Clement was ordeyned vniuersall Byshoppe of all churches but onelye the byshoppe of the church of Rome Besides this if Clement was made Byshoppe of Rome by Peter as you saye he was and not chosen of the people no doubt hys successors woulde haue folowed the same example whiche thyng they dyd not and therefore it is false that Peter made hym Byshoppe I will passe ouer that neither Eusebius neither Hierome number these Epistles amongest Clementes workes Yea Clement hym selfe in these Epistles prayseth a boke that he shoulde write the title wherof is Itinerarium Clementis whiche boke of trueth was neuer of hys makynge And furthermore thys boke maketh mencion of dioceses archbyshoprikes primacies and bishoprikes whiche orders and names were not yet distincted and appoynted out neyther doeth he anye thyng els in these Epistles but set forth the dignitie and fredome of priestes whome he wyll haue so free that they shall not intermedle themselues with anye handycraft for a profe of the which absurditie he citeth certayne places of holye scriptures wrythed beyond the nocke More ouer in his second Epistle he is so bolde to teach Iames of what sorte he shoulde minister the Sacramentes And yet that fashioÌ„ is not obserued thys daye namely in the administracion of the lordes supper Furthermore none of the auncient writers make any mencion of these Epistles neither yet of them y t Anacletus or Euaristus should wryte He citeth out of the newe and olde testament that it is not laweful for priestes to sacrifice or syng masse but when the Byshoppe commaundeth them which thynge can neither be founde in the newe neither in the olde testament In the fyft Epistle he affirmeth that all thynges wyfes and other shoulde be common and that yf it be not so it commeth of the wyckednes of menne There bee also in thesame Epistles many other folishe thynges and lyes whiche he rehersed but bycause ye maye read them your selfe I wyll reherse no more Master Pseudologus shewed also certeyne other epistles wrytten as he sayed by Anacletus and Euaristus whereby he minded to stablysh this popeshippe But thimbassadour proued by good reasons that they all were of none authoritie because that it is conteined in them that Clement should be his predecessor which thing Hierome denieth also Ireneus Further he would not y t priestes should be accused or iudged for a profe wherof allegeth y e scriptures with out iudgemeÌ„t or reasoÌ„ he wil haue Byshoppes iudges in seculer matters and that euery manne maye apeale to them When it is well knowen that that thynge was neuer graunted vnto them before the tyme of Theodosius the Emperour and agayne he sayeth that Cephas signifieth a head where as in dede it signifieth a stone And furthermore I can proue the Epistles of Euaristus to be of none authoritie not onely by that he bryngeth manye sentences of scripture sasly writhed y t priestes should not be accused of any lay meÌ„ but also because he writeth ad Gallium BarduaÌ„ two Counsels in whose tyme Anacletus was Byshop of Rome not Euaristus which thing is euident by the histories Master Pseudolog us blushed was ashamed wonderfully when these thinges were layd to his charge because he appeared openlye to all mens sight to haue played a false parte whiche thinge when the embassador of Antioche perceyued he left hym as he was and gaue place to the imbassador of HierusaleÌ„ who spake than wonderfully in this wise There is no doubt but that Christ who was the chiefe and vniuersall Byshop of hys churche preached his gospell chiefely at HierusaleÌ„ in y e which place he was contented to dye for our sakes And this is also certaine y t Iames succeded in hys roume who was nexte Byshoppe in Hierusalem after Christ. Wherfore yf there shoulde be any supreme vniuersall and visible head stablished in yearth of the church of Christ militant because it is sufficiently proued that Peter was not the chiefe Byshoppe our Byshoppes of Hierusalem oughte to be Popes and not the Byshoppes of Rome For you woulde haue your Byshoppes of Rome to be Popes because of none other reason but that they succeded Peter we maye muche the better chalenge oure Byshoppes of Hierusalem to bee chiefe Byshoppes because they succeded Christ in so muche as Christ is greater and more excellente then Peter As touching Christe it is knowen ryght well that he was the vniuersall head of hys churche and that he was crucified in Hierusalem And more ouer not onely Paule nameth Iames first before Peter and Iohn but also in the first consell of the Apostles where as Peter Paule Barnabas and the rest of the Apostles speake he as their heade and iudge sayed his mynde laste whiche was aproued of all thapostles and of the whole congregation And it is not to be doubted but that if the church of Hierusalem be the mother as she is in dede of all other churches and of whome all other churches had theyr beginninge wherefore she ought to bee called mother as it was determyned in Nicene counsell Then muste the byshop of Hierusalem as the spouse of the churche be called the vniuersall father of all other churches and the chiefe byshoppe and byshoppe ouer all other byshops as your Clement calleth hym in hys fyrste epistle if it bee hys as you doe alledge Then thus he sayed These wordes haue I spoken not that I thinke oure byshoppes to bee highest by any meanes for Christe onely is thuniuersall head of hys churche who is onelye sufficient but to declare vnto you by a certayne suer reason if there muste bee anye supreme heade in earthe thesame ought rather by right belonge to our byshop then to the byshop of Rome Ye maye nowe see howe muche vanitie there is in your reasons when our reasons bee so sclender and yet better then yours For Christe made neither Peter neither Iames y â— supreme head of his churche And yet in the fyrste counâ—ell of the Apostles Iames sayed hys mynde laste as byshop of Hierusalem and Paule nameth hym before Peter and Iohn But it followeth not therefore that he was vniuersall byshop aboue all other byshops Notwithstanding this one thinge is trewe that our churche muste be called the mother of all other churches not that it ought to gouerne all other churches as you make your argument Whiche thinge canne not be but because all other churches had theyr originall and fyrste begynnynge of it Wherefore oure byshoppes haue the fyrst place in the counsell appoynted vnto them and bee called bishops of the fyrst seate because of the estimacion of the citie wherein Christe was put to deathe But they muste not therefore bee called the byshops of other byshoppes and the vniuersall heades of the churche of Christe The imbassadour of Alexandrya interrupted thys imbassadour of hys tale sayinge What nede we so many wordes in so playne a matter Yf the byshoppes of Rome had receaued thys
a heuy thing for me if Rome shoulde be turned into Troy The curche Besides this noble dignitie of our byshop I am to muche occupied with an infinite number of matters of ceremonies of sutes and controuersies of other prophane thiÌ„ges that I haue no time left to scratch my head wherfore now wil I forsake you But I wyll tel you one thyng yet before I goe Sence this man was created pope I haue ben wonderfully vexed and sicke bothe in body and soule euen as though I had dronke a pocion of poyson And I canne not well tell whether I gat thys sycknes of to muche ioy wherewith I was replenyshed by the reason of the greatnes of my promocion or elles of thintollerable burden of businesses which grow towardes me dayly Nowe haue I nothinge elles to saye but that I offer my newe kindes of marchandise to bee solde to you before other and that better chepe than any straunger shall haue them The people I thanke you for youre marchant lyke ciuilitie and agayne I offer vnto you my fauor and all my strength and power to defend and increase the greatnes of your honour The Pope Mans Iudgement The people of Rome The Pope AT the last we be come to thys highe honor whiche we haue so much desired and that is more to bee wondered at by the whole consent of all the people of Rome I would neuer haue thought suche a numbre of the nobilitie woulde haue come to gratifie me and to increase my ioye They thynke verely that thys oure promocion shall increase and amplifie their ryches and power not a litle But I am informed for a certayntie that many foren churches were muche vexed therwith namelye suche as bee of the East partes Wherfore we vnderstande that they sende embassadors what they bee I can not tell to replye agaynst the thynge and it maye so be that they wyll dryue the matter to a disputacion Now is it therfore necessarie for vs to arme our selues for oure defence and as in a matter of great weyghte and importaunce to vse a wittie counsell Wherfore mans iudgement who art one of my pryuye counsell with thee I thynke it best to consult Mans iudge Truely sir I haue tossed turned al this matter in my minde agayne and agayne after long and earnest fantasyinge I conclude that there is no more presente remedie to preserue increase and establish thys your promocion kingdom and authoritie then to contend and earnestly to stand in it that it is not the ordinaunce of man but of God So that it is Christ hymself who hath ordeined you to be supreme head of the churche and that with a whole fulnes of power otherwyse shall ye hange alwayes vpon the Emperour who hath placed you in this highe estate of honoure by that meanes as he once gaue it you so maye he agayne take it awaye from you Moreouer your Empier and authoritie cannot be stretched out further then the coastes of the Empier of Rome extendith besydes thys all ChristendoÌ„ wyll laugh to scorne thys fayned and conterfect dominion Crying out that Christe is the supreme head of his churche and that he alone is able ynoughe to gouerne it well with out the helpe of an other head or of any other deceyptfull manne as he hath by hys ministers gouerned it hetherto But yf ye contende earnestly that it is Christ who hath put you in thys place ye shall bothe be deliuered from hanging vpon the Emperour and shall also be as farre aboue hym as holy and spirituall matters are to be preferred to matters prophane and worldely So that your authoritie being by thys meanes established ye shall enter into all the coastes of the yearth There shal be no Christian men in the worlde but when they shall bee persuaded that Christe was the author of thys ordinaunce who hath made you his vicar of whome ye haue receyued thys highe authoritie but they wyll come to you of their owne swynge as thoughe they would wurship this Godhead of yours in earth and wyll glorye that they maye obey you The Pope I woulde alowe thys counsell of yours very well yf it might be brought to passe by any meanes that I coulde persuade so manifest a vanitie to the worlde Mans iudge The folishenes of manne is growen so farre nowe accompanied with a wonderfull deceyt and wickednes I of my selfe am so subtile craftie that me thynketh it a thyng easie to persuade yea and that I nowe see the meanes howe The Pope I desire of all loues that ye wyll tell me by some inkeling what thyng it is that ye euen nowe mused vpon for ye may well know that it is my ioy to talke of suche thynges Mans iudge Yf there coulde bee one iote founde in the holy scripture wherupon wee myght leane for a profe that Paule the Apostle was ordeyned of God to bee supreme and vniuersall head of the churche militant yea thoughe it semed writhed and wrasted with the braakes of your authoritie and drawen by violence to our purpose agaynst the naturall sence yet so that there were some likeâ—yhod therin the victorye were ours For it is euident by the worde of god that Paule was some tyme at Rome thoughe he were then in prison yet shall wee persuade by all meanes possible that he was made Byshop of thys Citie whose office and dignitie you haue by inheritaunce and succeâ—syon obteyned I haue occupied my fantasie to and fro and haue chewed thys question diligently and so at the last I perceyue that there be many wordes in the holy scripture whiche with a litle wrasting woulde make the blinde ignoraunt common people gyue credite to thys vayne opinion that Paule was the chiefe of all the Apostles and vniuersall head of all the churches of Christe And yet shall we not therfore obteyne all our purpose For the selfe same holy scripture is in other places directlye and in playne wordes againste vs. Forasmuche as it is euident that Paule thapostle was none of the twelue Apostles of Christ yea and when Christ was here in earthe he was his enemie and persecutor and afterwarde also a certayne space Neither is it lykelye that Christ woulde ascende into heauen but woulde first well forsee to his churche and leaue vnto it one certayne head to be hys vicar occupie hys rowme Thys thyng was very necessary for him to doe This last reason must we alleage earnestly and defende it stoutly yf we intende to obtayne oure purpose But nowe haue I deuised a farre better waye There bee many places in the gospell whiche may easly be writhed to oure purpose That is to saye wherby some likelyhod maye be alleged that Peter thapostle was pronounced chiefe of the apostles by Christ his owne mouth and was created supreme head of his church militant Nowe yf we coulde bring hym to Rome make hym Byshop of thys citie it shall bee an easie thing to persuad that you be
saye the perticular he receaued of men whereby he was the Bishoppe of Rome The people I haue sene amongest them which professe mounkâ—y when they goe on theyr general visitacion of y e prouinces coÌ„mitted to their charge they wil not bee so generall prouincials that they wyll take vpon them to remoue them away whome they find but suffer theÌ„ to remayne and do their office as they did before and they also be contented with theyr office of visitacion Of a like sorte me thinketh if Christ had ordeyned Peter a vniuersall byshope of all other bishoppes his deutie should be to visit all other churches and yet to leaue euery byshop remayninge in his owne diocese and he himselfe to bee contented with his owne office and regarde nothinge to bee created byshop of euery sundry church But I pray you thys one thinge was Peter a bishope before he was made byshope of Rome and Antioche or not The pope He was but yet a generall byshope of the whole churche of Christe and no seuerall bishoppe of Rome or Antioche The people Then was he called an vniuersall Byshop of Christe and of hys churche by the means wherof he was called a christian byshope and not the bishop of Rome The Pope It is verye trewe as ye say The people Nowe maruayle I very muche whie after he was made byshoppe of Rome he refused the fyrst tytle and receaued the latter seinge that hys last byshoprike was no cause why he should lose the first that not withstandinge he woulde no more be called the chiefe Christian byshop but the byshop of Rome And yet without controuersy the fyrste tytle is more worthy tytle then is the latter And as for the fyrste name and tytle he had it of Christe the latter of man Yf Peter at any tyme woulde haue receyued and allowed to bee called the chiefe christian Byshoppe suerlye youre predecessours woulde haue vsurped and challenged thesame title Which thing because it is not done but they be called y e bishoppes of Rome many men will thinke that neither they neyther any of theyr predecessors were euer vniuersall byshoppe of all churches For if that had so been trewely they woulde haue chaunged the perticular title with the more general and more worthye title or at the leste wayes youre holynes shoulde nowe at the last begyn to be called neither the chiefe nether the Romish byshop but a Christian bishop of Christ and of his congregacion and create some priuat bishoppe of Rome in youre stede The Pope Ye canne not perswade vs to be so much a fole that we will refuse the byshoprike of Rome to runne invisitacion of churches hether thither lyke Egiptyans We wyll holde faste thys byshoprike of Rome and further more we will be and require so to be accounted the supreme head of all other byshops The people As for my parte I am right well contented and satisfied how so euer the matter goe neyther did I moue thys matter for any other purpose but because that name and title of a Christian byshoppe semeth to me muche more excellent then to be called byshope of Rome But and it may like your holynes was Peter the fyrste byshoppe of Rome The Pope That is without question The People Suerly I maruayle muche that Paule was so notable an Apostle and so muche estemed before Peter and yet was not made byshop of Rome And another thing I meruayle at muche more that althoughe the churche of Christe was at Rome yea and that many yeres before Paule came thether and many wyse and godly men were in it as it appereth in the Epistle whiche Paule wrote specially to them wher he saluteth them by name yet that theyr church was so euell ordered that it lacked a byshope The Pop. There were byshoppes there but Peter was not the first byshop of Rome but the first chiefe bishoppe of all other and he made an ordinance that all byshops of Rome which should afterward folow hym should also be y e highest bishops aboue all other The people Uerely I can not see from whence Peter had this authoritie to make suche an ordinance that all bishops of Rome shoulde be Popes and vicars of Christ althoughe they were wicked helhoundes me thinketh it had ben done accordinge to iustice equitie if any shoulde be ordeyned byshoppe aboue all other bishops and churches thesame should be chosen by the consent of all byshops and all churches And thys thinge is moste of all to be maruayled at howe it may come to passe that all your predecessors from Peter euen vntill thys day were highest byshoppes and heade of all churches and yet vsed not they this authorytie no there was neuer communicacion of it before thys presente The Pope Neuer thinke that that is so as thoughe they were not chiefe byshoppes in very dede but because it was not nedeful for them to vse theyr authoritie and of a certayne modestie they declared not theÌ„ selues chiefe bishopes as they were But nowe there bee so manye heresies arisen in the churche of god suche sundrye sectes and dissencions that we haue thought it necessary for a remedy agaynste so many mischefes to declare oure selues what power we haue by Christe so to vse oure most high authoritie The people I vnderstande you well Namelye because the chiefe byshoppes of Rome as I heare saye can not erre This one thing also can I not hyde whiche semeth to me sumwhat yf they haue receaued thys high authority of Christ they ought by no meanes to kepe it secrete and hid but to disclose it to the whole world whether they vsed it or not accordinge as the circumstances of thinges parsons tymes and places shoulde requier and that shoulde the more diligentlye haue bene done for that it is nowe opened with a greate offence of all good and godly menne and the worst poynt of all is that men be not so folishe nowe a dayes that they wyll gyue anye credyt vnto you But I as a good child of your holines will alwaies shewe my selfe obedient and redy to beleue you And because I woulde trouble youre holynes no longer with your blessed license I will departe The pope And we now geue the our blyssing frely Thomas Massuccius the master of the horse Lepidus the Popes chamberlayne Mas. YOnder I see master Lepidus commynge hastely and cherfully out of themperours courte I will wayte vpon hym to knowe whether he bringe vs any good tydinges God saue you master Lepidus Suerly you brynge vs some good newes as a man would iudge by your countenance ye seme so pleasant and mery Lepidus I haue so much ioye trussed vp in this brest of myne that I can scarsly staye my selfe within my skynne Mas. As nobell hartes of the worlde may bee estemed so muche the more happie the larger they spred abrode theyr happie state and felicitie Wherfore I beseche you vouchesafe to tell me wherof this ioy of yours ariseth that youre ioy may bee
and afterward intending to ascend into heauen because he coulde not be at the selfe same tyme in heauen and aâ—so susteyne and gouerne his congregacion as though it had bene one tyred with rulynge and laboringe left Peter in his place and so after theÌ„ all the Bishops of Rome in ordinary succession Howe beit yf men and not Christ were the foundacion of the churche of christendome whiche dyd susteyne and beare thesame trewlye it shoulde haue weake and verye feble pillers to leaue vpon and so feble that it woulde not once but more then a thousand tymes haue ben ouerthrowen namely because this thing is without controuersie When the Byshope of Rome is dead there is not by and by another chosen in his roume but some dayes at the least come betwen wherin the church of Christ should lacke a head thoughe it neuer lacked one at any tyme elles Nowe maye you perceyue whether the churche were then destroyed or not And this dare I boldlye saye yf the churche of Christ shoulde leane vpon men after thys sorte as vpon the foundacion hell gates had preuayled agaynst it longe before thys tyme. Furthermore yf we were grounded vpon men and shoulde trust to them as to oure grounde worke and foundacion we shoulde be all accursed accordyng to the sayng Cursed be that manne whiche putteth hys trust in manne And then shoulde not our churche be the churche of Christ but the Sinagoge of Satan and Peter shoulde haue erred excedyngly Christe beyng lyfted vp in to the highe place of heuen and he lefte for the foundacion of the churche in earthe in y t he exhorteth Christian men not to buylde vpon hym but vpon Christe the true and suer foundacion and grounde worke of his churche And this also is very true Euen as Christ dyd not onely aske Peter but all the rest of the Apostles with him when he sayed but whom saye you that I am So also Peter made aunswere in the name of all the Apostles or els they al being demauÌ„ded should euery one haue answerid for theÌ„selues But there was muche communicacion amongest theÌ„ at suÌ„dry times before they al coÌ„fessed with one accorde that he was the sonne of God althoughe Iudas with a lyuelye faythe beleued not so And Christ at another time asked al his Apostles wyll you also depart Peter onely in the name of the reste made aunswere Thou hast the wordes of eternall life Whiche thing is euident of the wordes that folowe to whom shal we goe we knewe beleued longe agon that thou art Christ the very sonne of the liuing God Of a lyke sort he aunswered in the name of them all when he spake these wordes Thou art Christe the sonne of God And because Peter in the name of them all confessed Christe to be the sonne of god ye must graunt that when Christ sayd Thou art Peter and vpon thys rocke will I buyld my church â–ª that he spake not onely to Peter but to them all althoughe it were in the name of Peter As though he had sayed Peter onely is not the liuely rocke but all suche as folowinge hys example verelye beleue and confesse Christ to be the sonne God be liuely rockes which be buylded vpon the vnchauÌ„geable precious corner stone Christ the only foundacion of his church But I praye you tell me in good earnest what sayed master Falsidicus to such thiÌ„ges as were obiected Lepi. Would ye know sayed he how Christ minded by these wordes to make Peter the foundacion and head of his church Reade the wordes that folow ye shal perceyue that he spake to Peter wheÌ„ he sayd To thee wyll I gyue the keyes of the kyngdome of heauen And whatsoeuer thou shalt bynde in yearth it shall also be bound in heauen and whatsoeuer thou loosest in yearthe it shall be loosed in heauen Yt is not to be thought but that Christ being most true of hys promise performed most habouÌ„dantly y t whatsoeuer he promysed Peter And so muste it bee graunted that the keyes of the kingdome of heauen were deliuered to Peter therfore hath he power to open and to shit vp heauen to whome so euer it shall please hym and to bringe in and dryue out whome he shal thinke mete as he will him selfe so may he lose also and bynde And forasmoche as by the woordes of Christe Peter only had thauthority to loose binde to opeÌ„ and shut heuen it foloweth that Christ gaue authoritie ful and whole to Peter and ordeyned him onely to bee head of hys churche Mas. Yf onely Peter and the byshoppes of Rome haue the keyes of the kingdome of heauen and they only haue power to open thesame forsothe I would not dye when the sea of Rome is vacant and voyd of a byshop For then shoulde there bee no body whiche shoulde open heauen gates to me And I maruayle more ouer of whome they gatte the keyes of purgatory for it apereth by theyr own coÌ„fession that Christ gaue hym none other keâ—es but of the kyngdom of heauen onely But I coulde haue choked hym euen with one worde Lepi. Howe Mas. Thus would I haue sayed Themperours porter hathe the keye of themperour hys court and hathe authoritie to open and shit and the Mayor of a citie hathe authoritie to bynde and loose and yet neither of them bothe is themperour Of a like sorte be it that Peter had the keyes authorytie to binde and lose it followeth not therfore that he is the head and lord of the churche of god that he is equall with Christe or elles at leste his vicar of equall authoritie by whome our faythe may be stable and suer that he is the vmpieâ— and iudge of all controuersies whiche arise in holie scripture But tell me thys one thynge what answere made thembassadour of Constantinople to thys thinge Lepidus Fyrste he aunswered that Christ gaue not the keyes euen then to Peter but promysed them only not doutinge but that Christe kept promes with him But he was desirous to know of master Falsidicus the time when he deliuered the keies to Peter and gaue him thauthoritie to louse to bind what wordes he sayed when he gaue them For by that meanes the trueth might appere what was ment by these keyes and what is thys authoritie To thys master Falsidicus made aunswere That he assuered Peter of them when after hys resurrection he asked Peter whether he loued hym more earnesâ—ly then the rest dyd or not vnto whome Peter made aunswere saying Thou knowest O Lord that I loue the then Christ gaue him iniunccion to feede his shepe In the very selfe same houre he made him the chiefe shepard and bishop of al soules TheÌ„ Thembassador of Constantinople smylinge sayed yf preachinge the worde of God be the fedinge of soules as the holy doctors with one assent doeth expound it it is with out dout that that office was not onelye gyuen to Peter but also to
authoritie at Christes hand y t they should be chief byshops gouernours of al other bishops as you say al churches and theyr byshops with theÌ„ the church of Rome onely excepted had ben from the deathe of christe vntill thys daye euer styll heretikes and scismatikes because they neuer acknowledged hym to be theyr supreme heade And moreouer all counsels whiche hathe ben holden vntill this day should haue bene but deuelish metynges because they neyther alowed neither declared the byshoppe of Rome to be Christes vicar and the supreme head of hys church But Nicene counsell chiefly shoulde haue ben deuelysâ—e not onely because it gaue not the fyrste place to the byshope of Rome but the fourth but also much more because they toke so greate and so heauenly a power awaye from hym the best parte whereof they gaue to oure byshoppe of Alexandria who had the charge committed vnto hym of the churches in the Easte parties vnto whome he was appoynted gouernor And the counsell of Affrike should haue passed all other in heresie wherein it was establyshed that the byshop of the fyrste seat ought not to be called the heade priest chiefe byshoppe neither by anye such lyke tytle but chiefely because there was an ordinaunce made in expresse wordes that the byshop of Rome by name muste not be called the vniuersall byshop This is very certayne if the byshopes receyued thys monarchie of god then were these counselles deuelyshe whyche toke thys diuine power away from them Cyprian also shoulde hauebene an heretike not onelye because he callethe the Byshop of Rome brother in hys epistles which he wrot vnto him but muche more because he maynteyneth with S. Augustine that there is none which is byshop of other byshops and that it is a greate tyranny to desier to be lorde ouer other byshoppes And also youre S. Gregory shoulde not onely not haue ben a sayncte but also an extreme wicked and a condempned parsone For he wryteth expresly that he which woulde bee byshop of all other byshoppes shall not haue the place of Christ in earthe but of Lucifer and shal bee very antichriste hymselfe And further he bryngeth in a number of inconueniences whiche shoulde insewe yf the byshoppe of Rome shoulde take vpon hym the dygnitie of the chyefe byshoppe as thoughe it were by the lawe of god Then thus he sayed Seing then that thys your primacie is not godly nor of God ye must of force grauÌ„t that it is either of manne or els of the deuill But it is not of manne as I wyll proue by stronge reasons wherfore it is of the deuyll That it is not of manne thys wyll I proue The Emperour hymselfe can not gyue vnto you anye spirituall power For you youre selues graunte that thys dignitie whiche ye haue is not geuen you of the Emperour but of Christ. Wherfore ye must acknowledge Christ to be your supreme head as all other Byshoppes doth who confesse not that they receyued thys spirituall authoritie that they haue either of the Byshoppe of Rome or elles of the Emperour but of Christe onely So that the Emperour can not gyue vnto you any dominion or power sauinge that whiche is temporall and that onely in suche countreyes as be vnder hys gouernaunce Seing then he hathe no dominion either in Asia or eles in Affrike He caÌ„ not make you superiours to vs neyther haue we anye nede to haue you to be our gouernours the princes that we haue be sufficient for our tuicion He maye gyue vnto you some temporall power but yet only in such prouiÌ„ces as be vnder him in Europa but he can not gyue you the chiefe place onles he will willingly forsake his empire sette you in hys place and make you aboue hym selfe Ye crye and saye that ye be Christes Uicars truely yf ye bee Christes Uicars ye would indeuour your selues earnestly to folowe hym When the Iewes would haue made hym a kynge he fled and woulde not receyue that dignitie But you be farre from folowynge hys example whose Uicars ye seme to be that ye procured wonderful ambiciously thys chiefe supreme dygnitie contrary the expresse worde of Christ who perceyuing the Apostles to conteÌ„d which of them should be aboue other he sayed vnto them playnly he would not haue them stryue to be lordes and beare rule as the princes of thys world but rather to serue Christ him selfe as longe as he was here in earthe woulde take no temporall dominion vpon him that he might holly be bent to the sauinge of soules and that no let shoulde hinder him in settinge forthe the Gospel But you as though ye were superiours to Christ will like tyrauntes with the offence of all the whole worlde chalenge vnto you an vniuersall dominioÌ„ Seing theÌ„ thys primacie of yours is neither of God neither of manne ye must nedes graunt that it is of the deuil Wherfore we all as many as be here together protest with one assent and voyce in the name of oure churches that we wyll not admit thys primacie we alow it not neither wil grauÌ„t we theruÌ„to But vtterlye and exepresly we condempne it we wyll not obey it but wil withstaÌ„d this vnbridled terannye of yours to the vttermost of our powers Then arose master Gooplanus a stout proctour of the Pope thus he began Our chiefe bishop quod he hath not takeÌ„ this high dignitie vpon hym to the intent to offende you spoile you or to excercise any teraÌ„ny ouer you but onlye to defende you to endewe you with honor and to profit you and to enriche you with benefices titles dignities priuileges immunities benedictions stacions absolucioÌ„s dispeÌ„sacioÌ„s pardoÌ„s suffrages Iubilies in the whiche thynges he wyll serue you all he wylbe the seruauÌ„te of the seruauÌ„tes of god wherfore ye ought not to withstande hym in a thynge so profitable vnto you To thys the same imbassador aunswered saying As longe as ye can not proue by vnaunswerable argumentes that youre Byshoppe is equal with Christ in spirite and loue we wyll neuer assent that he shal be oure Byshoppe and supreme head Yf ye wyll haue vs to acknowledge hym not onely to be our chiefe Byshoppe but also oure chiefe prince as by youre argumentes ye appeare to goe about and that we ought to beleue that he may chalenge vnto hym both the authorities ecclesistical and ciuill ye must of necessitie first shewe that he is aboue Christe in wysdome power and loue bycause it is well knowen that Christ woulde in no wise take vpon hym any ciuile gouernaunce in thys worlde We be affrayed of so monstrous and horirible a head Wherfore we can not allowe this authoritie neither that he shoulde be oure superior Yf you intende to admit hym take heede ye be not to hastie for ye shall perceyue to your vtter vndoinge that he is no shepeherd but a bloudie woulfe Then arose master Thrasibristus so sodenly so fearslye that it appeared he coulde staye hym selfe no
longer And beinge indewed with a wonderful power stoutnes violence and fury thus he sayed What nede we haue so many wordes for the defence of oure Popeshypppe seynge there hath bene brought stroÌ„g reasons enoughe to ouercome the grossest witte in the worlde in so muche that a blynde man maye see the truethe of them Wherfore bycause these our reasons our pleasures our gentylnes and fayre promises can not content them our moste holye father must vse hys large and endeles authoritie And then turnyng hymselfe and speakyng to the Pope he sayed You moste holy father bee the supreme head of the churche of Christe therefore be you aboue all other parsons men Angels reasons holy scriptures authorities yea and aboue the whole world There is no man may iudge you or elles coÌ„maâ—nde you for so it is come to passe Nowe ye be Pope and being Pope ye can not erre Therfore onely saye thus We be Pope and we wyll be Pope and it is ynoughe Your power and authoritie is so greate that if ye wer not pope if yet ye once prononced these wordes we wil be ye should be out of hande Then loking vpon the imbassadors with a fearce countenance he sayed Yf ye wil be rebelles to hys holines ye shall feele the lighteninges and thunderboltes of his excoÌ„munications and cursinges flye in the ayer euen to the furthest countrye in the Easte and then shall ye knowe whether he bee pope or not Moreouer we shal haue Cesars helpe and fauor ioyned to our strengthes so that all we coupled in one will defende the popes authoritie with our sworde Then all the imbassadours arose at once to aunswer this sayinge with one accorde but there was a signe made to the popes chaplayne that he shoulde doe as he was bidden and straighte waye he beganne with a loud voyce the himne Te Deum laudamus The noyse whereof fylled the ayer vp to the sterres and all the reste folowed them crying whow victoria victoria victoria And euen at the very same instante range all the belles in Rome The pope himsefe was by and by caught with mennes handes and borne vpon theyr shoulders and so they caried home the moste holy father to hys place with a great pompe and triumphe Nowe must ye not meruaylle though ye sawe me as ye sayed in the begynninge iocunde and merye Mas. Alas what became of the poore imbassadors Lepi They were all stryken in a dumpe by and by and departed to theyr innes sad heuy taking thys great rebuke so well as it might be Mas. Yf I had bene in theyr coâ—es I woulde not haue thought that it had bene good taryinge for me then in Rome Lepi. I thinke no manne woulde vse any violence agaynste them Mas. Well I am suer the pope would no more send them wine of Grecia and Corsica Lepi. Or if he sent any it shoulde peraduenture bee myngeled But nowe canne I tary no longer with you for now I see the nyght drauethe on and I haue an excedinge deale of busines to doe Thinke ye not where this disputacion was euen where there was none els by sauing the popes moste faythefull frendes who woulde say nothinge but that should make for the pope Mas. Yf it be as you say either wil they hold theyr peace or elles they haue very litle to saye to theyr commendacion Lepidus Ye bee in a manifest errour For there was neuer so greate a lye but it may be so craftely coloured and painted that the blynd common people may thinke it very trewe I haue nowe tolde you all the whole matter desieringe you to kepe it secret as ye promessed me at the beginninge Mas. I will doe the beste I can but me thinketh it will be very hard for me so to doe I thanke you hartelye for your paynes for shewinge this prety storye so fully and so diligentlye Lucifer Beelzebub I Haue thought good to call you agayne to gether here in thys place that I might reioyce with you for the byrthe of Antichrist so happy so vnloked for euen as the angelles reioysed in Christes natiuitie But nowe must we laye our heades to gether and take counsell by what meanes and deuise wee maye establishe thys our kyngdom and increase it bring it to the highest degre of all wickednes and mischiefe Me thynketh it were best first to goe about so to sette forth and amplifie hys honor that menne by litle and lytle maye take thys Antichriste for a certayne God in earthe and honor and magnifie hym euen as their god That we maye vse the highe authoritie whiche he hath for a handsome and strong instrument to the committinge of all kyndes of deceyptes mischefes and wickednes We wyll prynâ—e in mennes heartes as muche as in vs lyeth that Christe gaue the keyes of the kingdom of heaueÌ„ to Peter and his successors and also ful power and iurisdiction not onely of the empire of thys worlde but also of the heauenly kingdome Beelze Truely thys thynge pleaseth vs very well so that he haue none authoritie in hell ouer vs for we be surely persuaded that he will come to so highe a degre in abhominacion and wickednes that yf he shoulde haue the rule ouer vs but one day he would bryng vs into a greate deale worse case then we be Luci. Yt is euen as thou sayest But we wyll foresee to y t ieoperdy wisely ynough for my trust is to bring him to such a wickednes that he shal aduenture with hys theuish fingers to corrupt the holy scriptures shal violently mischeuously wryth them to the establishinge increasing and excercisyng of his intollerable tiranny I knowe well they will not be ashamed to saye when Christe sayed to Peter thou shalt be called Cephas that he mente thou shalt bee called head and so was Peter made head of all thapostles who willinglye obeyed that primacie And also that Peter afterwarde left thys chiefe high authoritie to the Byshoppes of Rome by succession Beelze Yf the matter woulde come thus to passe in case Peter shoulde be raysed agayne from deathe he shoulde no more be Pope no he shoulde haue no maner of authoritte Luci. In dede he shoulde haue no more then shoulde please our Byshoppe of Rome to graunte hym of hys bountifull liberalitie And thys thynge is very notable we will cause all their lyes to be written in their canons and so will we blinde the eyes of the vnlearned that they shall take the same canons for thynges moste holye And also we shall all cause the churche of Rome notwihstandynge it is most wicked and hereticall that it shall not onely be accounted for the churche of Christ but also it shall be takeÌ„ for the head and mother of all other churches Beelze Surely the churches of Christ wyll neuer so take it thoughe oure churches so doe Luci. Yes menne shall haue thys opinion of the churche of Rome chiefelye and so of all other churches that shal hang vpoÌ„ her y t
they be y â— churches of Christ thoughe they be ours neuer so muche We wyll persuade also that the churche of Rome is without spot and worthye to be as a glasse and ensample to all â—ther churches Beelze Yea of all abhominacion Luci. All shall folowe after her as after a chiefe ladye maysters that can not doe amisse who hath full power vnto whom all may appele and from whom none maye appeale vnto whome men must ruÌ„ne for refuge in matters of weight as it were to god because she maye be iudge to all other and be iudged of none other and maye call agayne her sentences as oft as her listithe chaunge statutes made in counselles and pronounce hym an heretike whiche darreth speake one word against it whose seat dignitie authoritie is hyghest by the whiche authoritie she may gather general counselles together by whom all doctrines shal be alowed or disalowed who onely may determine stablishe controuersies in religioÌ„ of what matter so euer they began Who only maye expounde the olde canons and the holy scriptures as it pleaseth her And that all menne maye honour and obeye her thoughe the thynge she commaunde seme neuer so wrongefull and intollerable Nowe if the churche of Rome haue once so large authoritie and yet be vnder the pope euen as the wife is in the subiection of her husband consider then with youre selues how greate authoritie our high bishop of Rome shall haue For besides all these thynges rehersed he may bringe to passe that the sentence whiche he hath once geuen and alowed for good maye be vayne and of none effecte he onely shall haue authoritie to establish new religions al such ordinaunces as he shal make must be receaued with no lesse reuerence then though they had ben spoken with gods own mouth Because that his goodnes shal bee the helthe of men and may haue none other iudge but god alone and that it is not necessary that he should pourge himself of his fault when he is accused by other because Peter hath left to all byshops of rome by continuall succession not onely al his merites but also his innocencie and because he hathe authoritie ouer iustice and also because hys power is of god themperours of the pope and hath authoritie ful and whole in earth to apoynt and determine what him listeth in all coÌ„trouersies that come in question in matters of religion for he hathe the solutions of all controuersyes hid within hys breste and he is the heyer of all thempier and of the kingdome of the Romanes and therfore may he doe what he will for he hathe as muche authorytie as euer had Peter Beelze This onely thing excepted that he can not rayse deade men to life againe as Peter once dyd Luci. He only hathe thauthoritie to canonize Sainctes he only is aboue al couÌ„selles ordinances he only may dispence agaynst iustice he only may change gods definitiue sentence And if it were so that al the whole world should speake against the pope yet must y e minde of the pope onely bee alowed He only hath y e knowledge of the church and that after such a sorte that he only caÌ„ chaunge the nature of thinges make somwhat of nothing In him only must the will onely be estemedfor the best reason that can be deuised not so hardy that any man should say vnto him why doe you this or this thing after this or that fashioÌ„ For he can make rightuousnes of wronge amend all thynges as he shal thinke good he caÌ„ expound chaunge lawes make al square thinges rounde as one that is neither pure god neyther pure manne Beelz Then shall he be a deuell or elles some kind of brute beast But I thinke it no very harde thinge to perswade all thys geare to hym hys mynd is so woÌ„derfully puffed vp with ambicion Yet can I not see howe menne maye be made beleue that the Pope is their God in earth Luci. Yea ye knowe not that it is an easie thynge to deceyue the common sort of the vnlearned namely in maters of religioÌ„ You knowe right wel y t they be naturally enclining to al kindes of supersticioÌ„ There is none so shamefull a lye nor no deceypt so farre out of frame that the worlde wyll not reedely receyue yf it be deliuered them by anye authoritie with some colour and lykelihod of a trueth What christian man is he whiche wyll not wyllyngly beleue that Christ is ascended vp into heauen and hathe left hys Uicar here in earth indwed and furnished with a ful power and authoritie to doe all maner of thynges At the least wyse that faultes myghte be amended whiche amongest a numbre of matters readely arise in the churche by the reason of hys absence And that especially when the worlde hathe conceaued a wonderfull good opinion of their lyfe and learnynge whiche shal be the setters forthe of the matter And more ouer we wyll accurse hym what so euer he be and declare him an Apostata a blasphemer agaynst the holy gost irregular worthye to bee suspended and disgraded that wyll aduenture to speake but one worde agaynst our Popehod And yf it fortune that he be a Byshoppe or a priest that committe thys fault we will haue hym declared excomunicate deliuered into the power of Satan an heretyke a defamed person an infidell a committer of Sacriledge a Sismatike a dampned and a cursed body Who is that wyll not be affrayed of these wordes When the very sounde of them being spoken is so feareful Yf these threteninges wil not be sufficient then in dede wyll we attempt moste cruel persecucions men shal be cast in prisoÌ„ shal lose bothe life and goodes There shal bee no fault in the worlde more heynously punished then thys one of disobedience agaynste our Popehod Menne shall heare God blasphemed and some deny the myght of God and some mocke God and yet shall all menne laughe make a game therat as though it were but a trifelyng matter But yf any manne shall attempte to deny the Popes power or to deminish thesame neuer so lytle he shall be burned alyue with longe tormente More ouer we wyll cause all the bokes to be burned as manye as shall seme to make any thinge agaynste our pophod Yea and we will forbid men that they shall not haue the holy scripture in thyr handes nor in theyr sight vnder the payne of fyer and rope Beelze This thinge woulde they doe very gladly because the scriptures be against them But it wold be so manifest and open sacriledge and wickednes that it can not well be cloked with no color pretence fraude or craft Truly it shal be enough to corrupt the scriptures and violently to writhe it to theyr croked purpose without al feare or shame Luci. They shall not alow nor suffer any bookes to be red but such as maynteyne this craft falshod So that euen as the simple shepe
it chaunced that Achatius Byshoppe of Cōstantinople who then was placed first amongest the Byshoppes and yet vsed no authoritie ouer them woulde haue condempned Peter the Byshoppe of Alexandria of heresie And bycause the Byshoppe of Rome for the worthynes of the Citie was then in some estimaciō the Byshop of Constantinople wrote to Simplicius then being Byshoppe of Rome desirynge hym that he woulde lykewyse declare the Byshoppe of Alexandria an Heretyke And of thys hath ambitious felowes taken occasion vnworthely God he knoweth to dispute of the authoritie of the Byshop of Rome And so farre haue they gone forward in their ambicion that they haue not bene ashamed falsely to contend that they are the heades of al other churches And on the other syde stode they whyche toke partes with the Byshoppe of Constantinople affirmynge their Byshoppe and not the Byshoppe of Rome to be the supreme head of all other churches Thys ambicious contencion continued amongest these most holy fathers a hundreth twelue yeres And at the last about the yere of our Lorde sixe hundreth when Maurice the Emperour was in Grecia Ihon the Byshoppe of Constantinople gathered all the Byshoppes of Grecia togethyr at Constantinople and there was the Bishop of Constantinople and not the Byshop of Rome ordeyned of them to be the Byshoppe of all other churches But when Maurice wylled the Byshoppe of Rome to submitte hymselfe and hys churche to the Byshoppe of Constantinople Gregory who then was Byshoppe of Rome withstode it called hym y e fore runner of Antichrist And thesame Gregory wrytynge to the Byshoppe of Antioch Alexandria amongest al other thing sayth ye knowe that in the counsell of Calcedon the tytle of the vniuersall Byshoppe was offered to the Byshop of Rome whiche he woulde in no wyse receyue neither was there any of our predecessors y t dyd vsurpe that tytle Yea euen then as they saye to confounde and rubuke y e pride of other he begā to be named the seruaunt of the seruauntes of God Howe be it hys successor Boniface the thirde a manne to ambicious and craftie obteyned of Phocas the Emperour by suttill trayne the dignitie of a Pope What maner of manne thys Phocas the Emperour was it appeareth of hys historye By violence fraude and treason he came to the Empire and caused Maurice the Emperour most cruelly and most wickedly and his wife and all his children to be kylled before his owne face Thys was the holy manne who first gaue this goodly creature of the Popeshyp to the world And this is true y t vntill the dayes of Constātine the fourth Emperour the Byshoppe of Rome was wont to be confirmed of the Emperour Howe be it at the request intreatie of Benet the second of Rome the foresayed Constantine graunted to y e Benet and hys successors that they shoulde be receyued and taken of all menne for Popes without the Emperours confirmacion And so by litle lytle they crepte vp so highe by their craftie diligence that the Emperour must bothe bee confirmed and crowned of the Pope but yet it is necessary that first he take an othe that he wyll defende the Popehod Therfore it is not harde to be knowen what maner of spirite it was that brought the popeshyppe into the worlde and howe the creacion of the Pope and of the Popeshyp is contrary to the birthe of Christe Namely when as Paule writeth Christe glorified not hymselfe neither thrust himselfe to be a byshop but takynge example of Aaron he taried vntyll he was called of hys father But these men thrust themselues in violently vntyll they haue made them selues not onely equall with Christe but also aboue Christe Christe beinge in the shape of god dyd caste downe hymselfe willingly and would take the shape of a seruant vpon him But this fellowe being in the forme of a man whiche is a moste abiect and vile sinner so proudly hathe auaunced hymselfe alofte that he is not ashamed to bragge hym selfe to bee a highe light and a god in earth And if we will consider and waye the lyfe the maners and the workes of Christ and the pope we shall fynde them alltogether quiet contrary the one to the other Christe was innocente poore and would not trouble himselfe with worldly businesses but was altogether bent to the helthe of soules whome he desiered to enrich with heuenly threasure he was meke gentle refusing both crown and kingedome neuer had he any priuat affection of fauour either towardes himselfe or others his kinsfolke or towardes any manne lyuynge beinge inflamed with a great force of the heauenly spirit always sought he the glory of God the father eternall He was a peacemaker sober subiecte to all men for the honour of hys father mercifull and very prone and redye to be pitifull and therefore he wept vpon Hierusalem he was godly shamfast chaste most liberal full of loue and all other vertues But al the popes be in all poyntes diuerse quite contrary to all these vertewes of Christe For there is a rotten dongehill and puddell within them of all vncleannes wickednes and mischefe as it is ryght well knowen to them that haue any knowledge of them that be now a dayes and reade the hystoryes and lyues of them that be past and all thoughe they be very contrary to Christ in these thinges that I haue spoken of more then other men be that is to say in all outward actiō of vertue yet in theyr doctrine certayne other theyr wicked abhomynations they bee moste wycked and moste contrary of all For there be certayne wickednesses peculier vnto them which be of exceding great weyght be so hainouse that they be mete for none other but for these theues onely Wherefore it is vere necessary to graunte them onely to be the very and chief antichristes for these only be they who corruptinge the scripture and withstandyng the expresse word of god haue plucked Christ with theyr wicked handes out of hys highe and gloryouse seate and yet not being contented with that horryble mischief they haue caste downe oppressed and buried and haue bannished quit out of the eyes and memories of man the redemer of all mankinde and haue placed themselues in Christes seat gyuinge to themselues and with force challenginge lyke tyrannes all that dignitie whiche parteyneth to Christe alone Yea they haue made themselues aboue Christe So that in conclusion they woulde not only seme equal to god but also haue auaunced them selfes with a deuelishe and intollerable boldnes aboue god That this thing is as I saye it is euident For the bodye of Christes churche hathe but one heade otherwyse it should bee a monstrowse deformed thynge the lyke wherof hath not been hearde of and shoulde not bee abody knit together with a trewe proporcion of the membres But Christe is the trewe and onely heade of his church a Paule doth playnely wryt that out of thys heade is the spirite lyfe lyghte
but one The People I beseche youre holynes to pardon me because I am not yet acquainted with these kiÌ„des of ceremonies Ye haue heard I thinke of the number of Embassadours whiche bee sent from soundry partes of the worlde of whome a great company be come to Rome alredy The Pope For what purpose saye they that they bee come The people To replie against you being offeÌ„ded with this high honour that the Emperour hath geueÌ„ you The Pope We haue receyued thys popshyppe of Christ and not of the Emperour The people Truely I herde say it was geuen you of the Emperour The Pope And who tolde the so The people Your churche of Rome of whom I perceyued of late in communicacion that it was geuen you of Cesars maiestie The Pope As concerninge thys matter she is not aduised what she sayeth The people And she sayth planly that she cannot erre The Pope Trueth in dede no more can she when she is informed and instructed of me Ye know right well accordinge to the doctrine of Paule that a woman must bee subiect to her husbande and so farre forth she speaketh well as she receyue the knowlege of him of the same fashion the churche of Rome speaketh well and erreth not so farre forth as she receyueth instruccions and knowledge of me for she is my spouse and therfore is she my wyfe The people Why how theÌ„ doth she not acknowledge Christ to be her spouse The Po. Yes truely she is both Christes spouse mine The people This is the first tyme that euer I heard that one woman maye haue two husbandes I haue herde of sundry menne that hath had many wyues but I neuer herde of one woman that hath had manye husbandes But let thys passe and let vs retorne agayne to our former talke And most humblye thys one thyng I beseche your holines it wyll vouchesafe to tell me Howe hathe your holines obteyned thys hygh Byshoprike at Christes hande The Pope we will tell the. Christ beinge y e head of the church ordeyned Peter before he ascendyd into heauen to be his vicar and successor And because he cam to Rome and brought his high Popeship with hym and dieng there hathe left thesame to his successors that is to say to y e other Bishoppes of Rome in order we nowe beinge Byshope of Rome haue receyued of Christ by succession and inheritaunce this high Pontificall dignitie power and authoritie The people I heare newes now that I neuer herd before Namely thys that Peter was euer at Rome I am of an excedinge great age as ye see haue dwelled in Rome in Peters daies And so desireful I was to heare newes that yf euer he had come to Rome no doubt I woulde haue sene hym and it had bene for none other cause yet truely woulde I so haue done for his worthye names sake wherwith he fâ—lled our Citie neyther woulde I haue suffered the remembraunce of hym to haue decayed euen as I haue diligently preserued vntyll thys daye fresh the remembraunce of Paule No man can either thinke or shewe what tyme he was here and I absent For I neuer went out of thys citie The Pope All the tyme whyles he was here for the moste parte he was in prison and therfore is it no meruayle thoughe thou sawest hym not The people I haue bene alwayes and am tyll thys daye exceding quisitiue and curious in searchynge of newes My studie is to knowe what is done euerywhere I range and wander euen to the very prisoÌ„s It is not possible that suche a manne shoulde at anye tyme haue come to Rome and haue bene cast in pryson for the gospelles sake but I shoulde haue hearde of it Howebit I not onely neuer sawe hym but more ouer I neuer hearde of any man liuyng that euer he was at Rome sauing euen nowe of your holynes The Pope Yt maye so bee that whyles he was at Rome he laye hyd in some corner The people Howe then preached he the gospel here by thoccasion wherof he was cast in prison and at the last hanged vpon the crosse Besydes thys if he were Byshope of Rome howe was he chosen to that dignitie yf he were not knowen whyles he remayned in Rome The pope Marke well thys thyng that I shall say vnto thee Thou must be circumspect and wise when it shall chaunce the to reason of thys matter For the daye maye come when we shall call the forthe to bee a wytnes in it Whyche thynge yf it happen we wyll the to say that thou diddest bothe see and know him The people What would ye haue me lie lustely and so sensibly that euery manne might perceaue it The Pope We absolue the of this faulte and further we let the to witte that we doe al these thinges of a good and holy intent for the glory of god And this dare we be bold to say that great honor profit shall arise to the by thincreasynge of our dignitie The people Yf I bee absolued of thys lye I can not but doe for you in al other thinges because that herby shall insewe to me a very great commoditie But lest I should be taken with my lye I woulde fayne knowe what I shall aunswere when I am asked namely of the time when Peter was at Rome The Pope Thou shalt say that he dwelled at Rome still after he came once thether vntill his dyenge day The people Beinge demaunded when he came fyrst shall I say before Paule or after The Pope It is beste for the to say before Paule lest men should haue occasion to thinke that Paule was byshoppe of Rome before Peter The People Nowe call I to remembraunce when Paules cause was first hearde here at Rome before Cesars throne al christian meÌ„ forsoke him as he himself wryteth in a certaine epistle y t he made to Timothie Wherfore it must then be graunted that he was theÌ„ forsaken of Peter for feare Which thing semeth not likely that ther should so great a fault be found in Peter who had so earnest feruent a zeale towards religion and full of christian charitie namelye after Christ ascended into heaueÌ„ and replenishid him with the holy ghost The Pope I coulde not remembre so harde a dont as thys is It is best theÌ„ to say that Peter came wheÌ„ Paule was alredy examined The people Agayne beynge demanded whether he were chosen Byshoppe of Rome in thys citie or not what answere shall I make The Pope Mary thou shalt constantly say yea The people Well then receaued he hys byshoprik of men and not simply only of Christ. How theÌ„ shalit bee trewe that he was pronounced by Christe heade of all other churches The pope Thou vnderstaÌ„dest not this matter Peter had .ii. bishoprikes one perticular another general The chiefe y t is to say y e general he receaued of Christ wherby he is bishop head of al other churches bishoprikes The latter that is to
al the rest of thapostles and namely to Paule who wryteth in special wordes that he labored more then all the rest did in the ministery of preaching Yea and Christe himselfe before he spake these wordes to Peter commaunded the selfe same thynge to all the Apostles sayinge goe ye throughe out the vniuersall worlde and preache the Gospell to all creatures So that it can not be sayed that the office of preachynge was gyuen by Christe onely to Peter and to the Byshoppes of Rome in ordinary succession after him by whose appoyntment it shoulde also descend to other For then must it be graunted that there hath bene very fewe lawefull and trewe Byshoppes whiche had lawefull authoritie to preache and so fewe that Peter onely maye bee accountyd the trewe Byshoppe whiche preached lawefully and a fewe besides who were by him appoynted in such countryes where as he preached By thys meanes Paule and the elleuen Apostles and suche as were by them conuerted to the faythe neither were truely bishoppes neither yet preached lawefullye because they neither had their Bishoprike neither authoritie to preache of Peter And more ouer none after the death of Peter should haue bene made Bishop neither haue licence to preache besydes the Byshoppe of Rome And truely the Byshoppes of Rome haue committed a greuouse offence in that they haue hyd this large and greate authorytye of theyrs that they had so necessarye in the churche of God Then replied master Falsidicus euen as Peter quod he loued Christ more earnestly then the rest of the Apostles as it is plaine by the wordes of his aunswere when Christe demaunded him whether he loued hym more feruentlye then the rest dyd so had he more authoritie gyuen vnto hym ouer the shepe of Christ then the rest of the Apostles To this answered thimbassador of CoÌ„staÌ„tinoble And where I praye you haue you founde that Peters aunswere was to Christ that he was more earnestly beloued of him then of the rest of y e Apostles Not withstandyng that he was so demaunded yet hys aunswere was onely in thys wyse Thou knowest O lorde that thou art belouyd of me He sayed not Thou knowest O Lorde that thou arâ—e more feruentlye belouyd of me then of the rest For so coulde he neuer haue sayed without greate suspicion of arrogancie because it was vnknoweÌ„ to hym how much y e rest loued Christ. But let it be graunted that Christ was more earnestly beloued of Peter then of the rest doeth it therefore folowe that Christ gaue him more power Or in case he gaue hym more was it therfore most of all For it is not all one thing to saye fede my shepe and to saye be thou head of my churche or elles Take thou more authoritie then the other Apostles And as for that Christe demaundyd of him thryse whether he loued hym or not it was done for thys ende and purpose that hys loue beinge declared by thryse confessynge myght counteruayle and somewhat make amendes for his fault WheÌ„ he thrise denied him he minded to haue Peters loue sealed as it were warranted before he would commit vnto him the cure of soules that all menne myghte knowe no man can bee a good shephard onles he loue Christ earnestly Furthermore yf your reason were a good reason it shoulde rather folowe therof that Christe declared Ihon the chiefe Byshop then Peter For it is written of Iohn this is the disciple whom Christ loued Wherfore if he were beloued of Chrisâ— aboue other he gaue vnto him more worthye gyftes replenished him more abouÌ„dantlye with grace and therfore placed hym aboue the other and namelye for that he was more mete for the purpose by the reason of the excellent giftes whiche he receiued at Goddes handes And so much the more bycause it shoulde rather appeare that Ihon loued Christ more then the other did was loued againe of Christ knew hiÌ„ more thorowly therfore more like to be iudged worthye to feed the shepe of Christe Yt maybe proued that Christ would haue ordeined hym the vniuersall shepard not onely by reason of the noble light of the heuenly spirit wherwith he was indued and was alwayes nighe and familiare to Christe and amongest all the rest of thapostles he alone folowed him to the crosse but chiefly for thys cause that when he was vpon the crosse he committed his mother vnto him in whome only as you your selues doe confesse the lyuely churche of Christe remayned after Christes death For al thapostles were not a litle afrayed and dismayd with that terryble dolefull sight of Christes death vpon the crosse accordingly as Christe had told hym before And if Iohn were not ordeyned the supreme head of the churche of Christe then muche lesse was Peter Then sayed master Falsidicus will ye see howe Christe ordeyned onely Peter to be the chiefe Pastor of all Reade the Gospel of Luke and there shal ye fynde spoken onely to Peter Thou shalt be a fisher of menne Thereunto aunswered thimbassadour And will you see how Christe ordeyned not Peter to bee the chiefe Pastor of all Reade the Gospell of Mathewe and Marcke and there shal ye finde the same spoken also of Christ to Andrewe and the two sonnes of zebedei Wherfore it foloweth that Peter onely was not assigned of Christ to be the fisher of men Yea and consequently not alone of his owne shepe Christ neuer sayed to Peter onely fede thou my shepe be thou onely a fisher of menne To the onely will I gyue the keyes of the kingedome of heauen No he neuer saied so much as this be thou onely a shepard and a fysher aboue the reste of thapostles Take thou more authoritie then they haue But he sayed in simple and plaine wordes I will gyue vnto thee the keyes of the kyngdome of heaueÌ„ and so he kept promes Mary he gaue thesame keyes also to the reste of thapostles And that this is trew it is euident For Christe gaue the keyes to Peter and to the reste of thapostles after his resurrection from deathe standynge in the middest of them when he had saluted them and shewed hys handes and hys syde that they should both see and know him that talked with them and deliuered them the keies to be in dede very Christe the sonne of god he sayed vnto them as Iohn wryteth Euen as my father sent me so I send you As though he had sayd my father sent me in to thys worlde that I shoulde preache the gospel as Esay the prophet saied longe agoe Therfore do I send you euen of thesame fashion throughe out the worlde to preache thys glad tidinges that I am nayled vpon the crosse and dead for the sinnes of the whole worlde that I am the onely and euerlastynge redempcyon and reconciler who haue purchased the fauour of the eternall father to all mannekynde by the price ranâ—ome of my bloude and that al the synnes of al the menne in the worlde be pardoned and
prayer For althoughe thou wilt denye me with thy mouthe yet thou wylt not deny me with thyne heart Thou wylt synne but synne shall not reygne in the so that in thy heart thou shalt yeld to noughtie temptacions I wyll suffre thee to haue a foule fall that by the meanes therof thy temerous boldnes maye be bridelled and rebuked And againe that after when thou shalt come to thy selfe and perceyue thy owne infirmitie thy hearte shall bee touched with compassion agaynst those that shall synne reysing them vp with knowledge and cōfirming and boldning them with thyne example Nowe canne I not perceyue howe it maye be proued by the wordes before rehersed that Peter was Pope and could not erre afterward neither the Byshops of Rome after hym accordyng to his example Mas. Wee shall wrythe all the wordes that euer Christe spake to Peter to make for the Popeship of Rome let vs writhe them also when Peter counseled Christ to forsake the crosse saying Saue thy self O Lorde Lepi. What aunswere then made Christ Mas. He sayed vnto hym get the out of my sighte Sathan thou troubleste me thou haste no perseueraunce of thinges belongynge to god but to manne onely it is easyto proue that Peter whas chief head of oure byshops of Rome and they hys successours takinge it of this fashion but tell for the on the disputacion I woulde fayne heare the ende of it Lepi. This embassadour of Constantinople would fayne haue brought other reasons forthe and other sayinges of scripture against our popeshippe but the Emperoure moued by oure byshope wylled hym to holde hys peace and commaunded the other imbassadours that they shoulde also saye theyr myndes Then the Embassadoure of Antioche spake in thys wise Because me thinketh it sufficientlye declared that holy scripture doeth not onely not stablishe the primacie of Peter but also seme quite contrary therunto I will speake my mynde breflye as I am commaunded neither will I bringe any moe reasons or argumentes then thys one althoughe it bee easy to fynde a number Be it that we graunted Peter to be the vniuersall byshope ordeyned of Christe ouer hys churche whiche thinge is not trewe yet muste it not therefore bee graunted that the byshoppes of Rome ought to bee popes but rather our byshoppes of Antioche oughte to be the chiefe and vniuersall byshoppes Because that our byshops and not the byshopof Rome were the successours of Peter For Peter was byshop of Antioche and so vnlykely a thynge is it that Peter was euer at Rome To this argument master Pseudologus made aunswere in the name of our pope crying out w t a loude voice vntill his sides cracked again saying Peter was here our byshop in Rome our pope .xxv. yeares together cōtinually and in this same citie was he afterwarde crucified Then Thimbasadour aunswered A prety rewarde for paynes taken in preachinge But tell me I praye you In what place of scripture fynde you that he was euer at Rome Then aunswered master Pseudologus In no place of scripture quod he But it may well be founde in our Historiographers and in many other bokes of our byshoppes and other holy menne Whereunto thimbassadoure answered Then howe knowe you by the worde of god that your byshoppes of Rome be the chiefe vniuersall byshoppes of the churche of Christe if ye haue not that in holy scripture that Peter was euer at Rome Trewely if ye intend to proue youre byshoppes to bee popes by the word of God ye muste fyrste proue by thesame worde that Peter was ordeyned of Christe the vniuersall heade of his whole churche And then must ye proue by the worde of god that Christe vndoutedly gaue the same authoritie to Peter to make the byshoppes of Rome after hym chiefe byshops by continual◠succession and laste of all it muste be proued by suer authoritie of the worde of god that Peter was at Rome ▪ and byshoppe of that citie and dyed there These thinges done ye might well beleue that youre byshoppes were popes by the worde of God But there is not one of these thre thinges that ye cā proue by scripture especially the second the thyrd as ye youre selfes doe confesse Wherefore I canne not see with what face ye canne beare downe so manifest a lye Then master Pseudologus sayd We know that our byshop is pope that with a fulnes of power we knowe that he hathe receaued thys authoritie of Christe by the meanes of S. Peter and not of man wherefore we knowe him to bee pope by the lawe of god and not by the lawe of manne and we will also holde and beleue thys trueth as an article of oure faithe notwithstandinge that none of these thinges before rehersed can be proued by thauthoritie of holy scripture Then sayed thimbassadour Because wee all bee bounde to beleue the articles of our faythe as the foundacions and chiefe principles of our religion it is nedefull that they appeare moste playnly by scripture And you wyll sette fire and tormentes before the whole worlde to make men beleue that thynge whiche by your owne confession can not be proued by the authoritie of the holye scriptures Where I praye you can menne laye the foundacion of their fayth yf they be compelled to beleue and to confesse as a necessary article of their fayth your Byshoppe to be the vniuersall head of the churche of Christ when there is not one word therof in the holy scripture Yt is an intolerable tirāny the like whereof hath not bene herd to bynde the conscience of men to receyue so manyfest a lye for an article of their fayth seing it can not onely not be proued by goddes worde but also all the whole scripture is agaynst it You ought to be content to binde men to beleue that the Pope hathe the highest authorite of all But ye wyll further compel them to beleue that that power and authoritie cōmeth fullye and wholly from God and not from manne although that thyng can in no wyse be proued by scripture Furthermore he would haue it be beleued that it maye bee proued by holye scripture that oure Byshoppe was Pope when you your selues be forced to graunte that it can not bee proued by holy scripture y t Peter was euer at Rome Of thys chiefe and vniuersall byshoprike of your byshoppe ye can haue none other opinion but that it is a deuise of manne seing the contrary can not be proued by the worde of God And you wyll haue it receyued for an article of y e faith and that it shal be beleued with an heauenly faythe Yf ye bee not sure whether Peter were euer at Rome or not for the whiche cause ye chaleng your byshoppe to be chiefe and the successor of Peter how can ye haue certayne knowledge of thys your chiefe Byshoprike but vpon the saying of men onely who naturally be lyars To thys master Pseudologus made aunswere The men which sayd that Peter was at Rome were the
chiefe byshoppes of all other and therfore coulde they not lye when they so sayed Wherefore we be sure and certayne of our popeshippe Then the imbassador sayed Ye take for a grounde that thyng whiche ye had most nede to proue That is that your Bishoppes were chiefe Byshoppes and then agayne that they coulde not erre bothe the whiche poyntes I vtterlye denye Yf ye would say some sainctes affirme Peter some tyme to haue bene at Rome I woulde streight make answere that I knewe not whether they were Saynctes or not for that there is no worde thereof in scripture But ye wyll peraduenture saye they were canonized of oure chiefe Byshoppes whiche coulde not erre to that wyll I aunswere as before that ye take that thynge for your profe whiche remayneth first to to be proued Yea and more ouer wyll I saye be it that â—e were assured that they were Saynctes yet must it be graunted that Saynctes haue sometyme erred And so it maye be that they erred euen the very same time wheÌ„ they sayd Peter was once at Rome Namely the thyng being spoken of them not to that ende that it shoulde be receyued for an article of oure fayth necessary for saluacion as your mynde is thus by all meanes be you in an error But let vs graunte that there hath bene some reuelacion touchyng thys poynt surely I must nedes thynke that it was an elusion of the deuill Yea be it that it were God hym selfe which had reueled thesame thyng vnto you that it were trueth in dede y t it was a reuelacion frome god yet because there is no worde in all scripture of the thinge neyther haue other menne this reuelacion of yours ye shoulde in no wise force menne to beleue this your popeshippe as an article of theyr faythe And furthermore I will proue by strong reasons that these historiogrephers of yours these byshopes and sayntces whiche wrote that Peter was the chiefe byshoppe at Rome and was put to deathe in y e same citie lyed vnreasonably And fyrst of all tell me in good faythe What tyme say they that Peter was at Rome and howe long dwelt he there Therunto auÌ„swered Pseudologus That he came to Rome the seconde yere of Claudius themperoure and was made byshoppe there and dwelt there .xxv. yeres by whose preachinge Rome was brought to the faythe of Christe as both Eusebius and. S. Hierome hath wrytten Then aunswered thimbassadour Thys is once playne quod he y t Christe suffered vpoÌ„ y e crosse xviii yere of Tiberius themperour who reigned xxiii yeres After hym succeded Caius and reygned iiii yere Then folowed afterwarde Claudius Nowe then yf Peter came to Rome the seconde yere of Claudius ye muste nedes graunt that Peter came to Rome within xi yeres after Christes deathe Agayne on the other side it is playne by the wordes of holye scripture that Paule was not onely not conuerted to the faythe when Christe suffered vpon the crosse but it appereth also that he was not conuerted when stephane was stoned Because the scripture is playne that he kepte theyr garmentes whiche stoned StephaÌ„ to death This being so Paule himselfe writeth to the Galathians y t he came to HierusaleÌ„ .xvii. yeres after he was conuerted and that then he founde Peter there Thys was at the leste the .xviii. yere after the deathe of Christe Then if Peter were yet at Hierusalem .xviii. yeres after the deathe of Christe how can it bee that he came to Rome the seconde yere of Claudius as you saye whiche was theleuenthe yere after Christes deathe You youre selues maye easely perceaue when ye saye so that ye speake directlye agaynste the manyfeste wordes of the scripture Furthermore Peter was at Hierusalem not onely eightene yeres after the deathe of Christe but thesame tyme also was he sent to preache the gospell not to the Romans but to the Iewes And it is to bee beleued that he preached y e gospell amongest the Iewes And Paule also in thesame epistle which he wrote to the Romans because he saluteth a great many there by name trewly he woulde haue saluted Peter also if he had then bene the chiefe byshoppe there as you contende Wherefore it is easy to be proued that it is a very false lye that youre Historiographers doe wryte But to say the truethe they that be named to wryte thys gear be not the authors thereof but they bee youre lyes whiche you haue annexed maliciously to theyr bokes directly repugninge to the manifeste authoritie of the holy scripture Then master Pseudologus brought forthe a very olde booke that laye by hym so olde that it was eaten with mothes and wormes wherein there were certayne Epistles I canne not tell what wryten by Clement as he sayed whome he iudged the fyrste byshoppe of Rome after Peter In these letters wrytten by thesame Clement to Iames byshoppe of Hierusalem this thinge was conteyned howe Peter beinge at Rome and perceauynge death drawe nere in the presence of a number of Christian menne toke Clement by the hand and in the hearing of them all saied Bretheren my death is now at hande as Christe hathe reueled vnto me Wherefore I ordeyne thys Clement youre byshop vnto whome onely I deliuer my seate and the preachinge of my doctrine into whome onely I translate the same power of loosinge and byndinge whiche I receaued of Christe Then sayed Pseudologus Loe here maye you see howe that Peter was at Rome and ordeyned Clement byshoppe after hym and set him in hys seate grauntinge him hys full authoritie Then thimbassadour would see and reade those epistles when he had red and weied them he sayd master myne Pseudologus Ye can not cloke youre lyes so craftely but they will apâ—are as they bee that is to say lyes euen at the fyrste sight For these epistles of youres bee nothinge els but fayninges of youre owne without authoritye full of vanyties and lyes And that it is trew I say hereby it maye appere that euen by youre owne Historyographers Linus folowed Peter and not Clemente And after Linus folowed Anacletus afterwarde Clement Who is numbred to bee the fourthe after Peter and yet would you falsely place hym to be the secounde And more ouer by youre owne historiographers yf ye wyll account the course of the times as ye shoulde ye shall finde that Iames was dead seuen yeares before your Clement was Byshoppe wherefore I can not saye by what reason he coulde writ to Iames beinge dead And agayne euen in the first beginning of the salutacion he calleth hym Byshoppe of byshoppes who should gouerne not onelye the churche of the Iewes at Hierusalem but also all other churches And yf Iames were then Pope trewely then was not Peter Pope and therefore could he not make Clement Pope after hym neither by Clemente his successours And more ouer euen by the same very wordes that ye alledge that Peter shoulde saye to Clement before hys death it can not be proued that
outwarde shewe and shynninge and beutie it shal be most holy but yet in dede most pestilent Ye know right wel that the Lordes supper was instituted of Christ in the remembraunce of hys passion being destributed as it shoulde be in loue and apostolicall simplicitie was a thynge and is to thys day that hath brought muche comfort and consolacion to the chosen of God But nowe our holye father shall not onelye chauÌ„ge the substances of it but also chaunge the accidentes of it in the masse So that the supper of the Lorde shall no more bee the supper of the Lorde neyther in substaunce neither in fashion neither in lykelyhod neither in shewe but it shal bee all together contrarye and enemy to it selfe and full of wickednes and supersticion For wheras the Lordes supper was first ordayned of Christ to cal agayne the passion of Christ to the remembrauÌ„ce of the faithfull they to blot out that excedyng greate benefit of Christe shall boast that they offer Christe agayne to his father in their masses not for the quicke onely but also for the dead as thoughe they shoulde saye WheÌ„ Christ offered hymselfe once vpon the crosse to his father he made not satisfaction sufficiently enough for the synnes of all man kynde wherefore we offer hym agayne dayly nayle him agayne vpoÌ„ the crosse desiring the sainctes to helpe hym to make his oblacion perfect And where as Christ in the institucion of hys supper appoynted bread and wyne whose example hys ministers shoulde folowe teachyng what thing it is and to what ende as Christ dyd and exhortyng other that they shoulde lift vp their myndes into heauen being stirred by thys heauenly Sacrament that they shoulde haue their eye set vpon Christ onely and so by faythe to vse hym for a heauenly foode of their soules they to auaunce their dignitie and authoritie and to cause themselues to bee accouÌ„ted goddes in yearth shal persuade menne falsly that libertie to minister that SacrameÌ„t is onely graunted to the anoynted shaueÌ„ oyled priestes of y e pope that y e supper of the Lord shal be translated by that heade of abâ—ominacion the Pope in to the masse And they shall boast y t these fat masse mongers with pronouÌ„cing certeyne wordes what they be I can not tell as it wer in an inchauntment haue not only by by coÌ„secrated but also transformed transubstantiated y e breade into y e body y â— wine into y e blude of Christ. This wil they doe not only to increase theyr estimacion but also y e men beinge deceaued by eatyng that host although they bee without faythe shall thinke they possesse Christ clothes heer al. Yea they shal bring men into the belefe that by the only hearynge of one of these masses or seyinge the hoste lyfted vp moste plentiful grace and pardone as they call it shal bee graunted And lyke erraunt theues they shall robbe the laytie of the cuppe that is to say of the one halfe of the supper agaynst the expresse word of god to declare that they be more worthye menne and in higher authoritie and that there is a greate difference betwene the common people and the popes anoynted They onely shal be fed in theyr priuat masses whome they shal not be ashamed to sell for money And they shal kepe the breade so by them consecrate in a boxe as it were in a prisoÌ„ that shal they set forth to the people to be worshipped as a god And they shall not only cary it about in theyr pompes and open shewes but it shall goe before the pope as though it were hys foote maÌ„ To be short Though the lordes supper be a thinge moste holy yet being chaunged into the masse it shall be a thing most pesâ—ileÌ„t Moreouer the supper which was ordeyned of Christe to be vnto all Christian meÌ„ as a pledge of his promes peace concorde thesamâ— being once abused shal bee thoriginal well sprynge of al discorde dissencion contencioÌ„ heresies sectes for the diuerse and sundrye opinions that men shall haue of thesame Sacramente We will also make a lawe that these priestes anoynted by the pope shall haue no wyues Beelze Why I praye you Luci. That they maye apeare outwardly altogether heauenly and celestiall lyke aungels so that therefore menne shall meruayle more at them and set the more store by them Yea and moreouer that the pope not theyr childreÌ„ may bee theyr inheritor But chiefely that they maye be without the troubles that chaunce in matrimonye and beinge at libertie vnder this coloure maye committe al kyndes of fylthenes that euer was done in all the world Beelze Thinke you they wil condemne mariage Luci. They shall saye it is a wicked thinge And thoughe it be agreable to nature ordeyned of god confirmed of Christe yet shal they forbyd it to theyr nonnes monckes and priestes to all theyr other creatures Yea and at certeyne tymes they shall forbid it to all menne and in certayne degrees that they themselues haue deuised that by the meanes therof they may get a greate suÌ„me of money for dispensations And at certayne tymes they shall forbid wholsome meate to be eaten which god hath created to be vsed to his glory and to bee taken with thankes geuinge At certeyne times of the yere he shal not suffer them to eate but once in the daye But all these thinges shal notwithstandinge bee despensed with al for money He shal make of thys sorte an infinit number of other preceptes whiche he wyl say be necessary to saluacion And so in making new articles of the faith he shal wander through al heresies which by mans iudgement and wisdome haue a certeyne lyklyhode to set forthe goddes glorye more worthelye And to comprehende thys large matter in fewe wordes I wil apply al the powers of my wytte that thys creature of ours may doe muche more hurt to the soules of menne then Christe hymselfe dyd good And it is not to be douted but that we wil make of this church a very Babilon Trewe it is that a thing of suche holynes can not be brought in a moment sodaynly to the highest degre of abhominacioÌ„ wherfore in this noble myschief we must goe forwarde by litle and litle lettinge none occasion slip y e oportunitie of tyme shal offer vnto vs. Nowe therfore shal you haue my lycence to departe requiringe you to loose no tyme Beelze We wil doe your commaundement Mychael Gabriell Christe CHRIST MYne angels see you not howe a mortall manne in earthe beinge moste viciouse and abhominacion it selfe with no smal iniurye and contempte of god aduentureth to settel himselfe in the holy place and to boast himselfe to be my Uicar and the vniuersall head of my churche See you not howe vnder that pretence he hath crucified me agayne and buried me agayne with all my greate benefites my gospell and my grace See you not howe he hathe defiled and infected the holy churche my
he hath brokeÌ„ the power both of the other hornes and also of the empire of Rome and hath preuayled agaynst the godlye The same thyng Paule the Apostle confirmeth sayinge before Antichrist be reueled and apeare very stronge there muste be a departinge or goinge awaye that is to saye the people must fall awaye or departe from thobedience of the Empier of Rome as al holy men take it wherfore of necessitie it must be grauÌ„ted that he must haue his seate at Rome for he shal succede the Emperour of Rome Moreouer Iohn in hys Apocalipse setting forthe the churche of Rome vnto vs to bee not the spouse of Christ but of Antichrist sayth that he saw a certaine whore the mother of all vncleannes abhomynation of all the worlde gorgeousely arayed with golde and stone holdinge a cuppe of gold in her hand with whose migled liquour al the dwellers of the earthe shoulde bee made dronke from the highest to the loweste And further thys whore shal be made dronke with the blude of Sainctes of the martyrs of Christ. And vpon her forehed she had wrytten Babilonia And leste any man shoulde doubt whether Iohn spake of Rome or not he sayeth playnely that the whore sat vpon seuen hilles which thinge is wel knowen to be agreable to Rome wherupon it is called the citie of seuen hilles Wherefore hys seat must be at Rome Whiche thynge is euident bothe by holy scripture and also by Hierome in an epistle that he wrot to Fabiola agaynste Ioninian to Marcella to Algasia in the .47 Chapter of hys commentaryes vpon Esay and in the second Chap. vpon Osee. Thesame thinge is confirmed by thauthoritie of Tertulian wryting against the Iewes and the gentiles in a boke of the resurrecâ—ion of the body And of S. Augustine also in hys bokes de ciuitate Dei In thesame opinioÌ„ also is Nicholaus de Lyra vpoÌ„ Daniell many other besides And if we wil way Paules wordes diligently we shall also knowe the tyme wherin Antichrist muste be disclosed to the worlde For wryting to the Thessalonians that thought Christ should shortlye come to iudgement and mindynge to brynge them out of that opinion sayeth that there shall a departinge come before the daie of iudgement That is to saye that men must fal from the Empier of Rome as Hierom Anselme Theophilact Bede Dionise almoste all the rest of the interpreters take it Trewe it is that Paule spake thys thynge darkely leste he should offende mens myndes Therefore then sayth Paule that great wycked bodye shall shewe forthe him selfe Yea and he shall not onely succede especially at Rome in hys owne strength but also as Daniell writeth he shall destroye and bringe to nothynge the reste of the hornes and strength of the Empier of Rome So that we nowe see playnely enough that the people hathe not only shronke from the obedience of the Emperoure of Rome but also that themperours haue had no dominion in Rome more theÌ„ this seuen hundreth yere The byshoppes haue occupied the place in the stead of the Emperours by the which byshoppes chefelye themperoures power hathe bene minished Wherefore we muste graunt that they bee ryght antichriste Besides this Christe himselfe hath expressed and paynted forthe Antichriste and al his qualities in holye scriptures with so lyuely colours that who so seeth the pope hath neuer so litle light of knowledge and seeth his properties can not chose but he muste also knowe that he is very Antichriste And to speake sumwhat of hym generally Euen as Christe is the heade of all hys electes so shall Antichriste be the head of al them that be reiected of god whiche bee falsely named Christians As in Christe all thresours of knowledge and wisedome of god be hidden So in antichrist shal be hidden with a couer of hipocrisie al mischefes craftes and deceites giles and falsnes whiche be in the great deuell of hel himself And moreouer as the holy gost is geueÌ„ to Christ and powred into hym without measure and not heÌ„med in with any boundes or limites and as Christe is full of grace and truethe yea in hym dwelleth all fulnes of perfecte vertue and perfection So there dwelleth in Antichriste all vices wickednes abhominations deceytes and lyes without all measure So that as Christe is the very trewe and lyuelye ymage of God so shall Antichriste bee the very trew and lyuely ymage of the deuell Wherefore Esaye calleth hym the wycked one Dauyd also wryteth hym to bee the heade of all wyckednes Danyell and Christe hymselfe call hym abhomynacyon it self Paule calleth hym the wycked manne the childe of perdition not onelye because he shal bee loste hymselfe but because he shall also destroye all them that shall folowe hys steppes and doctryne And also Saincte Iohn called hym Antichrist that is to saye a contrary enemye and a repugninge aduersarye to Christe and beecause he especyallye aboue all other creatures shall shewe hym selfe to bee an enemy and an aduersarye to Christe therefore in that hys excedynge contraryousnes agaynste Christe he is called Antichriste Nowe as Christ was conceaued of the holy gooste and borne of the vyrgyne Marye So shall antichriste be conceaued of the spirite of the deuil borne of Simony ambition which shal be in the mindes of theÌ„ y t shal declare him pope Then shal y e pope be created of y e most corrupt infected congregation of people that is whom they cal Cardinalles who as thoughe they were the very pillers of mischiefe shal sustayne al the worlde and all the wickednes therof vpon their shoulders They saye thys order was created of god when he sayed The pyllers of the earth be of the Lorde and vpon them he layed the foundacion of the worlde hereby it is easie to bee sene whether they vnderstande rightly the holy scriptures or els wryth theÌ„ violently to their croked purpose Who so shall reade their histories and will diligently consider by what craft hipocrisie dissimulacion fayre promises gyftes deceyt and prodicion and suche lyke wicked meanes they haue achiued to thys Popeshyp whiche they so muche desired he shal easely peceaue of what spirite they were both conceyued and begotten Yea they haue gyuen themselues wholye to the deuill so y t they might once come to the Popeshyp As it is playnely written of Siluester the seconde He that could see by what spirite the Popeshyp was conceyued in the myndes of menne and appeared to the worlde shoulde soone knowe whether it be a thynge of God or of manne or of the the deuyl Foure hundreth and foure score yeres after the birth of Christ that litle horne of Daniel that is to say the Byshoppe of Rome had but litle strength and power of manne because they had none authoritie but onely in their owne dioceses as other Bishoppes haue But a bout the yere of our Lorde .480 Odoacer reigninge in Rome
to hys profyte and glory that he be rewarded lyberally therfore God commaunded the Sabboth day to be kept holy And sence Iesus Christ y e soÌ„ne of rightuousnes appered to the worlde we ought to iudge all tymes of grace to be a most holy Sabboth to take all the times of our life without putting diuersitie betwene one daye and another to be all together holy and to spende all together in the honour and glory of God But the pope commaundeth the contrary that there shal be a diuersitie betwene dayes and tymes in holynes that some daies shal be halowed yet with none other kinde of religion but idelnes idolatry supersticion in the remembraunce of some feast deuised by hym or of some Sayncte that he hathe canonized all other tymes he taketh not to bee holye God commaundeth honour to be geuen to the father and mother and obedience to princes whiche be ordeyned of hym The pope contrarywyse willeth that the chyldren may contrary to the myndes of theyr parentes professe some supersticiouse deuelish kinde of relygion and remaine tyed therein to theyr wicked vowes yea though theyr father and mother pine for hungar and wantethe comfort of theyr children by the reason of extreme necessitie He will also haue all his priestes monkes and nunes to be fre discharged from all obedyence to theyr prince and magstrates whiche be ordeyned of god God commaundeth that no man shall kyll but this bloudy paricide and mankiller being made dronke with the bloud of martirs and of Christian men graunteth full pardon to mankillers and parricides to suche as saye they fought vnder the banner of the crosse of Christe that by the meanes of thys deuelishe licence he may increase and amplify hys cruell tyrannye God forbiddeth adultery and all vncleannes commaundeth by the mouth of Paule hym who hathe not the gifte of chastitie to to mary a wyfe but this shameles baude dothe the contrary he forbiddeth marriage to al that be anoynted of hym whether they haue the gift of chastitie or not as thoughe mariage were an vnholy and an vncleane thynge and not muche more holy and more honest then is theyr wiueles lyfe and as thoughe accordinge to the doctrine of Paule matrimonie were not honorable holye and vndefyled in all states Yet in the meane space he graunteth to suche as hange vpon hym all kindes of beastlynes and fylthye vncleanes And also at sundrye tymes of the yere and within sundry degrees deuised by him he forbiddeth maryage for none other intent but to kepe hys honor in estimacion and to get greate suÌ„mes of money by dispensinge therewith God commaundeth that no maÌ„ shal desiere another mans goodes but this thefe vnder the pretence of Annates Dimes Pardones Iubelies compositions absolutions dispensations priuileges blessinges greues and deuelish coactioÌ„s he ouer runneth and robbeth al the whole world And as sone as these goodes bee gotten or rather stolen together come he by them by robbinge or stealinge neuer so yet be they strayght waye made holy so holy y â— they may not bee alienated without this theues licence But why stand I so longe in this matter For to knit vp so great a matter in fewe wordes whereas Christ came not to breake the lawe but rather to fulfyll it he corrupted infected and depraued al the whole law Wheras Christe did abrogate y â— ceremoniall preceptes of the Iewes he hathe brought in al the deuelish supersticions of the gentiles Therfore is that vndoutedly trewe that Daniell spake of him that he shoulde chaunge the lawes And he is not conteÌ„t to professe opeÌ„ly that the merites of Christ be not enough that he fulfilleth the thing y t waÌ„teth in theÌ„ except he maye further haue his saing y t he is y e â—uarde and the destrybutour of thesame merites of Christ and that it is hys office to applye them for the quicke and the dead as he shall thynke good as who shoulde saye that Christ can not applye them or els that he would not prouide for the health of soules so that there is moche more charitie in the Pope then in Christ. What nedeth so many wordes Christe neuer had nor neuer shall haue neither was there euer a greater enemie in the worlde to the gospell then he is He hathe continuall warre with theÌ„ that beleue in Christ and with all that bee godly and vertuous and them he ouercommeth with deceyte and crueltie as Daniell sayed of hym before Wherfore we be bound to confesse that he is the trewe greate Antichriste hymselfe Papi Then erred the counselles where in it was decreed that he should be Pope Tho. arch That is as muche to saie as Then erred the Byshoppes and Pharyseis when they gathered a counsel together and determined to crucifie Christ. I praye you doeth that seme so straunge a thynge â—o confesse that they haue erred whiche bee Byshoppes by name onely but in dede tyrannes and wolues and wretched verlettes ioyned together in their sessions onely to maynteyne and stablishe their tiranny wyckedly deprauinge the worde of God Yf youre counselles can not erre howe commeth it to passe that many tymes one of them hathe made contrary lawes to an other And yf one counsell be contrary to an other as they be in dede it must bee graunted that one of them erred Where as they speake purposely of the Pope the counsell of Affryke made a lawe that the Byshop of Rome shoulde not onely not be Pope but also that he ought not to haue that name Then either erred that counsell or yours Truely theÌ„ wyll I beleue your counsell is gathered together by y e holy gost erred not when I shall perceyue that it was not reuled and lead by your sensuallitie ambicious sekynge of honor and by gyftes and rewardes but by the worde of God Yf you woulde expounde the scriptures to the contempt of youre selfe and to the glory of God I woulde thynke the matter might bee well taken But if ye will be the Iudges of holy scriptures and then wyll expounde thesame as your dulnes tirannye and selfe wyll shall leade you wrythynge the worde of God otherwise then the trewe sence and meanyng therof leaedeth you to the increasynge and establyshement of your tyrannye mynding to vsurpe the dominion of the earth heauen and hell that ye maye be wurshypped in earthe as goddes to the great rebuke of god I doubt not but that you are gathered together in the spirite of the deuill And you intende to proue to me the Pope to be Pope by authoritie of the counsel But those thinges that be established in the counsell as you saye be of none effecte onles the Pope confirme them but the Pope canne not confirme them onles he first be Pope Therfore tell me first howe the Byshoppe of Rome was made Pope and howe he can not erre in confirminge the decrees of the counselles and then maye ye proue the Popeship by
glorye of god and ye haue taken vpon you the cause of Christe and hys electes agaynste all the enemies of god Neither canne there bee any more worthye meanes deuised to set forth both the glorye of god and also of youre moste excellent maiestie And it is not to be douted but that god will vse your maiestie as a heauenly meane and a fautles instrument to ouerthrowe hys greate enemy euen as in tymes past he vsed Dauyd for an instrumente to ouerthrowe Goliathe Youre maiestie maye stryke of hys head as Dauid Goliathes euen with hys owne sworde that is to saye with the worde of God whiche he hathe moste fylthely abused in despyte of Christe There were verely not a fewe of the olde Emperours who attempted the puttynge downe of thys tyrannye as Henry the fourthe fift Lewes the fourth Frederyke the fyrste and seconde and many moe who coulde not ouercome hym because he reygned in the myndes of men and the people tooke hym for theyr god in earth they feared his thunderboltes excommunications they thought theÌ„selues daÌ„pned yf they contraryed hym neuer so litle therefore coulde they not in good earnest put on theyr harnes take theyr weapons with a valyant corage of spirite to delyuer the Christyan common welthe from thys so great a tyranny Ed. Yf we minde to ouercome him in short space we must fyrste goe about to bryue him out of the heartes of menne for as soone as he hathe once lost his spiritual kingdome in mens consciences he shall forgoe by and by al the rest of his iurisdicciâ—Ì„ without any greate difficultie And to dryue him out of the heartes of men it is not nedefull to vse sword nor violence the sworde of the spirite that is the worde of god is sufficient wherby Christe ouercame and conquered hys enemy Sathan in the desert For all his whole popeshippe is nothinge elles but a manifest deceyt and lye What thynge canne it bee elles but a lye to saye the churche was buylded by Christ vpoÌ„ Peter and that Peter was instituted by Christ the heade of the other apostles and of the vniuersall churche and that Cephas in oure tonge signifieth a heade and that when Christ saied to Peter fede me shepe he made him the onelye shepard of soules and gaue to hym alone the keyes of the kingdome of heauen and power to loose and bynde yt is also a verye vayne lye to saye Peter was at Rome and that Peter had authority geuen him of Christ to leaue there and also that he left there the chiefe byshoppes seate as in one certayne pâ—ace there by succession continueally to remayne to the byshoppes of Rome as they holde opinion it is also a manifest lye and deceyte to saye that Christe is not oure onelye sauyour medyatour and aduocaâ— Purgatory also deuised by them is a lye and theyr lately deuised confessyons absolutions pardons Iubelies blessinges cursinges and excommunications bee all lyes And also theyr heresies hipocrisies Idolatry promesses flatteringes supersticioÌ„ theyr deuelishe tyrannicall authoritie which they vsurpe and chalenge with al their whole Popehod be altogether lyes Wherefore seinge the word of god is y e most bright light at the sight wherof all falsehod and lyes be knowen and auoyded and the trueth apeareth inuinsible it muste nedes be that eueÌ„ as darkenes vanisheth away at y e sight of y e suÌ„ne euen so at the shinynge of goddes worde all lyes deceytes treasoÌ„s wickednes of the Pope shal decaye vtterly be plucked vp by y e rotes This is y e spirituall sworde by whose edge as Paule prophecied he must be slaine Wherfore if we minde to attayne honor glory that neuer shal perishe by thys noble enterprise we muste searche all about and get the most faythfull ministers of goddes worde whiche be indued with a great light of y e spirite in the knowledge and exposicion of the scriptures with a heauenly eloquence boldnes and lybertye whiche ministers bothe canne and will prynte Christe in the heartes of manne Then with out doubt shall Antichrist and all his whole kingdom be ouerthroweÌ„ by and by This must be oure hoste these must be oure fotemen these must be our horse men if we mynde to ouercome this enemie of god And yf we can not fynde enough suche menne within oure owne dominions they muste bee sought for where so euer they maye be founde good learniÌ„g must be made much of promoted forward good wittes must bee norished and prouoked to learnyng studie that the heauenly philosophie of Christ maye reigne alwayes in oure kingedom Then suerly shal we not be ashamed wheÌ„ we shalbe neuer so much excomunicated of y e wicked romishe Robber but we shall rather reioyce with a valiant and bold corage we shall laugh to scorne his cursinges and blessinges all together not settinge a strawe by the whole rabble of the rest of hys wickednes his absolucions dispensacions priuileges bulles and pardons Ed. Throughe the sinne of oure fore father Adam we bee naturallye so fraile and weake so blinde and froward y t we seke for nothinge els but our owne Wherfore yf we will be moued to set forth and amplifie the most high glory of god it is he that must moue stirre vs with hys heauenly spirite And for asmuche as we knowe and bee very well assured that all oure desire and purposes concerninge thys matter bee bent towardes the glory of god according to his word we maye be bolde to saye that thys intente of ours is a worke of God Therefore euen as it canne not be that God wyl forsake him self and leaue of to be God So also can it not be but that he wyl further thys worke to a good ende whiche is not oures but altogether his we doubt not therfore but that God wyll be of our syde and that he wyl triumphe ouer hys enemies Counsel Suerly it shal be a very easie thynge to obteyne what thyng soeuer is godly of youre maiesties subiectes For euen as after the transgression of Adam god grafted a certayne terriblenes of countenaunce in manne wherby he shoulde make beastes affrayed with lokyng vpon manne lest they shoulde hurt hym So hath he indued subiectes with a certayne naturall feare towardes their leage lordes that they may reuerently obey them Wherfore yf a Prynce or Kyng intende a thynge and then declare thesame to be hys mynde and pleasure with a certaine effectualnes and authoritie by and by they all obey namelye when he offereth matters vnto them that be iuste and godlye but as for the trueth of the doctrine of the gospell is of it selfe most effectual therfore we doubt not but it wil come to passe that it shall gladly be receyued of al menne especially when it shal be offered vnto them of the maiestie of a kynge and he shall confirme the same with vprightnes of lif Neither is it to be doubted that the gospell should breed any tumulte