same and sayeth more ouer that althynges that the wrytters thought sufficient boeth for the fayeth and beleue and also for y e coÌ„uersacioÌ„ of men that wee myghte shyne wyth a ryghte and perfecte fayeth and wyth true workes and vertues and so come to the Kyngdome of heauen thorowe oure Lorde Christe be wryten sayeth he and therefore it is a newelye inuented in y e diuilles shop to saye that all the articles of oure christian fayeth can not be proued by scripture and mens tradicions bysyde the scripture be goode workes and please God These be Cyrillus workes And therefore sayeth Saynte Ambros in hys fourth boke of virgines All newe thynges that Christe hath not tought we lawfully condemne For vnto faythful men sayeth he Christe is the waye If Christe therefore haue not taught that we teache sayeth he we iudge it to be detestable Nowe let these holye fathers turne and tosse these olde holye doctours and let them fynde me out a touchston some other wher For these doctours say playnely the worde of God the holy scripture the word of truth is y e rule wherby Christes true church is ordered gouerned enstructed For whosoeuer sercheth findeth The holy gost faileth not such as seke him ther but to seke him in anye other place is no promise made As for theyr general counsayles that they sticke so muche vnto is but a weake foundacion For saynt Austine writtynge agaynst the donatistes sayeth Who is it that knoweth not the holy canonical scriptures boeth of the olde and newe testamente to be conteined within certayne limettes and bouÌ„des And that they be so put before al the wrytinges of bishopes y t shal come afterward that it can not be doubted at all neyther can we be deceyued of the whether it be true or whether it be ryght and good or not what soeuer is knowen to be writen in them But al other wrytynges of byshopes or else which either haue writteÌ„ or shal write after the confirmacion of the cananicall wrytynges maye be reprehended both by the wordes or wyse senteÌ„ce of some more knoweynge man in that matter as well as by the sage authorite
doctrine of the apostles which is written we cal it the Gospel we call it the scriptures we cal it y e newe testament and the olde these wordes written in a boke beinge reade vnto the people to enstruction edifying of y e cōgregatiō is the word of god yea Christ y e breade of life which came frō heauē so y e whoso eateth therof shal liue euer The words that Moyses dyd testifie vnto the children of Israell and sayed vnto them it is no vayne word but your life be they not writtē And be they not our life as wel as theyrs But what life cā thei be vnto vs if thei be kept frō vs so that we know thē not Dyd Moyses hyde them away and say they would make mē heretykes But all suche as do euil hate the lyght and come not to it that theyr dedes should not be reproued but he that doeth the trueth cometh to the lyght that his workes maye be knowen for they be done in God Agayne I am the lyghte of the world sayeth Christe Whye shoulde these men refuse goddes word to be their light if they wer of god whie should they feare to saye y e Christes worde is Christe the worde of the father the light that lyghneth al men that come vnto hym Esaye sayth If anye man want light let him loke vpon the lawe and testimonies What meaneth he by the lawe and testimonies meaneth he not the scripture or written word of God shall we not ther fynde the lighte I woulde aske these disputers of the worlde Whether the Gospell be written or no I thyncke they wyll graunte that it is written Well Saynct Paulle sayth he is not a shamed of y e Gospell of Christe for it is the powre of God whiche saueth all that beleue Nowe is this gospel written for our learneing saueth as many as beleue Marke wel the beleuers are not saued because it is writtē but they be saued because they beleue y e which is writē I aske these philosophers whether y e wordes that Christe speake be written or no I trowe the Euangelistes haue written the moste necessarye thynges yea the verie secretes hyd thynges If Christes wordes which he spake be writtē then the word y t is written shal iudge these vnbeleauers in the laste daye For thus sayth Christe He y t refuseth me and receyueth not my wordes hath one alredye y t iudgeth hym The word sayth he that I haue spoken shal iudge him in the last day Vnderstād nowe gentle reader y t these fathers would vnder colours plucke a waye the great authoritie of the scriptures and diminishe thorowe subtyle disputinge y e efficatie and strength of the gospell Whether they do of hatred to gods word or blindnes and ignoraunce in the same or else for lucers sake I can not tell But to far wander they out of the waye But I exhorte the though they be to far on the left hand rune not y u to far on y e rigt hande Enter in at the strayte gate for wyde is the gate and brode is the way that leadeth to destructiō many ther be y e go in ther at But strayte is y e gate and narrowe is the waye that leadeth vnto lyfe and fewe therbe y e fynd it Thys is therfore the sume of thys disputaciō y t Christ is the word and wisedome of the father in whom who so beleueth hath euerlasteinge lyfe Thys same word did he him self preach and sayeth If you abyde in me any my wordes abyde in you ye shall axe what you wyll and it shal be done vnto you Beholde wheras he sayde before If you continue in my wordes nowe he sayeth If you byd in me and my wordes abid in you By this it is euident that Christe is the worde euen that worde whiche was preached frō the beginning is preached nowe and shal be to the ende And although Christe be not as is sayde incke and paper or a worde closed in a boke as thought we mought saye looe here in thys boke is Christe or in that boke is Christe yet was it the wyll of God that thys heauenly doctrine shoulde be written and that it shoulde remaine wyth vs and also that these wordes written beinge reade vnto vs shoulde be vnto vs euē that same worde that Christe spake when he sayed He that is of god heareth gods worde And euen the verie same to them that beleue that he speaketh of sayeing If anye man kepe my worde he shal neuer se death And to them that beleue not the same that he sayeth shall iudge the vnbeleuers in the last daye Now marke well I besech the and consider wyth thy selfe the mischiefe of these subtyle sophisters They make it wounderfull dayngerouse to call the scriptur Christe They be verye carefull to haue the true worship of god preserued and kepte And they feeare leaste we wyll fall to worshipynge of the verie boke wherin the testimonies of Christe be wrytten And therfore do they withdrawe all men from readeinge and heareing it as much as they can But alas why be they not so ware and dayngerous in theyr laye mens bokes as they cal them whiche al the scripturs crie out vpon euen from the begininge of the olde testament to the later ende of the new By the which bokes or rather abominable Idoles it is open and manifest that muche Idolatrie hath ben cōmitted yea wil be stil so longe as ther is one left standing in the temples The word of god the doctrine of Christe whiche he and his Aposteles so ernestlye taught exhorted cōmaunded to harken vnto to beleaue and folowe almost al the bible is nothing else this I say they cānot suffer any man to haue to do with al. Thei haue burned it frō tyme to tyme they burned the readars of it as al the worlde can testifie It is manifeste that they beare little good wyll to it vnto thys daye But these mahomets puppetes veri Idolles which haue not one word in al scriptur for them but contrarie to the vtter abolishinge of them these they can suffer to be called Christe saynte sauioure saynte Sundaye the holye trinitie oure ladye of Pitye our ladye of grace oure ladye I can not tell wherof Alhallowes wyth a thousād like names Yea they can abyde that the people should worship those stil for they neuer preach agaynste them but rather defende them to kepe the vnlerned in their blindnesse styl Alas to open is your doynge nowe O you catholyke fathers euerye chylde maye perceyue your blinde doctrine Yet wyl not you cease to exalt this false church cōgregaciō of deceyceyuers euē aboue god him selfe For God was the worde and aboue the rule of thys worde sete ye your owne tradicions in the name of Christes church Thus dyd Christe prophecie that you shoulde come that you shoulde dooe miracles and wonders In so