that haue died in the Lord from the beginning of the world Is not this more then an 100. fold Is not the peace of God which we in this world haue through faithfull imitation of Christ which the world can not take from vs x. M. fold more then those thinges that moste highly be esteemed in the worlde without the peace of God Al the peace of the world is no peace but mere anguish and a gnawing fury of hel As of late God hath set example before our eyes to teach vs how horrible an euill it is to forsake the peace of Christes truth which breedeth a worm in conscience that neuer shall rest O that we would way this with indifferent ballances Then shoulde we not be dismaied of this troublous time neyther sorrow after a worldly manner for the losse which we are now lyke to sustaine as the weake faithlesse persones do which loue theyr goods more then God and the things visible aboue those which be inuisible but rather would heartely reioyce and be thankful that it pleaseth God to call vs to be souldiours in his cause against the woorkes of hypocrisie and to make vs like vnto oure Sauiour Christ in suffering whereby we maye assure our selues of his eternall glory For blessed are they sayth Christ that suffer persecution for righteousnesse sake And as S. Paule witnesseth to Timothe If we die with Christ we shall liue with Christ and if we deny him he will deny vs. O that wee woulde enter into the veile of Gods promises Then should we wyth S. Paule to the Phillippians reiect all and count all things but for drosse so that we may gaine Christ. God which is the lightener of all darkenesse and putter awaye of all blindnesse annoynte oure eyes with the true eyesalue that wee might beholde his glory and our eternall felicitie which is hidden with Christ and prepared for vs that doe abide in his Testament for blessed is that seruaunte that whome the maister when he commeth as Christ sayde doth finde faithfull Let vs therefore watch and pray one for an other that we yelde not in any poynt of our Religion to the Antichristian Synagogue and that we be not ouerthrowen of these temptations Stande therefore and be no cowardes in the cause of your saluation for his spirite that is in vs is stronger then he which in the worlde doth nowe rage against vs. Let vs not put out the spirit of God from vs by whose might we shall ouercome our ennemies and then death shall be as greate a gaine to vs as it was to the blessed Apostle S. Paule Why then doe ye mourne why do ye weepe why be ye so carefull as though God had forsaken you hee is neuer more present with vs then when we be in trouble if we doe not forsake hym We are in his handes and no bodye can doe vs anye iniurie or wrong without his good will and pleasure He hath commaunded hys aungels to kepe vs that we stomble not at a stone without his diuine prouidence The Deuill can not hurt anye of vs and muche lesse any of his ministers without the good will of our eternall father Therefore let vs be of good comfort and continuallye geue thankes vnto God for our estate what so euer it be for if we murmure against the same wee murmure against God who sendeth the same Which if we doe we kicke but against the pricke and prouoke more the wrath of God against vs which by pacient suffering otherwise would sooner be turned into our fauor through faithfull prayer I beseeche you with S. Paule to geue your bodies pure and holy sacrifices vnto God He hath geuen vs bodies to bestowe vnto his glory and not after our owne concupiscence If manye yeares God hathe suffered vs to vse oure bodies which bee his temples after the lust of the flesh in vaine delightes not according to his glory is it not our duetie in the latter end of our life the more willingly to yeelde vnto Gods glory our bodies with all that wee haue in demonstration of true repentaunce of that we haue euill spent before Cannot the ensample of the blessed man Iob horribly afflicted cause vs to say The Lord hathe geuen it the Lorde hath taken it blessed be the name of the Lord Euen as it hath pleased the Lord so is it come to passe If we cast oure whole care likewise vpon God he will turne our misery into felity as well as he did to Iob. God tempteth vs now as he did our father Abraham commaunding him to slaye his sonne Isaac in sacrifice to him which Isaac by interpretation doth signifie mirth and ioy Who by his obedience preserued Isaac vnto long lyfe and offered in his stead a Ramme that was tied by the hornes in the brambles Semblably we all are commanded to sacrifice vnto God our Isaac which is our ioy and consolation the which if we be ready to do as Abraham was our ioy shall not pearish but liue and be encreased although our ramme be sacrificed for our Isaac which doth signifie that the pride and cōcupiscence of our flesh entangled thoroughe sinne with the cares of this stinginge world must be mortified for the preseruation and perfecte augmētation of our mirth ioy which is sealed vp for vs in Christ. And to withstande these present temptations wherewithall we are nowe encombred ye can not haue a better remedy then to set before our eyes howe our Sauiour Christ ouercame them in the desert and to follow his ensample that if the deuill hymselfe or any other by him willeth you to make stones bread that is to take suche a worldly wise way that yee may haue your faire houses landes and goodes to liue on still yee must say that man liueth not onely by bread but by euery woorde that procedeth out of the mouth of God Againe if the deuill counsailleth you to cast youre selues downe to the earth as to reuoke your sincere beliefe and Godly conuersation and to be conformable to the learned men of the world pretending that God will be wel enough content therewith yee must aunsweare that it is wrytten that a man shall not tempt his Lord God Further if the deuill offer you large promises of honoure dignitie and possessions so that yee will worshippe Idols in hys Synagogue ye must say goe behinde me Sathan for it is otherwise wrytten that a man must worship his Lorde God and serue him onely Finally if your mother brother sister wife childe kinsman or frend do seeke of you to do otherwaies then the word of God hath taught you ye must say with Christ that they are your mothers brothers sisters wiues children and kinsmen whiche doe the wil of God the father To the which wil the Lord for his mercy conforme vs all vnfainedly to the end Amen Your louing and faithful brother in Christ in captiuitie Iohn Philpot. An. 1555· To his friend and faithfull
he acknowledgeth for his those no man without great impietie may exclude from the number of the faythful But God promiseth that he will not onely be the God of such as doe professe hym but also of Infants promising them hys grace and remission of sinnes as it appereth by the words of the couenaunt made vnto Abraham I will set my couenant betweene thee and me sayth the Lord and betweene thy seede after thee in their generations with an euerlasting couenaunt to be thy God and the God of thy seede after thee To the which couenaunt Circumcision was added to be a signe of satisfaction as well in children as in men no man may think that this promise is abrogated with Circumcision other ceremoniall lawes For Christ came to fulfill the promises and not to dissolue them Therfore in the Gospell he sayth of Infants that is of such as yet beleeued not Let thy little ones come vnto me and forbid them not for of such is the kingdome of heauen Agayne It is not the will of your father which is in heauen that any of these little ones do perish Also He that receyueth one such little chyld in my name receyueth me Take heede therefore that ye despise not one of these babes for I tell you their Angels do continually see in heauen my fathers face And what may be sayd more playner then this It is not the wyll of the heauenly father that the Infants should perish whereby we may gather that he receyueth them freely vnto this grace although as yet they confesse not their fayth Since then that the worde of the promise which is conteyned in Baptisme pertayneth as well to children as to men why shoulde the signe of the promise which is Baptisme in water be withdrawen from childrē when Christ hymselfe commandeth them to be receiued of vs and promiseth the reward of a Prophet to those that receiue such a little Infant as he for an example dyd put before hys disciples Now will I prooue with manifest argumentes that children ought to be baptised that the Apostles of Christ did baptise children The Lord commanded his Apostles to baptise all nations therfore also children ought to bee baptised for they are comprehended vnder this worde All nations Further whom God doth account among the faithfull they are faythfull for it was sayd to Peter That thyng which God hath purified thou shalt not say to bee common or vncleane But God doth repute children among the faithfull Ergo they be faithfull except wee had leaue to resiste God and seeme stronger and wiser then he And without all doubte the Apostles baptised those which Christ commanded but he commanded the faythfull to be baptised among the which infants be reckoned The Apostles then baptised Infants The Gospell is more then Baptisme for Paule sayd The Lord sent me to preach the Gospell and not to baptise not that he denied absolutely that he was sent to baptise but that he preferred doctrine before Baptisme for the Lorde commaunded both to the Apostles but children be receyued by the doctrine of the gospel of God not refused therfore what person being of reason may deny thē baptisme which is a thing lesser then the Gospell for in the Sacraments be two things to be considered the thing signified and the signe the thing signified is greater thē the signe and from the thing signified in Baptisme children are not excluded who therfore may deny them the sign which is Baptisme in water S. Peter could not deny them to be baptised in water to whom he sawe the holy Ghost geuen which is the certayne signe of Gods people For he sayeth in the Actes May any body forbid them to be baptised in water who haue receyued the holy Ghost as well as we Therefore S. Peter denied not Baptisme to Infantes for hee knew certaynely both by the doctrine of Christ and by the couenant which is euerlasting that the kingdome of heauen pertayned to Infants None be receyued into the kyngdome of heauen but such as God loueth and which are endued with his spirit for who so hath not the spirite of God he is none of hys But Infantes be beloued of God and therefore want not the spirit of God wherefore if they haue the spirit of God as well as men if they bee numbred among the people of God as well as we that be of age who I pray you may well withstand children to be baptised with water in the name of the Lord The Apostles in tymes past beyng yet not sufficiently instructed did murmure against those which broght their children vnto the Lord but the Lord rebuked them said Let the Babes come vnto me Why then doe not these rebellions Anabaptists obey the cōmandement of the Lord For what do they now adayes els that bring their children to baptisme then that they did in tymes past which brought their children to the Lord and our lord receiued them and puttyng his hands on them blessed them both by words and by gentle behauiour towardes them declared manifestly that children be the people of God and entirely beloued of God But some will say why then did not Christ baptise them Because it is written Iesus hymselfe baptised not but hys disciples Moreouer Circumcision in the old law was ministred to infants therfore baptisme ought to be ministred in the new law vnto children For baptisme is come in the stead of Circumcision as S. Paule witnesseth saying to the Collossians By Christ yee are circumcised with a Circumcision which is without hands when ye put of the body of sinne of the flesh by the Circumcision of Christ beyng buried together with hym through Baptisme Behold Paule calleth Baptisme the Circumcision of a Christian man which is done without hands not that water may be ministred without handes but that with hands no man any longer ought to bee circumcised albeit the mysterie of Circumcisiō do stil remain in faythfull people To this I may adde that the seruaunts of God were alwayes redy to minister the sacraments to them for whō they were instituted As for an example we may beholde Iosue who most diligently procured the people of Israell to be circumcised before they entred into the lande of promise but since the Apostles were the preachers of the word and the very faithful seruants of Iesus Christ who maye hereafter doubt that they baptised infants sithen baptisme is in place of Circumcision Item the Apostles dyd attemperate all their doyngs to the shadowes and figures of the olde Testament therfore it is certayne that they did attemperate Baptisme accordingly to Circumcision and baptised children because they were vnder the figure of Baptisme for the people of Israell passed through the red sea and the bottome of the water of Iordane with their children And although the children be not alwayes expressed
neither the women in the holy Scriptures yet they are comprehended and vnderstood in the same Also the Scripture euidently telleth vs that the Apostles baptised whole families or households But the children bee comprehended in a familie or householde as the chiefest and dearest part thereof Therefore we may conclude that the Apostles dyd baptise Infantes or children and not onely men of lawfull age And that the house or houshold is taken for man woman and chyld it is manifest in the 17. of Genesis and also in that Ioseph doth call Iacob with all hys house to come out of the land of Chanaan into Egypt Finally I can declare out of auncient writers that the Baptisme of Infantes hath continued from the Apostles tyme vnto oures neyther that it was instituted by anye Councels neyther of the Pope or of other men but commended from the Scripture by the Apostles themselues Origene vpon the declaration of S. Paules Epistles to the Romaines expoundyng the vj. chapter sayeth That the Church of Christ receyued the Baptisme of Infants from the very Apostles S. Hierome maketh mention of the Baptisme of Infantes in the third booke agaynst the Pelagians and in hys Epistle vnto Leta Saint Augustine reciteth for this purpose a place out of Iohn Bishop of CoÌ„stantinople in hys first booke agaynst Iulian chap. 2. and he agayne writyng to S. Hierome Epist. 28. sayth That Saint Cyprian not makyng any newe decree but firmely obseruyng the fayth of the Church iudged with hys fellowe Bishops that as soone as one was borne he might bee lawfully baptised The place of CypriaÌ„ is to be seene in his Epistle to Fidus. Also S. Augustine writyng agaynst the Donatists in the 4. booke chap. 23. and 24. sayth That the Baptisme of Infantes was not deriued from the authoritie of man neyther of Councels but from the tradition or doctrine of the Apostles Cyrill vpon Leuiticus chap. 8. approoueth the Baptisme of children and condemneth the iteration of Baptisme These authorities of men I do alledge not to tie the Baptisme of children vnto the testimonies of men but to shew how mens testimonies do agree with Gods word and that the veritie of antiquity is on our side that the Anabaptists haue nothyng but lyes for them new imaginations which fayne the Baptisme of children to be the Popes commandement After this will I aunswer to the summe of your argumentes for the contrary The first which includeth all the rest is It is written Goe ye into all the worlde and preach the gladde tidynges to all creatures He that beleeueth and is baptised shall bee saued but hee that beleeueth not shall bee damned c. To this I aunswer that nothyng is added to Gods word by the baptisme of children as you pretend but that is done which the same word doth require for that children are accounted of Christ in the gospell among the nuÌ„ber of such as beleeue as it appeareth by these words He that offendeth one of these little babes which beleeue in mee it were better for hym to haue a myllstone tyed about hys necke to be cast into the bottome of the sea Where plainly Christ calleth such as be not able to confesse their fayth beleuers because of his meere grace he reputeth them for beleeuers And this is no wonder so to be taken sithen God imputeth fayth for righteousnes vnto meÌ„ that be of a riper age for both in men and children righteousnes acceptation or sanctification is of meere grace and by imputation that the glory of Gods grace might be praysed And that the children of faythfull parents are sanctified and among such as doe beleeue is apparant in the 1. Cor. 7. And where as you doe gather by the order of the wordes in the sayd commaundement of Christ that childreÌ„ ought to be taught before they be baptised and to this ende you alledge many places out of the Actes proouyng that such as confessed their fayth first were baptised after I aunswer that if the order of wordes might weigh anye thyng â—o this cause we haue the Scripture that maketh as well for vs. For in S. Marke we read that Iohn dyd baptise in the desert preachyng Baptisme of repentaunce In the which place we see baptising go before preaching to follow And also I wyll declare this place of Mathew exactly considered to make for the vse of baptisme in children for S. Mathew hath it written in this wyse All power is geuen me sayth the Lord in heauen and in earth therefore going forth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is Disciple ye as I may expres the signification of the word that is make or gather to me Disciples of all nations And followyng he declareth the way how they should gather to hym Disciples out of all nations baptising them and teachyng by baptising and teachyng ye shall procure a Church to me And both these aptly and briefly seuerally he setteth foorth saying Baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Sonne and the holy Ghost teachyng them to obserue all thyngs whatsoeuer I haue commaunded you Now then Baptisme goeth before doctrine But hereby I do not gather that the Gentiles which neuer heard any thyng before of God and of the sonne of God and of the holy Ghost ought to be baptised neyther they would permit themselues to bee baptised before they knew to what end But this I haue declared to shew you vpon how feeble foundation the Anabaptistes bee grounded And playnly it is not true which they imagine of this text that the Lord dyd onely commaund such to bee baptised whome the Apostles had first of all taught Neyther here verily is signified who onely be to be baptised but he speaketh of such as bee not of perfect age and of the first foundations of fayth and of the Church to bee planted among the Gentiles which were as yet rude and ignorant of religion Such as be of age may heare beleue and confesse that is preached and taught but so cannot infants therfore we may iustly collect that he speaketh here nothing of infants or children But for al this they be not to be excluded from Baptisme It is a generall rule He that doth not labour must not eate But who is so barbarous that might thinke hereby that children should be famished The Lord sent hys Apostles at the beginnyng of the settyng vp his true religion vnto al nations vnto such as were both ignorant of God and were out of the couenant of God and truly such persons it behooued not first to bee baptised and afterward taught but first to be taught and after baptised If at this day we should go to the Turkes to conuert them to the faith of Christ verily first we ought to teach them and afterward baptise such as would yeeld to be the seruants of Christ. Likewyse the Lorde hymselfe in tymes past dyd when first he renewed the couenaÌ„t with Abraham and ordeyned
vp your lippes with your owne booke Ieffrey It skilleth no matter whether ye write bread or body for we be able to prooue that he ment the bodye And where as you say they eate it spiritually that is but a blind shift of descant Palmer What should I say els Ieffrey As holy Church sayeth really carnally substantially Palmer And with as good Scripture I may say grosly or monstrously Ieffrey Thou speakest wickedly But tell me Is Christ present in the sacrament or no Palmer He is present Ieffrey How is he present Palmer The Doctors say modo ineffabili Therefore why do ye aske me Would God ye had a mynd ready to beleue it or I a tongue able to expresse it vnto you Ieffrey What say you to the baptisme of Infants Palmer I say that it standeth with Gods word therfore it ought of necessitie to be retayned in the Church Ieffrey Ye haue forgotten your self I wis for ye write that children may be saued without it Palmer So I write and so I say Ieffrey Then it is not necessary to be frequented and continued in the Church Palmer Your argument is not good M. Doctor Ieffrey Will ye stand to it Palmer Yea M. Doctor God willyng Ieffrey Note it Register More of his Examination in that tyme and place is not yet come to our hands whensoeuer God sendeth it I will impart and communicate the same to the Reader In the meane season we are credibly informed of this that sir Richard Abridges the same day after dinner sent for hym to his lodging and there in the presence of diuers persons yet alyue in Newbery and elsewhere friendly exhorted hym to reuoke his opinion to spare his yong yeares wit and learnyng If thou wilt be conformable and shew thy selfe corrigible and repentant in good fayth sayeth he I promise thee before this company I will geue thee meate and drinke and bookes and x. pound yearely so long as thou wilt dwell with me And if thou wilt set thy mynd to mariage I will procure thee a wyfe and a farme helpe to stuffe and frit thy farme for thee How sayest thou Palmer thanked him very curteously made him further answer concernyng his religion somewhat at large but very modestly and reuerently concludyng in the end that as he had already in two places renounced his liuing for Christes sake so he would with Gods grace be redy to surrender and yeld vp his lyfe also for the same wheÌ„ God should send tyme. When Sir Richard perceiued that hee woulde by no meanes relent Well Palmer sayth he then I perceiue one of vs twain shal be damned For we be of two faiths and certayne I am that there is but one faith that leadeth to lyfe and saluation Palmer O sir I hope that we both shall be saued Sir Rich. How may that be Palm Right well Sir For as it hath pleased our merciful Sauiour accordyng to the Gospels parable to call me at the third hower of the day euen in my flowers at the age of 24. yeres euen so I trust he hath called and wil cal you at the eleuenth hower of this your olde age and geue you euerlasting lyfe for your portion Sir Rich. Sayest thou so Well Palmer well I woulde I might haue thee but one moneth in my house I doubte not but I would conuert thee or thou shouldst conuert me Then sayd M. Winchcome Take pitie on thy golden yeares and pleasaunt flowers of lusty youth before it bee too late Palm Sir I long for those springing flowers that shall neuer vade away Winchcome If thou be at that poynt I haue done with thee Then was Palmer commanded agayne to the blynd house but the other two sillie men were ledde agayne the same after noone to the Consistorie and there were condeÌ„ned and deliuered to the secular power of the shiriffe there present by name sir Rich. Abridges It is reported also that D. Ieffrey offered Palmer a good liuyng if he would outwardly shew hymself conformable kepyng his conscience secret to hymselfe or at least declare that hee doubted which was the truest doctrine But I cannot affirme it for a suretie The next mornyng the 16. of Iuly Palmer was required to subscribe to certaine Articles which they had drawen out touching the cause of his condemnation in the front whereof were pluckt together many haynous termes as horrible hereticall damnable diuelish and execrable doctrine To these wordes Palmer refused to subscribe affirming that the doctrine which he professed was not such but good and sound doctrine Ieffrey Ye may see good people what shifts these heretikes seeke to escape burnyng when they see Iustice ministred vnto them But I tell thee this stile is agreeable to the law and therfore I cannot alter it Palmer Then cannot I subscribe to it Ieffrey Wilt thou then craue mercy if thou like not iustice and reuoke thy heresie Palmer I forsake the Pope his Popelings withall Popish heresie Ieffrey Then subscribe to the Articles Palmer Alter the Epithetons and I will subscribe Ieffrey Subscribe and qualifie the matter with thine own pen. So he subscribed Whereupon D. Ieffrey proceded to read the Popish sentence of his cruell condemnation and so was he deliuered to the charge of the secular power was burned the same day in the after noone about fiue of the clocke Within one houre before they went to the place of execution Palmer in the presence of many people comforted his fellowes with these wordes Brethren sayth he be of good â—here in the Lord and faint not Remember the words of our Sauiour Christ where he sayth Happy are you wheÌ„ men reuile you and persecute you for righteousnesse sake Reioyce and be glad for great is your reward in heauen Feare not them that kill the body and be not able to touch the soule God is faythfull and will not suffer vs to be tempted further then we shall be able to beare it Wee shall not ende our lyues in the â—ire but make a change for a better lyfe Yea for coales we shall receiue pearles For Gods holy spirite certifieth our spirit that he hath euen now prepared for vs a sweet supper in heauen for his sake which suffered first for vs. With these and such lyke wordes he did not only comfort the hartes of his sillie brethren that were with hym appoynted as sheepe to be slaine but also wrested out pleÌ„tifull teares from the eyes of many that heard him And as they were singyng a Psalme came the shiriffe Sir Richard Abridges and the Bailiffes of the Towne wyth a great company of harnessed and weaponed men to conduct them to the fire When they were come to the place where they should suffer they fell all three to the ground and Palmer with an audible voyce pronounced the xxxj Psalme but the other two made their prayers secretly to almighty God And as Palmer began to arise there
because they gaue me the occasion And whereas you sayd I was desirous to speak with you and that Maister Sheriffe and his brother and other of my frendes willed me to talke with you and that I fare nowe as though I had nothing to doe with you and as though I were sent to prison for nothing the truth is I know no more wherefore I am sent to prison theÌ„ the least child in this towne knoweth And as for me I desired not M. Sheriffe to speake with you but in deede he desired me that I would speake with you to vtter my fayth to you For he supposed that I did not beleeue well he reported you to bee learned But I refused to talke with you at the first For I remeÌ„bred not that you were the parsoÌ„ of Buxted wherfore I sayd to him I would not vtter my faith to any but to the bishop I sayd he is mine Ordinary wherfore I appeale vnto him I am commaunded by S. Peter in the first Epistle the thyrd chap. to render account of my hope that I haue in god to him that hath authority wherfore I will talke with none in that matter but with hym Wherefore send me to him if you will or els there shall no man know my fayth I tell you playnely These wordes then made the Sheriffe angry and he went his way and when he was gone from me I remeÌ„bred that it was you that he would haue me to talke with and then I remembred that I had made a promise to my father and goodman Day of Uefield not past a fournight before I was taken that when so euer you came into the country I would speak with you by Gods helpe because they praysed you so muche that yee were learned and they would fayne here vs talke So al these thinges called to remeÌ„brance I desired my keeper which was the Sheriffes man to shew his maister that I would fayne speake with him for I had remeÌ„bred things that were not in my mind before when I spake to him So he went to his maister shewed him the matter and he came to me and then I told him my mind what promise I had made and he said he would send for you on the morow as he did and the messeÌ„ger brought word you could not come you preached before the Queene he sayde Wherupon the Sheriffe came vp himselfe and spake to the Bishop that he should come downe but he was sicke So when he came home agayne he sent me to the Bishop and I haue talked with him twise already and I am sure he can find no fault in me if he say iustly and yet I know not wherefore I was sent to prison For I was not guilty of that whiche was layde to my charge that I had baptised children the which I neuer did as God knoweth wherefore I haue wrong to be thus handled D. Lang. In deed it hath bene reported that you haue christened children that you christened your owne child but since I heard say you would not haue the child christened which is a damnable way if you deny baptisme and they sayd your child was not christened in a fourtnight or three weekes after it was borne and the chiefest of the Parishe were fayne to fetch it out of your house agaynst your wyll Wherefore you wrote rayling wordes agaynst the Prieste and them for theyr good will the which declareth that you allowe not baptising of children And if the childe had dyed it had bene damned because it was not Christened and you shoulde haue bene damned because you were the lette thereof Wood. What abhominable lies haue you told Be you not ashamed to speake such wordes as you haue done Fyrste you say I christened mine owne childe and by and by you sayd I denyed baptising of childreÌ„ and that my child was a fortnight or three weekes old ere it was baptised What abhominable lyes be these I neither baptised my child my selfe neither held agaynst the baptising of it but did moste gladlye allowe it for it was baptised as soone as it was borne and I was glad therof therfore you be to blame to report so of me Lang. I pray you who baptised it some vnthrift of your prouiding Wood. Nay surely the Midwife baptised it Lang. But it was your mind that it should be so Wood. Nay sure I was not me home by almost xx miles nor heard that my wife was brought to bed four dayes after the child was christened For it was not like to liue therfore the Midwife baptised it Lang. Would you haue had it to church to haue bene christened if it had not bene christened Wood. That is no matter what I woulde haue yone I am sure you can not denye but it is sufficiently done if the Midwife do it and I hold not agaynst the doing of it neither did I it my selfe as you sayd I did Lang. Wherfore were you displeased with them that fet it to Church Wood. First tell me whether the child were not truely baptised by the Midwife Langd Yes it was truely Baptised if shee Baptised it in the name of the Father and of the Sonne and of the holye Ghost Wood. Yes that I am sure shee did and you graunte that was sufficient and the cause that I blamed them for was because they did more to it then neede was by your owne saying Yea they fet it out of my house without my leaue the which was not well done Lang. They had it to Church to confirme that was done Wood. Yea but thâ—â— was more then needs But God forgeue them if it be his will But let that matter passe But I would you should not say that I hold agaynst baptising of children for I doe not I take God to recorde but doe allowe it to be most necessary if it be truely vsed But me thought you spake wordes euen now that were vncomely to be spoken if a childe die be not baptised it is damned How thinke you be all damned that receiue not the outward signe of baptisme Lang. Yea that they be Wood. How proue you that Lang. Goe sayth Christ and baptise in the name of the father and of the Sonne and of the holy Ghost and he that beleueth and is baptised shal be saued and he that beleueth not shal be damned These be the wordes of Christ which are my warrant Wood. Then by your saying baptisme bringeth fayth and all that be Baptised in the water shall be saued shall they how say you Lang. Yea that they shall if they die before they come to discretioÌ„ they shal be saued euery one of them and all that be not baptised shall be damned euery one of them Wood. Then my spirite was moued with him to reprooue him sharply because I had manifest scriptures fresh in my mind agaynst his saying Then sayd I. O Lord God how dare you speake suche blasphemye agaynst God and
his word as you doe howe dare you for your life to take vpon you to preache teach the people vnderstand not what you say For I protest before GOD you vnderstande not the scriptures but as far as naturall reason can comprehēd For if you did you would be ashamed to speake as you do Lang. Wherein haue I spoken amisse take heede you haue a toy in your head wil make you dispayre I dare say you can not tell what you say Wherefore reproue you me as you do Wood. Because you blaspheme GOD and as for dispayring take heed to your selfe For I can not see but you be out of your wit alreadye· and as for me I prayse God I can tell what I say and what you haue sayd the whiche shall turne to your shame if you wil talke the Scriptures with me So when hee perceiued that I spake earnestlye and challenged hym to talke by the woorde his colour began to chaunge and his fleshe beganne to tremble and quake And I sayd Proue your sayinges true if you can for I will proue them false by Gods helpe You sayd All children or other that be not baptised with water all shall be damned I dare not say so for all the good in the worlde And you brought in the saying of Christ for your warrant In the xvi of Marke it is written Who so beleueth and is baptised shal be saued which words be very true and who so beleueth not shal be damned Which words be very true also He sayeth He that beleueth not shal be damned Yea S. Iohn sayeth He that beleueth not is condemned already because he beleueth not But neither of these two scriptures nor no other scriptures in all the newe Testament sayth that he that is not baptised shal be damned or is damned already But if he beleue not he shal be damned and is damned already as is aforesayd Then he woulde haue interrupted me would haue layd to my charge that I was an Anabaptist But I wold geue him no place to speake but sayd Let me make an end and then say what you can You shall haue as much to doe by Gods helpe with this matter as euer you had to aunsweare thing in your life You knowe I am sure it is no maner to plucke a tale out of a mans mouth nor it is not the order of reasoning as you know that better then I can tell you Then Doctor Langdale bade me say on Wood. My saying was that they that beleue not shall be damned and be dāned already But I dare not say for all the goods vnder heauen that all they that receiue no materiall baptisme by the water shall be damned as you haue sayd yet I would you should not gather of these wordes that I denye Baptisme as you were aboute to laye to my charge or euer I had halfe told my tale But I would not haue you nor no man so rash in iudgement to cōdemn the thing that they are not able to proue by the worde to make it seme to the simple that the outward washing of the water were the cause of fayth Langd Why is it not so will you denye it Howe say you Will you denye it I say the childe hath no fayth before it is baptised and therefore the baptising bringeth the fayth How say you to it Make me a playne answere to this question Wood. Nowe I perceiue you goe about nothing els but to take vauntage of my wordes But by Gods helpe I will aunswere you so that you shall well see your sayings vntrue And yet I will not speak mine owne wordes but the wordes of the holy Ghost out of the mouth of the prophets and Apostles and then aske them whether they wil deny it You sayd that fayth commeth by Baptisme had by the vse of material water I must be so bold to aske you where Iacob was baptised before he had fayth S. Paule sayth in the ninth chapter to the Romanes Or euer the childrē were borne or euer they had done eyther good or bad that the purpose of God which is by election might stand not by the reason of workes but by the grace of the caller the elder shall serue the younger Iacob I haue loued and Esau I hated How think you had this childe fayth or euer he were borne or no answere to this if you can Lang. What you speake of the olde Lawe Iacob was not christened but circumcised I speake of Baptisme and you are gone from baptising to the time of Circumcision answere me to the baptising And me thinke by your talk you deny originall sinne and free will by the wordes that you brought in of S. Paule For if children can bee saued without baptisme then it must needes follow that children haue no originall sinne the which is put away in the baptising But I thinke you know not what originall sinne is nor free will neyther me thinke by your talke Wood. Yes I prayse God I thinke I can tell them all better then you can me thinke euē by your words First I pray you what free will hath man to doe good of himselfe Tell me this first then I will answere to all your other questions that you haue obiected agaynst me Lang. I say that all men haue as much free will nowe as Adam had before his fall Wood. I pray you how proue you that Lang. Thus I prooue it that as sinne entred into the world by the meanes of one that sinned all men became sinners the whiche was by Adam so by the obedience of man righteousnesse came vpon all men that had sinned sette them as free as they were before theyr fall the whiche was by Iesus Christ. Rom. v. Wood. Oh Lorde what an ouerthrowe haue you geuen your selfe here in originall sinne and yet can not see it For in prouing that we haue free wil you haue denied quite original sinne For here you haue declared that we be set as free by the death of Christ as Adam was before his fall I am sure Adam had no originall sinne before his fall If we be as free nowe as he was then I maruell wherefore Paul complayned thrise to God to take away the sting of it God making him aunswere and saying My grace is sufficient for thee These wordes with diuers other approueth originall sinne in vs but not that it shall hurt Gods electe people but that his grace is sufficient for all his But you saye in one place it is not without baptisme and in an other place you put it away quite by the death of Christ and in verye deed you haue spokē truer in the matter thē you be aware of For all that beleue in Christ are baptised in the bloude of Christ that he shed on the Crosse in the water that he swet for payne putting away of our sinnes at his death And yet I say with Dauid in the
Smith Ye falsify the worde and racke it to serue your purpose For the wine was not onely the shewing of his passion but the bread also for our Sauiour sayth So oft as ye do this do it in remembraunce of me And S. Paule sayth So oft as ye eate of this bread and drinke of this cup ye shall shewe the Lordes death till he come And here is as much reuerence geuen to the one as to the other Wherefore yf the bread be his body the cuppe must be his bloud and as wel ye make his body in the cup as his bloud in the bread Then vp rose my Lorde and went to the table where my Lorde Maior desired me to saue my soule To whome I answeared I hope it was saued thorow Christ Iesus desiring him to haue pity on his owne soule and remember whose sword he caryed At which I was caryed into the Garden and there abode vntill the rest of my frendes were examined and so were we sent away with many foule farewelles to Newgate agayne my Lord Bishop geuing the keeper a charge to lay me in limb◠¶ An other examination of Robert Smith before the sayd Bishop VPon Saterday at eight of the clocke I was brought to his chamber agayne and there by him examined as foloweth Boner Thou Robert Smith c. sayst that there is no catholicke Church here on earth Smith Ye haue heard me both speake the contrary and ye haue written it as a witnes of the same Boner Yea but I must aske thee this question how sayest thou Smith Must ye of necessity beginne with a lye it maketh manifest that ye determine to end with the same But there shall no Lyers enter into the kingdome of God Neuerthelesse if ye will be aunsweared aske mine articles that were written yesterday and they shall tel you that I haue confessed a Church of God as well in earth as in heauen and yet all one Church one mans members euen Christ Iesus Boner Well what sayest thou to auriculer confession is it not necessary to be vsed in Christes Church and wilt not thou be shriuen of the priest Smith It is not needefull to be vsed in Christes Church as I aunswered yesterday But if it be needefull for your Churche it is to picke mens purses And such pickepurse matters is all the whole rabble of your ceremonies for all is but mony matters that ye maynteyne Boner Why how art thou able to proue that confession is a pickepurse matter Art thou not ashamed so to say Smith I speake by experience For I haue both hearde and seene the fruites of the same For firste it hath bene we see a bewrayer of kinges secretes and the secretes of other mens consciences Who being deliuered and glad to be discharged of theyr sinnes haue geuen to Priests great summes of mony to absolue them sing Masses for theyr soules health And for ensample I beganne to bring in a pageant that by report was played at saynt Thomas of Acres and where I was sometime a childe waiting on a Gentleman of Northfolke which being bounde in conscience through the perswasion of the Priest gaue away a great summe of his goodes and forgaue vnto M. Gressam a great summe of money and to an other as much The priest had for his part a summe and the house had an annuitie to keepe him the which thing when his brother heard he came down to London after declaration made to the Counsayle how by the subtilty of the Priest he had robbed his wyfe children recouered a great part agayne to the value of two or three hundred poundes of Maister Gressam and his other frende but what he gaue to the house could not be recouered This tale began I to tell But when my Lord saw it sauored not to his purpose he began to reuile me sayde By the Masse if the Queenes maiesty were of his mynde I should not come to talke before any man but should be put into a sacke â—ogge tyed vnto the same so should be throwen into the water Smith To which I answered againe saying I know you speake by practise as much as by speculation for both you your predecessors haue sought all meanes possible to kyll Christ secretely record of M. Hunne whom your predecessor caused to be thrust in at the nose with hot burning needles and then to be hanged sayde the same Hunne to haue hanged himselfe and also a good brother of yours a Byshop of your professioÌ„ hauing in his prison an innoceÌ„t maÌ„ whom because he saw he was not able by the scriptures to ouercome he made him priuily to be snarled his flesh to be torne and plucked awaye with a payre of pinsers and bringing him before the people sayd the Rattes had eaten him Thus according to your othe is all your dealing and hath bene and as you taking vpon you the office doe not without othes open your mouth no more do you without murder maynteyne your traditions Boner Ah ye are a generation of lyers there is not one true word that commeth out of your mouthes Smith Yes my Lorde I haue sayde that Iesus Christ is dead for my sinnes and risen for my iustification and thys is no lye Boner Then made he his man to put in my tale of the gentleman of Northfolke and would haue had me recite it agayne which when I would not doe he made his man to put in suche summes as he imagined At the ende of thys commeth in M. Mordant knight and sate downe to heare my examination Then sayd my Lord. Howe sayest thou Smith to the seuen sacramentes Beleeuest thou not that they be Gods order that is to say the sacrament of c. Smith I beleue that in Gods Church are but two Sacramentes that is to say the sacrament of regeneration the sacrament of the Lordes supper and as for the Sacrament of the aultar and all your sacraments they may wel serue your church but Gods church hath nothing to do with them neither haue I any thing to do to aunswere them nor you to examine me of them Boner Why is Gods order chauÌ„ged in baptisme In what poynt do we dissent from the word of God Smith First in halowing your water in coniuring of the same in baptising children with annoynting and spitting in their mouthes mingled with salt and with many other lend ceremonies of which not one poynt is able to be proued in Gods order Boner By the masse this is the vnshamefast heretique that euer I heard speake Smith Well sworne my Lord ye keepe a good watch Boner Well M. Controller ye catche me at my wordes but I will watch thee as well I warrant thee Mordant By my troth my Lord quoth M. Mordant I neuer heard the like in all my life But I pray you my lord marke well his aunswere for Baptisme He dissalloweth therin holy
oyntmēt salt and such other laudable ceremonies which no Christian man will deny Smith That is a shamefull blasphemy agaynst Christ so to vse any mingle mangle in baptising young infants Boner I beleue I tell thee that if they dye before they bee baptised they be damned Smith Yee shall neuer bee saued by that beliefe But I pray you my Lord shewe me are we saued by water or by Christ Boner By both Smith Then the water dyed for our sinnes and so muste ye say that the water hath life and it being our seruaunt created for vs is our sauiour this my Lord is a good doctrine is it not Boner Why how vnderstandest thou these scriptures Except a man be borne of water and of the spyrit he can not enter into the kingdome of God And againe Suffer sayth our Sauiour these children to come vnto me and if thou wilt not suffer them to be baptised after the laudable order thou lettest them to come vnto Christ. Smith Where ye alleadge Saynt Iohn Except a man c. and will thereby proue the water to saue and so the deede or worke to saue and putte away sinnes I will send you to Saynt Paule which asketh of the Galathians Whether they receiued the spirite by the deedes of the law or by the preaching of fayth and there concludeth that the holye Ghoste accompanyeth the preaching of fayth and with the worde of fayth entreth into the harte So nowe if Baptysme preache me the washinge in Christes bloud so doeth the holy Ghost accompanye it and it is vnto me as a Preacher and not a Sauiour And where ye say I let the children to come vnto Christ it is manifest by our Sauiours wordes that ye let them to come that will not suffer them to come to him without the necessitye of water For he sayth suffer them to come vnto me and not vnto water and therefore if ye condemne them ye condemne both the merites and wordes of Christ. For our Sauiour sayeth Except ye turne and become as childrē ye cannot enter into the Kyngdome of GOD. And so broughte I out manye other ensamples to make manifest that Christ hath cleansed original sinne bringing in ensamples out of scriptures for the same Boner Then thou makest the water of none effect and then put away water Smith It is not sayth Saynt Peter the washynge awaye of the filth of the fleshe but in that a good conscience consenteth vnto GOD. And for to prooue that water onely bringeth not the holye ghost it is written in the 8. of the Actes that Simon receiued water but would haue receyued the holy ghost for money Also that the holy ghost hath come before baptisme it is written that Iohn had the holy ghost in his mothers wombe Cornelius Paule and the Queene of Candace seruant with many other receiued the holy ghost before Baptisme Yea and although your generation haue set at nought the worde of God and like swine turned hys wordes vpside downe yet must his Church keep the same in order that he lefte them whiche his Churche dare not breake and to iudge children damned that be not baptised it is wicked Mord. By our Lady syr but I beleue that if my childe dye without water he is damned Boner Yea and so do I and all Catholicke men good M. Mordant Smith Well my Lord such Catholicke such saluation Boner Well Syr what say you to the Sacrament of Orders Smith Ye may call it the Sacrament of misorders for all orders are appoynted of God But as for your shauing annoynting greasing poling roūding there are no such thinges appointed in Gods book and therfore I haue nothing to do to beleue your orders And as for you my lord if ye had grace or intelligēce ye wold not so disfigure your selfe as ye do Boner Sayest thou so nowe by my troth and I wyll goe shaue my selfe to anger thee withal and so sent for his barber which immediatly came And before my face at the doore of the next chamber he shaued himselfe desiring me before he went to answere to these articles Boner What say you to the holy bread and holy water to the sacrament of annoynting to all the rest of such ceremonies of the church Smith I say they be bables for fooles to play withall not for the children of God to exercise themselues in and therfore they may go among the refuse Then went away Maister Mordant and my Lord went to shauing leauing there certayne Doctors as he called thē to assay what they could doe of whō I was baited for halfe an houre of whō I also asked this questiō Where were all you in the dayes of Kyng Edward that ye spake not that which ye speake now Doct. We were in England Smith Yea but then ye had the faces of men but nowe yee haue put on Lyons faces again as sayth S. Iohn Ye shew your selues now as full of malice as ye may be For ye haue for euery time a viser yea if an other king Edward shoulde arise ye would then say Downe with the Pope for hee is Antichrist and so are all his Angels Then was I al to reuiled and so sent away brought in agayne to come before these men one of them that baited me before asked me if I disobeyed confession Smith To whom I answered Looke in mine articles and they shall shew you what I allow Doct. Your articles confesse that you allow not auriculare confession Smith I allow it not because the word aloweth it not nor commaundeth it Doct. Why it is written thou shalt not hide thy sinnes offences Smith No more do I when I confesse them to almightye God Doct. Why ye can not say that ye can hide them frō God and therefore you must vnderstand the wordes are spoken to be vttered to them that do not know them Smith Ye haue made a good aunswere then must the priest confesse himselfe to me as I to him For I know his faultes and secretes no more then he knoweth mine But if ye confesse you to the Priest and not vnto God ye shall haue the reward that Iudas had for he confessed him selfe to the priest and yet went and hanged himselfe by and by and so as many as do not acknowledge theyr faultes to God are sayd to hide them Doct. What did they that come to Iohn to be baptised Smith The came and confessed theyr sinnes vnto almighty God Doct. And not vnto Iohn Smith If it were vnto Iohn as ye are not able to proue yet was it to God before Iohn and the whole Congregation Doct. Why Iohn was alone in the wildernes Smith Why and yet the scriptures say he had many Disciples and that many Phariseis and Saduces came to hys Baptisme Here the Scriptures and you agree not And if they confessed themselues to Iohn as ye say it was to all the Congregation as saynt Paule
as it is as the holy Ghost calleth it the word of affliction that is it is seldom without hatred persecution peril danger of losse of lyfe and goods what so euer semeth pleasaunt in this world as experience teacheth you in this tyme call vpon God continually for his assistaunce alwayes as Christ teacheth castyng your accompts what it is like to cost you endeuoring your selfe thorough the helpe of the holy Ghost by continuaunce of prayer to lay your foundation so sure that no storme or tempest shal be able to ouerthrow or cast it down remembring always as Christ saith Lothes wyfe that is to beware of looking backe to that thyng that displeaseth God And because nothing displeaseth God so much as Idolatry that is false worshipping of God otherwise then hys word commandeth looke not backe I say nor turne not your face to their Idolatrous and blasphemous massing manifestly against the word practise example of Christ as it is most manifest to all that haue any taste of the true vnderstandyng of Gods word that there remayneth nothing in the church of England at this present profitable or edifieng to the church and congregation of the Lord all things beyng done in an vnknowen tong contrary to the expresse commandement of the holy Ghost They obiect that they be the church and therefore they must be beleued My aunswer was the Church of GOD knoweth and reknowledgeth no other head but Iesus Christ the sonne of God whome ye haue refused chosen the man of sinne the sonne of perdition enemy to Christ the deuils deputy and lieuetenant the Pope Christes church heareth teacheth and is ruled by hys word as he sayth My sheepe heare my voyce If you abyde in me and my word in you you be my Disciples Their Church repelleth Gods word and forceth all men to followe their traditions Christes Churche dare not adde or diminish alter or change his blessed Testament but they bee not afrayd to take away all that Christ instituted and go a whoryng as the Scripture saith with their owne inuentions Et laetari super operibus manuum suarum i. To glory and reioyce in the workes of their owne hands The Church of Christ is hath bene and shall be in all ages vnder the Crosse persecuted molested and afflicted the world euer hating thē because they be not o◠the worlde But these persecute murther slay and kil such as professe the true doctrine of Christ be they in learning liuing conuersation and other vertues neuer so excellent Christ his church reserued the triall of their doctrine to the worde of God and gaue the people leaue to iudge therof by the same worde Search the Scriptures But thys church taketh away the word from the people suffereth neither learned nor vnlearned to examine or prooue their doctrine by the word of God The true church of God laboureth by all means to resist withstand the lusts desires motions of the world the flesh and the deuil These for the most part geue themselues to all voluptuousnes secretly commit such things which as S. Paul sayth it is shame to speake of By these and such like manifest probations they do declare themselues to be none of the church of Christ but rather of the sinagoge of Sathan It shal be good for you oftentymes to conferre compare their procedings and doings with the practise of those whō the word of God doth reach to haue bene true members of the church of God it shal worke in you both knowledge erudition boldnes to withstand with suffering their doyngs I likened them therfore to Nemrod whom the scripture calleth a mighty hunter or a stout champion telling them that that which they could not haue by the worde they would haue by the sword be the church whether men will or no and called them with good conscience as Christ called their forefathers the children of the deuill and as their father the deuill is a lyer and murtherer so their kingdom and church as they call it standeth by lying and murtheryng Haue no fellowship with them therfore my dere wife nor with their doctrine and traditions lest you be partaker of their sinnes for whom is reserued a heauy damnation without speedy repentaunce Beware of such as shal aduertise you somethyng to beare with the world as they do for a season There is no dallying with gods matters It is a fearefull thing as S. Paule sayth to fall into the handes of God Remember the prophet Helias Why halt you on both sides Remember what Christ sayth Hee that putteth hys handes to the plough and looketh backe is not worthy of mee And seyng God hath hetherto allowed you as a good souldior in the forward play not the coward neither drawe backe to the rereward S. Iohn numbreth among them that shall dwell in the fiery lake such as be fearefull in Gods cause Set before your eyes alwayes the examples of such as haue behaued themselues boldly in gods cause as Steuen Peter Paul Daniel the three children the widowes sonnes and in your days Anne Askew Laurence Saunders Iohn Bradford with many other faythfull witnesses of Christ. Be not afrayd in nothyng sayth Saint Paule of the aduersaries of Christes doctrine the which is to them the cause of perdition but to you of euerlasting saluation Christ commandeth the same saying Feare them not Let vs not follow the example of him which asked tyme first to take leaue of hys friends If we so doe we shall finde fewe of them that wil encourage vs to go forward in our busines please it God neuer so much We read not that Iames and Iohn Andrew and Symon when they were called put of the tyme till they had knowen their fathers and friends pleasure But the Scripture sayth They forsooke all and by and by followed Christ. Christ likened the kingdom of God to a precious perle the which whosoeuer findeth selleth al that he hath for to buy it Yea whosoeuer hath but a little taste or glimmering how precious a treasure the kingdom of heauen is will gladly forgo both life goods for the obtainyng of it But the most part now a dayes bee lyke to Esopes cocke which when he had found a precious stone wished rather to haue found a barley corne So ignorant be they how precious a iewell the word of God is that they choose rather the thyngs of this world which beyng compared to it be lesse in value then a barley corne If I would haue geuen place to worldly reasons these might haue moued me First the forgoyng of you and my children the consideration of the state of my children being yet tender of age and yong apt and inclinable to vertue learnyng and so hauyng the more neede of my assistance beyng not altogether destitute of gifts to helpe thē withall possessions aboue the common sort of men because
obseruing of Ecclesiasticall discipline according to the word of God And that the Church or congregation whiche is garnished with these markes is in very deede that heauenly Hierusalem whiche consisteth of those that be borne from aboue This is the Mother of vs all And by Gods grace I will liue and dye the childe of this Church Forth of this I graunt there is no saluation and I suppose the residue of the places obiected are rightly to be vnderstanded of this Church onelye In times past sayth Chrysostome there were many wayes to know the Church of Christ that is to say by good lyfe by myracles by chastity by doctrine by ministring the sacramentes But from that time that heresies did take hold of the Church it is onely knowne by the Scriptures whiche is the true church They haue all thinges in outwarde shew which the true Church hath in truth They haue tēples like vnto ours And in the end concluded Wherefore onely by the scriptures do we know which is the true church To that whiche they say the Masse is the Sacrament of vnity I aunswere The bread which we breake according to the institution of the Lord is the Sacrament of the vnity of Christes mistical body For we being many are one bread and one body forasmuch as we al are partakers of one bread But in the Masse the Lordes institution is not obserued for we be not all partakers of one breade but one deuoureth all c. So that as it is vsed it may seeme a Sacrament of singularitye and of a certayne speciall priuiledge for one sect of people wherby they may be discerned from the rest rather then a sacrament of vnity wherin our knitting together in one is represented Yea what felowship hath Christ with Antichrist Therfore is it not lawefull to beare the yoake with Papistes Come forth from among them separate your selues frō them sayth the Lorde It is ane thing to be the Church in deed another thing to counterfayt the church Would god it were well knowne what is the forsaking of the church In the kinges dayes that dead is who was the church of Englande The king and his fautors or Massemongers in corners If the king and the fautors of his procedings why be not we now the church abiding in the same procedinges If clanculary Massemongers mighte bee of the Church and yet contrary to the kinges proceedings why may not we as well be of the church contrarying the queenes procedinges Not all that be couered with the title of the church are the church in deed Separate thy selfe from thē that are such sayth S. Paule from whom The text hath before If any man folow other doctrine c. he is pint vp and knoweth nothing c. Weigh the whole text that yee may perceiue what is the fruit of contēcious disputatiōs But wherfore are such men sayd to know nothing when they know so many thinges You know the olde verses Hoc est nescire sine Christo plurima scire Si Christum bene scis satis est si caetera nescis That is This is to be ignorant to know many thinges without Christ. If thou knowest Christ well thou know est enough though thou know no more Therfore would S Paule knowe nothing but Iesus Christ crucified c. As many as are Papistes and Massemongers they may well be said to know nothing For they know not Christ forasmuch as in theyr massing they take much away from the benefite and merite of Christ. That Christ which you haue described vnto me is inuisible but Christes Churche is visible and knowne For els why would Christ haue sayd Dic Ecclesiae Tell it vnto the church For he had commaunded in vaine to go vnto the church if a man cannot tell which it is The Church which I haue described is visible it hath members which may be sene and also I haue afore declared by what markes tokens it may be knowne But if either our eies are so dazeled that we cannot see or that sathan hath brought such darckenes into the world that it is hard to discerne the true church that is not the fault of the church but either of our blindenesse or of Sathans darknes But yet in this most deep darkenes there is one most cleare candle which of it selfe alone is able to put away all darkenes· Thy word is a candle vnto my feet and a lyght vnto my steppes The church of Christ is a catholick or vniuersall churche dispersed throughout the whole world this church is the great house of God in this are good men euill mingled together goates and sheepe corne and chaffe it is the net which gathereth all kind of fishes this church cannot erre because Christ hath promised it his spirit which shall lead it into all truth and that the gates of hel shal not preuayle agaynst it that he will be with it vnto the end of the world whatsoeuer it shall loose or binde vpon earth shall be ratified in heauen c. This church is the piller and stay of the truth this is it for the which S. Augustine sayth he beleeueth the Gospell But this vniuersall Church aloweth the masse because the more part of the same aloweth it Therfore c. I graunt that the name of the Churche is taken after three diuers maners in the scriptures Some tyme for the whole multitude of them which professe the name of christ o◠the which they are also named christians But as sainct Paule sayth of the Iewe not euerye one is a Iewe that is a Iewe outwardly c. Neither yet all that be of Israell are counted the seede euen so not euerye one which is a christian outwardly is a Christian in deede For if any man haue not the spirite of Christ the same is none of his Therefore that Church whiche is his body and of whiche Christ is the head standeth onely of lyuing stones and true Christians not onely outwardly in name and title but inwardly in hart and in truth But forasmuch as this churche which is the second taking of the church as touchyng the outward fellowship is contayned within the great house hath with the same outward societye of the sacramentes and ministery of the worde manye thinges are spoken of that vniuersall Churche whiche saynct Austen calleth the mingled Churche whiche cānot truely be vnderstanded but onely of that pure part of the Churche So that the rule of Ticonius concerning the mingled Churche may here well take place where there is attributed vnto the whole Churche that whiche cannot agree vnto the same but by reason of the one parte thereof that is eyther for the multitude of good men which is the very true Churche in deede or for the multitude of euill men whiche is the malignant Church and sinagogue of Sathan And is also the third taking of the Churche of the whiche although there be seldomer mention
of my soule that is true fayth that his bloud was shed for me c. An other in the Epistle of Iohn Nos scimus quod translati sumus de morte ad vitam quoniam diligimus fratres i. We know that we are translated from death to life because we loue the brethren But I read not that I haue peace with GOD or that I am translated from death to life because I see with my bodelye eye the bloud of Hailes It is verye probable that all the bloud that was in the body of Christ was vnited and knitte to his Diuinity and then no part thereof shall returne to his corruption And I maruell that Christ shall haue two resurrections And if it were that they that did violently and iniuriouslye plucke it out of hys body when they scourged him and nayled him to the Crosse did see it with theyr bodily eye yet they were not in cleane life And we see the selfe same bloud in forme of wine when we haue consecrate and may both see it feele it and receiue it to our damnation as touching bodily receiuing And many do see it at Haâ—les without confession as they say God knoweth all and the Deuill in our time is not dead Christ hath left a doctrine behinde him wherin we be taught how to beleue and what to beleeue he doth suffer the Deuill to vse his craftye fashion for our triall and probation It were little thanke worthy to beleue well rightly if nothing should moue vs to false fayth to beleue superstitiously It was not in vayne that Christ when hee had taught truely by and by badde beware of false Prophettes whiche woulde bring in errour slilye But we be secure and vncarefull as though false Prophets could not meddle with vs and as though the warning of Christ were no more earnest and effectuall then is the warning of Mothers when they trifle with theyr children and bid them beware the bugge c. Loe Syr how I runne at ryot beyond measure When I began I was minded to haue written but halfe a dosen lynes but thus I forget my selfe euer when I write to a trusty frende which wyll take in worth my folly and keepe it from mine enemy c. As for Doctour Wilson I wotte not what I should say but I pray God endue him with charity Neyther he nor none of his countreymen did euer loue me since I did inuey agaynst theyr factions and partialitye in Cambridge Before that who was more fauoured of him then I That is the byle that may not be touched c. A certayne frend shewed mee that Doctour Wilson is gone nowe into his countrey about Beuerley in Holdernes and from thence he will go a progresse through Yorkeshire Lancashyre Cheshyre and so from thence to Bristow What he entendeth by this progresse God knoweth and not I. If he come to Bristowe I shall here tell c. As for Hubberdin no doubt he is a manne of no great learning nor yet of stable witte He is here seruus hominum for he will preach whatsoeuer the Byshops will bidde him preach Verely in my minde they are more to be blamed then he He doeth magnifye the Pope more then enough As for our Sauior Christ and Christian kynges are little beholding to hym No doubte hee did misse the cushion in many thinges Howbeit they that did sende him men thinke will defend him I pray GOD amend him and them both They woulde fayne make matter agaynst mee entendyng so eyther to deliuer him by me or els to ridde vs both together and so they woulde thinke hym well bestowed c. As touching Doctour Powell howe highly he tooke vppon him in Bristow and how little hee regarded the sword which representeth the kinges person many can tell you I thinke there is neuer an Earle in this Realme that knoweth his obedience by Christes coÌ„mauÌ„demeÌ„t to his Prince wotteth what the sword doth signify that would haue taken vpon hym so stoutly Howbeit Mayster Maior as he is a profound wise man did twicke him pretily it were to long to write all Our pilgrimages are not a little beholding to him For to occasion the people to them he alledged this text Omnis qui relinquit patrem domos vxorem i. Whosoeuer leaueth father house wife c. By that you maye perceiue hys hoate zeale and crooked iudgement c. Because I am so belyed I could wish that it would please the kinges grace to commaunde me to preach before his highnesse a whole yeare together euerye Sonday that he himselfe might perceiue how they belye me saying that I haue neither learning nor vtterance worthy thereunto c. I pray you pardon me I cannot make an end * A briefe digression touching the rayling of Hubberdin agaynst M. Latimer FOrasmuch as mention hath bene made in this letter of Hubberdin an olde Diuine of Oxford a right paynted Pharisey and a great strayer abroad in all quarters of the realme to deface and impeach the springing of Gods holy Gospell something woulde be added more touchinge that man whose doinges and pageantes if they might be described at large it were as good as any Enterlude for the Reader to beholde Who in all his life and in all his actions in one word to describe him seemeth nothing elles but a right Image or counterfayt setting out vnto vs in liuely colours the paterne of perfecte hypocrisye But because the man is now gone to spare therefore the dead although he little deserued to be spared which neuer spared to worke what vilany he could agaynst the true seruantes of the Lord this shall be enough for example sake for all Christian men necessarily to obserue howe the sayd Hubberdin after his long rayling in all places against Luther Melangthon Zuinglius Iohn Frith Tindale Latimer and all other like Professours after his hypocriticall opeÌ„ almes geuen out of other mens purses his long prayers pretensed deuotions deuoute fastinges hys wolwarde goyng and other his prodigious demeanor riding in his long Gowne downe to the Horse heeles like a Pharisey or rather like a slouen dyrted vp to the Horse bellye after his forged Tales and Fables Dialogues dreames dauncinges hoppinges and leapinges with other like histrionicall toyes and gestures vsed in the Pulpit and all agaynst heretickes at last riding by a Churche side where the youth of the Parishe were dauncing in the Churchyarde sodeinely this Silenus lighting from his horse by occasion of their dauncing came into the Church and there causing the bell to tolle in the people thought in stead of a fitte of myrth to geue them a Sermon of dauncing In the whiche Sermon after he had patched vp certayne common textes out of Scriptures and then comming to the Doctors first to Augustine then to Ambrose so to Hierome and Gregory Chrisostome and other Doctors had made them euery one after his Dialogue maner by name to aunswere to
dignitie honour and estimation so necessary members sometime accounted so many godly vertues the study of so many yeares such excellent learnyng to be put into the fire and consumed in one moment Wel dead they are and the reward of this world they haue already What reward remayneth for them in heauen the day of the Lordes glory when he commeth with his saints shall shortly I trust declare Albeit I haue differred and put ouer many treatises letters exhortations belongyng to the story of the Martyrs vnto the latter appendix in the ende of this volume thinkyng also to haue done the lyke with these farewels exhortations followyng of D. Ridley yet for certain purposes moouing me thereunto and especially consideryng the fruitfull admonitions wholesome doctrine and necessary exhortations conteyned in the same I thought best here to bestow and consequently to adioyne the sayd tractations of that learned pastour with the lyfe and story of the authour Whereof the two first be in a manner of hys farewels the one to his kinsfolks and generally to all the faithfull of the number of Christes congregation the other more speciall to the prisoners and banished ChristiaÌ„s in the gospels cause the third containeth a fruitfull and a generall admonition to the citie of London and to all other with necessary precepts of christian office as by the tenour of them here followeth in order to be seene ¶ A treatise or a letter written by D. Ridley in steade of his last farewell to all hys true and faythfull friendes in God with a sharpe admonition withall vnto the Papistes AT the name of Iesus let euery knee bow both of thynges in heauen and thynges in earth and things vnder the earth and let euery tongue confesse that Iesus Christ is the lord vnto the glory of God the Father Amen As a man mynding to take a farre iourney and to depart from his familiar frendes commonly and naturally hath a desire to bidde his frendes farewell before his departure so lykewise now I looking daylye when I should be cauled to depart hence from you O all ye my dearely beloued brethren sisters in our Sauiour Christ that dwell here in this worlde hauing a lyke mynde towardes you all and blessed be God for such tyme and leasure whereof I right hartely thanke his heauenly goodnesse to byd you all my deare brethren sisters I saye in Christ that dwell vpon the earth after such maner as I can Farewell Farewell my deare brother George Shipside whom I haue euer found faythfull trusty and louyng in all sâ—ate and conditions and now in the tyme of my crosse ouer al other to me most frendly and stedfast and that which lyked me best ouer all other thynges in Gods cause euer hartye Farewell my deare sister Alice his wyfe I am glad to heare of thee that thou doest take Christes crosse which is layd now blessed be God both on thy backe and myne in good part Thanke thou God that hath geuen thee a godly and louyng husband see thou honour hym and obey hym accordyng to Gods law Honour thy mother in law hys mother and loue all those that pertaine vnto him beyng redy to do them good as it shall lye in thy power As for thy children I doubt not of thy husband but that hee which hath geuen him an hart to loue and feare God and in God them that pertaine vnto him shall also make hym friendly and beneficiall vnto thy children euen as if they had bene gotten of his owne body Farewell my welbeloued brother Iohn Ridley of the Waltoun and you my gentle and louing sister Elizabeth whom besides the naturall league of amitie your tender loue which you were sayde euer to beare towardes mee aboue the rest of your brethren doth bynde mee to loue My mynde was to haue acknowledged this your louyng affection and to haue acquited it with deedes and not with wordes alone Your daughter Elizabeth I bid farewell whome I loue for the meeke and gentle spirite that God hath geuen her which is a precious thyng in the sight of God Farewell my beloued sister of Unthanke with al your children nephewes and neeces Since the departing of my brother Hugh my mynd was to haue bene vnto them in stead of their father but the Lord God must and wyll bee their father if they will loue hym and feare hym and lyue in the trade of hys law Farewel my welbeloued and worshipful Cosins M. Nich. Ridley of Willimountswike and your wyfe and I thanke you for all your kindnes shewed both to me and also to all your owne kinsfolke and myne Good Cosine as God hath set you in our stocke and kindered not for any respect of your person but of hys aboundaunt grace and goodnesse to be as it were the belweather to order conduct the rest and hath also endued you with hys manifold gyfts of grace both heauenly and worldly aboue others so I pray you good Cosin as my trust and hope is in you continue and encrease in the maintenaunce of the truth honesty righteousnesse and all true godlinesse and to the vttermost of your power to withstand falshoode vntruth vnrighteousnesse and all vngodlinesses whiche is forbidden and condemned by the worde and Lawes of God Farewell my young Cosin Rafe Whitfield Oh your tyme was very short with mee My mynde was to haue done you good and yet you caught in that litle time a losse but I trust it shall bee recompensed as it shall please almighty God Farewel all my whole kinred and countreymen farewell in Christ altogether The Lord which is the searcher of secrets knoweth that according to my harts desire my hope was of late that I should haue come among you to haue brought with me aboundance of Christes blessed Gospell according to the duetie of that office and ministerie whereunto among you I was chosen named and appointed by the mouth of that our late peerelesse Prince K. Edward and so also denounced openly in his Court by his priuy Counsaile I warne you all my welbeloued kinsfolke countrymen that ye be not amased or astonied at the kynde of my departure or dissolution for I ensure you I thinke it the most honour that euer I was called vnto in all my lyfe and therefore I thanke my Lord God hartily for it that it hath pleased him to call me of his great mercy vnto this high honour to suffer death willingly for his sake and in hys cause vnto the which honour he hath called the holy Prophetes and dearely beloued Apostles and his blessed chosen Martyrs For know ye that I doubt no more but that the causes wherefore I am put to death are Gods causes and the causes of the truth then I doubt that the Gospell which Iohn wrote is the Gospell of Christ or that Paules Epistles are the very word of God And to haue a hart willyng to abide and stand in
in euery village yea and almost in euery honest mans house alas now it is exiled and banished out of the whole realme Of late who was not taken for a louer of Gods word for a reader for a ready hearer for a learner of the same And now alas who dare beare any open countenaunce toward it but such as are content in Christes cause and for his wordes sake to stand to the daunger and losse of all that they haue Of late there was to be found of euery age of euery degree and kinde of people that gaue theyr diligēce to learne as they could out of Gods word the articles of the christian fayth the commaundementes of God and the Lordes prayer The babes and young children were taughte these thinges of theyr parentes of theyr maisters weekly of theyr Curates in euery church the aged folke whiche had bene brought vp in blindnes and in ignoraunce of those things which euery christian is boūd to know whē otherwise they could not yet they learned the same by oftē hearing theyr children and seruantes repeating the same but now alas and alas agayne the false Prophets of Antichrist which are past all shame do openly preach in pulpittes vnto the people of God that the Catechisme is to be counted heresy wherby theyr olde blindnes is brought home agayn for the aged are afraid of the higher powers and the youth is abashed and ashamed euen of that which they haue learned though it be Gods woord and dare no more meddle Of late in euery congregation throughout all Englād was made prayer and petition vnto God to be deliuered from the tyranny of the Bishop of Rome and all his detestable enormities from al false doctrine and heresy now alas Sathan hath perswaded England by his falshoode craft to reuoke her olde godly prayer to recant the same prouoke the fearefull wrath and indignation of God vpon her owne pate Of late by strayt lawes and ordinances with the consent of the nobles and commonalty and full agreement counsel of the prelates and clergy was banished hence the beast of Babilon with lawes I say and with othes all meanes that then could be deuised for so godly a purpose but now alas all these lawes are troden vnder foote the Nobles the Commonalty the Prelates and Cleargy are quite chaūged and all those othes though they were made in iudgement iustice truth and the matter neuer so good doth no more hold then a bond of Rushes or of a Barley straw nor publicke periurye no more feareth them then a shadow vpon the wall Of late it was agreed in Englande of all handes according to Paules doctrine and Christes commaūdemēt as Paule sayth playnly that nothing ought to be done in the Church in the publicke congregation but in that toūg which the Congregation could vnderstand that all might be edefied thereby whether it were Common Prayer Administration of the Sacramentes or any other thing belonging to publicke Ministerye of Gods holy and wholesome word but alas all is turned vpside downe Paules doctrine is put apart Christs commaundement is not regarded For nothing is heard commonly in the Church but in a straunge tongue that the people doth nothing vnderstand Of late al men and women were taught after Christes doctrine to pray in that toūg which they could vnderstād that they might pray with hart that whiche they shoulde speake with theyr toung now alas the vnlearned people is brought in that blindnes again to think that they pray when they speak with theyr toung they can not tell what nor wherof theyr hart is nothing mindefull at all for that it can vnderstand neuer a whit therof Of late the Lordes Supper was duely ministred and taught to be made common to all that were true Christians with thankesgeuing and setting foorth of the Lordes death passion vntill his returning agayne to iudge both quicke and dead but now alas the Lordes table is quite ouerthrowne and that whiche ought to be common to all godly is made priuate to a fewe vngodlye without any kind of thankesgeuing or any setting foorth of the Lordes death at all that the people is able to vnderstand Of late all that were endued with the light and grace of vnderstanding of Gods holy misteries did blesse God which had brought them out of that horrible blindnes and ignorance wherby in times past being seduced by sathans subtleties they beleued that the Sacrament was not the Sacrament but the thing it self wherof it is a Sacramēt that the creature was the Creator and that the thing whiche hath neither life nor sense alas suche was the horryble blindenesse was the Lord himselfe which made the eye to see and hath geuen all senses and vnderstandinge vnto man but now alas Englande is returned agayne lyke a Dogge to her owne vomitte and spuing and is in worsse case thē euer she was For it had bene better neuer to haue knowne the trueth then to forsake the truth once receiued and knowne and now not onely that light is turned into darcknesse and Gods grace is receiued in vayne but also lawes of death are made by high Courte of Parliament maysterfully to mainteine by sword fire and al kind of violence that haynous Idolatry wherein that adoration is geuen vnto the liuelesse and dumbe creature which is only due vnto the euerliuing God yea they say they can and do make of bread both manne and GOD by theyr transubstantiation O wicked mention and Sathans owne broode Of late was the Lordes cuppe at his Table distributed according to his owne cōmaundement by his expresse wordes in his Gospell as well to the Laity as to the clergy which order Christes Churche obserued so many hundreth yeares after as all the auncient Ecclesiasticall writers doe testify without contradiction of any one of them that can be shewed vnto this day but now alas not only the Lords commaundement is broken his cup is denied to his seruauntes to whom he commaunded it shoulde be distributed but also with the same is set vp a new blasphemous kinde of sacrifice to satisfye and paye the price of sinnes both of the dead and of the quicke to the great intollerable contumely of Christ our sauior his death passion which was and is the one only sufficient and euerlasting auayleable sacrifice satisfactorye for all the Electes of God from Adam the first to the last that shall be borne in the end of the world Of late the commaundement of God Thou shalte not make to thy selfe any grauen Image nor any similitude or likenes of any thing in heauen aboue or in earth beneath or in the water vnder the earth thou shalte not bowe downe to them nor worship them This commaundement of God I say was grauen almost euery where in Churches was learned of euery body both young olde whereupon Images that prouoked the simple and ignorant people vnto Idolatrie as
shrining of reliques from any kinde of wickednes if you will pay well for it cleare absolution a poena culpa with thousandes of yeares yea at euery poore Bishops hand and suffragan ye shall haue halowing of Churches Chappels aulters superaulters chalices and of all the whole housholde stuffe and adornamēt which shal be vsed in the church after the Romish guise for all these thinges must be estemed of such high price that they may not be done but by a consecrate bishop onely O Lorde all these thinges are suche as thy Apostles neuer knew As for coniuring they call it halowing but it is cōiuring in deede of water and salt of christening of belles and such like thinges what neede I to speake for euerye priest that can but read hath power they say not onely to do that but also hath suche power ouer Christes body as to make both God and man once at the least euery daye of a wafer cake After the rehearsall of the said abhominations and remembraunce of a number of many moe which the Lorde knoweth irketh me to thinke vpon and were to longe to describe when I consider on the other side the eternall word of God that abideth for euer and the vndefiled law of the Lord which turneth the soule from all wickednes and geueth wisedome vnto the innocent babes I meane that milk that is without all guile as Peter doth call it that good word of God that word of trueth whiche must be grauen within the hart and then is able to saue mens soules that wholesome seede not mortall but immortall of the eternal and euerliuing God wherby the man is borne a new and made the childe of God that seed of God wherby the man of God so being borne can not sinne as Iohn sayeth hee meaneth so long as that seede doth abide in him that holy scripture which hath not bene deuised by the wit of man but taught from heauen by the inspiratiō of the holy ghost which is profitable to teache to reprooue to correct to instruct and geue order in all righteousnesse that the man of God may be whole sound ready to performe euery good worke when I say I consider this holy and wholesome true word that teacheth vs truely our bounden duety towardes our Lorde God in euerye poynt what his blessed will and pleasure is what his infinite great goodnes and mercy is what he hath done for vs how he hath geuē hys owne onely dearely beloued sonne to death for our saluation and by him hath sent vs the Reuelation of his blessed will and pleasure what his eternall word willeth vs both to beleue and also to doe and hath for the same purpose inspired the holy Apostles with the holy ghost sent them abroad into all the world and also made them other disciples of Christ inspired by the same spirite to write leaue behinde them the same thinges that they taught which as they did proceed of the spirit of trueth so by the confession of all them that euer were endued with the spirite of God were sufficient to the obteining of eternall saluation and likewise when I consider that al that man doth professe in his regeneration when he is receiued into the holy catholicke church of Christ and is now to be accoūted for one of the liuely mēbers of Christes owne body all that is groūded vpon Gods holy word and standeth in the profession of that fayth obedience of those commaundements whiche are all conteined and comprised in Gods holy word furthermore when I consider whom our Sauiour Christ pronoūceth in his gospell to be blessed and to whom Moses geueth his benedictiōs in the law what wayes the law the Prophets the Psalmes and all holy Scriptures both newe and olde doth declare to be the wayes of the Lorde what is good for man to obteine and abide in Gods fauor which is that fayth that iustifieth before God and what is that charity that doth passe and excell all whiche be the properties of heauenly wisedome and whiche is that vndefiled religion that is allowed of GOD which thinges Christ himself called the weighty matters of the law what thing is that which is onely auayleable in Christ what knowledge is that that Paule esteemed so much that he counted himself onely to know what shall be the maner of the extreme iudgement of the latter day who shall iudge by what he shall iudge what shall be required at our handes at that fearefull day howe all thinges must be tried by the fire and that that onely shal stand for euer which Christes wordes shall allow which shal be the iudge of all flesh to geue sentēce vpon all flesh and euery liuing soule either of eternall damnation or of euerlasting saluation from which sentence there shall be no place to appeale no witte shal serue to delude nor no power to withstand or reuoke when I say I consider all these thinges and conferre to the same agayne and agayne all those wayes wherein standeth the substaunce of the romishe religion wherof I spake before it may be euident and easy to perceaue that these two wayes these two religions the one of Christ the other of the Romishe sea in these latter dayes be as farre distaunt the one from the other as light and darckenes good and euill righteousnes and vnrighteousnes Christ and Beliall He that is hard of beliefe let him note and weigh well with himselfe the places of holy Scriptures which be appoynted in the margent wherupon this talk is grounded by Gods grace he may receyue some light And vnto the contemner I haue nothing now to say but to rehearse the saying of the Prophet Esay which Paule spake to the Iewes in the end of the Actes of the Apostles After he hadde expounded vnto them the trueth of Gods word and declared vnto them Chryst out of the Lawe of Moses and the Prophetes from morning to night all the day long he sayd vnto them that would not beleue Well sayd he spake the holy Ghost vnto our fathers saying go vnto this people and tell them ye shall heare with your eares and not vnderstande and seeing you shall behold and not see the thing for the hart of this people is waxed grosse and dulle and wyth their eares they are hard of hearing and they haue shut together their eyes that they shoulde not see nor heare with theyr eares nor vnderstand with their hartes that they might returne and I should heale them sayth the Lord God All as Englande alas that this heauy plague of GOD shoulde fall vpon thee Alas my dearely beloued country what thing is it now that may doe thee good Undoubtedly thy plague is so great that it is vtterly vncurable but by the bottomlesse mercy and infinite power of almightye God Alas my deare country what hast thou done that thus hast prouoked the wrath of God and caused him to poure out his vengeaunce
the Lords supper can not be verified For Christe commaunded aswell Take ye eate ye as This is my body Chadsey Christ sayd Take eate this is my body and not take ye eate ye Phil. No did Mayster Doctour Be not these the wordes of Christ Accipite manducate and do not these wordes in the plurall number signifie Take ye eate ye and not take thou eate thou as you would suppose Chadsey I graunt it as you say Phil. Likewise of consequencie you Mayster Doctour must needes deny which you haue sayd that these words This is my body being onely spoken be sufficient to make the body and bloud of Christe in the sacrament as you haue vntruely sayd London Then came in the bishop agayne and sayd what is it that you would haue mayster Doctor deny Phil. My Lord M. Doctor hath affirmed that these words This is my body spoken by the prieste onely doe make the sacrament London In deede if mayster Briges shoulde speake these wordes ouer the bread and wine they woulde be of none effect but if a priest speake them after a due maner they are effectuall and make a reall body Phil. Mayster Doctor hath sayd otherwise London I thinke you mistake him for hee meaneth of the wordes duely pronounced Philpot. Let hym reuoke that he hath graunted and then will I begin agayne with that whiche before was sayde that This is my bodye hath no place except blesse take and eate duely go before And therfore because the same words do not go before This is my body but preposterously follow in your sacrament of the Masse it is not the sacrament of Christ neither hath Christ in it present Chadsey If This is my body onely do not make the Sacrament no more do blesse take and eate Philpot. I graunt that the one without the other cannot make the sacrament And it can be no sacrament vnlesse that whole action of Christ doth concurre together accordynge to the first Institution Chadsey Why then you will not haue it to be the bodye of Christ vnlesse it be receaued Phil. No verely it is not the very body of Christ to none other but to such as condignely receaue the same after hys Institution London Is not a loafe a loafe being set on the table though no body eate therof Phil. It is not like my Lord. For a loafe is a loafe before it â—e set on the Table but so is not the Sacrament a perfecte Sacrament before it be duely ministred at the table of the Lord. London I pray you what is it in the meane while before it is receaued Phil. It is my Lord the signe begon of a holy thing yes no perfect sacrament vntill it be receaued For in the sacrament there be two thinges to be considered the signe and the thing it selfe which is Christ and hys whole Passion it is that to none but to such as worthily receaue the holy signes of bread wine according to Christes institutioÌ„ Winsor There were neuer none that denyed the words of Christ as you do Did he not say This is my body Philpot. My Lord I pray you be not deceaued We do not deny the wordes of Christ but we say these wordes bee of none effect being spoken otherwise then Christe did institute them in hys last supper For an example Chryst biddeth the churche to baptise in the name of the father the sonne and the holy Ghost if a Priest say those wordes ouer the water and there bee no childe to be Baptised those wordes onely pronounced doe not make Baptisme And agayne Baptisme is not onely Baptisme to suche as bee baptised and to none other standing by L. Chamb. I pray you my Lord let me aske him one question What kinde of presence in the sacrament duely minystred according to Christes ordinaunce do you allow Philpot. If any come worthely to receaue then do I confesse the presence of Christ wholy to bee with all the fruites of his Passion vnto the sayd worthy receauer by the spyrite of God and that Christ is therby ioyned to hym and he to Christ. L. Chamb. I am aunswered London My Lordes take no heede of him for hee goeth about to deceaue you His similitude that he bryngeth in of Baptisme is nothing like to the sacrament of the aultar For if I should say to sir Iohn Briges beyng with me at supper hauing a fat CapoÌ„ take eate this is a fat Capon although he eate not thereof is it not a Capon still And likewise of a peece of Beefe or of a cup of wyne if I saye drinke this is a good cup of wyne is it not so because hee drinketh not therof Phil. My lord your similitudes be to grosse for so high misteryes as wee haue in hande as if I were your equall I could more playnly declare and there is much more dissimilitude betweene common meates and drinkes then there is betweene baptisme and the sacramente of the body and bloud of Christ. Like must be compared to lyke spirâ—tuall things with spirituall and not spirituall things with corporall things And meates and drinkes be of theyr owne natures good or euill and your woordeÌ„s commending or discommeÌ„ding do but declare what they are But the sacraments be to be considered according to the worde which Christ spake of them of the which Take ye eate ye besome of the chiefe concurrent to the making oâ— the same without the which there can be no sacraments and therfore in Greeke the Sacrament of the body and bloude of Christ is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 .i. Communion and likewyse in the Gospell Christe commaunded saying Diuidite inter vos i. Diuide it among you Chadsey S. Paule calleth it a Communication Phil. That doeth more expresly shew that there must be a participation of the Sacrament together Lon. My Lords I am sory I haue troubled you so long with this obstinate man with whom we can do no good I wil trouble you no longer now and with that the Lordes rose vp none of them saying any euil worde vnto me half amazed in my iudgement God worke it to good Thus endeth the sixt part of this Tragedie The seuenth looke for with ioy The vij examination of Iohn Philpot had the xix of Nouember before the Bishops of London and Rochester the Chauncellour of Lichfield and Doctour Chadsey LOndon Syrha come hither How chance you come no sooner It is wel done of you to make master Chauncellor and me to tary for you this houre by the faith of my body halfe an houre before masse and halfe an houre euen at masse looking for your comming Phil. My Lorde it is not vnknowen to you that I am a prisoner and that the doores be shut vpon me I can not come when I list but as soone as the dores of my prison were open I came immediately London We senâ— for thee to the intent thou shouldest haue come to Masse Howe
not tell for what purpose I. Phil. Your Lordship needeth not to mistrust the matter it is nothing but to make inke withall for lack of inke as I had it before in the kings Bench when my keeper tooke away my inkehorne Lond. And why shouldst thou go about any such thing vnknowyng vnto me beyng thy keeper for I am thy keeper in this house I tell thee Phil. My L. because you haue caused my penner and inkehorne to bee taken from mee I woulde yet faine that my friends might vnderstand what I lacke not that I intended to write any thing that I would be afraid shold come to your sight Lond. More then this my L. he caused a pig to be roasted and made a knife to be put betwene the skin and the flesh for what purpose iudge you How sayest thou didst thou not so Phil. I cannot deny but there was halfe a pig sent me and vnder the same a knife lying in the sauce but for no ill purpose that I knowe your Lordship may iudge what you will It was not to kill my selfe nor none other as you would haue men to beleue for I was neuer yet without a knife since I came to prison Therefore all these bee but false surmises and not worth rehersall Lond. I haue here to say to his charge chiefest of all hys booke of the report of the disputation had in the Conuocation house which is the rākest heresie that may be against the blessed Sacrament of the aultar How say you Maister D. Weston did he maintain the same there stubbornly or no West Yea my L. that he did and would neuer be aunswered And it is pity that the same worshipfull congregation should be slaundered with such vntrue reports Phil. You answered me in deed M. Doct. beyng thē Prolocutor goodly with hold thy peace and haue hym to prison and put hym out of the house I haue read the booke I fynde the report of euery mans Argument to be true in all poynts And if there be any fault it is because he setteth forth your doynges too fauourably and nothyng lyke to that you did vse me beyng an Archdeacon and not of the worst of the house West Thou art no Archdeacon Phil. In deed M. Doct. ye haue among you vnarchdeaconed me as now I thanke God of it and that without all order of law Lond. I pray you my Lordes hearken what he writeth of himselfe I read it ouer this morning and made a note of it He saith that D. Weston called hym frantike and mad man and sayd he should go to Bedlem Phil. In deed my L. so it pleased M. Weston to taunt at me and say his shamefull pleasure but yet I was no whitte the more for all his sayinges then Christ was when the Scribes the Pharises said likewyse he was madde and that he was possessed of a deuill most blasphemously Dures My L. of London I can tary no longer I must needes bid you farewell M. Philpot me thinketh you haue sayd well that you will abide in the Catholike faith and in the Catholike Church I pray you so do and you shall do right well And so hee departed with M. Weston and M. Hussey Phil. I haue purposed so to doe how so euer I speede by Gods grace Lond. I pray you my L. of Chichester and M. Prolocutor and M. Doct. Morgan to common with hym whyles I bryng my L. of Duresme goyng Christopherson M. Philpot I was acquaynted with you at Rome if you bee remembred but you haue forgotten me and talked somewhat with you of these matters and I finde you now the same man as you were then I wish it were otherwyse For gods sake bee conformable to men that be better learned then you and stand not in your own conceit Phil. Where as you call mee to remembraunce of acquaintance had at Rome in deede it was so though it were but very straunge on your part to meward beyng driuen to necessitie Christoph. You knowe the world was dangerous at that tyme. Philpot. Nothing so dangerous as it is now but let that passe Where as you say you find me the same man I was then I prayse God for that you see not me like a reed waueryng with euerye wynde And where as you woulde haue me follow better learned men then my selfe in deed I do acknowledge that you with a great many other are far better learned then I whose bookes in respect of learnyng I am not worthy to cary after you but fayth the wisedome of God consisteth not in learning onely therfore S. Paule willeth that our fayth be not grounded vppon the wisedome of man If you can shew by learnyng out of Gods booke that I ought to be of an other fayth then I am I will heare you and anye other man whatsoeuer he bee Christoph. I meruaile why you should dissent from the catholike Church since it hath thus long vniuersallye bene receiued except within this fiue or sixe yeares here in England Phil. I do not dissent from the true catholike church I do only dissent from the B. of Rome which if you can prooue to be the catholike church of Christ I will bee of the same also with you Christo. Wil you beleue S. Cyprian if I can shew you out of hym Quòd Ecclesia Romana est talis ad quam perfidia accedere non potest That the Church of Rome is such a one vnto the which misbeliefe cannot approch Phil. I am sure you cannot shew any such saying out of s. Cyprian Christo. What will you lay thereon Phil. I will lay as much as I am able to make Morgan Will you promise to recant if he shew his saying to be true Phil. My fayth shall not hang vpon any Doctours saying further then he shal be able to prooue the same by gods worde Christo. I wil go fet the booke and shew it him by and by and therwithall he went into the Bishops study fet Cyprian appointed out these words in one of his Epistles Ad Romanos autem quorum fides Apostolo praedicante laudata est non potest accedere perfidia But vnto the Romaines whose fayth by the testimony of the Apostle is praysed misbeliefe can haue no accesse Phil. These wordes of Cyprian doe nothing prooue your pretensed assertion which is that to the Church of Rome there could come no misbeliefe Christoph. Good Lord no doth What can bee sayde more plainely Philpot. Hee speaketh not of the Churche of Rome absolutely Christo. By God a chyld that can but his Grammer wyll not deny that you do the words be so playne Phil. Sweare not M. Doct. but weigh Cyprians wordes with me and I shall make you to say as I haue sayd Christo. I am no D. but I perceiue it is but labour lost to reason with you Boner And with that the B. of London came in blowyng agayne and sayd What is my L. of
then to seeme to haue forsaken her and disalow her by cleauing to her aduersary whereby it appeareth to others which be weake that we allow the same so contrary to the word do geue a great offence to the church of God and do outwardly sclaunder as much as menne may the truth of Christ. But woe be vnto hym by whom any such offence commeth Better it were for him to haue a milstone tyed about his necke and to bee caste into the bottome of the sea Such be traytors to the truth like vnto Iudas who with a kisse betrayed christ Our god is a gelous God and cannot be content that we should be of any other then of that vnspotted church whereof he is the hed onely and wherin he hath planted vs by baptisme Thys gelousy which God hath towards vs will cry for vengeance in the day of vengeance against al such as now haue so large consciences to do that which is contrary to Gods glory and the sinceritie of hys worde excepte they doe in time repent and cleaue vnseperable to the Gospel of christ how much soeuer at this present both men and women otherwise in theyr owne corrupt iudgement do flatter theÌ„selues God willeth vs to iudge vprightly and to allow follow that which is holy and acceptable in hys sight and to abstayne from all maner of euill and therfore Christ coÌ„maundeth vs in the Gospell to beware of the leauen of the Phariseis which is hipocrisie S. Paule to the Hebrues sayth if any man withdraw hymselfe from the fayth his soule shal haue no pleasure in hym therefore he sayth also That we are none suche as doe withdraw our selues into perdition but wee belong vnto sayth for the attaynment of life S. Iohn in the Apocalips telleth vs playnly that none of those who are written in the book of lyfe doe receaue the marke of the beast which is of the Papisticall Sinagogue eyther in theyr foreheades or els in theyr hands that is aparantly or obediently S. Paule to the Philippians affirmeth that wee may not haue any fellowship with the works of darkenes but in the middest of this wicked and froward generation we ought to shyne lyke lightes vpholding the word of truth Further hee sayth that wee may not touch anye vncleane thing Which signifieth that our outward conuersation in forreigne thinges ought to be pure and vndefiled as well as the inward that with a cleane spirite and rectified body we might serue God iustly in holines and righteousnesse all the dayes of our life Finally in the 18. of the Apocalips God biddeth vs playnely to depart from this Babilonicall Synagogue not to be partakers of her trespasse S. Paule to the Thessalonians commaundeth vs in the name of the Lorde Iesus Chryst to withdraw our selues from euery brother that walketh inordinately and not according to the institution whych he had receaued of hym Ponder ye therfore well good brethren sisters these scriptures whiche be written for your crudition and reformation wherof one iot is not written in vayne which bee vtterlye agaynste all counterfait illusion to bee vsed of vs with the papysts in theyr phantastical religion and be aduersaryes to all them that haue so light coÌ„sciences in so doing and if they do not agree wyth thys aduersary I meane the word of God which is contrary to theyr atteÌ„pts he will as it is signified in the Gospell deliuer them to the Iudge which is Chryst and the Iudge will declare them to the executioner that is the deuill the deuil shal commit theÌ„ to the horrible prison of hell fire where is the portion of al hypocrites with sulphure and brimstone wyth waylyng gnashyng of teech world wythout ende But yet manye wyll say for theyr vayne excuse God is mercifull and hys mercy is ouer al. But the scripture teacheth vs that cursed is he that sinneth vpon hope of forgeuenes Truth it is that the mercy of God is aboue all his workes yet but vpon such as feare him for so is it written in the Psalmes The mercy of God is on theÌ„ that feare him and on such as put theyr trust in him Wher we may learn that they only put theyr trust in God that feare hym to feare God is to turne from euil and to do that is good So that such as do looke to be partakers of Gods mercy may not abide in that which is known to be manifest euil and detestable in the sight of god An other sort of persons doe make them a cloke for the rayne vnder the pretence of obedience to the Magistrates whome we ought to obey although they bee wicked But such must learne of Christ to geue to Caesar that is Cesars and to God that is due to God and with saint Peter to obey the hyher powers in the Lord albeit they bee euill if they commaund nothing contrary to Gods word otherwise we ought not to obey theyr commaundementes although we shoulde suffer death therefore as wee haue the Apostles for our example herein to follow who aunswered the magistrates as we ought to do in this case not obeying their wicked preceptes saying Iudge you whether it be more righteous that we should obey man rather then God Also Daniell chose rather to be cast into the denne of Lions to be deuoured theÌ„ to obey the kings wicked coÌ„mandements If the blind lead the blind both fall into the ditch There is no excuse for the transgression of Gods worde whether a man do it voluntarily or at commaundement although great damnation is to theÌ„ by whom the offence commeth Some other there be that for an extreme refuge in their euil doings do ruÌ„ to gods predestinatioÌ„ electioÌ„ saying that if I be elected of god to saluation I shal be saued whatsoeuer I do But such be great tempters of GOD and abhominable blasphemers of GODS holy election and cast them selues downe from the pinacle of the temple in presumption that God may preserâ—â— them by his aungels through predestination Suche verily may recken themselues to be none of Gods elect children that will doe euill that good may ensue whose damnation is iust as S. Paule sayth Gods predestination and election ought to be with a simple eye coÌ„sidered to make vs more warely to walke in good godly coÌ„uersation according to Gods word not to set cocke in the hoope and put all on Gods backe to do wickedly at large for the elect childreÌ„ of God must walk in righteousnes holynes after that they be once called to true knowledge For so sayth S. Paule to the EphesiaÌ„s That God hath chosen vs before the fouÌ„datioÌ„s of the world were layd that we should be holy blameles in his sight Therfore S. Peter willeth vs through good workes to make our vocation electioÌ„ certaine to our selues which we know not but by the good workyng of
wil of God be don We are not so good as Iohn the Baptist which was beheaded in prison Darknes cannot abide the light Therefore their doings must declare what they are We are as shepe appoynted for a sacrifice to the Lord. We must not feare the fire for our Lord is a cōsuming fire which will put out the fiercenes of raging torments from vs. Be not afraid of them that can kil the body but feare him that can cast both body and soul into hel fire God forbid that we should reioyce otherwise then in the crosse of Christ pray that he would make vs worthy to suffer for his sake God wil haue our faith tried knowen and therefore let vs willingly humble our selues vnder the mighty hād of God that he may gloriously lifte vs vp in his good time There is none perfectly faithfull in deede till he can say with S. Paule I am perswaded that neither death neither life neyther aungels neither princes or powers neither things present neither things to come neither highnes neither lownes neither any other creature is able to separate me from the loue of God which is in Christ Iesu our Lord. This faith God plant both in you and me vnmooueably In this faith we haue to reioyce and in none other All the tribulations of the worlde are not worthy of the eternall weighte of glory which is prepared for them that here do with pacience abide the crosse Wherefore let vs be stronge with the strengthe in him that is able to make vs strong lament the weakenes I might say the infidelitie of our faint gospellers Christ whome we woulde pretend to haue put vpon vs is the strēgth of God and how then may they be weake where Christe is We haue more to be glad touching our selues of this time then we haue had of any time before in the which we haue so ready a way to goe vnto God and so good occasion to shew our duety in glorifying his holy name For if we be imprisonned in this cause we are blessed If we loose all that we haue we are blessed a 100. fold If we die we are blessed eternally so that in suffering of persecutions all is full of blessings Be blessed therefore O elect Lady of God with the blessed of God and flee as you do the concupiscence of the worlde Embrace that which is perfect and ioyfully looke for the comming and crosse of our Lorde Iesus Christ. c. Thus desiring God to preserue you to his true peace to geue you victorie of that temptation which now is come to try our faith Christe be with you and blesse you both in body and soule and my praier shal folow you wheresoeuer you goe as I desire that you may be with me The last weeke I sent your beneficence to Oxforde I coulde not before haue a conuenient messenger As soone as I haue worde you shall be satisfied of your request Loue me as you doe and the God of loue be with you The 20. day of August By yours with all his power in the Lord Iohn Philpot. An other Letter full of spiritual consolation to the sayd Ladie THe mercye of God the father the consolation of the holy ghost thorow Iesus Christ be with you strengthē you my deare mother and sister in the Lord in these daungerous dayes to the crowne of eternall glorye whiche is nowe offered to all faithfull souldiours in the Gospell Amen As your good Ladiship doeth desire to heare from me so am I desirous to wryte as your gentlenesse and daily goodnes binedeth me But Sathan of late hath letted me who enuying al good exercises which I haue had and receiued by mine easie imprisonment in times past hath brought me out of the kings Bench into the bishop of Londons Colehouse a darke and a vgly prison as any is about London but my darke body of sinne hathe well deserued the same and the Lord now hath brought me into outward darkenes that I might the more be lightened by him as he is moste present with his children in the middest of darkenesse where I can not be suffred to haue any candle light neither inke nor paper but by stealth Wherefore I can not wryte to you as I would neither as my duety is As Christ my maister was sent frō Annas to Caiphas so am I sent from Winchester Dioces to London I trust to make a speedye ende of my course God geue mee grace and patience to be a faithfull follower of my master I haue beene already this seuennight in his Colehouse and haue of late bene foure times called to mine answere but hitherto not called to iudgement which I do daily looke for but I feare they wil prolong me and trie me by straight imprisonmēt a whyle in the which Gods will be done Pray deare Lady that my faith faint not which I praise God is presently more liuely wyth mee then it hathe beene in tymes past I taste and feele the faithfulnesse of God in his promise who hathe promised to be wyth hys in their trouble and to delyuer them I thanke the Lorde I am not alone but haue sixe other faithfull companions who in our darknesse doe chearfully sing Hymnes and praises vnto God for his great goodnesse Wee are so ioyful that I wish you part of my ioy For you that are so carefull of my bodely reliefe howe can I but wish you spirituall consolation and that aboundantly Let not deare heart my straite imprisonment any thing molest you for it hath added and daily doth vnto my ioy but rather be glad and thankfull vnto GOD with me that it hath pleased him to make me most wretched sinner woorthy to suffer any thing for his sake Hitherto we haue not resisted vnto bloud God make vs neuer to count our bloud more precious in our eyes then his truth Ah my deare sister I thanke you againe for your last letter you sent me it is a singular comfort vnto me as oft as I reade the same I haue it in my bosome and wil carie the same euen to the stake with me in witnesse that Christ hath so constant and faithfull a Ladie in Englande God succoure and keepe that spirite in you for it is the verye spirite of adoption of the childe of God Suche chearefull and holy spirites vnder the crosse bee acceptable sacrifices in the sight of God for Christ came to cast fire into the earth and looketh that it shoulde be kindled Be you feruent in spirite in our Christes cause as you haue begonne for that is the principall spirite wherewithall Dauid desired to be confirmed O howe I doe reioyce your Ladiship to goe arme in arme with me vnto Christe or rather before me I can not but ioye of suche a worshipfull fellowe Me thinketh I see you to mourne and desire to be loosed out of the earthly and fraile habitacle of this body O how amiable and pleasant is it
Circumcision to be a seale of the couenaunt after that Abraham was circumcised But hee when he perceiued the infantes also to pertaine to the couenant and that Circumcision was the sealyng vp of the couenant did not only circumcise Ismael his sonne that was 13. yeres of age but all other infantes that were borne in his house among whom we recken Isaac Euen so faythfull people which were conuerted from Heathen Idolatry by the preaching of the gospel and coÌ„fessing the faith were baptised when they vnderstood their children to be counted among the people of God and that Baptisme was the token of the people of God they procured also their children to be baptised Therefore as it is written Abraham circumcised all the male children of hys house Semblably we read in the Actes and writyngs of the Apostles that after the Maister of the house was turned to the fayth all the whole house was baptised And as concernyng those which of olde tyme were compelled to confesse their fayth before they receyued baptisme whiche were called Cathecumeni they were such as with our forefathers came from the Gentiles to the Church who beyng yet rude of fayth they did instruct in the principles of their beliefe and afterward they did baptise them but the same auncient Fathers notwithstandyng dyd baptise the children of faythfull men as I haue already partly declared And because you doe require a hasty aunswer of your letter of one that is but a dull writer I am here enforced to cease particularly to go through your letter in aunswering thereto knowyng that I haue fully answered euery part thereof in that I haue already written although not in such order as it had bene meet and as I purposed But forasmuch as I vnderstand that you will be no contentious man neither in this matter neither in any other contrary to the iudgement of Christes Primatiue Churche which is the body and fulnesse of Christ. I desire you in the entire loue of hym or rather Christ desireth you by me that your ioy may be perfect whereto you are now called to submit your iudgement to that Church and to bee at peace and vnitie with the same that the coate of Christ which ought to be without seame but now alas most miserably is torne in pieces by many daungerous sectes and damnable opinions may appeare by you in no part to haue bene rented neither that any giddy head in these dog dayes myght take an example by you to dissent froÌ„ Christes true Church I beseech thee deare brother in the Gospell follow the steps of the faith of the glorious Martirs in the Primatiue Church and of such as at this day folow the same decline not from them neither to the right hand nor to the left Then shall death be it neuer so bitter bee more sweeter then this lyfe then shall Christ with al the heauenly Hierusalem triumphantly embrace your spirite with vnspeakeable gladnes and exaltation who in this earth was content to ioyne your spirit with their spirites accordyng as it is commaunded by the word that the spirite of Prophets should be subiect to the Prophetes One thyng aske with Dauid ere you depart and require the same that you may dwell with a full accorde in hys house for there is glory and worship and so with Simeon in the temple embracing Christ depart in peace to the whiche peace Christ bryng both you and me and all our louyng brethren that loue God in the vnity of fayth by such wais as shall please hym to his glory Let the bitter passion of Christ which he suffred for your sake and the horrible torments which the godly Martyrs of Christ haue endured before vs and also the inestimable reward of your lyfe to come which is hidden yet a little whyle from you wyth Christ strengthen comfort and encourage you to the end of that glorious race which you are in Amen Your yoke fellow in captiuitie for the veriâ—ie of Christes Gospell to lyue and dye with you in the vnitie of fayth Iohn Philpot. ⧠Diuers other letters were written by M. Philpot to diuers but these as most principall I haue excerpted and inserted Amongest which I thought here not much impertinent to the place to adioyne an other certayne letter of a godly zealous Gospeller whose name in her writyng doth not appeare who in defendyng and commendyng the quarell of this M. Iohn Philpot Christes most famous and worthy Martyr was therefore troubled and brought before B. Boner And therefore beyng appoynted by the sayd bishop to appeare vpon a certayne day to aunswer for her selfe In deede kept not her day with the Bishop but in stead of her appearance sent hym this letter here followyng ¶ Wo be vnto the Idolatrous Shepeherds of England that feede themselues Should not the Shepeherdes feede the flocke but ye haue eaten the fatte ye haue clothed you with the wooll the best fed haue ye slayne but the flocke haue ye not nourished the weake haue ye not holden vp the sicke haue ye not healed the broken haue ye not bound together the outcastes haue ye not brought agayne the lost haue ye not sought but churlishly and cruelly haue ye ruled them Ezech. 34. FOr as much my Lord as my busines is such that I can not come vnto your Lordshippe accordyng to my promise I haue bene so bold to write these few wordes vnto you partly to excuse myne absence and partly to answere your Lordships demaunds at my last most happy departure from you As touchyng the breache of my promise with you in not commyng agayne at the hower appoynted your Lordship shall vnderstand that I take the counsaile of the Angell which warned the wyse men not to come agayne to Herode accordyng to their promise but to turne home agayne another way Now my Lord I perceiuyng your Lordship to be a more cruell tyraunt then euer was Herode and more desirous to destroy Christ in hys poore members then euer was he which to destroy Christ killed hys owne sonne I thought good to take the Angels counsaile and to come no more at you for I see that you are set all in a rage lyke a rauenyng wolfe agaynst the poore lambs of Christ appoynted to the slaughter for the testimonye of the truth In deed you are called the common cut throte generall slaughter slaue to all the Bishops of Englande and therefore it is wisedome for me and all other simple sheepe of the Lord to keepe vs out of your butchers stalle as long as we can especially seyng that you haue suche store alredy that you are not able to drinke al their bloud least you should breake your belly and therefore let them lye still and dye for hunger Therefore my L. I thought it good to tary a tyme vntill your Lordships stomacke were come to you a little better for I do perceyue by your great fat cheekes that you lacke no lambes fleshe yet and belike
not cease with continuall prayer to labour for you desiryng almighty GOD to encrease that which he hath long sith begonne in you of sober lyfe and earnest zeale towardes his Religion In fayth as sayth Sainct Paule she that is a true widowe and frendlesse putteth her trust in GOD continuyng day and night in Supplication and prayer but she that liueth in pleasure is dead euen yet aliue And verely a true widowe is she that hath maryed Christ forsakyng the vanities of the worlde and luste of the fleshe For as the maryed woman careth howe to loue please and serue her husband so ought the widowe to geue all her hart and soule thoughtes and wordes studies and labours faythfully to loue GOD vertuously to bryng vp her children and houshold and diligently to prouide for the poore and oppressed Therefore Sainct Paule first instructeth a widow how to behaue her selfe that is Not to liue in pleasure then to watche vnto prayer as the onely meanes to obtayne all our desires stedfastly laying vppe all our trust in GOD as Dauid right well sayeth First eschew euill then doe good Of Anna the prayse was written that shee neuer went out of the Temple but serued GOD with fastyng and prayer night and day so well had she espoused Christ. Iudith ware a smocke of heare continuyng in fastyng and had good report of all men The next care that belongeth to a widowe is that she bryng vppe her children and houshold godly in the nourture and information of the Lorde Whereof Saincte Paule sayeth If any haue Children or Nephewes lette them learne firste to rule their owne house Godly and to recompence their elders The incontinencie and coueteousnesse of Phinees and Ophny not corrected by Ely their Father prouoked GODS vengeaunce vppon him and all his kynred The ouer tender loue of Absolon expelled Dauid from his kyngdome The vnrebuked sinnes of Ammon encouraged Absolon to flea his brother most manifest examples agaynste the parentes for the offences of their Children Contrarywise how greatly might Hannah reioyce ouer Samuell her Sonne whome she had brought vppe in the house of the Lorde What thankes might Tobias wife giue for her Sonne Toby How happy was Salomō to be taught by the prophet Nathan But aboue all widowes thrise blessed was the happy mother of the vij Sonnes that so had instructed them by the feare of GOD that by no tormentes they would shrincke from the loue of his truth Of the last parte Saincte Paule sheweth that a widowe shoulde bee chosen If shee haue nourished her Children if shee haue been liberall to straungers if shee haue washed the Sainctes feete and if shee haue ministred to them in aduersitie Herein it is euident howe earnestly Saincte Paule would haue widowes bent towardes the poore for that as though they onely had been therefore meete hee appointed onely widowes to minister to the Sainctes and to gather for the poore Whiche vse also continued almost throughout the primitiue Churche that widowes had the charge and gatheryng for the poore men and straungers Of your neighboures I neede not to put you in remembraunce seeynge you dayly feede them with good Hospitalitie by whiche meanes also many foreners are of you relieued but of the poore Almes houses and miserable prisoners here in London many lacking their libertie wythout cause some vnder the colour of Religion some onely kept for fees and some on priuate mennes displeasure Alas that Christe so hungereth and no man will feede hym is so sore opprest with thyrst and no man will geue him to drinke destitute of all lodgyng and not relieued naked and not cloathed sicke and not visited imprisoned and not seene In tyme past menne could bestowe large summes of money on copes vestimentes and ornamentes of the Churche Why rather follow we not S. Ambroses example whiche solde the same to the reliefe of the poore or Chrysostomes commaundement which willeth first to decke and garnish the liuing temple of God But alas suche is the wickednesse of these our last dayes that nothing moueth vs neyther the pure doctrine the godlines of life nor good examples of the auncient Fathers If in any thing they erred if they haue written anye thynge that serueth for sectes and dissension that will their charitable children embrace publishe and mayntayne with sworde Fagot and fire But all in vayne they stryue agaynst the streame For though in despite of the truth by force of the oers of crafty perswasion they maye bringe themselues into the hauen of hell yet can they not make all menne bebeleue that the bankes moue whilest the shippe sayleth nor euer shall be able to turne the directe course of the streame of Gods truth Our Lord Iesus Christ strengthen you in al pure doctrine and vpright liuing and geue you grace vertuously to bring vp your children and family and carefully to prouide for the poore and oppressed Amen At Newgate the 20. of Ianuary Ann. 1556. Your assured Bartlet Greene. An other certayne writing of M. Bartlet Greene. BEtter is the day of death sayth Salomon then the daye of birth Man that is borne of woman liueth but a shorte tyme and is replenished with many miseries but happye are the dead that dye in the Lord. Man of woman is borne in trauell to liue in misery manne thorough Christe dothe dye in ioye and lyue in felicitie He is borne to dye and dyeth to liue Straight as he cōmeth into the world with cryes he vttereth his miserable estate straight as he departeth with songes hee prayseth God for euer Scarse yet in his cradle 3. deadly enemies assault him after death no aduersary may annoy him Whilest hee is here he displeaseth God when he is dead he fulfilleth his will In this lyfe here he dyeth through sinne in the life to come he liueth in righteousnesse Through many tribulations in earth he is still purged with ioye vnspeakeable in heauen is he made pure for euer Here he dyeth euery houre there hee liueth continuallye Here is sinne there is righteousnes Here is tyme there is eternitie Here is hatred there is loue Here is payne there is pleasure Here is miserye there is felicity Here is corruption there is immortalitie Here we see vanitie there shall we behold the maiestie of god with triumphant and vnspeakeable ioy in glory euerlasting Seeke therefore the thinges that are aboue where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God the father vnto whom with the sonne and the holy Ghost be all honour and glory world without end Amen Yours in Christ Bartlet Grene. Diuers other letters and matters there were beside which this seruaunt of God did write as namely certayn notes extractes in Latine out of the Doct. other authours for his memory wherby is declared how studious he was in the searching and knowledge of the law of God although his profession was the temporall lawe Where I would 〈◊〉 God
dying most constantly for hys woord and truth to whom most louingly shee espoused her selfe And thus muche concerning the life storie condemnation of these vij Martyrs afore specified ⧠Seuen godly and constant Martyrs suffering at one fire together in Smithfield Fiue other Martyrs in Caunterburie foure women and one man at two stakes and one fire all together burned AFter these seuen aboue rehearsed Martyred together in Smithfielde shortly after in the same moneth the â—â—â—â— day of Ianuarie followed an other like fellowship of godly Martyrs at Caunterburie four women and one man whose names be these Iohn Lomas a yong man Anne Albright Ioane Catmer Annes Snoth widowe Ioane Sole wife 1 Iohn Lomas Martyr IOhn Lomas of the parish of Tenterden detected and presented of that religion which the papists call heresie and cited vpon the same to appeare at Canterburie examined there of the first article whether he beleued the catholicke church or no answeared thus that he beleeued so much as is contained in Gods booke and no more Then being assigned to appeare againe vnder the pain of lawe the next Wednesday seuennight after which was the xvij day of Ianuarie the said Lomas examined whether he would be confessed of a priest or no answeared and sayde that he founde it not wrytten that he should be confessed to any Priest in Gods booke neither would be confessed vnlesse hee were accused by some man of sinne Againe examined whether he beleeued the body of Christe to be in the Sacrament of the Altare really vnder the formes of bread and wine after the consecration or no he answeared that he beleeued no realtie of Christes body to be in the Sacrament neither founde hee wrytten that hee is there vnder forme or tressell but he beleeued so muche as is wrytten Being then demaunded whether he beleeued that there is a catholicke churche or no and whether hee would be content to be a member of the same he answeared thereunto that he beleeued so muche as was wrytten in Gods booke and other aunsweare then this hee refused to geue c. Whereuppon the sentence was geuen and red against hym the xviij day of Ianuarie and so committed to the seculare power hee constantly suffered for the conscience of a true Faith wyth the other fower women here following 2 Agnes Snoth Martyr AGnes Snoth widowe of the Parishe of Smarden likewise accused cited for the true profession of Christes religion was diuers times examined before the Pharisaicall fathers Who there compelled to answere to suche Articles and Interrogatories as should be ministred vnto her firste denied to be confessed to a Priest notwithstanding shee denied not to confesse her offences as one to an other but not auricularlye to anye Priest And as touching the Sacrament of the aultare shee protested that if shee or any other did receiue the Sacrament so as Christe and as his Apostles after him did deliuer it then shee and they did receiue it to their comfort but as it is nowe vsed in the church shee sayd that no man coulde otherwise receiue it than to his damnation as she thought Afterward being examined againe concerning penaunce whether it were a Sacrament or no she plainly denied the same and that the Popish manner of their absolution was not consonant to the woorde nor necessary to be taken with suche other like agreeing with the aunsweres and confession of Iohn Lomas before mentioned Whereupon the sentence likewise being red she was committed to the sheriffes of Canterbury and so suffering Martyrdome with the rest declared her selfe a perfect and constant witnesse of Christ and of his truth the xxxj day of Ianuarie 3 Anne Albright alià s Champnes Martyr AGainst Anne Albright likewise appearing before the Iudge and his Colleagues it was also obiected concerning the same matter of Confession Whereunto shee answeared in these woordes saying that shee woulde not be confessed of a priest and added moreouer speaking vnto the Priests You Priests sayde shee are the children of perdition and can doe no good by your Confession And likewise speaking vnto the Iudge and his assistants shee tolde them that they were subuerters of Christes truth And as touching the Sacrament of the aultar she said it was a noughty and abhominable idoll and so vtterlye denied the same sacrament Thus persisting and perseuering in her former sayings answers shee was condemned the sayd 18. day of the sayde moneth with the other aboue mentioned with whom also she suffered quietly and with great comfort for the right of Christes religion Ioane Sole IN like maner Ioane Sole of the parish of Horton was condemned of the same Phariseis and Priestes for not allowing confession ariculare and for denyinge the reall presence and substaunce of Christ to be in the sacrament of the aultare Who after their Pharisaicall sentence beynge promulgate was brought by the Sheriffes to the stake with the other fower and sustained the like Martyrdome with them through the assistaunce of Gods holy grace and spirite mightely woorking in her to the glorye of his name and confirmation of his truth Ioane Catmer THe fift and last of this heauenly company of Martyrs was Ioane Catmer of the parish of Hith wife as it should seeme of George Catmer burned before Who being asked what shee sayde to Confession made to a Priest denyed to be confessed to any suche priest And moreouer the Iudge speaking of the sacrament of the altar she sayd and affirmed that shee beleeued not in that sacrament as it was then vsed for that it was made sayd shee a very idoll In this her confession she remaining and persisting was by the like sentence cruelly of them condemned and so suffered with the foresayd Thomas Lomas and the other three fellow Martyrs ratifying and confessing wyth their bloud the true knowledge and doctrine oâ— the glorious Gospel of Christ Iesus our Sauiour The burning of the foresayd man and foure women These 5. persones were burnt at 2. stakes and one fire together at Canterbury as is before sayd Who when the fire was flaming aboute their eares did singe Psalmes Whereat the good Knight Syr Iohn Norton being there present wept bitterly at the sight thereof The Iudges and the other assistantes which sate vppon her and the other foure aboue mentioned were Richard Faucet Iohn Warren Iohn Milles Robert Collins and Iohn Baker the Notarie ⧠The life state and storie of the Reuerend Pastour and Prelate Thomas Cranmer Archbishop of Caunterburie Martyr burned at Oxforde for the Confession of Christes true Doctrine vnder Queene Marie An. 1556. March 21. AS concerning the life and estate of that moste reuerend father in God and woorthy Prelate of godlye memorie Thomas Cranmer late Archbishop of Canterburie and of the originall cause and occasion of his preferment vnto hys Archiepiscopall dignitie who of many hath bene thought to haue procured the same
me thinketh your apparell doth as much vary from an Apostle So then there spake one of the Bishops Gentlemen My Lord sayd he in mockadge geue him a chaire a toste and drinke and he wil be lusty But the Byshop bad haue him away and cōmaunded him to come before him agayn the next day at an houre appoynted But winchester for lacke of leasure or because of sickenes growing vpon him or for what cause els I know not either would not or could not attend vnto him but returned him agayne to his Ordinary Bishop from whence he came So william Tyms being put of agayne to Bishop Boner was placed together and coupled with the other fiue Martyrs aboue named and with them brought together to publicke examination before the Bishop the 21. day of March first in the Bishops Palace of London where the sayd Bishop after his accustomed maner proceeding agaynst them enquyred of them theyr fayth vpon the Sacrament of the aultar To whom they aunswered that the body of Christ was not in the sacrament of the aultar really and corporally after the wordes of consecration spoken by the Prieste of the whiche opinion they had bene of long time some later some sooner euē as God of his mercy dyd call them vnto the knowledge of his Gospell Then the Bishops Chapleines began to reason with thē but with no great authorities either of the scriptures or of the auncient fathers ye may be sure as other theyr large conferences with the learned do already declare An other examination of Tyms and Drakes and the rest before the Bishop of London THe xxiij day of the same moneth next after the Bishop sent agayne for Tyms and Drakes and Ex officio did obiect vnto them certayne Articles the summe and maner wherof were the same which before obiected to Whittell Greene Tudson Went Burn Eliza◠Foster Lashford looke pag. 1589. And the 26. day of the same month he sent for the other foure ministring vnto thē also the same generall articles Unto the which they all in effect answered in matters touching theyr fayth as did the sayd Bartl Grene and the rest Other appearinges they had as the Bishops common maner of proceding was more as I haue often sayd for order and forme of law thē for any zeale of iustice But in conclusion the xxviij day of this Moneth of March William Tyms and Robert Drakes with the other 4. aboue named were brought to the open Consistory in Paules before the sayd Bishop of London to be condēned for heresy The bishop first began in this or like sort Tyms quoth he I will begin with thee firste for thou art and hast bene the ringleader of these thy companions thou hast taughte them heresies confirmed them in their erroneous opinions and hast indeuored as much as in thee lyeth to make them like vnto thy selfe If thy faulte had not tended to the hurt of other I would thē haue vsed thee more charitably and not haue brought thee to this open rebuke I woulde according to the rule of Christ in the 18. of Mathew haue told thee thy fault betwene me thee if thou wouldest not haue heard me I would not so haue lefte thee but I wyth two or thre other would haue exhorted thee if that would not haue serued then woulde I haue told the Church c. But for that thy fault is open manifest to the world and thou thy selfe remainest stout in thine error this charitable dealing is not to be extended towardes thee I haue therfore thought good to proceed by an other rule whereof S. Paule speaketh 1. Tim. 5. Such as sinne rebuke thē openly that other may feare For this cause art thou brought before me in the face of this people to receiue iudgemēt according to thy deserts Let me see what thou canst say why I should not proceed agaynst thee as thine Ordinary My Lord quoth Tyms will you now geue me leaue to speake yea quoth the Bishop Then sayde Tyms My Lord I maruell that you will begin with a lye You call me the ringleader teacher of this cōpany but how vntruly you haue sayd shall shortly appeare for there is none of all these my brethren whiche are brought hither as prisoners but when they were at liberty and out of prison they dissented from you and your doinges as much as they do at this present and for that cause they are now prisoners So it is euident that they learned not their Religiō in prison And as for me I neuer knew them vntil such time as I by your commaundement was prisoner with them how could I then be their ringleader and teacher So that al the world may see how vntruly you haue spokē And as for my fault which you make so greuous whatsoeuer you iudge of me I am wel assured that I hold none other religiō thē Christ preached the Apostles witnessed the primatiue church receiued now of late the Apostolicall and Euangelical preachers of this realm haue faithfully taught for the which you haue cruelly burned them and now you seeke our bloud also Proceed on hardly by what rule you will I force not I do not refuse you for my Ordinary Then sayd the Bishoppe I perceyue thou wilt not be coūted their ringleader How sayst thou wilt thou submit thy selfe to the catholicke Church as an obedient childe in so doing thou shalt be receiued and do wel enough otherwise thou shalt haue iudgement as an hereticke Then one of the prisoners whose name is not certainly knowne sayd my Lord you are no vpright Iudge for you iudge after your owne lust But if you will iudge vs according to the holy Testament of Christe whiche is the word of truth we will accord to your iudgement for vnto that word we wholy submit our selues But as for your iudgement without that truth God shall condemne And this prisoner was very earnestly in hand with the bishop that they might be iudged by the word of God With this the Bishop was offended calling him busye knaue and commaunded him to holde his toung or els he should be had away to a place of smaller ease Then Tyms aunswered and sayd My Lord I doubt not but I am of the Catholicke Church whatsoeuer you iudge of me But as for your Church you haue before this day renounced it and by corporall oth promised neuer to consēt to the same Contrary to the which you haue receyued into this realme the Popes authority therefore you are falsly periured forsworne all the sort of you Besides this you haue both spoken and written very earnestly agaynst that vsurped power now you do burne men that will not acknowledge the Pope to be supreme head Haue I quoth the bishop Where haue I written any thing agaynst the church of Rome My Lord quoth Tyms the Bishoppe of Winchester wrote a very learned Oration intituled De vera obedientia
English seruice so causing vs to sinne against our redemption For such as willingly and wittingly agaynst their consciences shall so do as it is to be feared many one doth they are in a miserable state vntill the mercy of God turn them which if he do not we certainly beleeue that they shall eternally be damned and as in this world they deny Christes holy word and Communion before men so shal christ deny them before his heauenly father and his Aungelles And where as it is verye earnestly required that we should go in Procession as they call it at whiche time the Priest say in Latine such thinges as we are ignoraunt of the same edifieth nothing at all vnto godlinesse And wee haue learned that to follow Christes Crosse is an other matter namely to take vp our Crosse and to follow chryst in pacient suffering for his loue tribulations sicknes pouertie prison or anye other aduersitie whensoeuer Gods holy wil pleasure is to lay the same vppon vs. The tryumphant Passion and death of Christ wherby in his own person he conquered death sinne hell and damnatioÌ„ hath most liuely bene preached vnto vs and the glory of Chrystes crosse declared by our Preachers whereby wee haue learned the causes and effectes of the same more liuely in one Sermon then in all the Processions that euer wee went in or euer shall go in When wee worshipped the diuine Trinitie kneelyng and in the Letanie inuocating the Father the Sonne and the holy Ghost asking mercye for our sinnes and desiring such petitions as the neede of oure frayle estate and thys mortall life requireth we were edified both to know vnto whom all Christian praiers should be directed and also to know that of Gods hand we receaue all thinges as well to the saluation of our soules as to the reliefe of our mortall necessities And we humbly beseech the Queenes maiestie that the same most holye prayers may bee continued amongest vs that our Ministers praying in oure mother tongue and wee vnderstanding their prayers and petitions may aunswere Amen vnto them At euening seruice we vnderstoode our Ministers prayers we wer taught admonished by the scriptures then read whiche in the latine Euensong is all gone At the ministration of holy baptisme we learned what league and couenauâ—t God had made with vs and what vowes and promises we vpon our part had made namely to beleue in him to forsake Satan and his workes to walke in the way of Gods holy word commandemeÌ„tes The Christian Catechisme continually taught called to remembraunce the same wheras before no man knew any thing at all And many good men of lx yeares that hadde bene godfathers to xxx children knew no more of the godfathers office but to wash their handes ere they departed the Church or els to fast fiue Fridayes bread and water O mercifull God haue pittie vpon vs. Shall we be altogether cast from thy presence We may well lament our miserable estate to receaue such a commaundement to reiect and cast out of our Churches all these most godly praiers instructions admonitions and doctrines thus to be compelled to deny God and Christ our Sauiour hys holy word al his doctrine of our saluation the candle to our feete and the light to our steppes the bread comming downe from heauen that geueth life whiche who so drinketh it shall be in him a well spring streaming vnto eternall life wherby we haue learned all righteousnes al true Religion al true obedience towardes our gouernours al charitie one towardes an other all good workes that god would vs to walk in what punishment abideth the wicked and what heauenly rewarde God will geue to those that reuerently walke in his wayes and commaundementes Wherefore right honourable Commissioners wee can not without impietie refuse and caste from vs the holye word of God which we haue receaued or condemne anye thing set forth by our most godly late king Edward hys vertuous proceedinges so agreable to Gods worde And our most humble suite is that the coÌ„maundement may be reuoked so that we be not constrayned thereunto For we protest before God we thinke if the holy word of God had not taken some roote amongest vs we could not in tyme past haue done that poore duety of ours which wee did in assisting the Queene our most deare soueraigne agaynst her Graces mortall foe that then fought her destruction It was our bounden duetie and wee thanke God for the knowledge of his worde and grace that we then did some part of our bounden seruice And we meekely pray and beseeche the Queenes Maiestie for the deare passion of Iesus Christ that the same word be not takeÌ„ away out of her Churches nor from vs her louyng faythfull and true subiectes lest if the like necessitie should hereafter chaunce which God for his mercies sake forbid and euer saue and defeÌ„d her grace and vs all the want of knowledge of due remembrauÌ„ce of Gods word may be occasion of great ruine to an infinite number of her graces true subiectes And truely we iudge this to be one subtile part of the deuil enemy to all godly peace and quietnesse that by takyng Gods word from among vs and plantyng ignoraunce he may make a way to all mischief and wickednes by banishyng the holy Gospell of peace he may bring vpon vs the heauy wrath of God with all maner of plagues as death straunge sicknes pestilence morren most terrible vprores commotions seditions These thyngs did the Lord threaten vnto the Iewes for refusing his word saying Goe and thou shalt say vnto this people Ye shall heare in deede but ye shall not vnderstand ye shall playnly see and not perceiue Harden the hart of this people stop their eares and shut their eyes that they see not with their eyes heare not with their eares and vnderstand not with their hartes and conuert and be healed And I said how loÌ„g Lord And he aunswered Vntill the Cities be destroyed vtterly wasted without habiters and the houses without men till the laÌ„d also be desolate lye vnbuilded And the Prophet Micheas considering the contempt of Gods word amoÌ„g the Israelites threatned them thus When the day that thy preachers warned thee of commeth thou shalt be wasted away And let no man beleue his frend or put confidence in his brother Keepe the doore of thy mouth from her that lyeth in thy bosome for the sonne shall put his father to dishonour and the daughter shal rise agaynst her mother the daughter in law agaynst the mother in the law and a mans foes shal be eueÌ„ they of his owne houshold The same plague threatned Christ vnto the Iewes for refusing his peace profered them in the Gospel and he wept on the Citie Ierusalem which murdered the Prophetes and stoned such as were sent vnto her The same plagues we are afrayd will also fall vpon vs. For whereas
our eternal comfort dissolue the same and seperate vs asunder againe for a time Wherfore I thought it good yea and my bouÌ„den duety by this simple letter to prouoke styrre admonish you to behaue your selfe in all your doinges sayinges and thoughtes most thankfully vnto our good God for the same And therefore my deare wife as you haue hartily reioyced in the Lord and oftentimes geuen God thanks for his goodnes in bringing vs together in his holy ordinauÌ„ce eueÌ„ so now I desire you when this time of our seperation shal come to reioyce with me in the Lord and to geue him most harty thanks that he hath to his glory and our endles commodity separated vs againe for a little time hath mercifully taken me vnto himselfe forth of this miserable world into his celestiall kingdom beleuing and hoping also assuredly that God of hys goodnesse for his sonne Christes sake will shortlye bring you and your deare children thither to me that we maye moste ioyfully together sing prayses vnto his glorious name for euer And yet once agayne I desire you for the loue of God and as euer you loued me to reioyce with me and to geue God continuall thankes for doing his most mercifull wil vpon me I heare say that you do oftentimes vse to repeate this godly saying The Lordes wil be fulfilled Doubtlesse it reioyceth my poore hart to heare that report of you for the lordes sake vse that godly praier continually and teach your children and family to say the same day and night and not onely say it with your toungs but also with your hart and mind and ioyfully to submit your will to Gods will in very deed knowing beleuing assuredly that nothing shall come to you or any of yours otherwise then it shall be hys almightie and fatherly good wil and pleasure and for your eternall comfort and commodity Which thing to be moste true and certayne Christ testifyeth in his holy gospell saying Are not two litle Sparowes sold for a farthing and yet not one of them shall perish without the wil of your heauenly father And he concludeth saying Feare not yee therefore for yee are better then many sparowes As though he shoulde haue sayd If God haue such a respecte and care for a poore sparowe which is not worth one farthing that it shall not be taken in the lime twig net or pitfall vntill it be his good will pleasure you may be wel assured that not one of you whoÌ„ he so dearly loueth that he hath geueÌ„ his only deare sonne for you shall perishe or depart forth of this miserable life without his almighty good will and pleasure Therefore deare wife put your truste and confidence wholly onely in him and euer pray that his will be fulfilled and not yours except it be agreeing to his will the which I pray GOD it may euer be Amen And as for worldly thinges take you no care but be you well assured the Lorde your deare God and father will not see you nor yours lacke if you continue in his loue and childely feare and keepe a cleare conscience from all kinde of Idolatry superstition and wickednes as my trust is that you wyll doe although it be with the losse and daunger of this temporall life And good Margaret feare not them that canne but kill the body and yet can they not do that vntill God geue them leaâ—e but feare to displease him that can kyll both body and soule and cast them into hell fire Let not the remembraunce of your children keep you from God The Lord himselfe will be a father and a mother better then euer you or I could haue bene vnto them He himselfe wil do all thinges necessary for them yea as much as rock the Cradle if need be He hath geuen his holy Angels charge ouer them therefore committ them vnto him But if you may liue with a cleare conscience for elles I woulde not haue you to liue and see the bringing vp of your children your selfe looke that you nurture them in the feare of God and keepe them farre from Idolatry superstition and all other kinde of wickednesse and for Gods sake helpe them to some learning if it be possible that they may increase in vertue and godly knowledge which shal be a better dowry to marry them withall then any worldlye substaunce and when they be come to age prouide them such husbandes as feare God and loue his holy worde I charge you take heede that you match them with no Papistes and if you liue and marry agayne your selfe whiche thing I woulde wishe you to doe if neede require or els not good wife take heede how you bestowe your selfe that you and my poore children be not compelled to wickednesse But if you shall be able well to liue Gods true widow I would counsell you so to liue still for the more quietnesse of your selfe and your poore children Take heede Margaret and play the wise womans part You haue warning by other if you will take an example And thus I commit you and my sweet children vnto Gods most merciful defence The blessing of God be with you and God seÌ„d vs a mery meeting together in heauen Farewel in Christ farewell mine owne deare hartes all Pray pray * To my good Brother Mayster Iohn Bradford THe peace of God in Iesus Christ the eternall comforte of his sweete spirite which hath surely sealed you vnto eternal saluation be with you and strengthen you in your ioyfull iourney towardes the celestiall Hierusalem my deare frend and most faythfull brother Maister Bradford to the setting forth of Gods glory and to your eternall ioy in Christ Amen Euer since that good M. Philpot shewed me your last letter my deare hart in the Lord I haue coÌ„tinued in great heauines and perplexity not for any hurt or discommodity that I can perceiue comming towardes you vnto whoÌ„ doubtlesse death is made life and great felicity but for the great losse that Gods Churche here in Englande shall sustaine by the taking away of so godly worthy and necessary an instrument as the Lorde hath made you to be Oh that my life and a thousand such wretched liues mo might go for yours Oh why doth God suffer me and such other Caterpillers to liue that can doe nothing but consume the almes of the church and take away you so worthy a workman laborer in the Lordes vineyard But wo be to our sinnes great vnthankfulnes whiche is the greatest cause of the taking away of such worthy instrumeÌ„tes of God as shoulde set forth his glory instruct his people If we had bene thaÌ„kfull vnto God for the good ministers of his word we had not bene so soone depriued both of it and them The Lord forgeue our great ingratitude sinnes and geue vs true repentaunce and fayth hold his hand of mercy ouer vs for his deare sonne Christes sake Take
not awaye all thy true preachers forth of this realme O Lord but leaue vs a seede least England be made like vnto Sodome and Gomorre when thy true Lothes be gone But what goe I aboute to mingle your myrthe wyth my mourning and your iust ioy with my deserued sorow If I loued you in deede as I haue pretended I shoulde surely reioyce with you most hartily praise god on your behalfe from the very bottome of my hart I should prayse God day and night for your excellēt election in through his great mercy and should geue him most humble thākes for your vocation by his Gospell your true knowledge in the same I should earnestly prayse him for your sweete iustification wherof you are most certayne by Gods grace and spirite should instantly pray vnto him for your glorification which shall shortly ensue I should reioyce and be glad to see you so dignifyed by the crowne of Martyrdome and to be appoynted to that honour to testify hys truth and to seale it with your bloud I should highly extoll the Lord who hath geuen you a glorious victory euer al your enemies visible and inuisible and hath geuen you grace and strength to finish the Tower that you haue begunne to build Finally if I loued you I should most hartily reioice and be glad to see you deliuered from this body of sinne and vile prison of the fleshe and brought into that heauenly tabernacle where you shal be safely kept and neuer offend him more This and much more should I do if I had a good hart towardes God or you his deare childe But alas I am an hypocrite do seeke nothing but mine owne commodity I would haue gods euerlasting prouidēce geue place to my peeuish will purpose although it were to the hinderance of his glory and your sweet commodity God forgeue me my horrible ingratitude sinnes offēces agaynst him and good brother do you forgeue me my great negligence and vnthankfulnes towards you and henceforth I promise you I will put my will to Gods wil pray that the same may be fulfilled in you so long as you be on this earth and when you are taken hence I will most hartely prayse the Lord for you so lōg as I haue my being in this world Ah my deare hart nowe I muste take my leaue of you and as I thinke my Vltimum vale in this lyfe but in the life to come I am righte well assured we shall merilye meete together that shortly I trust And in taking of my leue of you my deare hart in the Lord I shall desire you faythfully to remēber all the sweet messages that the Lord our good God most deare louing father hath sent you by me his most vnworthy seruaunt which as they are moste true so shall they be most truly accōplished vpon you eternally and for the more assurance and certificate thereof to your godly cōscience he hath cōmaunded me to repeat the same vnto you agayne in his owne name and word Therfore now geue eare and faithfull credence Harken O ye heauens and thou earth geue eare and beare me witnes at the great day that I do here faythfully and truly the lordes message vnto his dear seruant his singularly beloued and elect childe Iohn Bradford Iohn Bradford thou man so specially beloued of God I pronoūce testify vnto thee in the word name of the Lord Iehoua that all thy sinnes whatsoeuer they be be they neuer so many so grieuous or so great be fully freely pardoned released forgeuen thee by the mercy of God in Iesus Christ thyne onely Lord sweet sauiour in whom thou doest vndoubtedly beleue Christ hath cleansed thee with his bloud and clothed thee with his righteousnes and hath made thee in the sight of God his father without spotte or wrinckle so that when the fire doth his appoynted office thou shalt be receyued as a sweete burnt sacrifice into heauen where thou shalt ioyfully remayn in Gods presence for euer as the true inheritor of his euerlasting kingdome vnto that whiche that wast vndoubtedly predestinate ordeined by the Lords vnfallible purpose and decree before the foundation of the worlde was layde And that this is most true that I haue sayd I call the whole Trinity the almighty and eternall maiesty of God the father the sonne and the holy ghost to my record at this present whom I humbly beseech to confirme and stablish in thee the true and liuelye feeling of the same Amen Selah Now with a mery hart and a ioyfull spirit something mixed with lawful teares I take my farewel of you mine owne deare brother in the Lorde who sende vs shortly a merye meeting in his kingdome that we maye both sing prayses together vnto him with hys holy Aungelles and blessed spirites for euer euer Farewel thou blessed of the Lord farewell in Christ depart vnto thy rest in the Lorde and pray for me for Gods sake As I had made an ende of this simple Letter I hearde some comfort both of good Maister Philpots seruant and yours but alas I doe scarcely beleue them Well I wyll hope in God pray all night that God will send me some comfort to morrowe and if the Lorde geue you sparing to morow let me heare foure words of comfort from you for Gods sake The blessing of God be with you now and for euer Amen Yours for euer in the Lord Iesus Iohn Careles liuing in hope agaynst hope In reading this letter of Iohn Careles to M. Bradford aboue prefixed wherein he maketh so much mētion of a certayne letter of his sent to him and of the great exceeding consolation he receiued of the same thou wilt wishe peraduenture good louing Reader in thy mynd to haue some sight also of the sayd Letter of M. Bradford Wherein to satisfy thy desire or rather to preuent thy petition I haue hereunto annexed the same to the entent thou mayest not onely vnderstand the contentes therof but also receiue fruit therof to thy cōsolation likewise The purport of the letter here foloweth ¶ Mayster Bradford to Careles ALmighty God our deare father through and for the merits of his dearely beloued sonne Iesus Christ be mercifull vnto vs pardon vs our offences vnder the winges of his mercy he protect vs from all euill from henceforth and for euer Amen Deare brother Careles I hartely pray you to pray to GOD for me for the pardon of my manifold sinnes and most grieuous offences whiche neede none other demonstration vnto you then this namely that I haue behaued my selfe so negligently in aunswering your godly triple letters whiche are three witnesses agaynst me God lay not them nor none other thing to my charge to condemnation though to correction not my will but his wil be done Concerning your request of absolution my dearest brother what shall I saye but euen as trueth is that the
that I haue receaued your letter for the which I hartely thanke you In dede I thinke it very shorte although it seemeth something sharpely to rebuke me in the beginning for the breach of my promise in not writing to you of this long tyme. Well brother I am contente to beare it with pacience considering that you are troubled otherwise the Lorde comforte you and all heauy hartes neyther will I spende ynke paper for my purgation in this poynte God he knoweth whether I bee so mindeles of my promise as it appeareth in your sight I am Your request I will truely performe to the vttermost of my power as gladly as any poore wretch shall do in the world and I thanke God I haue done no lesse of longe tyme. And as my poore prayer shall be a handmayd to waite vpon you which way soeuer you ryde or go so I beseech you that my simple counsell may take some place in you in this tyme of your pilgrimage whiche you passe in no small perill God keepe and preserue you for his names sake I doe not disalowe but muche prayse and commende your harty boldenesse in putting your selfe in preasse when any one of Gods people needeth your helpe in any poynte But yet I would not haue you thrust your selfe in daunger when you canne doe them no good or at least wise when they may well inough spare that good you woulde doe them For if you should then chaunce to be taken you shall not onely be no comfort vnto them but also a great discomfort adding sorrow vnto their sorrow I doe not perswade you to absent your selfe from any place where your presence of necessity is required for in all such places I know God will preserue you as he hath hitherto wonderfully done praysed be his name therefore or if it shall please him to permit you in any such place to be taken I know he will most sweetely cōfort your consciēce with this consideratiō that it is the very prouidēce appointmēt of God that you should there and then be taken vp for a witnes of his truthe vnto the worlde but I cannot alowe nor be contented that you shoulde rashly or negligently thrust your selfe into that place where your wicked enemyes do continually haunt yea and lay wayte for you when no necessitye of your selfe nor of any other of Gods people dothe require your company If they neede any of your godly counsel you may write vnto them that thinge that you thinke good which I dare say will be sufficient vnto them For continuall thankes and prayses be giuen vnto the euerlasting God there is none of those that be cruelly condemned for Gods truthe that now be weakelings for they haue manfully passed throughe the pikes and they haue boldly abidden the brunt of the battell and therefore I recken the worste is paste with them alreadye So that nowe and thē a godly letter from you to them shall doe as much good as your company shall doe and perchaunce more too for writing sticketh longer in the memorye then wordes doe yea though your letters were as shorte to them as your laste was to me so that the same bee something sweeter and not althing so sharpe This deare brother is the simple counsell which I woulde gladly haue you obserue partely for that I hartely pray for your preseruation to the commoditye of Christes Church and partly for that I vnfainedly wish the peace comfort and tranquility of your owne conscience which I knowe will be quickely ready to accuse you if you do any thing wherein you haue not the worde of God for your warrante For in a glasse that is cleare a small mote will soone appeare euen so the good conscience of Gods chosen children being more cleare then Cristall will quickely accuse them at the least fault they do commit whereas the wicked worldlinges haue their conscience so clogged corrupted thorough the custome of sinne that they cannot once see or perceiue their owne shamefull deedes wicked workes vntill God set the same before them for their vtter destruction then dispayre they immediately But seing that God hathe geuen you a cleare conscience and a pure sharpe quicke and liuely sight in your soule I woulde wishe you to beware that you doe nothing vnaduisedly but vpon a good ground For an accusing conscience is a sore thing when death doth approche and then Sathan will not sticke to tell you that you haue to much tempted God when peraduenture you haue done nothing so at all For thys cause I say partly I haue thought it good to admonishe you as I haue done often to be cirumspecte according to the counsell of Christ whiche biddeth you to beware of men Other thynges I haue not to write for I knowe this bearer can certifie you of all thinges at large better then I can declare it by writing I beseeche you good Augustine helpe me forwardes with your harty prayers for I trust I haue but a small time to tary in this troublesome worlde Doctour Story tolde oure Marshall that we should all be dispatched so soone as hee came from Oxford whether he and other bloudy butchers bee gone to make slaughter of Christes sheepe that lye there appoynted to be slain God for Christes sake put them and such like besides theyr cruell purpose if it be his good will and pleasure Amen good Lord. I pray you doe my moste harty commendations to my deare sister and faythfull friend good Mistres Mary glouer I beseeche God be her comforte as I doubte not but hee is I am verye glad to heare that she doth so ioyfully and so patiently beare this great crosse that God hath layde vppon her I pray God strengthen her and all other his deare Sayntes vnto the end Amen Commende me vnto my deare and faythfull sister Elizabeth B. I thanke her most hartily for my napkin and so I doe youre deare brother for my sherte Truely that day that wee were appoynted to come to oure aunswere before the Commissioners which had sent word the same morning that they woulde come to the kinges Benche by viii of the clocke and the house and all thinges were trimmed and made ready for them I got that sherte on my backe and that napkin in my hand and me thoughte that they did helpe to harnesse me and weapon me well to goe fight agaynst that bloudy beast of Babilon And trust me truely if they had come I woulde haue stricken three strokes the more for your two sakes as well as God would haue abled me to haue set them on as by Gods grace I will not fayle to do at the next skirmish that I come to Wherfore I pray you pray for me that I may be stronge and hardy to laye on good loade Oh that I might so strike him downe that hee should neuer be able for to rise agayne But that stroke belongeth onely vnto the Lorde to strike at his comming
were burned he speaketh neuer a worde of theyr condemners and true murderers in deede Thirdly for so much as M. Harding is here in hande with infantacide and with casting away young childrens liues I woulde wishe that as he hath sisted the doynges of this woman to the vttermost who was rather murdered then a murderer so hee would with an indifferent eye looke on the other side a little vppon them of hys owne Clergy and see what he could finde there amongest those wilfull contemners of immaculate mariage Not that I do accuse any of incontinencie whose liues I knowe not but there is one aboue that well knoweth and seeth all thinges be they neuer so secret to man and most certainly will pay home at length wyth fire and brimstone when hee seeth his time I say no more and not so much as I might following herein the Paynters whiche when their colours will not serue to expresse a thing that they meane they shadow it with a veile But howsoeuer the matter goeth with them whether they may or may not be suspected touchyng thys crime aforesayd of infantacide most sure and manifest it is that they are more then worthely to be accused of homicide in murdering the children and seruauntes of God bothe men and women wines and maydes old young blinde and â—ame madde and vnmadde discreete and simple innocentes learned with the vnlearned and that of all degrees from the high Archbishop to the Clark and Sexten of the church and that most wrongfully and wilfully with such effusion of innocent Christian bloud as cryeth vp dayly to God for vengeance And therefore M.H. in my minde shoulde doe well to spare a little time from these his inuectiues wherewith he appeacheth the poore protestantes of murder whom they haue murdered themselues and exercise his penne wyth some more fruitfull matter to exhort these spirituall Fathers first to cease from murdering of their owne children to spare the bloud of innocentes not to persecute Christ so cruelly in his members as they do and furthermore to exhort in like maner these Agamistes and wilful reiecters of matrimony to take themselues to lawfull wiues and not to resist Gods holy ordinaunce nor encounter his institution with an other contrary institution of theyr own deuising lest perhappes they preuented by fragilitie may fall into daunger of suche inconueniences aboue touched which if they be not in theÌ„ I shall be glad but if they be it is neyther theyr rayling agaynst the poore protestantes nor yet theyr secret auricular confession that shall couer theyr iniquities from the face of the Lord when hee shall come to reueale abscondita tenebrarum iudicare saeculum per ignem And thus for lacke of further laysâ—re I end with M. H. hauing no more at this time to â—ay vnto him but wish him to feare God to embrace his truth to remember himselfe and to surcease from this vncharitable rayling and brawling especially agaynst the dead whiche cannot aunswer him or if he will needes coÌ„tinue still to be suche a vehement accuser of other yet that hee will remember what belongeth to the part of a right accuser First that his accusation be true secondly that no blinde affection of partialitiâ— be mixt withall thirdly whosoeuer taketh vppon them to carpe and appeache the crimes of other oughte themselues to be sincere and vpright and to see what may be written in their owne foreheades Whoredome and murder be greeuous offences and worthy to bee accused But to accuse of murder the parties that were murdered and to leaue the other persons vntouched whiche were the true murderers it is the part of an accuser which deserueth himself to be accused of partialitie As verily I thinke by this woman that if she hadde bene a Catholicke Papiste and a deuout follower of their Church as she was a Protestant she had neyther bene condemned theÌ„ aliue of them nor now accused being dead of M. H. But God forgeue him and make him a good man if it be his will Three Martyrs burned at Greenstead in Sussex NEre about the same time that these three womeÌ„ with the infant were burned at Garnesey suffered other three likewise at Grenestead in Sussex two men and one woman the names of whome were Thomas Dungate Iohn Foreman and mother Tree who for righteousnes sake gaue themselues to death and tormentes of the fire patiently abiding what the furious rage of man could say or worke agaynst them at the sayde Towne of Grenested ending theyr lines the xviij of the said month of Iuly and in the yeare aforesaide ¶ The burning and Martyrdome of Thomas More in the Towne of Leicester Iune xxvi the yeare .1556 AS the bloudy rage of this persecution spared neyther manne woman nor childe wife nor mayde lame blynde nor creple and so through all men and women as there was no difference either of age or sexe considered so neyther was there any condition or qualitie respected of anye person but whosoeuer he were that helde not as they did on the pope and sacrament of the Aultar were he learned or vnlearned wise or simple innocent all went to the fire As may appeare by this simple poore creature innocent soule named Thomas More retayning as a seruaunt to a Mans house in the towne of Leicester about the age of 24. and after in manner of an housbandman for speakyng certayne wordes that his Maker was in heauen not in the Pixe was thereupon apprehended in the countrey being with his frendes Who comming before his Ordinary first was asked whether he did not beleue his Maker there to be poynting to the high Aultar Whiche he denyed Then asked the Bishop how then sayd hee doest thou beleue The young man aunswered agayn as his Creede did teache him To whom the bishop sayde and what is yonder that thou seest aboue the aultar He aunswering sayd forsooth I cannot tell what you would haue me to see I see there fine clothes with golden tassels and other gay geâ—e hanging about the pixe What is within I cannot see Why Doest thou not beleue sayth the bishoppe Christ to be there fleshe bloud and bone No that I doe not sayd he Whereupon the Ordinary making short with him red the sentence and so condemned the true and faythfull seruaunt of Christ to death in sainct Margaretes Churche in Leicester who was burnt and suffered a ioyfull glorious Martirdome for the testimony of righteousnesse in the same Towne of Leicester the yeare of our Lord aboue mentioned .1556 about the 26. of Iune To this Thomas Moore we haue also annexed the aunsweres and examination of one Iohn Iackson before Doctour Cooke one of the Commissioners for that it belongeth much vnto the same time ¶ The examination of Iohn Iackson had before Doctor Cooke the 11. day of March An. 1556. FIrst when I came before him he railed on me and called me hereticke I aunswered and sayde
error for the key that openeth the locke to Gods mysteries and to saluation is the key of faith and repentāce And as I haue heard learned men reason S. Austine and Origen with others are of this opinion Then they reuiled him and laide hym in the stockes all the night Wherewith certaine that were better minded being offended with such extremity willed Allin to keepe his cōscience to him selfe and to folow Baruckes counsel in the 6. chap. Wherfore when ye see the multitude of people worshipping thē behinde and before say ye in your harts O Lord it is thou that ought only to be worshipped Wherewith he was perswaded to goe to heare Masse the next day and sodenly before the sacring went out and considered in the Churchyard with him selfe that suche a litle cake betwene the priests fingers could not be Christ nor a materiall body neither to haue soule life sinnewes bones flesh legs head armes nor brest and lamēted that he was seduced by the place of Barucke which his conscience gaue him to be no Scripture or els to haue an other meaning and after this he was brought againe before syr Iohn Baker who asked why he did refuse to worship the blessed Sacrament of the aultar Allin It is an Idol Collins It is Gods body Allin It is not Collins By the Masse it is Allin It is bread Collins How proouest thou that Allin When Christ sate at his last supper and gaue them bread to eate Col. Bread knaue Allin Yea bread which you cal Christes body Sate he stil at the table or was he both in their mouthes at the table If he were both in their mouthes at the table then had he two bodies or els had a fantasticall body which is an absurditie to say it Sir Iohn Baker Christes body was glorified and might be in mo places then one Allin Then had he more bodies thē one by your own placing of him Collins Thou ignorāt Asse the schoole men say that a glorified body may be euery where Allin If his body was not glorified til it rose againe then was it not glorified at his last supper and therefore was not at the table and in their mouthes by your owne reason Collins A glorified body occupieth no place Allin That which occupieth no place is neither God nor any thing els but Christes body say you occupieth no place therefore it is neither God nor any thing els If it be nothing then is your religion nothing If it be God then haue we iiij in one Trinitie which is the persone of the father the person of the sonne the person of the holy ghost the humane nature of Christ. If Christ be nothing which you must needes confesse if he occupie no place then is our study in vaine our faith prostrate and our hope without reward Collins This rebel wil beleue nothing but scripture How knowest thou that it is the scripture but by the church and so sayeth S. Austin Allin I cannot tell what Austine sayth but I am perswaded that it is Scripture by diuers arguments First that the law worketh in me my condemnation The law telleth me that of my selfe I am dāned and this damnatiō M. Collins you must find in your self or els you shal neuer come to repētance For as this grief sorow of cōscience wtout faith is desperation so is a glorious Romish faith wtout the lamentatiōs of a mās sins presūption The second is the gospel which is the power spirit of God This spirite sayth S. Paule certifieth my spirite that I am the sonne of God and that these are the Scriptures The thirde are the wonderfull woorkes of God which cause me to beleue that there is a God though we glorifie him not as God Rom. 1. The sunne the moone the starres and other his workes as Dauid discourseth in the xix Psalme declareth that there is a God and that these are the scriptures because that they teach nothing els but God and his power maiestie and might and because the scripture teacheth nothing dissonant from this prescription of nature And fourthly because that the woord of God gaue authoritye to the church in paradise saying that the seede of the woman should brast down the Serpents head This sede is the gospel this is al the scriptures and by this we are assured of eternall life and these words The seede of the woman shall braste the serpentes heade gaue authoritie to the church and not the church to the worde Baker I hearde say that you spake against priests and bishops Allin I spake for thē for now they haue so much liuing especially bishops archdeacons and deanes that they neyther can nor wil teach Gods woord If they had a 100. pounds a peece then would they apply their studie now they can not for other affaires Col. Who wil then set his children to schoole Allin Where there is now one set to schoole for that end there would be 40. because that one Bishops liuing deuided into 30. or 40. partes would finde so manye as wel learned men as the bishops be now who haue all this liuing neither had Peter or Paul any such reuenew Baker Let vs dispatch him he wil mar all Collins If euery man had a 100. pounds as he saith it wold make mo learned men Baker But our bishops would be angrye if that they knew it Allin It were for a common wealth to haue such bishoppricks deuided for the further increase of learning Baker What sayest thou to the Sacrament Allin As I sayde before Baker Away with him And thus was he caried to prison and afterward burned And thus much touching the particular storie of Edm. Allin and his wife Who with the v. other martyrs aboue named being vij to wit v. women and ij men were altogether burned at Maidstone the yere and moneth afore mentioned and the 18. day of the same moneth An other storie of like crueltie shewed vpon other 7. Martyrs burnt at Cant. 3. men and 4. women AMong suche infinite seas of troubles in these most dāgerous daies who can withhold himselfe from bitter teares to see the madding rage of these presented Catholickes who being neuer satisfied with bloud to maintaine their carnall kingdome presume so highly to violate the precise law of Gods commandements in slaying the simple pore Lambes of the glorious congregation of Iesus Christ and that for the true testimonie of a good cōscience in confessing the immulate gospell of their saluatiō What heart wil not lamēt the murdering mischief of these men who for wāt of worke do so wreke their tine on seely pore women whose weake imbecillitie the more strēgth it lacketh by natural imperfection the more it ought to be helped or at least pitied and not oppressed of men that be stronger and especially of Priests that should be charitable But blessed be the Lord omnipotent who supernaturally hath indued from aboue such
I was seene and spoken too in Flaunders whereupon they left laying awaite for me for they had layd all the Countrey for me and the sea coast from Portesmouth to Douer euē as God put in my mind they would So when all was husht I went abroad among our friends brethren and at length I went beyond the Sea both into Flanders and in Fraunce but I thought euery day seuen yere or euer I were at home agayne So I came home again as soone as it was possible I was there but three weeks but as soone as I was come home and it once knowen among Baals priests they could not abide it but procured out warrantes agaynst me causing my house to bee searched sometymes twise in a weeke This continued from Saint Iames tide to the first Sonday in Lent Otherwhile I went priuily otherwhile openly otherwhile I went from home a fortnight or three weeks otherwhile I was at home a month or fiue weekes together liuing there most commonly and openly doing such woorkes as I had to doe and yet all mine enemies coulde lay no hands on me till the houre was ful come and then by the voice of the country and by manifest proofes mine owne brother as concerning the flesh deliuered mee into theyr hands by that he knew that I was at home For my father he had as much of my goodes in theyr hands as I might haue 56. pound for by the yeare cleare and therunto praied It was a Lordship and a honor and halfe a honor that I had deliuered into their hands to pay my debts and the rest to remaine to my wife and childrē But they had reported that it woulde not pay my debtes which grieued me sore For it was two hundred pounds better then the debts came to Which caused me to speake to some of my frendes that they would speake to them to come to some reckening with me and to take all such money againe of me as they were charged with and to deliuer me such wrytings and wryts as they had of mine againe or to whom I would appoynt them So it was agreed betwixt my Father and mee that I should haue it againe and the day was apoynted that the reckening shoulde be made and sent to me that same daye that I was taken my brother supposing that I shoulde haue put him out of most of al his occupying that he was in for it was all mine in a manner that he occupied as all the countrey can and doe well knowe Whereon as it is reported he told one Gradillar my next neighbor and he told some of M. Gages men or to M. Gage himselfe and so he sent to his brother and hys brother sent 12. o◠his mē he being Sheriffe in the night before I was taken and laye in the bushes not farre from my house till about 9. of the clocke euen the houre that was appoynted amongest themselues for about the same time they thought to haue had me within my house They had taken a man of mine and two of my childrē that were abroad in the land and kept them with them til theyr houre was appoynted to come in then a litle girle one of my children saw them come together came running in cried mother mother yonder cōmeth 2. men I sitting in my bedde and making of shoe thonge◠heard the woordes and suspecting straight way that I was betrayed I stirred out of my bed whipt on my hol◠thinking to haue gone out of the doores or euer they had bene come My wife being amased at the childes words looked out at the doore and they were hard by Then she clapped to the doore and barred it fast euen as I came oute of my chamber into the Hall and so barred the other So the house was beset round straightway and they badde open the doores or els they would breake them in peces Then I had no shift but either I must shew my selfe openly or make some other remedy So there was a place in my house that was neuer found which was at the lest I dare say 20. times and somtimes almost of 20. men searched at once both by night by day Into which place I went And assoone as I was in my wife opened the doore wherby incontinent they came and asked for me and she sayd I was not at home Then they asked her wherefore shee shutte the dore if I were not at home Shee sayd because shee had bene made afrayde diuers times with such as came to search vs and therefore shee shut the doore For it is reported sayth she that who soeuer can take my husband shall hang him or burne him strait way and therfore I doubt they will serue me or my children so for I thinke they may doe so vnto vs as well as to him shee sayd Well sayd they we know he is in the house and we must searche it for we be the sheriffes men let vs haue a candle It is tolde vs there be many secrete places in your house So shee lighted a candle they sought vp and downe in euery corner that they coulde finde and had geuen ouer and many of them were gone out of my house into the churchyard and were talking with my father and with some that he had brought with him Now when they could not find me one of them went to him that gaue them word that I was at home and sayde we can not finde him Then hee asked them whether they had soughte ouer a windowe that was in the Hall as it was knowen afterwarde for that same place I had tolde hym of my selfe For many times when I came home I would send for him to beare me company yet as it chanced I had not tolde him the way into it Then they began to searche a newe One looked vp ouer the windowe and spied a little loft with three or foure chestes and the waye went in betwixt two of the chestes but there could no mā perceiue it Then hee asked my wife which was the way into it Here is a place that we haue not sought yet Then she thought they wold see it by one meanes or other She sayde the way was into it out of a chamber they were in euen now So shee sent them vp and cried Away away Then I knewe there was no remedye but make the best shift for my selfe that I could The place was boarded ouer and fast nailed and if I had come out that way that I went in I must needes come amongst them al in the hall Then I had no shift but set my shoulders to the boardes that were nailed to the rafters to keepe out the raine and brake them in peeces which made a great noyse and they that were in the other chamber seeking for the waye into it heard the noise and looked out of a window and spyed me and made an outcry But yet I gotte oute and
generall CouÌ„cell and his picture burned Wood. If he were an heretick I thinke he vnderstoode it not so in deed but I am sure all Christians ought to vnderstand it so Chich. O what vayne glory is in you as though you vnderstood all thing other men nothing Heare me I will shew you the true vnderstanding both of the aultar the offering on the aultar We haue an aultar sayd Paul that ye may not eate of meaning thereby that no man might eat of that which was offered on the aultar but the Priest For in Paules time all the liuing that the Priest had the people came offered it on the aultar mony or other thinges and when the people came to offer it and then remeÌ„bred that they had any thing agaynst their brother theÌ„ they left their offering vpon the aultar and went were reconciled to theyr brother and they came agayne and offred their gift and the Priest had it This is the true vnderstanding of the place that you haue rehersed wherefore you be deceiued Wood. My Lord that was the vse in the olde law Christ was the ende of that But in deede I perceiue by Paules wordes the sacrifice was offered in Paules time yet that maketh not that it was wel done but he rebuked it Wherfore it seemeth to me that you be deceiued Chich. Who shall be iudges betwixt vs in this matter Wood. The xij of Iohn declareth who shall be iudge in the last day Chich. You meane the word shall iudge the word Howe can that be Wood. Saynct Peter sayth The Scripture hath no priuate interpretation but one scripture must be vnderstand by an other Chich. And you will vnderstande it one way and I wyll vnderstand it an other way and who shal be Iudges betwixt vs then Wood. The true church of God is able to discusse al doubtes to whom I referre it Chich. I am glad you say so if you will say so in deed Wood. My Lord I neuer meant otherwise Chich. The Church of God doth allow the Sacrament of the aultar Wood. What do you offer now vpon the aultar Chich. We offer vp in the blessed Sacramente of the Aultar the body of Christ to pacifye the wrath of God the Father and therewith they put off their cappes all to that abominable Idoll Wood. Saynt Paule sayth to the Hebrues in the x. chap. We are sanctified by the offering of the body of Iesus Christ vpon the crosse once for all and euery Priest is dayly ministring oftentimes offereth one maner of offering which can neuer take away sinnes and that is the offering that you vse to offer As farre as I can see you be priestes after the order of Aaron that offered vp Sacrifice for their own sinnes and the sinnes of the people Chichest Nay Aarons sacrifice was with bloud whiche signifieth the death of Christe the whiche was ended vpon the Crosse by his bloudshedding but we are Priestes after the order of Melchisedech the whiche offered breade to the king in remembraunce and signified the geuing of Christes body in bread wine at his last supper the whiche he gaue to his disciples commaunded it to be vsed to the end of the world This is the sacrifice that we offer according to his word Woodman Me thinke you haue made the matter verye playne to me that as Christ was the ende of all Sacrifices so was he the beginning of the Sacramentes willing them to be vsed in the remembraunce of him to the worldes end Chichest What in remembraunce of hym and not hym selfe as his worde sayth Take eate this is my body It is not the signe onely but the thing it selfe How say you is it not his body after the words be spoken by the priest How say you goe briefly to worke for I can not long tary with you Wood. My Lord if you will answere me to one sacrameÌ„t I will answere you to another Chich. Yes I am very well contented with that Wood. If you say the words of baptisme ouer the water there be no childe there is there true baptisme Chich. No there must be the water the worde and the child and then it is baptisme Wood. Uerye well Then if a childe bee Baptised in the name of the Father and of the Sonne it is not truely baptised Chich. No the childe muste bee baptised in the name of the father of the sonne the holy ghost or els it is not truly baptised Wood. Then there may be nothing added nor takeÌ„ away from the Sacraments may there Chich. No sayd the Bishop Wood. Now my Lord I will answere to you if it please you Chich. Well how say you Take eat this is my body is it not Christes body as soone as the wordes be sayd Wood. My Lorde I will aunswere you by your owne wordes that you aunswered me whiâ—h is true the water the word and the childe all these together make baptisme the bread wine and the word make the Sacrament the eater eating in true fayth maketh it his body Here I proue it is not Christes body but to the faythfull receiuer For he sayd Take eat this is my body He called it not his body before eating but after eating And Saynt Augustine sayth Crede manducasti Beleue and thou hast eaten And Saynt Iohn sayth He that beleueth in God dwelleth in God and God in him wherfore it is vnpossible to dwell in God and to eat his body without a true fayth Priest Then the fayth of the receiuer maketh it his body not his word by your saying I pray you what did Iudas eate Wood. Iudas did eat the sacrament of Christ and the deuill withall Priest He eat the body of Christ vnworthely as S. Paule sayth Wood. Nay S. Paule sayth no such thing He speaketh not of eating of his body vnworthely but of the sacrament vnworthely For he sayth Who soeuer eateth of this bread drinketh of this cup vnworthely eateth and drinketh his owne damnation because he maketh no difference of the Lordes body and not because he eateth the Lordes body If Iudas had eat Christes body it must needes folow that Iudas is saued For Christ sayth in the sixt of Iohn Who so euer eateth my flesh and drinketh my bloud hath eternall life and I will raise him vp agayne at the last day Priest My Lord this man is an interpreter after his own minde Chich. I see it is but folly to talke with you it is but lost labour How say you Doe you not beleue that after the wordes be sayd there remayneth neither bread nor wyne but the very body of Christ really make me a playne aunswere for I will talke no more with you Wood. I will make you no directe aunswere howe I beleue of the true Sacrament I doe beleue that if I come to receiue the Sacrament of the body and bloud of Christ truely ministred beleuing that
from him went to my prison felowes took my leaue of them desiring theÌ„ to pray for me for I thought verely to come no more to them For I supposed I should haue gone before the Counsell because the Marshall sayd he would tary for me himselfe and especially because he sayd it was reported that I had spoken seditious words it made me to think it is possible that there may be some false things imagined vpon me to bring me to my end I remembred that Christ sayd The seruant is not aboue his Lord. Seyng the Iewes brought false witnes agaynst Christ I thought they would do much more or at the least doe so to me â—â— God would suffer theÌ„ which made me cast the worste But I was and am sure I prayse my Lord God that all the world is not able to accuse me iustly of any such thing Which thing considered made me mery and ioyfull and I was surely certified that they coulde do no more against me then God would geue them leaue And so I bad my prison fellowes farewell and went into the Porters Lodge to the Marshall and he deliuered me to one of his owne men and to one of my Lord Mountagues men and bade me go with them and they caryed me to my Lord Mountagues place in Southwarke not farre from S. Mary Oueries and brought me into a chamber in my Lord Mountagues house and there was one Doc. Langdale chapleine to my Lord. My keepers sayd to the Doctoâ— this is the man that we went for Lang. Is your name Woodman Wood. Yea forsooth that is my name Lang. Then hee beganne with a greate Circumstaunce and sayd I am sory for you that you will not be ruled but stand so much in your owne conceite displeasing your father and other iudging that all the Realme doth euil saue a few that doe as you do with many such wordes whiche be too long to rehearse but I will declare the substaunce of them Lang. What think you of them that died long agone your Graundfather with theyr fathers before them You iudge them to be damned all other that vse the same that they did throughout all Christendome vnlesse it be in Germany and here in England a few yeares and in Denmark yet they are returned againe Thus we are sure this is the truth and I would you should do well Your father is an honest man and one of my parish and hath wept to me diuers times because you would not be ruled and he loueth you well so doth all the country both rich and poore if it were not for those euill opinioÌ„s that you hold with many such like tales of Robin Hood Wood. I pray you geue me leaue to speake a fewe wordes to you Lang. Yes say your mind Wood. You haue told a great tale and a long as it were agaynst me as you thinke saying I hold this and that I iudge my Father and my Graundfather and almost al the world without it be a few that be of our sect But I iudge no manne But the xij of Iohn declareth who it is that iudgeth and shall iudge in the last day The father shal not beare the sonnes offences nor the sonne the fathers offences but that soule that sinneth shall dye as sayth the Prophet And agayne we may not folow a multitude to do euill as sayth the Prophet For the most goe the wrong way And Christ sayth in the xij of Luke that his flock is a litle flock Here be places enough to discharge me although I do not as the most doe But can any man say that I do not as I ought to do where be my accusers Lang. What you be full of scripture me thinke and call for your accusers as though you were afrayde to vtter your mind to me But I woulde haue you not to be afrayde to talk with me For I meane no more hurt to you then I do to my selfe I take God to my record Wood. I cannot tell It is hard trusting of fayre wordes when a man cannot trust his father nor brother nor other that haue bene his familiar frendes but they deceiue him A man may lawfully follow the example of Christ towardes them that he neuer saw before saying Be as wise as Serpentes and as innocent as doues Beware of men for they goe about to betray you And it maketh me suspect you much because you blame me for answering with the scriptures It maketh me to doubt that you would take vauntage of me if I should speake mine owne wordes Wherefore I will take as good heede as I can because I haue bene deceiued already by them I trusted most Wherefore blame me not though I aunswere circumspectly It shall not be sayd by Gods helpe that I will run wilfully into mine enemyes handes and yet I prayse God my life is not deare to my selfe but it is deare with God Wherfore I will do the vttermost that I can to keepe it Lang. You be afrayd where no feare is for I was desired of Mayster Sheriffe and his brother and of other of your frendes to talke with you and they told me thot you were desirous to talke with me and now ye make the matter as though you had nothing to doe with me as though you were sent to prison for nothing for you call for your accusers as though there were no man to accuse you But if there were no man to accuse you your own hand writing did accuse you enough that you set vpon the Church doore if you be remembred and other letters that you let fall abroad some at one place and some at an other Wherefore you need not to cal for your accusers Your own hand wil accuse you enough I warrant you it is kept safe enough I would not for two hundred pounde there were so much agaynst me Wood. I will not deny mine owne hand by Gods helpe For it cannot be lightly counterfayted I doe not deny but I wrote a letter to the priest and other of the parish declaring to them theyr folly and presumption to come into my house without my loue or leaue and fet out my childe and vse it at their pleasure Which moued me to write my mind to them and because I coulde not tell how to conuey it to them I set it on the Church doore Which letter my Lorde of Chichester hath for he shewed it me wheÌ„ I was before him wherin is conteined nothing but the very scriptures to theyr reproch Let it be layde before me when you or hee will I will answere to it by the helpe of God to all theyr shames that I wrote it to And as for any other letters I wrote none as you say I did neither had I wrote that if they had done like honest neighbours Wherfore if they be offended with me for that I wil aunswere theÌ„ with Christes wordes in the 18. of Math. woe vnto themselues
51. Psalme In sinne was I borne and in sinne hath my mother conceiued me but in no suche sinne that shall bee imputed because I am borne of God by fayth as Sayncte Iohn sayth Therefore I am blessed as sayth the Prophet Because the Lorde imputeth not my sinne and not because I haue no sinne but because God hath not imputed my sinnes Not of our owne deseruing but of his free mercy he hath saued vs. Where is now your free will become that you spake of If we haue free will then our saluation commeth of our owne selfe not of God the which is a great blasphemy agaynst God and his word For Saynt Iames sayth Euery good gift and euery perfect gift commeth from aboue from the father of light with whō is no variablenes neither is he chaunged into darcknesse Of his owne will he begate vs. For the winde bloweth where it lusteth and we heare the soūd therof as sayth S. Iohn But we cannot tell from whence it commeth neither whether it goeth Euen so is it with euery one that is borne of God For S. Paule sayth It is God that woorketh in vs the will and also the deed euen of good will Seing then that euery good and perfect gift commeth from aboue lighteth vpon whom it pleaseth God and that he worketh in vs both the will and the deede me thinke all the reste of our owne will is little worthe or nought at all vnles it be to wickednes So me think here be places enough to proue that a man hath no free will to doe good of himselfe with a hundred places moe that I could recite if time did serue And as for originall sinne I thinke I haue declared my mind therin how it remaineth in man whiche you can not denye vnlesse you deny the word of God Now if you will suffer me I will proue my saying of Iacob and Esau that I brought in to proue that faith was before baptisme and you refused it because you sayd Iacob was not baptised If you will geue me leaue you shall see what I can say therin for me think you think my talke long This I sayd because I saw he was sore offended at my sayinges Lang. Saye what you canne For it auayleth me to saye nothing to you For I was desired to sende for you to teache you and there will no wordes of mine take place in you but you goe about to reproue me Saye what you will for me Wood. I take not vpon me to teach you but to aunswere to such thinges as you lay vnto my charge and I speake not mine owne minde but the minde of the holy Ghoste written by the Prophetes and Apostles Wyll you geue me leaue to aunswere briefly in that matter that you may report to other what I holde And he sayd he was contēted But I thinke it was for nothing but to haue caughte vauntage of my wordes Wood. First if you be remembred you said that if my child had dyed without baptisme if I had bene the cause that it had not bene baptised the child should haue bene damned and I too How say you Lang. Yea that you should Wood. That is moste vntrue For the Prophete sayeth The father shall not beare the childes offences nor the childe the fathers offences but the soule that sinneth shall dye What could the child haue done withal if it had died without baptism the childe coulde not do withall How say you vnto this And I am sure that which I brought in in the olde Law to proue that fayth is before baptisme is not disagreeable vnto the word For Circūcision was a figure of baptisme And that I may bring to proue baptisme by as wel as S. Peter did for he brought in Noes sloude whiche was a long time before Iacob Esau to proue baptisme saying While the Arke was a preparing wherein few that is to saye eight soules were saued by water like as Baptisme also nowe saueth vs not in putting away of the filth of the flesh but there is ◠good conscience consenting to God Here Peter proueth that the water had not saued Noe and the other seuen no more then it saued all the rest if it had not bene for theyr fayth which fayth now saueth vs not in putting away of the filthy sinne of the fleshe by the washing of the water but by a good conscience consenting vnto God But you sayd If they be baptised with the water if they dye before they come to yeares of discretion they be al saued the which S. Peter is cleane agaynste vnlesse you graunt that children haue fayth before they be baptised Nowe I aske you what consent of conscience the children haue being infantes For you say they beleue not before they bee Baptised Ergo then they consent not to be Baptised because they beleue not And by this it followeth that none shal be saued althogh they be baptised I would fayne see how you can aunswere to this Lang. You are the most peruerse man that euer I knewe You wote not what you say The children are baptised in theyr Godfathers and Godmothers fayth and that is the good conscience that S. Peter speaketh of and the Christening is the keeping of the law that S. Paule speaketh of saying neither is Circumcision any thing worth nor vncircūcision any thing worth but keping of the lawe is altogether Like as the Circumcision was the keping of the old law so is baptisme the keeping of the new law Wood. Ah me thought if you would talke with me you should be fayne to bring in the old law to mainteine your sayinges by for all that you refused it when I brought it in But yet it serueth not for your purpose so muche as you think for For here you haue confessed that neither circumcision auayleth nor vncircūcision the which you your selfe haue coupled with Baptisme prouing that none of them both preuaileth but keping of the law is altogether the which law is kept you say by the outward signes the which is nothing so for Abrahā beleued God that was counted to him for righteousnes And this was before he was Circumcised So the children beleue before they be either Circumcised or Baptised according to my first saying of Iacob and Esau Iacob I loued but Esau I hated These wordes declared that Iacob hadde fayth in hys mothers wombe also Iohn Baptist was sanctified in his mothers wombe and therfore it was counted to them for righteousnesse and I am sure if they had dyed before they had eyther receiued Circumcision or Baptisme as concerning the outward deed they should haue bene saued For Gods giftes and callinges are such that he cannot repent him of them But by your saying he doth both repent and chaūge For you say keeping of the outwarde law is altogether But a bad excuse is as good as none at all And where you sayd the children
most of the Deuill of hell Thus he lay without amendment about 6. daies that his maister and all his houshold was weary of that trouble and noyse Then his maister agreed with the keepers of Bedlem and gaue a peece of money and sent hym thether It seemeth that he was possessed with an euill spirit from the which God defend vs all This is a terrible example to you that be mockers of the word of God therfore repent amend lest the vengeance of God fall vpon you in like maner Witnes heereof William Mauldon of Newington The same William Mauldon chaunced afterwarde to dwel at a Towne 6. miles from London called Waltamstow where his wife taught yong children to read which was about the yeare of our Lorde 1563. and the 4. yeare of Queene Elizabeths raigne Unto this schoole amongest other children came one Benfieldes daughter named Dennis about the age of twelue yeares As these children sate talking together they happened among other talke as the nature of children is to be busy with many things to fall in communication of God and to reason among them selues after their childish discretion what he should be Whereunto some answered one thing some an other Among whom when one of the children had sayd that he was a good olde father the foresayd Denis Benfielde casting out impious woordes of horrible blasphemie what he sayd shee is an olde doting foole What wretched and blasphemous wordes were these yee heare Nowe marke what followed When William Mauldon heard of these abhominable woordes of the girle hee willed his wife to correcte her for the same Which was appoynted the nexte day to be done But wheÌ„ the next morow came her mother would nedes send her to the market to London the wenche greatly intreating her mother that she might not go being marueilously vnwilling thereunto Howebeit thorough her mothers compulsion shee was forced to goe and went And what happened Her businesse being done at London as she was returning againe homewarde and being a little past Hackney sodenly the yong girle was so stricken that all the one side of her was black and she speachles Wherupon immediately she was caried backe to Hackney and there the same night was buried Witnes of the same storie William Mauldon and his wife also Benfielde her father and her mother which yet be all aliue A terrible example no doubt both to old and young what it is for children to blaspheme the Lord theyr God and what it is for parentes to suffer their young ones to grow vp in such blasphemous blindnes not to nurture them betime in the rudimeÌ„ts of the christian Catechisme to know first their creation and then their redemption in Christ our Sauiour to feare the name of God and to reuerence his Maiestie For els what do they deserue but to be taken away by â—â—eathe whiche contemptuously despise him of whome they take the benefite of life And therefore let all young maides boyes and yong men take example by this wretched seely wench not only not to blaspheme the sacrede Maiestie of the omnipotent God their creator but also not once to take his name in vaine according as they are taughte in hys commaundementes Secondly let all Fathers Godfathers and Godmothers take this for a warning to see to the instruction and Catechising of their children for whom they haue bounde them selues in promise both to God and to hys Churche Which if the Father and godfather the Mother and godmothers had done to this younge girle verely it maye be thought this destruction had not fallen vpon her Thirdly al blinde Atheists Epicures Mammonists belly Gods of this worlde and sonnes of Beliall hypocrites infidelles and mockers of Religion which saye in their hearts there is no God learne also hereby not only what God is and what he is able to doe but also in thys miserable creature here punished in this world to behold what shall likewise fall on them in the world to come vnlesse they will be warned betime by such examples as the Lord God doth geue them Fourthly and lastly heere may also be a spectacle for all them which be blasphemous and abhominable swearers or rather tearers of God abusing his glorious name in suche contemptuous and despitefull sort as they vse to do Whome if neither the woorde and commaundemente of God nor the calling of the preachers nor remorse of conscience nor rule of reason nor theyr wytheringe age nor hory haires will admonish yet let these terrible examples of Gods districte Iudgement somewhat mooue them to take heede to them selues For if thys young maiden who was not fully 12. yeares old for her vnreuerent speaking of God and that but at one time did not escape the stroke of Gods terrible hande what then haue they to looke for which being men growen in yeares and stricken in age being so often warned preached vnto yet cease not continually with theyr blasphemous othes not only to abuse his name but also most coÌ„tumeliously and despitefully to teare him as it were and all his partes in peeces About the yeare of our Lorde 1565. at Bryhtwell in the County of Backshyre vppon certaine communication as touching the right reuerende Martyrs in Christ Byshop Cranmer Bishop Ridley and maister Hughe Latimer there came into an house in Abyngdon one whose name is Leuar being a Plowman dwelling in Bryhtwel afore sayd and sayd that he saw that euill fauoured knaue Latimer when he was burned And also in despite sayd that he had teeth like a horse At which time and hour as neare as could be gathered the sonne of the sayde Leauer moste wickedly hanged him selfe at Shepton in the Countie aforesayd within a mile of Abingdon These wordes were spoken in the hearing of me Thomas Ienens of Abyngdon Did not Thomas Arundell Archbishop of Canterburie geue sentence against the Lord Cobham and died him self before him being so stricken in his toung that neither he could swallow nor speake for a certain space before his death pag. 588. Frier Campbell the accuser of Patricke Hamelton in Scotlande what a terrible ende hee hadde reade before pag. 957. Haruey a Commissarie that condemned a poore man in Calice was shortly after hanged drawen and quartered pag. 1229. William Swallow the cruell tormentor of George Egles was shortly after so plagued of God that al the hair of his heade and nailes of his fingers and toes went off his eyes welneare closed vppe that hee coulde scante see Hys wife also was stricken wyth the falling Sickenesse wyth the whych Maladie shee was neuer infected before pag. 2010. Likewise Richard Potto an other troubler of the sayd George Egles vppon a certaine anger or chafe with hys seruauntes was so sodenlye taken with sicknesse that falling vpon his bed lyke a beast there he died neuer spake woorde pag. 2010. Richard Denton a shrinker from the Gospel while he refused to suffer the fire in
omnibus prosit If there be no interpreter let hym keepe silence in the Church That is let him pray secretly or speake to God within hymselfe which heareth all dumme thyngs for in the church he ought to speake which may profit all men ⧠Testimonies out of S. Hierome vpon that place of Paule Quomodo qui supplet locum idiotae c. PEr illum saith S. Hierome qui supplet locum ideotae laicum intelligit qui nullo gradu ecclesiastico fungitur It is the lay men saith he whom Paule here vnderstandeth to be in the place of the ignoraunt man which hath no Ecclesiasticall office How shall he answer Amen to the prayer that he vnderstandeth not ¶ And a little after vpon these wordes Nam si orare lingua c. Hoc dicit quoniam si quis incognitis alijs linguis loquatur mens eius non ipsi efficitur sine fructu sed audienti Quicquid enim dicitur ignorat This is Paules meanyng saith Hierome If any man speaketh in strange vnknown tongs his mynd is not to hymselfe without fruit and profite but he is not profited that heareth hym And in the end of his commentary vpon the Epistle to the Galathians he saith thus Quod autem Amen consensum significet audientis c. That Amen signifieth the consent of the hearer and is the sealing vp of the truth Paul in the first Epistle to the Corinths teacheth saying But if thou shalt blesse in spirit who supplieth the place of the ignorant How shall he at thy prayer aunswere Amen seeyng he knoweth not what thou sayst Wherby he declareth that the vnlearned man cannot aunswer that that which is spoken is true vnlesse he vnderstand what is sayd The same Hierome sayth in the Preface of S. Pauls Epistle to the Galathians that the noyse of Amen soundeth in the Romane church like an heauenly thunder As Hierome compareth this sound of common praier to thunder so compareth Basill it to the sound of the sea in these words If the sea be faire how is not the assembly of the congregation much fairer in the which a ioyned sound of men women and childreÌ„ as it were of the waues beatyng on the shore is sent forth in our praiers vnto our God Cum populus semel audiuit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 statim omnes respondent Amen When the people once heare these words world without end they all forthwith answer Amen And the same writer vpon the same chapter vppon these words How shall hee that occupieth the roume of the vnlearned say Amen En rursus amussi quod dicitur saxum applicat ecclesiae aedificationem vbique requiâ—ens c. Behold againe he applieth the stone vnto the squire as the Prouerbe is requiring the edifieng of the Congregation in all places The vnlearned he calleth the common people and sheweth that it is no small discommoditie if they cannot say Amen And agayne the same Chrysostome Quin in precibus viderit quis populum multum simul offerre tum pro energumenis tum pro poenitentibus Communes enim preces a sacerdote ab illis fiuÌ„t omnes dicunt vna orationeÌ„ orationeÌ„ misericordia plenam Iterum vbi excluserimus a sacerdotalibus ambitibus eos qui non possunt esse participes sanctae mensae alia sacienda est oratio omnes similiter surgimus c. That is yea in the prayers you may see the people offer largely both for the possessed and the penitents For the Priestes and the people pray altogether commonly and all one prayer a prayer full of mercy and pity And exclâ—ding out of the Priests limites all such as cannot bee pertakers of the holy table another prayer must be made and all after one sort lye downe vppon the earth and all agayne after one sort ryse vp together Now when the peace is geuen we all in lyke maner salute one another and the Priest in the reuerent mysteries wisheth well to the people and the people vnto hym for Et cum spiritu tuo is nothing els but this All things that belong to the sacrament of thanksgeuing is common to all But he geueth not thanks alone but all the people with hym Hereby it may appeare that not the priest alone communicated nor prayed alone nor had any peculiar prayer but such as was common to them all such as they all vnderstood all were able to say with the priest which could not haue bene if he had vsed a straunge tong in the ministration of the sacraments Dionysius describing the maner of the ministration of the Lordes supper sayth That hymnes were said of the whole multitude of the people Cyprian sayth The priest doth prepare the myndes of the brethren with a preface before the prayer saying Lift vp your hartes that whiles the people doth aunswer we haue our hartes lifted vp to the Lord they may be admonished that they ought to thinke of none other thing then of the Lord. S. Augustine Quid hoc sit intelligere debemus c. What this should be we ought to vnderstand that we may sing with reason of man not with chatting of birdes For Ousels and Popiniayes and Rauens and Pies other such like birds are taught by meÌ„ to prate they know not what But to sing with vnderstanding is geuen by Gods holy will to the nature of man The same Augustine There needeth no speach when we pray sauing perhaps as the priestes doe for to declare their meanyng not that God but that men may heare them and so being put in remembraunce by consentyng with the priest may hang vpon God To these testimonies of the auncient writers we will ioyne one constitution of Iustinian the Emperour who lyued 527. yeares after Christ Iubemus vt omnes Episcopi pariter Praesbyteri c. We commaund that all bishops priests do celebrate the holy oblation and the praiers vsed in holy Baptisme not speaking low but with a cleare or loud voyce which may be heard of the people that thereby the mynd of the hearers may bee stirred vp with greater deuotion in vttering the prayses of the Lord God For so the holy Apostle teacheth in his first Epistle to the Corinthians saying Truly if thou onely blesse or geue thanks in spirit how doth he which occupieth the place of the vnlearned say the Amen at the geuing of thanks vnto god for he vnderstandeth not what thou sayest Thou verily geuest thanks wel but another is not edified And again in the Epistle to the Romains he sayth Corde creditur ad iustitiam ore autem fit confessio ad salutem with the heart a man beleeueth vnto righteousnesse and with the mouth confession is made vnto saluation Therfore for these causes it is conuenient that amoÌ„gst other prayers those thinges also which are spoken in the holy oblation be vttered and spoken of the most religious bishops and priests vnto our
as is mentioned before pag. 1894. Doctor Ieffray the Chauncellour spake to him wishing him to yelde to the Doctoures who many hundreth yeares had taught otherwise then hee doth beleue c. Unto whome Mandrell aunswered M. Chauncellour sayd he trouble me with none of youre Doctours whatsoeuer they say but bring me the booke of God the olde Testament and the new and I will aunswere you What sayest thou Mandrel quod he by the sayntes in the Church the image of our Lady of the crucifixe and other holy Sayntes be they not necessary c. yes M. Chauncellour sayd hee very necessary to rost a shoulder of mutton Then Doctor Billing a frier once standing by sayd Mayster Chauncellour quod hee heare howe these heretickes speake agaynst the crucifixe and the holy crosse and yet the holy Crosse is mentioned in all the tongues both Hebrew Greek and Latine For in Latine it is called t. in Greeke tau c. Whereupon one Thomas Gilford a marchaunt of Poole standing by sayd ah mercifull Lord sayd he is not this a maruellous matter for a poore man thus to be charged and put to the paynes of fire for t. tau When Maundrell and Spicer were examined before the Chauncellour the Chauncellour called them saying Come on come on sayth he thou Spicer art to blame for thou haste taught Maundrell these heresies Thou arte by thy occupation a Brickeleyer Yea that I am And can sing in the Quyre Yea that I can sayth he And can play on the Orgaynes True sayth hee Well then sayde the Chauncellour and thou hast marred this poore man and hast taught him all these heresies No Mayster Chauncellour quoth he I haue not taught him but I haue read to him He is able thankes be to God to teache both you and me ¶ A note of Elizabeth Pepper ELizabeth Pepper before mentioned pag. 1916. when she was burned at Stratford was xj weekes gone with child as she then testified to one Bosomes wife who then vnloosed her neckerchiefe saying moreouer whē she was asked why she did not tell them aunswered why quoth she they know it well enough Oh suche is the bloudy hartes of this cruell generation that no occasion can stay them from their mischieuous murdering of the saintes of the Lord that truly professe Christ crucified onely and alone for the satisfaction of their sinnes ¶ A note of one confessing Gods truth at the Gallowes A Notorious fellone one Dick Adams beyng vpon the gallowes making his confession and ready to be caste downe from the ladder was desired at that instant by one maistres Harries the Grammer schoolemaisters wyfe to remember the blessed sacrament before he died to whome the said Adams sayde marrie maistresse neuer in better tyme who went vp to the toppe of the ladder and sayde it was the most abhominable idoll that euer was and willed all men to take it so for we haue bene greatly deceyued thereby Whereupon the Shiriffe caused him to holde his peace and to take his death patiently He went down to his place and was cast from the ladder speaking to his last worde that it was an abhominable Idoll his bodye therfore was buryed out of the Church yarde by the high way who although he was a chiefe in his life yet he earnestly repented thereof that I doubt not but he dyed the childe of God and not vnworthy to be put in the register of the Lordes accepted Confessors ¶ A note of Gertrude Crokehay IN the late dayes of queene Mary among other straūge dealinge of the Papistes with the faythfull this is not with the rest to be forgotten that a godly Matrone named Gertrude Crokhay the wife of Mayster Robert Crokehay dwellinge then at S. Katherins by the Tower of London absteyned her selfe from the Popish church And she being in her husbands house it happened in an 1556. that the foolish popishe Saynt Nicholas went aboute the Parish which she vnderstanding shut her doores agaynst him and would not suffer him to come within her house Then Doctor Mallet hearing therof and being thē maister of the sayd Saint Katherins the next day came to her with xx at his tayle thinking belike to fray her and asked why she would not the night before let in Saynt Nicholas and receiue his blessing c. To whom she aunswered thus Syr I know no Saynt Nicholas sayd she that came hither Yes quoth Mallet here was one that represēted S. Nicolas In deed sir sayd she here was one that is my neighbours childe but not S. Nicholas For S. Nicholas is in heauen I was afrayd of them that came with him to haue had my purse cutte by them For I haue heard of men robbed by Saint Nicholas Clerkes c. So Mallet perceiuing nothing to be gotten at her handes went his way as he came and she for that time so escaped Then in an 1557. a litle before Whitsontide it happened that the sayd Gertrude aunswered for a childe that was baptised of one Thomas Saunders whiche childe was christened secretly in a house after the order of the seruice booke in king Edwardes time and that being shortly knowne to her enemies she was sought for which vnderstanding nothing therof wēt beyond the sea into Gelderland for to see certayne lands that should haue come to her childrē in the right of her first husband who was a straūger borne And being there about a quarter of a yeare at the length comming homeward by Antwarpe chaunced to meet with one Iohn Iohnson a dutch man alias Iohn Dewille of Antwarpe shipper who seing her there went of malice to the Margraue and accused her to be an Anabaptist whereby she was taken and caried to prison The cause why this noughtye man did thus was for that hee claymed of Mayster Crokhay her husband a piece of money which was not his due for a shippe that the sayd master Crokhay bought of him and for that he could not get it wrought this displeasure Well she being in prison lay there a fortnight in whiche time she sawe some that were Prisoners there who priuily were drowned in Renishe wine fattes and after secretly put in sackes and cast into the Riuer Now she good woman thinking to be so serued tooke thereby such feare that it brought the beginning of her sickenes of the which at length she dyed Then at the last she was called before the Margraue and charged with Anabaptistrye which shee there vtterly denyed detested the error declaring before him in dutch her fayth boldly without any feare So the Margraue hearing the same in the ende being well pleased with her profession at the sute of some of her frendes deliuered her out of prison but tooke away her booke and so she came ouer into England agayne And being at home in her husbandes house he thinking to finde meanes to gette her to go abroad made one Uicars a yeoman of the Tower hys frend who was great with Boner to worke that liberty for her
euill world according to the will of God our father to whome be praise for euer and euer Amen Oh my brethren of Hadley why are ye so soone turned from them which called you in the grace of Christ vnto an other doctrine whiche is nothing els but that there be some which trouble you and entēd to peruert the gospell of the Lord and sauiour Iesus Christ. Neuerthelesse though these shoulde come vnto you that haue bene your true preachers and preache an other way of saluatiō then by Iesus Christes death and passion hold them accursed Yea if it were an Aungell came from heauen and woulde tell you that the sacrifice of Christes body vpon the crosse oute for all euer for all the sinnes of all those which shal be saued were not sufficient accursed be he If he were an aungell or what soeuer he were that would say that our seruice in English were not right Gods seruice but will better allow that moste wicked mumming that you nowe haue Those what soeuer they be except they doe repent allow the Gospell of Iesus Christ they shall neuer come into that kingdome that Christ hath prepared for those that be his Wherefore my dearly beloued brethren of Hadley remember you well what you haue bene taught heretofore of the Lorde Gods true and simple Prophetes that onely did wish your health and consolation Do not my good brethren I pray you forget the comfortable worde of our Lorde and sauiour Iesus Christe Come vnto me all you that are troubled and loden with the daungers that yeare in these stormy dayes and heare my wordes and beleue them and you shal see the vnspeakable comfort that you shal receue The Lord is my shepheard sayth the Prophet Dauid so that I cā want nothyng He feedeth his sheepe in greene pastures and leadeth thē vnto cleare and holsome waters of comfort I am that good Shepheard sayth our Sauiour Iesus Christe for I geue my lyfe for my sheepe and I knowe my sheepe and my sheepe know me but my sheepe will not know an hyerling for hee careth not but onely for his God the belly and so seeketh the destruction of theyr soules Therefore beware of hirelinges you that count your selues the sheep of Iesus Christ. Be sure that ye know his voyce and obey it and be not deceiued through straunge voyces but goe from them and earnestly abide by your professiō that you haue made in your baptisme and shrinke not from it For if you do you shall declare your selues to be a vayne people and without vnderstanding And for this cause doth God plague his people and suffereth them to be deceiued with false Prophets wicked men I pray you note what that Prophet Esay sayth to the people of those dayes because they were slipping from the Lord theyr God which had done so maruellous workes for them as you well do know in the historyes of the Bible Heare O heauen sayeth he and harken thou earth for the Lord hath spoken I haue nourished and brought vppe children but they haue done wickedly agaynst me The Oxe hath knowne hys owner and the Asse his maysters Cribbe but Israel hath receiued no knowledge My people hath no vnderstanding Alas for this sinnefull nation a people of great iniquity a froward generation vnnaturall children They haue forsaken the Lorde they haue prouoked his wrath are gone backeward Harken also what the Prophet Hieremy sayth Be astonyed ye heauens be afrayde and ashamed at suche a thing sayeth the Lorde for my people hath done two euilles They haue forsaken me the well of the waters of life and digged them brokē pittes that can hold no water Is Israel a bond seruaunt or one of the householde of the Lord Why then is he so spoiled Why then do they roare and cry vpō him as a Lyon Understand those thinges now in these dayes that the Prophet spake of thē O my brethren of Hadley Why commeth this plague vpon vs that we haue now in these dayes and other times Harken what the Prophets say commeth not this vpon thee because thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God Thyne owne wickednesse shall reproue thee and thy turning away shall condemne thee that thou mayst know and vnderstand how euill and hurtful a thing it is that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God and not feared him sayth the Lord God of hostes the holy one of Israell that is to say he that maketh Israell holy And vnderstande by Israell the children of God and those things that were spoken to the carnall Israel are spoken vnto vs that are or should be the spirituall Israell Grace be with you all Amen Yours Iohn Alcock Prisoner for Gods word in Newgate at London * The second Epistle of Iohn Alcock MY Brethren of Hadley note well what S. Paul said in the x. chap. to the Corinth Brethren I would you should not be ignoraunt of this that our fathers were all vnder the cloud and all passed through the Sea and were baptised vnder Moyses in the cloud and in the sea dyd all eate one spirituall meate and dronke of one spirituall drinke They dronke of that spiritual rocke that foloweth them which rocke was Christ neuerthelesse in manye of them had God no delight for they were ouer smittē in the wildernesse These are examples vnto vs tha◠we should not lust after euill thinges as they lusted that is to say we should stand forth to defend the verity of God which we do right well alas were it not for losse of goodes we do so much lust after them that we will rather say there is no God then we will professe his word to be truth to the losing of our goodes And our Sauiour Christ sayth he that is not content to forsake Father and Mother Wife and children house and lande corne and cattell yea and hys owne life for my truthes sake is not meete for me And if we bee not for our Lorde God then we muste needes be meete for the Deuill and we must needes be seruauntes to one of them If we bee not ashamed of the Gospell of our Lord and Sauiour Iesus Christ but earnestly confesse it to the vttermost of our power thē are we sure to be confessed of our Lord and Sauior Iesus Christ and that before the Angels in heauen to be his seruants But if we will so lust to keepe our goodes and rather deny hym then to loose our goodes then doth it folow whose seruantes we are Therefore my deare brethren of Hadley beware that you doe not consent to any thing agaynst your conscience For if you do beware of Gods great wrath I exhort you therfore my beloued brethren in the Lord and Sauior Iesus Christ to stand fast in your profession and become not manifest runne awayes from the truth of our Lord God but stick earnestly to it and doubt not but our Lord God wil
Pope for his riches will pleade sighte and curse 404 Popes caried on mens shoulders the maner how 790 Pope setteth the â—ast west churches together by the eares 282 Pope may bee deposed and howe 675. ought to be punished for euil doing ought not to call generall councels alone by hys owne authoritie 676.1084 Pope how he first rose vpp and by what meanes 780.781.182 Popes .9 in ix yeares at Rome 145 Pope setteth the sonne agaynst the father 303. Pope a murtherer and authour of rebellion 252. Pope sixtus hys abhomination death .726 hys Epitaphes 727. Popes curse compared to Domicianus thunder 169. Pope no successour of Peter proued by an argument 17. Pope commaundeth the Aungels 374. Pope may ere 676.675 Popes Bull to Oxford 431.422 Pope compared to Balaam 343. Pope put from hys reseruing of benefices in Eng. 418. Pope a lay man deposed and hys eyes put out 130. Pope exalted aboue kinges princes 782. Popes deposed by Princes 512. Pope claymeth both swordes 342. Popes Gospell 322 Popes .2 together at once 159. Pope a troubler of all the worlde 1084. how he succeedeth Peter 1120. Pope traytour to themperour 180 Pope none to be chosen but by the confirmation of the Emperour 168. Pope hys regalitie to hys tytles 9. Popes two warre together for S. Peters chayre 169. Pope a name common to learned men in times past it is a Cyrian worde and signifieth Pater a father 12. Popes chosen in conclaues how 595. Pope condemneth the Councell of Constantinople for condemning of Images 130. Popes more then Princes 174. Pope is Antichrist 322. Pogiebracius Gouernour of Bohemia 720 Policarpus his notable history he flyeth persecution prayeth for the Church hath a vision of his burning .42 was scholer to S. Iohn the Euangelist .44 his constaunt death .43 his epistle to the Philippians .44 he was had in greate authority in the Churches of Asia 44 Pollydore Uirgill burned all other bookes for impayring of his credite 1141 Pollidorus Virgillius an Italian writer of our english Storyes 371 Pollydore noted of vntruthe touching the Lord Cobham 578 Polycrates Bishoppe of Ephesus 56 Pomponius Algerius an Italian Martyr .939 his notable godly and comfortable letter ibidem Poncianus Bishoppe of Rome 59 Ports in England layde to stoppe the Popes Letters 228 Poore found at Rome vpon church goodes 67 Potten Martyr her story and martyrdome 1893 Possessions of the Church 546 Possessions and Riches of the pope 793. Potencianus Martyr 52 Potkins famyshed in pryson for the Gospell 1954 Pouerty of Christ expressed 1752 Powder sent to Mayster Philpot to make incke of 1819 Power lying of the Pope 10 Powers two of the keies and of the sword 1759 Poyntz troubled for M. Tyndall 1078 Pond Martyr his story .2038 hys martyrdome 2039 Poole Cardinal his comming into England .1475 his absolution geuen to England 1476.1477 Polley Martyr 1679 Iohn Porter Martyr 1206 Poole Martyr his story and martyrdome 1912 Potto persecuter his end 2103 Ponchet Archbishop of Towers a bloudy Persecutour plagued of God 2109 P R. Prayer for money reprooued 498 Prayer of a vicious priest little auaileth 498 Prayer appointed by Constantine to his souldiors 104 Prayer to saints and for the dead not permitted by the worde of God 1587 Prayer agaynst the Turks 773 Prayers for Queene Maries child that it might be a male child 1480.1481 Prayers in the mother tongue 1094.2095 Prayer to bee sayd at the tyme of martyrdome 1830.1831 Pragmatica sanctio Sancti Ludouici 8 Practises of the Pope and papists to get mony by 3.4 Pragmatica saÌ„ctio enacted in FraÌ„ce in the dayes of Charles the 7. against the Pope 724 Praxedis with her sister Potentiana christian virgins 45 Preaching and prayers makyng in corners a common thing in tyme of persecution 569 Preachyng without licence in the olde testament allowable before God and man 1979 Preachyng without licence of him that is called 655 Preaching without licence 1111 Preach in tyme of necessitie may any lay man or woman 1112 1113.1114 Preaching not to bee left of for any persecution 999 Preacher ought not to desist from preachyng Gods worde for any inhibition 1111.1112 Preachers in prison their godly declaration concernyng their disputation 1469 Preachers of K. Edwards inhibited to preach 1409.1407 Preface of the canon of the masse 1402 Prebendship of Paules geuen both of the Pope and of the kyng at one tyme to two seuerall persons 327. the Popes gift donation preuailed the kings faâ—led ibid. Predestination and election with notes vpon the same 1657.1658 Preheminence of the Church estemed after a double consideration 8.9 Prelates in the councell of Constance 596 Prelates of England charged to finde horse and harnesse for the Popes warres 289 Prelates of Fraunce their answer to the Lord Peter in the parliament of Fraunce 354 Prelates of Fraunce agaynst the Friers 392 Prelates ought to discharge their cures in their owne persons and not by mercenaries 1116 Premuniâ—e facias endeuoured of the papists to be dissolued 702 Prestes wife burnt at Exceter for the Gospell .2049.2050.2051 her martyrdome â—022 Presentation within 4. monthes 421. Prescription of time 1805. Premonstratensis monkes 197. Premunire with the penaltie therof 419. Princes two slayne Edwarde and Richard 728. Prince Edward borne 376. Priest godly hanged 880. Priestes first restrained from their wiues in England 1152.1149 Priestes mariage lawfull by Gods word 1522. Priest for casting the Popes Bull before his feete burned 391. Priest of the North railing against Bishop Cranmer 1863. Priest burnt in king Henry .7 hys dayes 731. Priestes of Fraunce and Germamany stout agaynst the Popes proceeding for the restraynt of Priestes mariage 175.176 Priestes displaced and Monkes put in theyr rowmes by Oswald 153. Priestes of 3. sortes 496. Priestes had theyr wiues till Anselmes time 408. Priestes and Monkes why shaueÌ„ on the crownes .126 Priestes crownes ibid. Priestes that preache not are slayers of the people .533 they can not absolutely forgeue sinne of themselues .540 forbid to haue wiues 192. Priestes restrayned theyr wiues 67. Priestes hadde wiues in king Edgars time 154. Priest a romaine chanon of Pauls robbed of souldiers 275. Priestes are seruauntes to the coÌ„gregation not Maisters ouer it 1007 Priestes office after the Popes order 497 Priestes children made legittimate 1176 Priestes and Monkes theyr mutuall contention 158 Priestes of Bohem described 591 Priestes payde for theyr wiues to the Pope 199 Priesthood the order thereof 545 Priesthood of Christ differeth from all other Priesthoodes 496 Pride of Priestes 403 Primatus or primacy what it signifieth 1059 Primacy of Canterbury remoued to Liechfield 129 Primer allowed in Queene Maryes time full of horrible blasphemies and impieties 1598 Princeps Sacerdotum intituled to K. Henry .5 585 Princes as they geue the Pope primacy so they may take it agayne in case it be abused 1085 Prinâ—es loose no honor by the Gospell 2110 Printing and preaching inhibited by Q. Mary 1408 Printing inueÌ„ted by whom where and when 707
to continue and to stand fast Math. 1â— Apoc. 3. The 〈◊〉 of 〈◊〉 1. Pet. 1. Heb. 2. Iohn 16. Luke 2â— Luâ—e 2â— The fruite that commeth by bearing of the Crosse. The delightes of the world nothing comparable to them that are to come Consideration of the ioyes to come The note of a true christian 1. Tim 2. Psal. 3. He exhorâ—eth tâ— be 〈…〉 in 〈◊〉 To be patiâ—â—â— and not murmure 〈◊〉 Gene. 22. How to sacrificâ— our Isaac to God Remedyes agaynst the temptations of the Deuill and the world Christes temptations mistically applyed An other letter of Iohn Philpot to M. Harrington his friend Iohn 21. Reward greater then the price Godly Matrimony how to be vsed He bewayleth the state of England Plagues prophesied to England though the Gospell be restored agayne Good lucke forshewed in restoring agayne the Gospell Philpoâ— Scarffe Experience of Gods comfortâ— in the tiâ—â— of affliction 〈◊〉 wheâ— thâ—y prison mens bodies they set their souleâ— at libertyâ— An other letter of M. Philpot to a certayne godly Lady Agaynst faint harted Gosspellers 〈◊〉 16. Perfect ioy 〈◊〉 ComparisoÌ„ 〈…〉 the 〈◊〉 this 〈◊〉 Gods Saintes shal 〈…〉 ludâ—es agaynst 〈…〉 The Gospel triumpheth by the death of Martyrs An other 〈◊〉 of 〈◊〉 Philpot to the Lady Vane Lady Vane 〈◊〉 benefactor to Gods 〈◊〉 Marke 9. A perfect Christen man how he is knowen Rom. 8. The tyme of tribulation better for a Christian then the tyme of ioy An other letter of M. Philpot to the same Ladye Experience of Christ comforting his Saintes in their persecution An other letter of M. Philpot. By this Senacharib he meaneth the death of the Bishop of Winchester He expresseth the great ioy which Gods prisoners feelâ— in ther suffringes Iohn Philpot neuer so mery in all his lyfe before A letter of M. Philpot stablishing A certaine brother in the matter of baptising of infantes 1 Cor. 11. Prooâ—e by testimonyes and Scriptures Baptisme of infantes of olde Antiquity in the Church Euery thing abused in the Popes Church is not to be reiected but the Antiquity therof to be searched and to be reduced agayne to the same The people of God is to be iudged by his free promise not by their confession Gene. 17. Math. 5 Math. 10. Math. 19. Math. 18. Math. 28. Argumentes pâ—ouing the baptisme of children to be of God and that the Apostles baptised childreÌ„ Actes 10. An other Argument 1. Cor. 1. 1. Cor. 1. An other Argument In Sacramentes 2. thinges to be considered Actes 20. An other reason Another reason Rom. 8. Another reason Math. 10. Obiection Iohn 4. Another reason Coloss. 2. Another reason Iosua 5. Another reason Another reason Arguâ—â—â—â— of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Origen who was 200. yeares after Christ. S. Austen S. Hierome 400. after Christ. Verba Iohannis CoÌ„stantinopol 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cyprian 250. after Christ. August contra Donatiâ—â— aâ— Cyrillus Math. 18. Righteousnes and acceptation is onely by imputacion and mere grace 1. Cor. 7. * Marke 1. Math. 28. The place of Mathew 28. he that beleeueth and is baptised opened In the fiâ—st câ—â—uerting of â—â—fidels beleeuing ought to 〈◊〉 before baptiâ—ing but where 〈◊〉 the pâ—rceiued Gods grace and Sacramentes goe 〈◊〉 by age but as well be children of the faithâ—â—â—â— receaâ—â—â—â— at the fathers 〈◊〉 childâ—eâ— of chrisâ—â—â—â— paâ—ents be receaued 〈◊〉 baptisme Cathecumenius a much to say 〈◊〉 Nouecies beginners in Christes fayth 2. Cor. 14. Concerning the party to whom this letter was written note that he was conuerted and afterward dyed in the same faith as this letter did perswade him Your deedes declare and beare witnes to the same Sacrifice of the Masse Sea of Rome Sacrament of the Altar Aunswere to the 1. article To the 2 article To the 3 article To the 4. arâ—icle The fayth which they were baptised in was in the name of the Father the Sonne and the holy Ghost beleeuing the articles of the Creede with promise made to abrenounce the Deuill the flesh and the woâ—ld of the which sayth their godfathâ—rs and godmothers were suretyes for them and in this fayth they continue still As for other ceremonyes abuses of the Church they neuer made any promise in their baptisme To swarue from the corruptions of the Sea of Rome and Sacrifice of the Masse is not to goe from the Catholicke Church of Christ. To the 6. article The Catholicke Church and the church of Rome are 2. thinges To the 7. article The Masse dissonant from the word of the Gospell The Masse full of Idolatry Iohn Went repenteth his going to Masse To the 8. article Of this Ioane Warne read before pag. 1878. To the 9. article Thomas Whittell Martyr Edmond Alabaster after a promoter and persecuter Tho. Whittell reporteth of the maner of his handling with B. Boner Tho. Whittell beaten on the face by Boner Episcopum non perâ—â—â—sorem esse oporteâ— Tit. 1. Tho. Whittell conuented before D. Harpsfield A letter of M. Harpsfield declaring how Tho. Whittell rent his subscription out of the Bishops Register He meaneth of the returne agayne of Tho. Whittell This young woman was Ioane Warren otherwise named Ioane Lashford who was burned also with the same Whittell An other letter of Iohnson touching the sayd Tho. Whittell Touching Ioane Lashford The last examination of Tho. Whittell EleuatioÌ„ of the SacrameÌ„t cause of Idolatry B. Boners argument He was baptised in the fayth of the Catholicke Church Ergo he was baptised in the fayth of Rome Tho. Whitell degraded Whittelâ— words to B. Boner Causes why the administration of the Popish Sacrament is to be reproued A letter of Tho. Whittell written to Iohn Careles His iudgement and experience of Popish Prelates The burden of a troubled conscience He writeth 〈◊〉 the examinations of M. Philâ—â—◠〈◊〉 16. 1. 〈◊〉 1. 1. Peter 2. Math. 10. 1 Peter 4. 〈◊〉 11. Apoc 12. 〈◊〉 can 〈…〉 to 〈◊〉 persecuted 〈◊〉 onely 〈◊〉 〈…〉 this 〈◊〉 Apoâ— 2. 〈◊〉 115. 〈◊〉 13. A letter of 〈◊〉 Whittell to the true professorâ— of the Citye of London Rom. 4. Luke 1. 4 Notes Rom. 8. Gene. 22. Iob. 1. Rom. 9. 2. Corin. 11. Actes 16. Genesis 4. 2. Machab. 6. Actes 7. Math. 17. Iames. 5.4 Psalm 6. Luke â— The crosse trieth the good people from the bad Lirach 2. Preach 12. Coloss. 3. Philip. 3. The 2. note Persecetion no strange thing in the Church 3. Regum 4. Regum 2. Mac. 6.7 Act. 14. Iohn â— Romans 8. 1. Cor. 15. Example of Gods Martyrs going before Iohn 10. Heb. 13. 2. Peter 2. 1. Tim. 4. 2. Tim. 3. Iude. 1. Exod. 10. 1. Iohn 5. 2. Cor. 10. Math. 4. Where Sathan could not bring Christ to fall downe and worship him he 〈◊〉 the Phariseys 〈◊〉 kill him Iames. â— Math. 1â— Apo. 13 14. Apoâ— 18. â— Cor. â— Psal. 126. The 3. 〈◊〉 Act. â— Col. 1. Math 6 Phil. 3. Gal. 6. The 4. none Luke â— * 1. Cor. â— * Heb. 2. 1. Peter 1. Phiâ— 1. Iohn 14. Math.
church This article of the K. Quâ—â—e is no 〈…〉 his Catholicke Creede And yet he sayd before that he went not aboute to seeke his bloud Iudgement without truth Mathew Plaise confesseth his minde of the Sacrament Capernaicall doctrine Christ called it his body Ergo he made it his body It followeth not For a thing may be called yet no nature chaunged Anno 1556. Iune False alleaging the Scriptures They sayd that Christ called it his body but they sayd not that it was his body Comparison betweene turning Moyses rod and the bread into Christes body not lyke The opinion of the Papistes much lyke to the Capernaits Iune 22. 10. Godly Martyrs The lyfe story of Richard Woodman Anno â—557 〈◊〉 Râ—â—hard â—oâ—dman 〈…〉 of his 〈◊〉 trouble Râ—chard Woodman agâ—yne apprehended 〈…〉 of Richard Woodman The first appreâ—ension 〈◊〉 Richard Woodman Woodmen purgeth himselfe of false sclander False surmises agaynst Richard Woodman Woodman complayned of to Syr Iohn Gâ—ge Lord Chamberlayne Warrantes sent out to attach Woodman L. Chamberlayne sendeth to take Woodman at his plough Woodman arested Feare comming vpon WoodmaÌ„ at his first taking Woodman comforted in his spirite after his feare Woodman asketh for their Warrant How God worketh for his seruauntes The vnorderly doinges of the Papiâ—tes in attaching men without any warrant Woodman refusâ—th to goe with them vnlesse they shewe their warrant Gods great worke how the persecutors which came to take Woodman went away without him Woodman escapeth the handes of his takers Woodmans house agayne searched for him Woodman lodged sixe weeâ—es in a woode All the countâ—y and Sea coastes lâ—yd for woodman Woodman deliuered by his owne brother into his enenemyes handes Auri sacra fames quid non Mortalia cogis pectora Virgil. Brother bewrayeth the brother Woodmans house agayne beset and searched Woodman put to his shiftes The part of a trusty wife to her husband This belyke was his brother Woodman at length after long seeking found out George 〈…〉 in 〈…〉 Woodman A Pewterer of 〈◊〉 a 〈◊〉 coate â—oodman 〈◊〉 to 〈◊〉 â—ounde 〈…〉 of 〈◊〉 Woodman 〈◊〉 his 〈◊〉 of his â—â—fe and 〈◊〉 The name of this place 〈◊〉 as 〈◊〉 could 〈◊〉 by 〈…〉 Firle Richard Woodman brought before the B. of Chichester D. Story and D. Cooke Richard Woodman preferreth the kingdome of Christ before lyfe or wyfe all worldly respectes Woodman appealed to his Ordynary D. Story a great spiller of bloud by his owne confession The Papistes in doubte whether they haue the spirite of God D. Story in a fury He is no true Christian that hath not the spirite of God Anno 1556. Iune 1. Cor. 7. Whether Paule was sure to receâ—ue the spirite of Christ. 1. Cor. 7. Rom. 8. Rom. 8. Gâ—l â— 2. Tim. 8. The Papistes bewray their owne blyndnes Richard Woodman glad to goe to the Marshalsâ—â— The liuing God is a pâ—â—ne of heresie among the Catholickes Story scorneth at the holy Bible Barne 6. D. Story set to schoole in the Scriptures Psal. â—4 If the liuing God in heauen doe make an heretick 〈◊〉 maketh 〈◊〉 the dead God on the Aultar Storyes rule to know an hereticke that is a true Christian When D. Story cannot confute them by learning he confuteth them by imprisonment No but if he should say the Sacrament of the aultar worshipped might he be then he were a perfect Catholicke The Lord hereticall our Lord Catholicke with the Papistes Fallacia equiuoci He that erreth from the church which church erreth not in in the right fayth his fayth cannot be good in deede Woodman charged with his owne writinges Richard Woodman 5. tymes before the Commissioners Anno 1557. 〈◊〉 â—oodman 〈…〉 church A man may 〈…〉 the 〈◊〉 preaâ—â—â— â—eading 〈◊〉 Scripture letteth 〈◊〉 man to 〈…〉 〈◊〉 and â—â—â—under Woodman 〈…〉 the 〈◊〉 Church The Bishop 〈…〉 The Bishop biddeth Woodman to dinner Talke betweene Richard Woodman and the Bishop about Priestes mariage Paule if he were not maryed yet he had power to marry as well as the other had 1. Cor. 9. 1. Cor. 7 Priestes ought to haue wyues rather then to burne by Sainct Paules doctrine Gene 2. 1. Tim. 3. Bishops and Deacons were maryed in the Apostles tyme. Papistes â—olde that Byshops Deacons hauing wiâ—es before might keepe them still but not hauing before might not afterward mary Paul confesseth himselfe after his Apostleship to haue power to maâ—y The Bishops fayâ—e wordes to Richard Woodman Richard Woodman complayned of by vnlearned Priestes which could not certyfie him in matters of religion A Byshoplyke diâ—ner without any talke of Scriptures D. story a man without reason 7. Sacramentes denyed Two onely Sacramentes Richard Woodman caryed to the Marshalsey Luke 22. The deuills members persecutors of the Christians Iob. Psal. 1â— Rom 14. Richard Wooâ—mâ—â— to the faythfull brethren Psal. 103. Those that feare God hang not or man The inseparable knot of loue betweene Christ and his members Christians ought to geue there liues for defence of the Gospell if they be thereto called The second examination of Rich. Woodman before D Christopherson Bishop of Chichester Doct. Story c. Prouing of 7. Sacramentes Christopherson not yet consecrated 〈◊〉 to 〈◊〉 the examination 〈…〉 â—â—ether â—â—trimony 〈◊〉 Sacrament Ephe. 5. S. Paules words be these â—his misteâ—y is greatâ— c. In the Greeke text S. Paule calleth it misterium What is a mistery and what difference there is betweene a mistery and a Sacrament Argument A thing signified a thing signifying can not bee at one tyme in respecte of it selfe in one subiecte Matrimony is a holy thing it selfe signified Ergo Matrimony cannot be a Sacrament signifying a holy thing The hose in a hosiers stalle may be a signâ— signifying moe hose to be within but it is noe signifying signe of it selfe Neyther againe is euery signe of an other thing to be called a Sacrament Chichester proueth Matrimony to be a SacrameÌ„t by a payre of hose Letters written in the booke speaking properly be one thing the testament worde of God is an other thing And yet by vse of speach the booke of the testament is called the testament as bread and wine be called the body bloud of the Lord. Heb. 13. The Bishop of Chichesteâ— rightly aunswered of his man according to his queston Aiâ— Aio Sacrament of the Aultar The aultar how it is to be taken and where it is Math. 18. Math. 5. Christ the true and onely Aultar The place of Math. â— expoundâ— Heb. 13. The Catholickes will not haue the worde to iudge Woodman referreth himselfe to the true Church Doctrine preiudiciall to Christes passion to say that the Sacrament of the Aultar doth pacyfie the wrath of God The Catholickes make themselues Priestes not after the order of Aaron but of Melchisedech The Catholickes 〈◊〉 the Sacrament doth a â—â—gne signiâ—â—â—â—g and the thing it 〈◊〉 signiâ—ied Another 〈◊〉 wordes 〈◊〉 make 〈◊〉 Sacrament of Baptisme 〈…〉 childe 〈◊〉 to be â—â—ptised The word water and
of Richard White Condemnation of Iohn Hunt Richard White The Christen zeale of M. Clifford Example of Christian pietye in a Shrieffe to be noted A note to be obserued concerning the Papists dealinges The Papistes charged with manifest dissimumulation Burning without a sufficient Writtâ— Rich. White now Vicar of Malbrough in Wilshire M. Miâ—hell vnder Sheriffe bâ—â—neth the writte Gods 〈◊〉 kinges 〈…〉 the death 〈◊〉 D. Geffrey Chauncellour of Salisbury The story of Iohn Fetty and Martyrdome oâ— his childâ— Gods dreadfull hand vpon a wife seeking the destruction of her husband The wyfe persecuting her husband Iohn Fetty agayne apprehended The strayte handling of Iohn Fetty by Syr Iohn Mordant Richard Smith dead in prison through cruell handling The cruell handling and scourgâ—â—â— of Iohn Fettyes childe The miserable tyrranny of the Papists in scourging a 〈◊〉 The childe all bloudy brought to his father in prison Cluny caryeth the 〈◊〉 agayne to the Byshops houâ—e The wordes betweene Boner and Iohn Fetty Boners Crucifixe B. Boner compared to Cayphas B. Boner for feare of the law in murdering a childe deliuered the father out of prison The Martyrdome of a childe scourged to death in Boners house The story of Nicholas Burton Martyr in Spayne Nicholas BurtoÌ„ Londoner Nich. Burton layd in prison they hauing no cause to charge him with Nich. Burton caryed to Ciuilâ— Nich. Burton brought to iudgement after a disguised maner The trouble of Iohn FrontoÌ„ Citizen of Bristow in Spaine Note the rauening extortion of these Inquisitours The vyle procedingâ—â— of the Inquisitors of Spayne Iohn Fronton imprisoned by the Spanish Inquisitors for asking his owne goodes Anno 1558. Iâ—hn Fronton iudged 〈◊〉 an heretike for not reding to Aue Maria 〈◊〉 then 〈◊〉 Scripâ—â—re hath 〈…〉 the 〈◊〉 Maâ—chaunt 〈…〉 of his goodes An other â—â—â—lishe 〈◊〉 burnt 〈◊〉 Spayne 〈◊〉 afore 〈◊〉 907. 〈◊〉 Baker 〈◊〉 â—urgate 〈…〉 in 〈◊〉 Marke Burges burnt in Lushborne The scourging of Richard Wilmot and Tho. Fayrefaxe D. Cromeâ— Sermon D Cromes recantation D. Crome caused to recant the second tyme. Richard Wilmot Prentise in Bow lane Lewes one of the Garde a Welchman a Popishe persecutour Wilmot defendeth D. Cromeâ— Sermon The Lord Cromwell wrongfully accused The doinges of the Lord Cromwell defended The common reason of the Papistes why the Scriptures sâ—ould not be in Englishe Gods truth goeth not alwayes by tytle fame of great learning Learned men how farre they are to be credited Wilmot complayned of to his Mayster M. Daubnies seruaunt called Thomas Fayrefaxe taketh Wilmots part Wilmot and Thomas Fayrefaxe sent for to the Lord Mayor Rich. Wilmot and Thomas Fayrefaxe examined before the Lord Mayor and M. Cholmley S. Paules doctrine made heresie with the Papistes Wilmot Fayrefaxe committed to prison Sute made bâ— the company of Drapers for Richard Wilmot and Thomas Fayrefaxe M. Brooke Maâ—ster of tâ—e compaâ—â— of Drapers â—â—ch Wilâ—â—t and â—â—â—mas â—â—â—refaxe â—â—â—urged in Drapers 〈◊〉 The scourâ—â—â—â— of â—â—â—mas Grâ—ene The Master promoteth the serâ—â—â—nt Thomas Greene put in the stockes Thomas Greene examined before Doctour Story D. Story scoffeâ—â— at Christes seruauntes An other examination of Tho. Greene before D. Story Mistres Story sheweth her charitable hart Greene agayne examined before Doctour Story Greene xamined of his belief D. Stories blasphemous scoffing in matterâ— of our fayth The Masse Greene sent agayne to the Colehouse The strayte handling of Greene in prison Talke betweene Thomas Greene and B. Boner Two prisoners brought to B. Boners Salthouse Cruelty shewed vpon prisoners for singing Psalmes Thomas Greene brought before D. Storye and the Commissioners This woman was one Youngs wyfe Thomas Greene examined before M. Hussey Dixon in Bâ—â—chin Lane Iohn Beanâ— Prentise with M. Tottle Thomas Greene adiudged to be whipped Thomas Greene brought to the Gray Fryers Thomas Greene agayne appeareth before D. Story and two gentlemâ—n The scourging of Tho. Greene before Doct. Story 〈…〉 his brother Stephen Cotton twise beatâ—n by Byshop Boner Iames Harâ—â—â— scourged â—eade before pag. 1804. Iames Harris repenteth his comming to the Popish Church The cause of Iames Harris â—courging The scourging of Robert Williams B. Boner causeth certayne boyes to be beaten Boners pityfull hart Boners deuoute Orâ—â—ons A poore begger whipt at Salisbury for not receiuing with the Papistes at Easter Actes 5. A treatise of Gods mercy and prouidence in preseruing good men women in the tyme of this persecution The deliuerance of W. Liuing his wyfe and of Iohn Lithall Deane Constable George Hancocke Beadle persecutors Talke betweene Darbyshire and W Liuing Priest Cluny playeth the theefe Note the couetous dealing of these Papistes W. Liuing layd in the Lollardes tower William Liuing deliuered Talke betweene Darbyshire Liuingeâ— wyfe Liuinges wyfe commaunded to the Lollardes Tower Dale a Promotor Marke the hope of the Papistes The Constable of S. Brides surety for Iulian Liuing Liuing and his wyfe deliuered 〈◊〉 the death of Q. Mary Ioh. Lithall brought to examinatioÌ„ by Iohn Auales Lithall brought before D. Darbyshire Chauncellour Talke betweene Lithall and the Chauncellour Iustification â—y fâ—yth 〈◊〉 Lithall denyeth to kneele before the Roode Lithals neighbours make sute for him S. Iames expounded Esay 65. Actes 16. Heb. â—â— Lithall refuseth to 〈◊〉 in â—onde Apoc. 13. Math. 18. His neighbours 〈◊〉 into bonde for him Edward Grew and Appline his vvyfe M. Browne of Suffolke Robert Blomefield persecutor Edward Goulding vnder Shâ—â—â—ffe Syr Thomas Corn 〈◊〉 high Shrieffe M. Browne persecuâ—â—â—â— and taken M. Browne deliuered Example of Gods punishment vpon a parsecutor The first examination of Elâ—zaâ—beth YouÌ„g Elizabeth Young refuseth to go to masse Elizabeth Young denyeth to sweare and 〈◊〉 The 2. examination of Elizabeâ—h YouÌ„g Elizabeth Young for bringing ouer bookes D. Martyn â—â—reatneth her with the racke Elizabeth Young charged for speaking agaynst the Queene Elizabeth YouÌ„g and her husband deliuered by D. Martyn Elyzabeth YouÌ„g commaunded to close prison to haue one day bread an other day water The 3. examination of Elizabeth Young D. Martyn seeketh to know how many gentlemen were fled ouer the Sea Elizabeth YouÌ„g againe threatned with the racke Shee agayne refuseth to sweare to accuse other Elizabeth YouÌ„g commaunded agayne to the Clinke The 4 examination of Elizabeth Young D. Martyn presenteth her to the Commissiners The booke called Antichrist Elizabeth Young a great while in the Clinke Elizabeth Young refuseth to sweare and why Elizabeth Young thought to be no womaÌ„ Sacrament of the Aultar The confession and fayth of Elizabeth Young The Sacrament to be receaued in spirite and fayth Cholmley cannot abyde spirite and fayth Institution of the Sacrament by Christ onely once for all Confession of Cholmleys fayth Elizabeth Young caryed into the stockhouse The 5 examination of Elizabeth Young Elizabeth Young offereth agayne to declare her beliefe Really Corporally Substantially Fayth commeth of God Ergo no vntruth ought to be beleued Christ is fleshe of our fleshe but not in our fleshe Iohn 6. This man dare not
expoundâ— the Scripture yet he dare â—â—dge vpon heresie The Papists dare not assure them selues to haue the holy Ghost The Capernaites faith The place of Iohn cap. 6. expounded how Christes fleshe is meate Christes flesh is flesh in our flesh say the Papistes Christes fleshe is meate for our soule by the Christians In the Sacrament ministred receaued according to Christes institution we receaue Christ. One question solued by an other The Sacrament a witnes both of Christes death and of his comming agayne Christes body occupyeth but one place at once The 6 examination of Elizabeth Young The fleshly reason of the Papistes Name of Sacramentes geuen by the Church Two Sacramentes Wedlocke Priestes mariage Praying for the dead Purgatory Oblation for the dead The holy Communion blasphemed So many Martyrs haue beene slâ—yâ—e and yet the Papistes bragge as though none will come forth to aunswere them Fysher B. of Rochester Nothing to be receaued to saluaâ—ion but onely that which is found or founded in Scripture But we read not that Christ did draw them into priâ—ons and condemned them to be burnt that would not câ—me Elizâ—beth YouÌ„g deemed 〈◊〉 heretick because shee beleeueth all thinges written and agreeable to the Scripture nothing els Elizabeth Young had to the Stockhouse and then to the Lollardes Tower The 7. examination of Elizabeth Young Two Sacramenteâ— Head of the Church Byshop of Rome From the Byshop of Rome and all his detestable enormities Elizabeth Young refuseth to go to Masse Elizabeth Young setteth her hand to her examination The 8. examination of Elizabeth Young The Deane made sute for Elâ—zabeth YouÌ„g Story The beliefe 〈◊〉 the Papâ—â—â—es followeth the multitude True belief dependeth not vpon men but vpon the 〈◊〉 of Gods word Elizabeth Young committed to the Deane The 9 examiâ—ation of â—lizabeth Young Talke betweene the Deane and Elizabeth Young aâ—â—ut receauing the Sacrament Christ 〈◊〉 â—bsent from his Sacramentes Two women suretyes for Elizabeth Young Elizabeth YouÌ„g vpon suretyes deliuered Elizabeth Lawson Confessour Robert Kitrich Tho. Elas persecutours Syr Iohn Sylliarde Shâ—râ—ffe Elizabeth Lawson in prison two yeares and three quarters Elizabeth Lawson sory that shee was not burned Elizabeth Lawson bayled vpon suretyes in Q. Elizabethes tyme. Elizabeth Lawson preserued from persecution ended her lyfe in peace Elizabeth Lawson troubled with the falling sicknes after her persecution neuer felte it more Tho. Christenmas W. Wattes Gods prouidence vpoÌ„ Tho. Châ—istenmas W. Wattes W. Wattes an other tyme deliuered by the Lordes prouidence W. Wattes apprehended and brought before the Byshop An other notable example of the Lordes prouidence W. Wattes deliuered out of his enemyes handes W. Wattes sought for agayne W. Wattes wyfe set in the stockes Gods prouidence in deliuering M. Iohn Glouer Read before pag. 1709. An other narrow escape of M. Iohn Glouer Read before pag. 1714. The escape of a godly man called Dabney Gods 〈◊〉 working in the deliuerance of Dabney Alexander â—imshurst a Minister deliuered by Gods prâ—uidence from his enymies Wymshurst taken by Robin Caly. Wymshurst taâ—â—eth with Doct. Chadsey D. Chadsey asure friend at neede Wymshurst brought to D. Story D. Cooke Commissioners Wimshurst commaunded to prison Good couÌ„seâ—l sent of God A way made by Gods 〈◊〉 to Alexander Wimshurst to escape Bosoms wyfe The behauiour of Bosoms wyfe in the Church Bosoms wyfe summoned to appeare at Kingstone Bosoms wyfe through Gods helpe escapeth The Lady Anne Kneuet Lady Kneuet threatned by the Byshop The great age of the Lady Kneuet Lady Elizabeth Vane a great relieuer of Gods people Iohn Dauis a childe vnder the age of 12. yeares cast to be burned â—or the 6. articles and yet by Gods prouidence preserued 〈…〉 before and to whom he wrote a letter pâ—g 1â—93 Syr Iohn Gilford a troubler of 〈◊〉 Robertes Syr Iohn Gilford stopped of his purpose by Gods working Mistres Anne Lacy. Crosmanâ— wyfe Barbour of Tibnam Constable persecutor Example of Gods gratious prouidence The story of a congregation at Stoke in Suffolke Confessors Cotes Parishe Priest it Stoke Iohn Steyre and Iohn Foxe 〈◊〉 The christian constancye of Elizabeth Foxe The effecte of Christian prayer Iohn Foxe recouered agayne to the truth by prayer The womeÌ„ of Stoke summoned by the Byshop How the women of Stoke escaped The preseruation of the congregation at London The congregation at M. Cardens house The congregation agayne deliuered The congregation agayne deliuered The congregation in a shippe at Billinsgate The congregation in a shippe betwixt Ratcliffe and Redriffe The congregation in a Couperâ— house in Pudding lane The congregation in a house in Thamis streete An other notable example of Gods mercyfull prouidence The Ministers of this congregation A story of Mayster Bentham The Queenes proclamation no man to pray for the Martyrs nor to speake vnto them The congregation embracing the Martyrs contrary to the Proclamation M. Bentham Minister of the congregation Master Bentham speaketh and prayeth for the Martyrs without daunger An other deliuery of Master Bentham out of great perill Master Bentham forced agaynst his will to sit in the Crowners quest Master Bentham refuseth to sweare vpon a Popishe Primer Meanes wrought wherby Master Benthâ—m escaped English men at Calice preserued Iohn Thorpe his wyfe A story of Edward Benet now dwelling in S. Brides Parishe Edward Benet 25. weekes in the Counter for bringing a new Testament to Tynâ—le which after dyed in prison and was buryed on a dounghill D. Storyes wordes to Edward Benet Edward Benet brought to Bonet and examined How Edward Benet escaped out of the Byshops house An other escape of Edward Benet 8. Of the 24. taken at Islington escaped and how good warning sent of God The story 〈◊〉 Ieffrey Hurst dwelling in the towne of Shakerley in the Parish 〈◊〉 Ieffrey Hurst brother to George Marsh the Martyr Ieffrey Hurst leaueth wyfe children house for persecution Preachers vsing to Ieffrey Hurstes house and to Preach M. Thomas Lelond Iustice of peace at Morlese in Lancashire a cruell persecutor Ieffâ—ey Hurst conueyed vnder a Dâ—fat Mistres Sâ—akerlay Hurstes Landlady M. Lelond entreth to search Hurstes house Rafe Parkinson a Popishe persecuting Priest The Papists follow false Prophesies of the Gospell to come againe after 4. Monethes and more The new Testament of Tyndalls translation made heresie Searche made for Hurst and his sister Alice The olde mother threatned to goe to Lancaster Castle Hurstes mother and brother bound in a 100. pound for his forth comming Master Lelonde maker Talke betweene Ieffrey Hurst and the Iustice. Ieffrey Hurst denyeth to come to Masse Examination after Masse Ieffrey Hurst Alice his sister let go vnder suertyes Ieffrey Hurst by the death of Q. Mary released Ieffrey Hurst in Queene Elizabethes tyme put in authoritye to see the proceeding of Religion Thomas Lelond the Popishe Iustice would not come to the Church in Queene Elizabethes tyme yet continued Iustice still A Catholicke father of the Popishe church Note a Catholicke knaue of
rayling agaynst Iames Abbes. Example how Popery bringeth to desperation Clarke hanged himselfe The sodaine death of Troling Smith Dale the Promotor eaten with lyee Coxe the Promotor sodainely dyed Alexander the cruell keeper of Newgate dyed a rotten death The sodaine death of Iames Alexanders sonne Iohn Peter Alexanders sonne in lawe rotted away Iustice Lelond perâ—ecutour pâ—agued Robert Baulding persecutor Beard the Promotor Robert Blomfield persecutor The iudgement of God vpon Iohn Rocâ—â—wood Lady Honor and George Bradway persecutors in Calice Richard Long drowned himselfe The iust punishmeÌ„t of God vpoÌ„ Syr Rafe Ellerker persecutor The sodaine death of D. Foxford Pauâ—er a persecutor hanged himselfe The stinking end of Stephen Gardiner proueth Popery and not the Gospell to be the doctrine of desperaration Gods iust stroke vpon Iohn Fisher B. of Rochester and Syr Thomas More 2. Mach. 3. Of Valerianus read before pag. 74. Bishops that dyed before Q. Mary Byshops tâ—â—t dyed 〈◊〉 Q. Mary * Note that B. Tonstall iâ— Q Maryes tyme was no great bloudy persecutour For Maister Russell a Preacher was before him and D. 〈◊〉 his Chauncellour would haue had him examimined more particularly The Bishop stayed him saying hetherto we haue had a good report among our neighbours I pray you bring not this mans bloud vpon my head A note of D. Weston D. Weston out of fauour with the Papists D. Weston taken in adultry D. Weston appeâ—led to Rome The death of Doctour Weston Catholicke Bishops after Q. Marâ—es death depriued imprisoned Note that some of these Bishops afterward through the goodnes of Q. Elizabeth were dispersed and suffered to be kept in their friendes houses A note of Doct. Chadsey 34. Articles of D. Chadsey D. Chadsey subscribed to the reformed religion in King Edwardes time D. Chadsey mutable and inconstant in his religion The egernes of D. Chadsey in punishing the poore Martyrs Wil. Mauldon Prentise with M. Hugh Apparry at Grenewich A terrible example of Gods iudgement to be noted of all such as be contemners and mockers of God and his worde Gods punishmâ—nâ— vpon a young 〈◊〉 of 12 yeares 〈◊〉 blaspheming the Maiesty of God Blâ—sphemy punished A lâ—sson to children and young gyrles A leâ—â—â—n to all Athenites Epicures and Infideâ—â—â— A lesson to all blasphemers swearers Leuar of Abingdon a blasphemer of Gods Martyrs plagued Thomas Arundell Archbishop of Canterbury Fryer Champbell plagued Gods iudgment vpon Haruy a persecuting CoÌ„missary Gods iust plague vpon William Swallow Gods iust plague vpoÌ„ Richard Potto Richard Denton burned in his owne house Fettyes wyfe stricken with madnes Two Papistes of 〈◊〉 Colâ—â—â—ge in Oâ—ford 〈…〉 A story of a Courtyer oâ—e of the Garde which happened An. 1563. Admonitioâ— to Courtiers An example of Christopher Landeâ—dale one of the Garde for all Courâ—â—ers to looke vpon Landesdale a feaster of the rich and vnmercifull to the pore Poore Lazaruâ— lying by the rich mans doore Yet the â—icâ—e glutton was better for he suffered Lazarus to lye at his gates The death of poore Lazarus in the ditch The end of this vnmercifull 〈◊〉 in the ditch The image of the rich glutton and poore Lazarus Math. 5. 1. Iohn 3. A warning to gentlemen A fearefull example of 〈…〉 Gentle exhortatioÌ„ neglected The terrible ende of a swearer The miserable ende of Henry Smith a Lawier of the midle Temple after he was peruerted from the Gospell Note what leude company doth in corrupting good natures M. Smithes Images and Agnus dei Henry Smith a Lawyer hanged himselfe in his chamber after what maner One Williams a Lawyer and a rayler agaynst the Gospell fell madde Of the miserable end of this Twyford read before pag. 1258. DeclaratioÌ„ of foreine examples Hofmeister sodainely stricken with death going to Ratisbone What inconuenience commeth by thâ— Popes desperate doctrine The miserable ende of Guarlacus reader in Louane The story of Arnoldus Bomelius student aâ— Louane Note what euill instruction company doth An horrible example of Arnoldus Bomelius which killed himselfe with his owne dagger AdmonitioÌ„ to our Louanians Iacobus Latomus of Louane Iacobus Latomus an â—nemy to the Gospell brought to madnes and desperation The terrible wordes of Latomus in his desperation Gods will in his word to accept our fayth onely for iustification Obedience to Gods will rewarded Disobedience to Godâ— will punished The chiefe fountayne of all mischiefe in the world A Fryer of Munster stricke with lightning A Taylours seruaunt in Lipsia Gods punishment vpon a certaine Popish gentleman vnnamed Sadoletus Cardinall The Commendator of S. Antony plagued Abbot of Carilocus sodainely dead Dauid Beaton Archbyshop of Scotland persecutour slayne in hiâ— owne Castle Ex Ioan Sleidano lib. 23. The terrible iudgement of God vpon Cardinall Crescentius President of the Counsell of Trident. An. 1552. The wretched end of Cardinall Crescentius President of the Counsell of Trent Two aduouterous Byshops of Trident Counsell iustly slaine in adultery D. Eckius the Pâ—pes stout Champion· The end of Martyn Luther compared to the end of Eckius The maner of Iohn Eckius death Eckius last wordes Eckius dyeth dreaming of his Guildenâ— Ex appendice Hist. Ioan. Carionis Gods iudgment vpon one Iohn Vander Warfe Shoulted of Antwarpe a persecutour Shilpad a kinde of Shelfishe fashioned like a Tode with a hard and a broad shell vpon his backe Our Ladies druncken feast Fraunces Fraet the Printer and witnes hereof a good man Martyr Bartholomeus Cassaneus plagued Minerius plagued of God A Iudge with 3. persecutours plagued by Gods iudgment The terrible vengeaunce of God vpon Iohn de Roma a terrible persecutor Read before pag. 216. The Lord of Reuest plagued Iohn Martin plagued Erasm in Epistola Apologetica De vtili Coloquioâ— Gods punishment vpon a noble gentleman in going a pilgrimage Admonition False deuotion a perylous thing Agaynst Idolatrous pilgrimage A wonderfull example of Gods â—udgment at Gaunt Anno. 1565. Three causeâ— why Saintes are not to be prayed vnto Purgatory denyed The iudgement of God vpon Giles Brakelman the borough Maister William de Weuer Martyr burnt at Gaunt Anno. 1565. An other terrible example of Gods iudgment agaynst Syr Garret Trieste gentleman and then Alderman of Gaunt a persecutour Anno. 1566. An other example of Gods iudgement vpoÌ„ Marten de Pester one of the principall Secretaryes of Gaunt Anno. 1566. These men of Gaunt are witnesses hereof A story of a tame deuil conâ—â—â—ed in an Abbey in Sueuia A subâ—ill deuise of the Monkes to fray away their gestes The punishmeÌ„t of God vpon a Monke that would counterfeite the deuill Ex Gaspare Bruschio in Chronologia Monasteriorum Germaniae Read afore pag. 890. The doinges of Henry 2. French king agaynst the Lutherans neuer prospered with him This truce was betweene the French king the Emperour which the Pope caused to be broken The cruell purpose of the Duke of Guise disappointed The wicked vowe of the Constable of Fraunce defeated Lord Ponchet Archbishop of Tours The maruelous
Gods cause and in Christes quarell euen vnto death I ensure thee O maÌ„ it is an inestimable and an honourable gift of God geuen onely to the true elects and derely beloued childreÌ„ of God and inheritours of the kingdome of heauen For the holy Apostle and also Martyr in Christes cause S. Peter saith If ye suffer rebuke in the name of Christ that is in Christes cause and for hys truths sake then are ye happy and blessed for the glory of the spirit of God resteth vpon you If for rebukes sake suffred in Christes name a maÌ„ is pronounced by the mouth of that holy Apostle blessed happy How much more happy blessed is hee that hath the grace to suffer death also Wherefore all ye that bee my true louers and friends reioyce and reioyce with mee againe render with me hartie thanks to God our heaueÌ„ly father that for his sonnes sake my sauiour redeemer Christ he hath vouchsafed to call me beyng els without his gracious goodnes in my selfe but a sinnefull a vyle wretch to call me I say vnto this high dignitie of hys true Prophets of his faithfull Apostles of his holy elect chosen Martyrs that is to dye and to spend this temporall lyfe in the defence maintenance of his eternal and euerlasting truth Ye know that be my Countreymen dwelling vppon the borders where alas the true man suffereth oftentymes muche wrong at the thieues hande iâ— it chaunce a man to be slayne of a thiefe as it oft chanceth there which went out with his neighbour to helpe him to rescue hys goods agayne that the more cruelly he bee slayne and the more stedfastly he stucke by his neighbour in the fight agaynst the face of the thiefe the more fauour and frendship shall all his posteritie haue for the slayne mans sake of all them that be true as long as the memory of his fact and his posteritie doth endure Euen so ye that be my kinsefolke and countreymen know ye how so euer the blynd ignorant wicked world hereafter shall rayse vppon my death which thyng they caÌ„not do worse then their fathers did of the death of Christ our Sauiour of his holye Prophets Apostles Martyrs know ye I say that both before God all them that be godly and that truly knâ—w follow the lawes of God ye haue and shall haue by gods grace euer cause to reioyce to thanke God highly and to thinke good of it and in God to reioyce of me your fleshe bloud whom God of his gracious goodnes hath vouchsafed to associate vnto the blessed coÌ„pany of his holy Martyrs in heauen and I doubt not in the infinite goodnes of my Lord God nor in the faithful fellowship of his elect chosen people but at both their hands in my cause ye shall rather finde the more fauour and grace For the Lord saieth that he will be both to them and theyrs that loue him the more louyng agayne in a thousand generations the Lord is so full of mercy to them I say and theirs which doe loue hym in deed And Christ saith againe that no maÌ„ can shew more loue then to geue his lyfe for his friend Now also knowe ye all my true louers in God my kinsfolke and Countreymen that the cause wherefore I am put to death is euen after the same sort and condition but touching more neere Gods cause in more waightie matters but in the general kynd all one For both is gods cause both is in the maintenance of right and both for the common wealth both for the weale also of the ChristiaÌ„ brother although yet there is in these two no small difference both concernyng the enimies the goods stolne the maner of the fight For know ye all that lyke as there wheÌ„ the poore true maÌ„ is robbed by the thiefe of his own goods truly gotten whereupon he and his househould should lyue he is greatly wronged the thiefe in stealing robbyng with violence the poore maÌ„s goods doth offend god doth transgres his law and is iniurious both to the poore man and to the common welth so I say know ye all that euen here in the cause of my death it is with the Church of England I meane the congregation of the true chosen children of GOD in this Realme of England whiche I knowledge not only to be my neighbours but rather the congregation of my spirituall brethren sisters in Christ yea members of one body wherein by Gods grace I am and haue bene grafted in Christ. This Church of England had of late of the infinite goodnesse and aboundaunt grace of almighty God great substaunce great riches of heauenly treasure great plenty of Gods true and sincere worde the true and wholesome administration of Christes holy Sacramentes the whole profession of Christes Religion truely and plainely set foorth in Baptisme the playne declaration vnderstandyng of the same taught in the holye Catechisme to haue bene learned of all true Christians This Church had also a true and sincere forme maner of the Lordes Supper wherein accordyng to Iesus Christes owne ordinaunce and holy institution Christes commaundementes were executed and done For vpon the bread and wyne set vppon the Lordes Table thankes were geuen the commemoration of the Lords death was had the bread in the remembrance of Christes body torne vpon the crosse was broken and the cuppe in the remembraunce of Christes bloud shed was distributed and both communicated vnto all that were present and would receyue them and also they were exhorted of the Minister so to doe All was done openly in the vulgar tong so that euery thyng might be both easily heard plainly vnderstand of all the people to Gods high glorye and the edification of the whole Church This Church had of late the whole diuine seruice all common and publike prayers ordeined to be said and heard in the common congregation not onely framed and fashioned to the true vayne of holy scripture but also set foorth accordyng to the commaundement of the Lord and S. Paules doctrine for the peoples edification in their vulgare tong It had also holy and wholesome Homelies in commendation of the principall vertues which are commended in Scripture and likewyse other Homelies agaynst the most pernicious and capitall vices that vseth alas to raigne in this Realme of England This Church had in matters of controuersie Articles so penned and framed alter the holy Scripture and grounded vpon the true vnderstandyng of Gods word that in short tyme if they had bene vniuersally receiued they should haue bene able to haue set in Christes Church much concorde and vnitie in Christes true religion and to haue expelled many false errors and heresies wherewith this Church alas was almost ouergone But alas of late into this spirituall possession of the heaueÌ„ly treasure of these godly riches are entred in theues that
childe 〈◊〉 Baptiâ—me So the word bread and the receauer 〈◊〉 the Sacrament of the Lordes body The fayth of the receiuer maketh it the body If Iudas did eate the body of Christ theÌ„ must he be saued Whether bread remayne in the Sacrament The true confession of Richard Woodman touching the Sacrament Sap. â— The zeale of Gods spirite in Richard Woodman D. Story commeth in D. Story commaundeth Richard WoodmaÌ„ agayn to the Marshalsey The third examination of Richard Woodman before D. Langdale and M. Iames Gage May. 12. False lyes and lewde reportes Woodman warned to appeare Woodman taketh his leaue of his fellowes Woodman deliuered to one of the Lord Mountagues men Religion esteemed by auncitors Grandfathers and by place Multitude not to be followed in doing euill To doe as most men doe and to doe as a man ought to doe are two things Hard trusting any man in thiâ— world Woodmanâ— blamed foâ— aunswerinâ— with Scriptures D. Langdales talke with Richard Woodman vpon what occasion by whose procurement Woodman charged with his owne hand writing Richard Woodmans writing â—et vpon the the Church dore vpon what occasion Woodman required of M. Sheriffe and other his frendes to talke with D. Langdale D Langdale Paâ—â—on of Buxsteede where Woodmanâ— father dwelt Woodmans friendes desirous to heare him and D. Langdale talke together 〈◊〉 Byâ—hop was 〈◊〉 Christoâ—â—erson Wâ—odman 〈…〉 D. Langdale to 〈…〉 â—â—odman 〈◊〉 without 〈◊〉 cause 〈◊〉 childreÌ„ 〈◊〉 â—â—mned 〈◊〉 Doctour â—â—â—â—dale 〈…〉 â—â—ptisme 〈◊〉 childreÌ„ 〈…〉 by D. Langdale 〈◊〉 be 〈◊〉 Richard Wood-mad chargeth D. Langdale with ignorance in the scriptures Fayth not Baptisme saueth Not lacke of Baptisme but lacke of fayth condemneth Baptising of water is not the cause of fayth The Catholicks do hold the contrary A Catholicke paradoxe The purpose of Gods election standeth by grace and not by reason of workes Doctor Langdales ArgumeÌ„t Children dying without Baptisme may be saued Ergo children haue no originall sinne Absurde doctrine Aunswere This righteousnes by Iesus Christ commeth vpon all men not in taking away imperfections of nature but in not imputing the imperfections of man to damnation We are made free by the death of Christ not from falling but from damnation due by the lawe for our falling Originall sinne Iohn 3. Psal. 23. Perfect doctrine Iames. 1. Iohn 3. Phil. 2. Adams free will nothing Fayth was before baptisme D. Langdale seemeth to be put to silence Children dying without baptisme are not therefore damned speaking absolutely Children beare not the offences of their fathers 1. Pet. 3. Gene. 6 * Nay rather in the fayth of their Parentes Neyther is it the fayth of the Godfathers and Godmothers that sanctyfieth the child but their dilligence may helpe him in seeing him catechised False doctrine of D. Langdale Fyrste where he sayth the keeping of the law is altogether Secondly that the keping of the lawe standeth in the outward signes Thirdly that children dying before Baptisme are damned Fourthly that childreÌ„ be baptised in the fayth of their Godfathers and Godmothers c. Many called but fewe chosen Luke 12. Gods elecâ—â—on stanâ—eth not by 〈◊〉 most 〈◊〉 but by the fewest â—ath 7. Luke 12. 〈◊〉 3. Math. 2. 〈◊〉 Argumentes 〈…〉 to be 〈…〉 taketh 〈◊〉 agaynst â—â—odman 〈…〉 〈◊〉 Iames 〈…〉 talke with Woodâ—â—n D. Langâ—â—le comâ—â—â—ayneth to 〈◊〉 Gage of Woodman causeles Woodman falsely beâ—â—ed D. Langdale denieth originall sinne yet accuseth Woodman for the which he is culpable himselfe Woodman knoweth no Sacrament of the Aultar vnlesse they take Christ to be the Aultar Woodmans iudgement of the Sacrament D. Langdale seeketh a knot in a rushe Whether the Sacrament be be the body of Christ before it be receaued Luke â—2 Eating goeth before the wordes of consecrating D. Langdale driuen to his shiftes D. Langdale afrayd to aunswere to Richard Woodman The Catholicks hold that Iudas did eate the body of Christ. Argument Who so euer eateth the fleshe of Christ hath euerlasting lyfe Iohn 6. Iudas did eate the fleshe of Christ Ergo Iudas hath euerlasting lyfe S. Paules words misalleaged by D. Langdale 1. Cor. 11. Making no difference of the Lordes body expounded * Christ speaketh of eating his fleshe simply without any determination of vnworthynes that is simply who soeuer beleueth in Christ he shal be saued neyther is any vnworthines in beleeuing in Christ. Note well the working of this mans charitye to doe for a man more at request then for any compassion of the partye Lewde tales and false lyes raysed vpon Woodman The 4. examination of Richard Woodman before the Byshop of Winchester c. This olde Byshop of Chichester was Doct. Daye Vntrue For B. Boner deliuered him of his owne accorde at the burning of Philpot vpon other causes False and vntrue Syr Edward Gage Shrieffe of Sussex Woodman charged with false matter Winchester 〈◊〉 in iâ—dging Richard Woodman cleareth himselfe of recantation The honest dealing of B Boner with Woodman herein This was Doct. Day The cause and maner how Woodman was â—eliuered by B. Boner Wherefore Woodman appealed to his Ordinary The cause why Woodman was first apprehended Rich. Woodman and his fellowe prisoners falsely accused and belied of the B. of Winchester in the pulpit Speaking to the curate in the pulpit made heresie Woodman cleareth himselfe from breach of the Statute Note the prety shift of this Catholick Prelate WoodmaÌ„ falsly taken to speaâ—e agaynst Priestes mariage A Priest keping his wyfe yet would needes hold agayne with Papistry A Priest keping his wyfe yet would needes hold agayne with Papistry Richard Woodman sauing him selfe from his enemyes by theyr owne lawe The fift examination of Richard WoodmaÌ„ before the B. of Winchester and diuers other Iune 15. Anno. 1557. The wordes of the statute No breach of this Statute why The Priest scannetâ— vpon the meaning of Woodman See how neerly these men seeke matter agaynst him whereby to trap him Luke â—â— Wâ—odman charged with his aunsweres before the Commissioners at his last examination D. White B of Winchester bent to haue the bloud of Woodman Richard Woodman appealeth from the B. of Winchester to his owne Ordâ—nary Woodman refuseth to sweare or aunswere before Winchester being not his Ordinary * The Bishops Argument The deuill is maister in helâ— Woodman felt a burning hell in his 〈◊〉 Ergo the deuill was Woodâ—â—â— Maister * Aunswere Hell is takeÌ„ in Scripture two wayes 〈◊〉 for the place where damned spiâ—â—â— and soules be tormented for euer 〈…〉 this lyfe or els for Gods correcâ—â—â— and anguish of the soule in this life 〈◊〉 somtime is felt so sharpe that it â—â—â—embled to hell it selfe As where 〈◊〉 The Lord bringeth to hell and 〈◊〉 out agayne c. Tob. 13. The 〈◊〉 of hell haue found me c. Psal. â—â— 1. Cor. â— Rich. Woodman agayne refuseth to sweare or aunswere before the Bishop being not his Ordinary A charitable commaundemeÌ„t of a Catholicke Prelate vnder paine of excommunication no man to say God strengthen him The