sayth Whatsoeuer the Church teacheth mening y e Pope and the Church of Rome That same is the expresse word of God and whatsoeuer is taught against the meaning consent of the Churche is the expresse worde of the Diuel So that if this be true that he sayeth then the Romish religion which the Papists teach is Gods word and the Gospell which we teache is the worde of the Diuel What a blasphemous wretch is this to cal gods word the worde of the Diuel Hosius and other that saye so and take it so at the dreadfull terrible day of iudgement when neither proude Pope presumptuous Prelates blasphemous Byshops nor péeuish Priests nor Papists shal beare any such sway as they do now and haue done shal then know whether that which we now Preach and teach is the word of the Diuel or not I beséech God that al suche may repente before for then to repent it wil be too late Siluester Prierias sayth Whosoeuer leneth not to the doctrin of the Church of the Bishop of Rome as vnto the infallible rule of God of which doctrine the holye Scripture taketh force and authoritie he is an Heretike Let Prierias and a thousand of the Popes Doctors besids saye so for as long as Christ sayeth not so we care not if Prierias saye true then Christe and his Apostles were Heretikes and manye other for in Christs time there was no Pope of Rome for as loÌ„g as Christ himself was aliue he néeded no vicar And was y e scripturs then w tout authoritie and of no force bycause the church of Rome was vnplanted and bycause there was no Pope it was happy there came a Pope after or else the Scriptures had bin of no force nor had any aucthoritie it was maruell that Christ bad them then Search the Scriptures Did Christ send his Apostles abroad to preache a Gospell that had no aucthoritie and that was of no force it appeares that it had some force for Christe saide that They that beleeued the Gospell which they Preach and were baptized shoulde be saued and they that beleeued not shoulde bee damned Oh what a diuelish preposterous doctrine is this Papistrie y t teacheth that the holy Scripture and word of God taketh his force and aucthoritie of the Churche of Rome whereas their doctrine and all other muste take their force and aucthoritie froÌ„ it For Christ saith Euery plant that my heauenly father hath not planted shal be rooted vp And bycause Papistrie is contrary to Gods word and so not plaÌ„ted by God therefore it shall be pluckte vp by the rootes Therefore though the Churche of Rome and the Pope shoulde bothe perish as many Churches haue done and as the Romish Churche muste néedes perishe yet God hathe and wyll still gyue aucthoritie and strength to his worde This your Papisticall doctrine is suche a false and rydiculous religion that in euerye point it ouerthrowes it selfe Marke againe an other of the Popes pen-men howe blasphemously he writes for the exalting of the aucthoritie of the Romishe Churche Iohannes Maria Verractus saieth We do humbly confesse that the aucthoritiie of the Church meaning the Churche of Rome is aboue the authoritie of the Gospell if it be true that he writes thoughe he be not ashamed to write a moste abhominable lye yet I am sory to write true of him whiche is that I am moste certayne that the spirite of the Diuell hadde greater power in hym when he wrote it than the spirite of God Saint Paule is of a contrary opinion to this Ioannes Maria Verractus for he saith That the gospel of Christe is the power of God to saluation to all that beleeue and both for hys credite and for his authoritie and auncientie is to be beléeued as well as thys Papisticall writer Nowe if the Churche of Rome haue greater power than to be the power of God to saluation then I knowe not what power it shoulde be vnlesse it be the power of the Diuell to Damnation And if that be his authoritie aboue the gospel that he doth meane let him kéepe that authoritie to himselfe and much good doe it him but there is no wise man wil yéelde or submitte hym selfe to that power I thinke This fellowe belike takes his own word for a warrant for he brings neither Scripture nor auncient Doctor to confirme his sayings Well séeing hée bringeth no other aucthoritie to affyrme his saying but himselfe I will be an other that wil maintaine his assertion that the aucthoritie of the Romaine Church and of the Byshoppe of Rome is aboue the aucthoritie of the Gospell And nowe you shal knowe wherein it is greater which hée woulde not vtter for belike he was somthing ashamed of the matter forsooth it is greater for to set the Pope aboue Emperoures and Kings to make him Lord of Lordes and King of Kings to make him tread on the Emperors necke to make him claime to haue al power in heauen in earth to make al the whole earth to be his Uicarage or Dioces to set Kings and Princes togither by the eares to make true subiects rise and rebell against their Prince and King to make him take vppon him to be called the Lamb of God that takes away the sinnes of the worlde to make hym a tyraunâ—e and to burne the Scriptures to murder burn and kil the seruaunts of God that professe the Gospell to make hym commaunde the Angelles to come oute of Heauen at hys pleasure if they wyll doe so much for him and to carrye mens soules to Paradise howe wickedly soeuer they dye to make him an earthly God to make him be called our Lord God the Pope to make him do in a maner whatsoeuer God can do and to make him and Chryste to haue one Consistorie or seate of Iudgement In these béefore declared the Churche of Rome hath greater aucthoritie than Gods worde for Gods worde hathe no suche force nor authoritie This is your godly Churche of Rome In all these thinges and manye moe suche she hath aucthority aboue Gods word but in godlinesse in trueth and in all thinges that appertayne to our saluation the Scriptures and the word of God hathe force and aucthoritie aboue your Church of Rome But perhappes you wil not beléeue me though I haue sufficiently proued it by the Scriptures vnlesse I shewe you some authorities out of ancient Doctors If you looke that the Doctors ought to confirme the Scriptures then you are wide for the Scriptures must confirme and allow the Doctors But to satisfy you withall I wyl alleadge the Doctors who you shall sée wyl agrée with me that the Scriptures must allowe the Churche and that the right Church is knowne by the Scriptures and whosoeuer refuseth to bée tryed by the Scriptures is not of the right Church nor of the church of God The Churche of God is knowne only by Gods word as the auncient learned Father
realme of Englande I haue also proued by the Scriptures by examples and by other infallible argumentes that wée haue the true religion and how that God therefore hath and doth prosper and blesse vs I haue proued also that the Popes whom you so much loue and leane to haue béene moste wicked Murtherers Coniurers Aduouterers Heretikes Blasphemers Idolators Sacrificers to Diuels and Derogators of Christs benefites hys death and passion and that they are the enimies of God the children of the Diuel yea and the verye Antichrist Therefore I beséeche you procure not to youre selues the cursses of God for the blessings of that wicked Antichriste enforce not youre moste mercifull Princes displeasure that doth defend you for that wicked Popes good will that will destroye you and séeke not youre Countries confusion that doeth nourishe you to haue youre Popishe religion that wil bring Gods plagues and cursses vppon you Perhappes some of you maye saye thoughe the Pope be wicked euil and thoughe he be proued to be Antichrist yet this religion that you and your fore-elders haue hadde vsed is not therefore euil nor to be despised to whome I answere if the trée be euil the fruite cannot be good can the Diuel sette forth a godly religion no it is agaynste his nature then can the Pope which is of the Diuell and the very Antichriste sette forth the pure worde of God no it is impossible for as the euil fruit doth shew the trée to be euil so the detestable doings wicked religiō of the Pope shewe him to be wicked and of the Diuell therefore make the trée good and the fruite good or the trée euill and the fruite euill But bycause I wil leaue nothing vndone that may allure you not onely from the Pope but also from his pestiferous religion I will God willing prooue the chiefest pointes of Papistrie that you stand vppon both by Scripture auncient Doctors and by naturall reason to be false most wicked and abhominable And bycause one parte of the Popes religion whiche is worshipping of Images is mentioned before among the cursses of God and therefore abhominable vnto the Lorde and directly against the second commaundement therefore I will firste beginne with it not doubting but that many of you doe not so much regarde and estéeme the worshipping or hauing of Images though some of you are déepely and superstitiously giuen thereto And first let vs heare what God said to Moses therein and in his lawe Thou shalt not saith God make to thy selfe any grauen Image of any likenesse that is in Heauen aboue nor in the Earth beneath or in the water vnder the earth thou shalt not bowe downe to them nor worshippe them This is the very commaundement of God that he gaue to Moses and enioyned the children of Israel in anye wise not to breake for if they did he promised to send vpon them his plagues and greate cursses before at large declared which diuers times he performed when they after did breake the same worshipped Images straunge Gods as I haue manifestly proued before by diuers examples Nowe bicause your Papistrie permitteth Images and your papistical Churches are al ful of Images and Idols and bicause you bowe downe vnto them knéele vnto them go on pilgrimage vnto them and pray vnto them therfore your religion is cleane contrarie to this lawe of God written in the first Table of Moses and therefore moste wicked and abhominable which deserues procures Gods great plagues cursses and vengeance And the yongest chylde that is if hée haue eyther read aught or learned aught knowes that to estéeme reuerence or worship Images is euill and wicked and against the commandement of God so that your religion of Papistrie in this poynt muste néedes be euill wicked and abhominable as is aforesayd and the Pope and his Prelates doo not onely suffer and permit them in Churches but also maintaine them defende them and make lawes that they shall be adored and worshipped as vtter enimies to God striuing with all their power to set vp Images whiche God directly dooth forbid And that this may more plainely appeare Pope Gregory the second did not onely withstand the Emperours Deputie by force of Armes which he neuer learned of Christ nor yet of his Apostles in taking downe and suppressing Images out of Churches but also wrote into all partes that neither for feare nor entreatie they shoulde obey the Emperours commaundement in taking away of Images and pictures of Saintes out of Churches for auoyding of Idolatrie but would haue Images erected set vp worshipped contrary to the holy worde of God Also the Pope and his Bishops in Nicene Counsell agréed with one consent contrarie to the counsell of God that Images in Churches are not onely to be allowed but also deuoutly and reuerently to be honored and that with the same honour that is due to God him selfe O Cerberus whelpes Sathans broode and destroyers of mens soules are they Christes Uicars can not they erre that make such lawes and decrées in their Deuilishe counsels that a péece of crooked rotten wood or a stone wrought and framed by earthly wretches is to be deuoutly honored euen with that honour that is due to God himselfe how can you that take God for your Father and Christ for your Sauiour abide either the Pope or his detestable religion any longer Also one of them saith I receyue and worship the reuerend Images and this will I teach whyle I liue An other sayth I doe perfectly adore the holy Images and I accursse all them that holde the contrarie yea but I beléeue your cursses come to late What if God haue curssed you before that worshippe Images how will you doe then I thinke his cursse will stand for a cursse before yours if you can either out cursse God or vndo his cursses make your owne curses to stande or to be of force then I will saye you haue good lucke Marke what a godly decrée was allowed in the Gréekes Counsel touching the worshipping of Images which is as expresly against the lawe of God as is possible to be And thus it is He that feareth God adoreth or worshippeth an Image as he would adore the sonne of God he that adoreth or worshippeth an Image and saieth this is Christ offendeth not he offendeth that adoreth or worshippeth not an Image he that adoreth not an Image is an Heretike wée muste adore or worshippe an Image wyth the same reuerence wherewith we adore or worshippe the holy Trinitie What varlets are these what vile wretches are these that make such contrarie decrées to Gods lawe would you haue thought it vnlesse you had read it nay will you beléeue it for that you doe heare it God sayeth Thou shalt not bowe downe to Images nor worship them The Pope sayeth he that feareth God worshippeth an Image as hée woulde worshippe the sonne of God The children of Israel worshypped a golden Calfe and
for an Heretike shal be excommunicated lose al his spiritual liuing But if he shal kéep cōcubines Harlots he shal be a Catholike mā of a good religiō and kéepe al his liuings stil. Thus may y e pretious Pope the holy Church of Rome turne tosse the words meaning of Christ how they list but though they allowe and do these things yet therfore we must not think they ar good or to be liked but to be abhorred detested And I beléeue y t manye wil not allow their wicked laws and writings therein But now if y e Scriptures may haue sūdry senses at sūdry times may haue one mening at one time another mening at another time if this be so y t the Pope may chāge the senses of Christs Gospel for his pleasure thē why may not Christ change the meaning of his own Gospel for hys own pleasure therfore looke by what places of y e scripturs Peter his successors wer made Popes of Rome Christ may change the senses meaning of thē clean contrary therby vnpope them again For wheras Christ said Super han◠Petrā id est super ecclesiā Romanā edificabo ecclesiā meā which is Vpon this rocke that is to say vpō the Church of Rome I wil build my Church now Christ I thinke hath altered y e meaning sense of y e saying bicause y e order of the Church of Rome is changed therfore now to be vnderstāded thus vpon this rock being y e Church of Rome y e church of y e diuel shal be builded And wheras Christ said to Peter the first Pope as they say Whatsoeuer thou binds in Earth shall be bound in heauē now y e sense of y e scripture is changed the meaning therof is now thus whatsoeur y u binds in earth it shal be bound in Hel loke whose sins yée forgiue they shal not be forgiuen whō soeuer y u blesse in earth shal be curst in Hel whō soeuer y u curse on erth shal be blessed in heauē And wheras y e Pope sayes y t the meaning of Christ was y t the Popes being Peters successors should haue the keys which he gaue to Peter to open the gates of heauen to let vs in to it now I beleue y e same words of Christ haue another mening according to y e time chāging of y e Popes maners which are now quite contrarie to S. Peters conditions y t the keys now which the Pope hath shal shut men out of heauen open the gates of Hel let the Pope his Papistical Prelats into it thus the Pope by his chāging the sense of y e scriptures to serue for times hath made a very fair market for therby he is nether Pope nor Christs Uickar so he may binde in hel if he wil but he can binde nothing in heauen also therby he hath lost the keys of y e kingdome of Heauen hath in stead therof gotten y e keys of y e dungeō of Hel. For if y e Pope hath any spiritual keys at al as he sayth he hath by y e place of Scripture then the meaning therof is surely changed according to the time as Cusanus saieth so the Popes keys are not the keys of the kingdome of heauen but of the doleful dungeon of Hel. But though Hosius this Cusanus with other such like doth extol the Church of Rome sayth the authoritie theris aboue the scriptures that the meaning of y e scriptures are vncertain changes as the iudgement of the church of Rome changes y t nothing is takē for Christs cōmandemēt vnlesse the Church of Rome doth allow it Ther is no wise man wil beléeue them vnlesse they bring better authorities therfore thē their own bare words in y e mean space let vs giue credite to S. Aug. which was as godly a man as vertuous a mā as wel lerned a mā one y t knew what authority y e church of Rome ought to haue as wel as they who saith thus Cedamus cōsētiamus c Let vs yeld saith he consent to the holy Scriptures which can neither deceiue nor be deceiued He names not here the Churche of Rome nor sayeth that it hathe aucthority aboue the Scriptures nor yet sayth that the Scripturs haue sometimes one meaning and sometimes another and that the sense doth alter or chaunge but he bids both the Church of Rome and al other Churches whatsoeuer to yéeld and cōsent to the scripture which as he saith can neither deceiue nor be deceiued Truely if your Church of Rome had had any such aucthoritie aboue the scriptures as y e Popes proctors wold make vs beléeue then Irenaeus S. Ierome S. Augustine Tertullian Chrisost. other learned writers would haue writtē something of it nay if they had done so y e Popes doctors would haue brought thē forth for the better credite of their cause But bicause they write directly against thē as is before mētioned therefore they let thē alone Now if the scriptures according to Saint Au. can neither deceiue nor be deceiued then the Church of Rome which is inferior to the scripturs ought to giue place to y e Gospel being cleane contrary to the scripturs may deceiue vs therfore may erre ly as she cā do none other as before is very manifest but though these y e Popes prelates wold make vs beléeue y t ther were no certainty in the scriptures and y t the Gospell is vncertain the meaning therof chaunges according to y e times which is a moste diuellish doctrine yet I will approue that there is neyther certainetye trueth nor godlinesse in the Popes lawes nor in the Church of Rome Platina sayth that the Popes y t follow do euermore eyther breake or wholye abrogate the decrées of the Popes that were before now séeing there is such vncertaintie in the Popes lawes decrées are not we worthye to beléeue and credite the same Looke what lawes God did sende vnto vs by Iesus Christ his sonne which is the Gospel he neuer disanulled them nor did deliuer vs anye other since nor neuer wil his doings and iudgements are so certaine true infallible and therfore Gods law his holy gospel is so right true perfect infallible that al other doctrines ought to be iudged and tryed by it Therfore if you be the children of God you wil credite no doctrine be it neuer so auncient and séeme it neuer so glorious nor so holye no further than it doeth agrée with the Scriptures and the worde of God Therefore beléeue not the Church of Rome whose Doctours doctrine are so diuellish as before is well proued and as hereafter shal be more manifested Therefore marke well a little more of this doctrine of your church of Rome which if you be
himselfe which is the head therof therfore let vs searche the scriptures for the same and there we shal be best certified And séeing Christ biddeth vs search the scriptures which beares witnesse of him therefore let vs searche them thereby to knowe Christ and his Church for it is the chiefe lanterne that will guide and leade vs to the truth thoughe the Pope and his Prelates would faine make vs beléeue the contrarie And as it is here proued by the holy auncient learned Fathers and Doctors that the true Churche is chiefely to bée founde out and to bée tryed by the Scriptures and word of God nowe you shall heare what a good reporte diuerse haue giuen the Churche of Rome and to them that gouerned the same whereof some were of the Church of Rome who I thinke woulde not lye on their owne Churche and especiallye a Pope whiche some of you thinke can not erre Pope Adrian the fourth was woont to say we succeed not Peter in teaching but Romulus in killing our bretherne Erasmus saieth the Popes now are the vickares of Iulius Caesar of Alexander the great of Croesus and of Xerxes not of Christ nor of Peter It is written in a Sermon bearing the name of S Ambrose They that should haue bene the Apostles vickars are now become Iudas fellowes Robertus Gallus that liued wel néere thrée hundreth yéeres past imagineth Christe thus to say of the Pope who set this Idol in my roome and made him ruler of my flocke whether he that commendes the Pope thus were a Papist or not I know not but surely he was no Lutherane Zwinglian Caluinist nor Hugenot It was maruell that the Pope made him not a Saint for his sayings Ennodius saith That the Successors of Peter togither with the priuiledges of their See haue also gotten free libertie to doe euill for the Pope may not be iudged by any creature vnder Heauen If he will not yet I can tell him one thing he is like to be iudged by one that is in Heauen which is Christ whether he will or no. S. Barnard describeth the Popes Priests and Byshops that are of the Churche of Rome saying in their apparell they are Souldiors in there gaines they are Priestes and Byshops but in effect and deede they are neyther of both For neyther do they fight in the fielde as do the Souldiors nor do they preach as Priestes and Byshops Of whether order therefore be they whereas they would be of both orders they forsake both and confounde both S. Paule saith euery man shall rise againe in his owne order but in what order shall they rise whether for asmuch as they haue sinned without order shall they perish without order I feare me they shalbe ordered none other where but whereas is no order but disorder and horrour euerlasting Yf we should say thus as S. Barnard sayd they would saie we rayled The saide Barnard also saith that the Byshops in his time which were of the Church of Rome were not Doctors but deceyuers not Feeders but Defrauders not Prelates but Pilates and he sayth further that the heades of the Churche of Rome are Ministers of Antichrist Deceyuers Defrauders Raueners Traytors the darknesse of the Worlde Woolues Pylates and Diuels wherein it séemes hée doth not much prayse the gouernours of the Romish Churche this is but a sorie Church that hath such godly gouernours and guydes Marke also howe the same Sainct Barnard to whome Pope Eugenius was much beholden and beyng an Abbot condemnes all the Popes doctrine and Religion for that it agréeth not with the Scriptures Dothe not the rule saith hée agree with the Gospell or with the Apostle otherwyse that rule is no rule at all for it is crooked it is not streyght Here Sainct Barnarde that was one of that Romishe Churche yet an excellent and a Learned man dothe plainely condemne all those Lawes Religions Churches and Rules that doo not agrée with the Gospell and sayth it is no true nor good Churche and that suche Religions and Rules are crooked and no Religion nor Rule at all Nowe bycause the Popes Rules and Religion be contrarie to the Gospell therefore they are crooked and so naughtie rules And the same Sainct Barnarde in an other place discribes and setteth foorth what a godly and holy Churche the Churche of Rome is who sayth thus From the Sole of thy foote to the crowne of thy head there is not one whole place A man were better to be out of such a Churche than in it Marke also howe the Bishop of Bitonto extolled that same Churche of Rome at the Counsell of Trident saying With what monsters of filthinesse sayth hée with what villanie with what Pestilence be not they corrupted and defiled in the Churche of Rome aswell the Priest as the people beginne euen with the Sanctuarie of God if there be any shame if there be any regarde of honestie if there be any hope or way to liue well Petrarcha calleth Rome a Schoole of errour and a Temple of Heresie Brigitta whose Prophesies and sayings are of the Popes Schollers and Disciples muche reuerenced saieth in hir Reuelations Christe shall take his blessing from the Cleargie of Rome and shall gyue the same to a people that shall doe his will Then by hir sayinges and the other before recited the Pope and hys Prelates doe not Gods will and so if they doe not Gods will then they muste néedes do the Diuels will so that by these and by many other the trueth is a straunger in the Church of Rome and dwelles not there And whereas some saie that the trueth can not departe from the Churche of Rome it had néede to be there first before it departe from thence therefore the trueth can not departe from the Churche of Rome bycause it is not there But that holy Churche for all their bragges loue the trueth so well that yf they had it there they would driue it awaie from thence And now bycause the Church of Rome hath not the trueth but is a Churche of all wickednesse and errour as I haue sufficiently prooued bothe with Argumentes Scriptures Doctors yea and by the Popes themselues and other of the same Churche therefore I beséeche you come awaye from that whoorishe Church the seate of Antichrist and flie to the true Church whiche embraceth and obeyeth the Gospell and that heareth the voyce of Christe least you bée partakers of hir wickednesse whose destruction is not farre off And trust not to them neyther beléeue them that saie the truth is only in the Churche of Rome and that the truth shall neuer departe from thence Yf truth falshood may dwell togither or be both at once in one place then I will not saie but that your Churche of Rome may haue the truth but thy are such enimies that it is very seldome or neuer séene and though the Churche of Rome had the trueth as it is manifestly prooued
which Christ did teache in the Scriptures euen so she hath with their vaine fonde and superstitious fastings quite banished the true fasting required by the Gospell For Christ in the Gospell sayth When ye fast be not sad as the hypocrites are c but when thou fastest appeare not vnto men to fast but vnto thy Father which is in secret thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly Here Christ doth appoint vs that we must not let it bée knowne when we fast but the Popes faste is so published and the dayes so commonly and openly commaunded and appointed that euerie one may knowe when they fast So that Christ hath not appoynted his fasting so priuily but y e Church of Rome proclaimes hir fastes as openly Christ hath appointed no dayes nor times for his fasting the Churche of Rome hath appointed dayes and times for hir fasting The meaning of Christs fasting is to abstaine froÌ„ whatsoeuer either meats or drinkes y t makes vs prone to sinne The Popes fast is to forbeare fleshe onely but permits men to eate all kynde of fishe thoughe it be neuer so daintie and deliciously drest and all kinde of Iunkets and banketing dyshes with delycate wynes as muche as wée will cramme and poure in Christes fast is to kéepe our bodyes lowe to be in subiection to the spirite but that is not performed in the Popes fast but by their daintie dyshes and drinkes the Spirite is brought in subiection to the bodie Christes faste is a willing an vncompelled abstinence the Popes fast is a constrained abstinence and is done of many against their wils Christes fasting is to make vs vertuous and holy before God the Popes fast is hypocriticall and to make vs séeme holye before men This is difference enough to shewe you that the Christian fasting of Christ and the common fasting of the Pope are farre vnlike and doe not agrée so that the one shall haue his rewarde hereafter of God and the other hath his rewarde alreadie of men Therefore beléeue not that your accustomed fast of the Church of Rome came either from Christ or his Apostles for neither Christ in his Gospell nor the Apostles in their Epistles doe once commaunde it or affirme it and therefore we can not allowe it S. Augustine one of the excellentest Doctors whose iudgement I trust you will not refuse writes vpon what dayes we ought not to faste and vppon what dayes wee ought to faste I fynde it not appoynted or lymitted by anye commaundement eyther of our Lorde or of the Apostles But what if Saint Augustine had wylled vs to faste on suche dayes as the Pope doeth appoynt and a thousande other learned men moe yet wée are not bounde eyther to beléeue or follow him or them vnlesse we finde their sayings agrée with Gods word for Gods word must leade them but they may not leade Gods worde Therfore bicause your Popish fast is not commaunded nor allowed by the holye Scriptures but cleane contrarie to the same as before is proued therefore it is superstitious wicked and highly displeaseâ—h God and so of vs Christians ought not to be vsed nor commended but vtterly to be eschued and contemned vnlesse it be vsed for worldly pollicie God commaundes vs to refraine swearing euerydaye but for fasting he appointes vs no day but the Pope commaundes vs to faste certaine dayes but byds vs not forbeare swearing any daye yet manye of you regarde the Popes lawe so much and Gods commaundement so little that you thinke it a heynous matter to breake the fasting dayes that the Pope hath commaunded but make it no matter of conscience to sweare euery day which God hath forbydden therefore kéepe the fasting dayes commaunded by our Quéene for good order and pollicye and not for the Popes pleasure for his holinesse or hypocrisie Thus you may sée howe farre wyde you wander and all bicause you will not giue your selues to the hearing and reading of the Scriptures Consider further of your holy Romish Religion which attributes to oyle health of body and soule and remission of sinnes which no oyle but the bloud of Christ can doe And therefore a most blasphemous doctrine Thus the oyle is blest Fiat domino hoc oleum c. O Lorde let this oyle by thy blessing be made a spirituall oyntment to purifie both soule and body And also this is to be said ouer the sicke Per hanc Sanctam vnctionem c. By this holy annoynting thou maist haue remission of thy sinnes Is not this a precious oyle trowe you whereby we may haue remission of our sinnes you may sée what vertue is in the Popish Priests wordes that can make such a precious oyle truely if God had remeÌ„bred this oyle he might haue spared Christ his deare sonne from dying O what a horrible and blasphemous doctrine is this that is taught by your Romish Churche S. Thomas de Aquino which may be S. Thomas of Watring in Englishe saith Some saye and that not without good reason that a man may obteine remission of his venial sinnes which are not deadly sinnes onely by entring into a Churche that is consecrate If one had suche a Churche it would neuer lightly be emptie and it is purposely noted in the glose vpon the Decretalles that veniall sinnes may be remoued eyther by a Pater noster or by holy water that it may be so by a Pater noster which is the Lordes prayer so that it be faithfully sayd I wil not denie but that the popish Pater noster spoken in Latine of them that vnderstande not what they say or els that holy water will do it I will in no wise graunt Thus the church of Rome hath founde out an other manner and way of forgiuenes of sinnes then either Christ or his Apostles euer taught what a damnable doctrine is this to teach remission of sinnes by such toyes and trifles which can be had by no meanes but by the passion death of Christe May not you thinke that the church of Rome is of a pure doctrine and of a perfect religion that allowes and ordaines that Belles must be baptized and christened and allowes Godfathers therefore and giues them a name and puts a coate on their backes to kéepe them from colde as children haue when they are Christened truely I haue redde and perused the whole Bible and the new Testament thorowly and yet I could neuer read in any parte thereof of the christening of belles Marry I remember that Christ a little before his Ascention sayd to his Disciples all power is giuen to me in Heauen and in earth go ye therfore teach all nations baptising them in the name of the Father the Sonne and the holy Ghost c. but then he made no mention of the baptising of Belles for if he had the Apostles would haue baptised Belles aswell as the Popes Suffraganes and then we should eyther haue heard of it in the Actes
shal ratifie and confirme al this that I haue saide forsomuche as it is grounded altogither on reason Pope Damasus saith Whatsoeuer wanteth Reason must of necessitie be rooted out Nowe by reason I haue proued you to be Englishe enimies the Pope to be euil and hys religion to be false and cleane contrarie to reason therfore by Pope Damasus owne iudgement you must néeds decay and perish the Pope muste néedes come to confusion and his vnreasonable religion be rooted out and pluckte vp by the rootes And thus Pope Damasus which could not erre as long as he said truth hath by his sentence confirmed that I before by reason haue proued And bycause you shal perceiue that of euil wil I slander not your Popes you shall sée manifestly by their liuings déedes and dealings what godly holy humble and chaste fathers they are that you so sticke to cleaue to folow obey estéeme beléeue and honor as you do and that you maye the better credite the rest that hereafter you shall reade of them therefore at the first beginning thereof you shall heare what the Pope himselfe saith of them Pope Adrian bad Cheregatus his Legate to say and confesse openly to al the Princes of Germany at Norenbergeâ— about the yere of our Lorde .1523 at their generall assembly there That the iniquitie of the people grewe from the Priestes and that nowe for the space of many yeares there haue bin greate and greeuous offences commited in Rome that al this plague and mischiefe hath flowed to all the inferior rulers of the Church euen from the highe Throne of the Popes Holynesse By these wordes tt séemeth that Pope Adrian whyche was not long since did thinke the Popes lyued not altogither so godly as Christ so holy as the Apostles nor so vertuously as many of the ancient Fathers Nay if al the iniquitie of the people grew from the Priests and that all the plagues and mischiefs then did flowe as a fountaine from the Pope to his Prelates and Priests then it séemes none were so euil and wicked as the Popes themselues And now for that many of you hold with the Popes and take them to be very holy therefore now many of you shall hear more of their doings thaÌ„ euer you did which by credible authors is written of theÌ„ yet not so muche as I could reueale of them wherefore I hope you wil set lesse by them than you doe and estéeme them as they are and no more than you ought to doe And trust Pope Adrian which cannot lye by his office as his Doctors affyrme in that hée hathe sayde briefly of the Popes and the rather if that that I write here more largely of them agrée with hys sayings For séeing you haue beléeued many Popes y t haue told you nothing but lyes then it is good reason you should beléeue this one Pope that herein hathe tolde you nothing but trueth And thinke this by the waye that neyther the Pope nor his Cardinals doe estéeme their owne religion so muche as they persuade you to do For truely I doe verily thinke that if the Pope mighte be like an Emperoure or a King and be as much honored estéemed and gette as muche gaine and riches by thâ—s our religion as he hathe and dothe by his owne Papisticall religion he woulde then refuse his and embrace ours For I beléeue verily that they doe regarde maintaine and defende their Papistrie rather for the great riches rule pompe and estimation that it makes them to haue than for any truth or goodnesse they knowe to be in it And nowe consider and marke the greate prerogatiue and power of the Popes and their holy liues and vertuous déedes Pope Clement in his yeare of Iubilie gaue such aucthoritie by his Buls of lead as Christ nor his Apostles did euer giue These are the words that follow What person or persons soeuer for deuotions sake shall take their peregrination to the holy Citie meaning Rome the same day when he setteth forth of his house he may choose vnto him what confessor or confessors he lysteth either in the way or elsewhere vnto the whiche Confessors we graunte by oure aucthoritie full power to absolue all cases Papall as fullye as if we were in our proper person there presâ—nt Item wee graunt that whosoeuer being truely confessed shal chance by the way to die hee shal be quitte and absolued of al his sinnes Moreouer wee commaunde the Aungelles of Paradise to take hys soule oute of hys bodye beeyng absolued and to carrye it into the glorye of Paradise and so forth And also in an other Bull he sayeth thus We wil that no paine of Hell shall touch hym graunting moreouer to all and singular person and persons signed with the holye Crosse power and authoritie to deliuer or release three or foure soules whom they liste themselues out of the paines of Purgatorie c Is not this a goodly large and friendly pardon think you yea it is suche a pardon as Christ neuer graunted neyther in nor out nor beside the yeare of Iubilie Christe neuer gaue suche aucthoritie to Saint Peter hys Apostle whiche was the first Pope as they saye as thys Pope Clement dydde giue to his dead Bulles of Lead It is not mentioned in all the Scriptures that Christe the righteous and liuely Lyon of the Tribe of Iuda didde thus muche as the Popes dead Bulles haue done This is suche a way to make Rome so ful of fooles that there wil be no roume for wise men Here we may sée that if one be confessed of a Priest and take but his iorney towardes Rome thoughe he dye by the waye and neuer come there the Aungels muste néedes by the Popes commaundement carrye his soule to Paradise if they wil doe so muche at his bidding and they shall bée frée from the paines of Hell Al the Scriptures I am sure haue not shewed vs such a way to come to Paradise and to auoyde the paines of hel as this Pope Clement hathe done He was a milde and a mercifull Pope I warrant him he hadde not his name for naught Thus the Pope hath set Christ to schoole for Christ saith Blessed are the poore in spirite for theirs is the kingdome of Heauen also he saith Blessed are they whiche suffer persecution for righteousnesse sake for theirs is the kingdome of Heauen nay sayeth Pope Clement I knowe an easier waye to Heauen and to escape the fire of Hell than that for whosoeuer goeth to Rome or else dyeth in his iourney going thyther being confessed of a Priest he shall be absolued from all his sins and the Angels shal cary his soule straight to Paradise and no paine of Hell shal touch him Indéede this is a verie easye waye to Paradise and to escape the fire of Hell if we maye beléeue the Pope especiallye when he telleth a lye I maruaile that neyther Moyses the Prophetes Christe himselfe nor his Apostles did reueale this
testifie Now séeing the children of God shal be placed in Heauen then surely the Children of the Diuell whatsoeuer the Pope saith must néeds be placed in Hel. Therefore hereby it plainly appeares that all these rebels fighters murderers and bloudshedders to whome the Pope promised the kingdome of Heauen are more like to haue the kingdome of Hell are not they in good case thinke you hath not the Pope serued them well that thus trusted to his promise pardons Assure your selues that you will be so serued if you resist and rebell agaynst your worthye Quéene and if you trust to his promise yea though he dispence with you for your othe and obedience Vrbane and Clement Popes of Rome both at one tyme gaue frée remission of sinnes à pena culpa to all them that woulde warre againste their enimies that were against them one of them being against another and then bothe the Popes curssed their enimies that were against them for Heretickes and so here was all cursing but small blessing for both partes were cursed if the Popes curses maye goe for cursses I praye God they were not all curste of God as I feare they were they fought all in so good a quarell nowe I would faine knowe which of these Popes pardons was the best for both of them could not be good thoughe they mighte bothe be noughte for both the Popes coulde not haue the spirite of God though they both might haue the spirite of the Diuell for such proude and presumptuous Prelats that stroue for the kingdome of this world might wel haue the spirite of pride the spirite of arogancie and the Spirite of Sathan but the spirite of God out of doubt they had not These holy fathers were so lowly patient and humble that neyther of them woulde giue ouer least the one of them shoulde séeme to be more méeke than the other Was not Gregorie the seconde a good holye religious Pope thinke you that did not onely withstande the Emperours deputie by force of armes but also wrote into all parts that neyther for feare nor entreatie they should obey the Emperours commaundement in taking of Images and pictures of Sainctes out of the Churches for the auoyding of Idolatrie but woulde haue Images erected set vp and worshipped contrarie to the word of God whiche holy Father with his vehement persuasions withdrewe the people of Italie so from the obedience of the Emperour Leo that they woulde haue chosen them a newe Emperour This Pope Gregorie neuer learned this of Christe our maister but of the Diuel his maister to withstād the Emperour in euil things much lesse in lawful godly things as the plucking downe and abolishing of Images whiche God doth expressely commaunde neither learned hée of Christ but of Sathan to make subiectes refuse and resist their ruler and gouernour Therefore séeing he hath done that that he hath not learned of Christ he can not therefore be Christes Disciple nor the Uickar of Christ. Was not Pope Zacharie a good and vertuous Pope that assoyled Pypin and the other Frenchmen and discharged them of their othe and allegiance to Childericke their lawfull King and authorized and confirmed Pypin to be King in his maisters place I maruel of whome he learned this to take a kingdome from one and to giue it to another no man may saie that he did euill in so doing for if one shoulde say so straight way the Pope woulde make him an Heretike Naye Doctour Harding séemes rather to commende him in it than otherwise who sayeth that if the Pope gaue away the kingdome of Fraunce from the Prince he did it to the intent to feare him a pretie deuise to feare a King to pull the Crowne Imperiall from his heade and to make him a Monke and set an other in his place Christ himself nor Peter the first Pope had neuer such a tricke to feare a King withall And after this Pope Zacharie had made Pypin King of Fraunce then he suffered the same King to kisse hys féete and to goe on foote by his horse thrée myles Christ neuer roade but one day in all his life and yet he had neuer a king to doe him such seruice then as this Pope Zacharie had yet he was as high both by byrthe and degrée as this proude Pope was Pope Iohn the eightéenth was taken prisoner by the Emperour whose eyes were first put out and after put to death by the meanes of Pope Gregorie the fifth Are not these Popes worthyly called the Uicars of Christ trowe yée that are so farre vnlike to Christ in all their doings for Christ made the blinde to sée but these Popes put out mens eyes and made them blinde Christ saued a Womans life that ought to haue dyed by the lawe these Popes put men to death that ought to liue by the lawe Christ gaue life to Lazarus that was deade and the Pope giues death to them that are in health and aliue If the Pope and Christ bée so farre at discorde at the last day as their doctrine and doings doe differ at this day they are not like to dwell both togither in one place Was not he a mylde and mercifull Pope that would not be pacified with the Venetians vntill Dandalus that was after Duke of Venice did humble himself and did lie vnder the Popes table with a chaine about his necke it séemes that the Pope was something furious and harde to please that by none other submissiō would be reconciled I neuer heard that any were constrained to pacifie Christes wrath after this sort all the time that he was here on Earth What say you to that Pope that did set the Emperiall Crowne vpon the heade of the Emperour Henrie the sixth with his foote and with his foote did cast the Crowne off againe saying withall I haue power to make Emperours and to vnmake them againe at my pleasure Marry it appeares so by the Popes giuing away the kingdome of Fraunce from Childrike the King to Pypin that was but his subiecte But whether the Pope hath this power from Christ being his Uicar or from the Diuell being his Deputie he doth not tell vs. Pope Iohn the twelfth was slaine in aduoutrie Pope Benedict the ninth lyued without lawe or reason and defyled the seate of Rome with all kinde of shame and in the ende he tooke mony and solde the Popedome Platina sayth Popes then were elected not for their learning holynesse but in respect of mony and friendship If you lacke an other holy and méeke Pope loe here is Pope Iuly who is not worthy to bée lefte out This same Pope Iuly loued Porkes fleshe maruellous well whose Phisition gaue warning to the Popes Steward for that it was hurtful for the Popes gout that he should set no more Porke before him But when the Pope perceyued the sayde Porke to be lacking in his accustomed seruice where is my Porke said he and when the
mans lawe had such a chaire of Uertue as this Popes Chaire is to sitte in then they shoulde not néede to take suche paines in studying nyghte and daye as they doe Therefore this Chaire being so full of vertue as is before saide surely one or other hathe stolne it from the Pope and set another chaire in the place of it like it in fashion but not in vertue truth was there euer any religion so rediculous that woulde teache vs to thinke that the whole knowledge and trueth of the same were nayled or fastned to a Chayre and that their Pope when he sittes in that Chayre can not erre God send vs a more certaine trueth than to depende vpon the trueth of a Chayre But if you be desirous to heare what Uertue and trueth there is in the Popes Chayre and how wise learned it makes the Popes to be after they once si◠in it I will not sticke to shewe you that by an excellēt example There was a great contention betwéene them of Ratispone in Germanie and the Abbay of Saint Denise in Fraunce about the bodie of Saint Denise which was so déepe a doubt to discusse that none but the Pope was able to try y e truth therof And so to Rome they went and the Pope sat sadly in iudgemente about it and examined their allegations and matter throughly and grew to a conclusion and in the end gaue thereof his déepe and diffinitiue sentence and sayde that both they of Ratispone and they of Saint Denise had the whole bodie of Saint Denise and that whosoeuer wold say the contrarie shoulde be an Heretike If the trueth hadde not bene faste nayled to the Pops Chayre the Pope could neuer haue giuen suche a true wise and learned Iudgemente of thys weyghtie matter Nowe surelye it was a Popely resolution yea and suche a one as muste néedes make the veriest fooles in the World beléeue that Wyll Somers woulde not haue giuen so fonde and ridiculous a iudgement This famous Diuine and true iudgement of the Pope is sufficient if there were nothing else to make vs beléeue that the Pope can not lye And as the Pope is verie wise and learned by the vertue of his Chayre to resolue doubtful matters so he hath wise and learned Doctours to giue him weightie and doubtfull matters to resolue Wherof I wil shew you some for a taste to sée howe you wil like them Augustine the Italian Monke that of some hath bin taken for the Apostle of Englande demaunded of Pope Gregorie by way of great councel whether a womanne wyth Childe mighte be Baptized or not and howe long afterwarde it myghte be lawfull for hyr to come to the Church Bonifacius the Apostle of Germaine demaunded of Pope Zacharie whether Iayes Dawes Storkes Beuers Otters Hares wilde Horsses be mens meate or not what order were to be taken with man or Horsse hauing the falling sicknesse at what time of the yeare it maye be lawefull or wholesome for folkes to eate Bacon and if a man list to eate it rawe howe olde it ought to be before he eate it what maye bée done if a Prieste haue a blacke in his eye who may hallow oyle with other déepe and doubtefull questions Surelye vnlesse the Pope had bene déepely profoundly learned by the great vertue of hys chaire he coulde neuer haue resolued these mysticall questions You maye reade the newe Testamente ouer ere you shal finde anye that euer demaunded anye suche thyngs of Christ. Marke further I praye you what dolting doctrine the Pope is faine to haue to proppe vppe hys Papistry wythall and what worthye argumentes are brought out of the Scriptures for prouing that the vulgar or common people ought not to reade the Scriptures Giue not holye things to dogges sayth Christ Ergo sayth the Pope it is not laweful for the vulgar people to reade the Scriptures Is not this an excellent and a true proofe to hide or kéep the Scriptures from the people By as good an argumēt I may say thus open not your secretes to your foe therefore tel not your minde to your friend or thus Giue no drinke to them that are drunken Ergo let sober men haue no drink The lay people are much beholden to the Popes penne men for they liken them to dogges But here for their purpose they can call the Scriptures holy but when they list they will call it the blacke Gospell and a nose of waxe Therefore consider and marke well though euen nowe to serue their turne the Scripture of them is called holye in what estimation and reuerence the Popes Prelates haue the holy Scripture and word of God and howe they extoll their Romishe Churche Ludouicus a Canon of the Churche of Laterane in Rome saith thus The Church meaning the Church of Rome is the liuely breast of Christ. But the Scriptures is as it is nowe deade Inke The Byshoppe of Poyters sayde the Scripture is a dead and a dumbe thing as are all other politike lawes Albertus Pighius sayeth if thou saye these matters muste be putte ouer to the iudgement of the Scriptures thou shewest thy selfe to be voyde of common reason for the Scriptures are dumbe Iudges and can not speake Eckius calleth the Scriptures The blacke Gospell and the Inken Diuinitie Pighius agayne sayeth The Church that is the Church of Rome hathe power to giue Canonicall authoritie vnto certaine writings whiche otherwise they haue not neither of themselues nor of their Authors and thus may the Pope by his aucthority allowe anye booke of the Scriptures and so he may make Scriptures Againe he sayth as one both truely and merily sayde the Scripture is like a nose of waxe that easily suffereth it selfe to be drawen backwarde and forward and to be moulded and fashioned this way and that way and howsoeuer they list Thus they teache the people to reuerence and estéeme the holy Scripture Gods worde they cal it deade Inke a liuelesse letter a dumbe Iudge that can not speake a blacke Gospell Inken Diuinitie a nose of waxe a thing vtterlye voyde of aucthoritie of it selfe Notwithstanding that Christ the sonne of God sayeth Search the Scriptures c. and they are they that testifie of me and hys Prelates giue good credite to Gods worde which is the chiefe worker of our saluation When obiection was made that King Dauid being not a Bishop but only a Temporall Prince had written the Psalmes that is to say the very key of the scriptures Hosius made aunswere Wrote Dauid Psalmes and why shold he not write them Horace sayth we write Ballades euerye body learned and vnlearned tagge and ragge so vnreuerently he skorneth and scoffeth at the holye scriptures the most pure word of God and compares the heauenly ditties of the holy Ghost to a vile heathen wanton ballade The same Hosius as one that hathe a mouth to speake blasphemie and to saye without all shame what he liste
Irenaeus affyrmeth who saith thus Columna firmamentū Ecclesiae est Euangelium spiritus vitae The piller and buttresse of the Churche is the Gospell and the spirite of life Saint Augustine saith Nolo humanis documentis c. I will not saieth he that the holy Churche bee shewed by mens documentes but by the worde of God Chrisostome saith Nullo modo cognoscitur quae sit vera ecclesia Christe nisi tantummodo per scripturas By no way it is to be known whyche is the true Church of Christ but onely by the Scriptures Thus you may sée plainly by these ancient holy lerned writers whatsoeuer the Pope his late Parasites write and bragge of the Church of Rome that the true Church Christ only is to be known tryed by the holy Scriptures Perhappes you wil say that many places of the Scriptures are so darke and so doubtfull that they wil neuer be vnderstanded vnlesse they be opened and expounded by some learned Doctor or Writer I wil not deny but that it is good and necessary to haue the Scriptures opened and declared by godly vertuous and learned men yet not of necessitie to be bounde thereto and so to beléeue their writings so farre as they shall agrée with the Scriptures but that must not be by the Pope and his Doctors for they as you haue heard before so interprete the Scriptures that they lose their meaning and sense both of God Christ the Prophets and the Apostles and so are made the Popes doctrine onely to serue his wicked and ambitious authoritie and desire And also you shall here perceiue that the holy and auncient Fathers and Doctors are of this opinion that the Scriptures are able to expounde themselues and néede none other interpretor and that there is no case in religion so doubtful or darke but y t it may wel be either proued or reproued by collection and conferēce of the Scripturs Saint Hierome saith Moris est scripturarum obscuris manifesta nectere It is the order of the Scriptures after hard things to ioyne other things that be plaine Saint Augustine also saith Solet circumstantia scripturarum illuminare sententiam The circumstance of the scriptures is wont to giue light and to open the meaning Tertullian giueth the like rule Oportet secundum plura intelligi pauciora The fewer places must be expounded by the moe Thus these learned Fathers and Doctors iudgement is that the Scriptures expounde their owne meaning and one place openeth an other But nowe marke what one of the Popes Chaplaines wryteth concerning the exposition of the Scriptures and whether he agrée with the Diuel or with these saide holy Doctors or not Hosius one of the pillers of the Popes Church saith If a man haue the exposition of the Church of Rome touching anye place of the Scriptures althoughe he neither know nor vnderstand whether and howe it agreeth with the wordes of the Scriptures yet he hath the very word of God You may perceiue by this fellowes writing of what Church he is and that he is of an other Church than Saint Hierom Saint Augustine Tertullian or Chrisostom were for he saith If the Church of Rome expound the Scriptures though it be contrary to the Scriptures or do not agree with the wordes of the Scriptures yet it is the very word of God Thus haue the Popes Doctors deluded the people that the Scriptures were no Scriptures vnlesse it agréede with the expositions and so they made the very word◠of God whyche is our light to Saluation to be very darkenesse and our leader to damnation Marke also what that Caterpiller Cardinall Cusanus writes for the authoritie of their Romishe Churche aboue the Scriptures I tell thee saith he that there is nothing taken for Christes commaundement vnlesse it be so allowed of the Churche meaning the Churche of Rome when the Churche hath chaunged hir iudgement Gods iudgemente is likewise changed Oh abhominable and detestable imps of Sathan though the whorish Church of Rome may change in hir iudgementes yet God in his holy worde is infallible and vnchangeable in hys iudgements What hel-houndes are these that woulde make vs beléeue that as the Popes iudgements doe change so Gods iudgementes doe change and that nothing is taken for Gods commaundement vnlesse the Pope and the Romish Church allowe it but contrary say I that the commaundements of the Pope and of their Churche are nothing vnlesse Christ doth allow them And marke wel for as thys Cusanus hath written euen so the Pope hathe chaunged the law of God cleane contrarye to his own or rather the Diuels commaundement For whereas God himselfe sayde Thou shalt haue none other Gods but me Now that is not Gods cōmandemēt vnles it be allowed by the Church of Rome and bicause the iudgemēt of the church of Rome is changed therfore Gods iudgement therein is changed So that this law must now be takē thus thou shalt honor Pope for a God on earth and thou shalt call him Lorde God the Pope And whereas God saith Thou shalt not make to thy self any grauē Image of any likenesse that is in heauē c. Now the Church of Rome hath changed hir iudgement therein therfore Gods iudgement is changed wherfore that commandment must be turnd thus Thou shalt worship Images as thou wouldst the sonne of God he that worshippeth an Image and saith it is Christe offendeth not nay he offendeth that worshippeth not an Image he that worshippeth not an Image is an heretike thou shalte worship an Image with y e same reuerēce wherwith thou dost worship y e holy Trinitie And wheras God said Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vaine c. Now the church of Rome hath changed hir Iudgement so that God hath chāged his iudgemēt therin also Therfore now you must say thus if thou haue married a wife thou shalt sweare take thine othe to forsake hir to put hir away from thée but thou shalt not sweare to forsake whoores or harlots or to refuse whoredome And whereas God saith thou shalt keepe holy the Sabboth day c. now that is none of Gods cōmaundement for the Church of Rome hath changed hir iudgement therfore Gods iudgemēt is likewise changed wherfore that lawe must now be turned thus Thou shalt not kéepe holy the Sabboth day but whereas Gods worde should then be redde and preached thou shalt in stéede therof commit idolatrie worship Images and pray vnto them and knéele to Masses and honor a péece of bread and take it for the bodie of Christ. God also saith Honor thy father mother yea but now for that the Church of Rome hath chaunged hir iudgement God hath also in this commandement changed his iudgement therfore that law must now be thus Thou shalt disobey thy father and mother King Prince Country and obey the Pope and the Church of Rome
of God you wil scantly like The Popes Doctors say auouch it for truth that if the Priest say thus when he doth Baptise a childe Ego te Baptiso in nomine patris filij spiritus sancti diaboli that is I Baptise thee in the name of the Father of the Sonne and of the holy Ghost and of the Diuell yet the forme of Baptisme is very good and the child is rightly christned I remember that Christ bad his Apostles Baptise in the name of the Father of the Sonne and of the holy Ghost but that he bad them Baptise any in the name of the Diuel I neuer heard If they be rightly christned that are christned in the name of the Diuel according to the Popes law then I hope they are not falsely christned that are christned in the name of God without naming the Diuell accordyng to Gods lawe If wée shoulde allowe such Baptizing to bée good and that they were rightlye Baptized that were Baptized in the name of the Diuell you that call vs nowe Sathans broode woulde then call vs as you myght well the chyldren of the Diuell Must not this Churche of Rome bée a holy Church that hath such goldy doctrine and diuine Doctours if they bée curst that take any thing from the worde of God then they are not blest that adde the Diuell to the Baptizing of the children of God Euerye one that haue an affection to the Popes Religion woulde scantly beléeue that there is such handsome doctrine belonging to his religion This is not much vnlike other of the Romish Doctors doctrine for in the Defence of the Apologie which the learned Bishop of Sarisburie wrote against the confutation of Doctor Harding are these wordes Petrus Asotus Hosius sticke not to affirme that the same Counsell wherein our Sauiour Iesus was condemned to die had both the spirite of Prophesie and the holy Ghost and the spirite of truth And that it was no false saying when the Bishop sayd we haue a lawe and by our lawe he ought to die and that they so saying did light vpon the very truth of iudgemēt and that the same was a iust decree whereby they pronounced that Christ was worthy to die Thus the Popes Prelates take part with Annus Caiphas against Christ. If that were a good true iudgement that most shamefully wrongfully condemned the sonne of God to death then where shal we finde any false and wicked iudgement by this meanes the Popes sentences iudgements in burning the members of Christ for professing of y e Gospel cā not be false wicked or euill I feare they y t say they had the holy ghost the spirite of truth y t iudged Christ to death and that the same was a iust decrée wherby they pronounced y t Christ was worthy to die I feare I say y t they are none of them that Christ dyed for and as they y t iudged Christ most wrongfully did it not by the spirit of God Euen so Asotus Hosius and all other that say y t their iudgement was true that their decrée was iust whereby they pronounced that Christ was worthy to die spake and vttered the same by the spirit of y e diuell for if they gaue true iudgement against Christ then Christ was an offendor and deserued to die The Lorde blesse euery man from beléeuing the doctrine of such that either say or beléeue that Christ the Sonne of God that neuer offēded nor sinned was worthily or rightly condemned to die If our Bishops Preachers and Doctors shoulde preach teache or write such blasphemous doctrine you might then iustly cal vs Heretiks as we may wel cal them al other y t take their partes blasphemers the disciples of Antichrist But Caiphas sayd it is good that one man die for the people least all the people perishe Ergo sayth M. Harding Caiphas had the spirit of God To whom that learned and worthie M. Iewel late Bishop of Sarisburie replyes with these wordes But that ye may the better M. Harding espie your ouersight like as ye saye Caiphas prophesied blindly himselfe not vnderstanding what he sayd Ergo he had the holy Ghost S Paule sayth no man can say the Lorde Iesus but in the Spirit of God hereof by your Logicke you may reason thus the Diuell sayd vnto Christ I knowe that thou arte Christ the Sonne of the liuing God Ergo the Diuell had the Spirit of God c. If Caiphas had the spirit of God then he had y e holy ghost that wrote this note vpon the Popes decrée that the Iewes had committed mortall sinne if they had not nayled Christ to the Crosse. Now open your eyes and beholde whether this be good sound doctrine or not y t these Papisticall Doctors do teach They that worship God aright follow Christes Gospel wil do detest such diuellish doctrine Therefore flie from this Romish Church that taketh the Pope to be hir heade and that refuseth to be tried by the Scriptures and spéedily become members of that Churche that taketh Christ to be hir heade and is content to bée iudged by the Scriptures For they that are of Christ will heare his voyce which is the Gospell which true Church wherof Christ is the head can not be knowne but by the Scriptures Chrisostome saith now can no mā know the Church but by the scriptures S. Augustine saith Whether they haue the Church or no let them shewe by the Canonicall Bookes of the holy scriptures we must know the Church euen lykewise as we know Christ which is the head of the Churche in the holy Canonicall Scriptures Againe he saith the holy Scriptures shewes the Churche without any doubtfulnesse Againe the question or doubt is where the Churche shoulde be what then shall we doe whether shall we seeke the Churche in our owne wordes or in the wordes of hir heade which is our Lorde Iesus Christ In my iudgement wee ought rather to seeke the Churche in his wordes for that he is the trueth and best knoweth his owne body And agayne he sayeth Let vs not heare these wordes this say I This sayest thou but these wordes let vs heare Thus sayth the Lorde there let vs seeke the Churche there let vs discusse our cause And Saint Ambrose sayeth the Church shineth or is knowne not by hir owne light but by the light of Christ which is the word of God These learned holy and auntient fathers wordes are sufficient to proue vnto vs that y e Church of Christ is known and is chiefely to be discerned by the word of God But what if these auncient and learned Doctors had not written thus shoulde wée then haue taken that for the Churche of God which the Popes doctrine doeth allowe then we shoulde haue a trimme and holy Church as by the premysses doth appeare And nowe bicause nothing can describe which is the true Church better than Christ
it hath not yet it had néede to haue a very strong commission to tie the trueth so harde to it that it shoulde neuer departe thence Hierusalem was once a holy Cittie and the Temple of God was placed in the same wherein hée appeared and shewed his Maiestie and reuealed his will in which Temple King Salomon that buylded it thought the Lord would dwell there for euer and that there should be his house and his Churche yet now God hath lefte both that Cittie of Hierusalem and the Temple suffred them to be destroyed and ouerthrowen now if God hath departed from and left Hierusalem and the holy Temple which he himselfe appointed to be buylded to be his house for himselfe and wherein he appeared and reuealed his will and pleasure then there can be no great warrantie made but that he and the truth may departe from and forsake the Cittie and Churche of Rome which he neuer called his Cittie neyther appointed any Temple or Churche there to be buylded for him to dwell in neyther euer appeared there and reuealed his will to his Prophetes and seruants as he did in the Temple of Hierusalem which Cittie of Rome was first buylded with murther continued with murther and maintayned with murther where in is the Churche of couetousnes the pallace of pryde the Castell of crueltie the boothes of brothelrie the Innes of Idolatrie the mansion of mischiefe the houses of Harlotrie and the dungeon of all Diuelishnesse and iniquitie Therefore it is verie harde to warrant that the truthe shall neuer departe from this your Churche of Rome vnlesse you meane that the trueth can not departe from thence bycause it is not there or neuer wil be there By this vndoubted assertion it should séeme that you haue bound Christe in some great bond or statute Marchant that he beyng the trueth shall not departe from the Pope but it were more méete that the Pope were bounde not to departe from Christe Therefore seing the truth hath departed from Hierusalem and the Temple there which was the Cittie and Temple of God where he was content to appeare and reueale his will to his people Then the truth may well departe from Rome if it were there which God neuer chosed for his Cittie neyther euer appeared there in any Temple nor appointed any house there to be buylded for him as he did in Hierusalem Yet we may boldly affirme that the truth was once in Rome and the Gospell of Christe was there embrased and then there was the Churche of God but now of a long time it hath not had the truth as before it appeares but is the enimie to the truth and forsakes and driues from them the trueth that is the Gospell Therefore Rome is not nowe the Churche of God but the Synagoge of Sathan Yet Doctor Harding did write that the Churche that nowe is meaning the Churche of Rome and the Churche that was in the olde time is one Churche as the man in his olde age is the same he was in his youth I graunt herein that Maister Harding saies true but though hée be the same man yet the same man may be an honest man in his youth and a false harlot in his age Euen so your Churche of Rome when shée was yong she was godly honest and was a true spouse to Christe hir husbande but now your Churche of Rome in hir olde age is become wicked dishonest and false to Christe hir husbande and is a verie vnshamefast whore and an aduoutresse and goeth a whooring worshippes Images and committes Idolatrie And as the learned Maister Iewell late Bishop of Salisburie saith thus vpon the same Euen so is the Moone being full and the same Moone Eclipsed is one Moone Euen so a man well aduised and the same man starke madde is one man Euen so the house of God and a caue of theeues is one house And the same Master Harding was so farre in loue with the Church of Rome that he thought it to be so holie true that all other Churches ought to receyue their truth and light from it and would not haue it dayed or Iudged by the Scriptures or by any other thing but that all other Churches ought rather be daied iudged by the church of Rome thought she was too old ancient to be controlled in these daies either of God Christ or of the Scriptures And therfore he saith thus as followeth Our doctrine meaning the doctrine of the Pope and of the Churche of Rome hath had too high a teacher to be tried by mē now it hath bene approued too lōg to be put in daying in these daies at the latter end of the world Thus much saieth he of the Churche of Rome thinking she is too true honest and auncient to come to triall or to be put to daying But I say he that refuseth triall of his matter doubtes belike that it is not very good he that standes so much vpon his honestie and will refuse to be tried by his neighbors may be thought to be scant an honest man so the Church of Rome refusing to be tried by the Scriptures and by the worde of God which is as honest as true and as auncient as she is I am sure doubtes the truth of hir cause and suspects hir owne honestie The Iewes doctrine was once the doctrine of God and the auncientest truest of al other they the people of God it was long before y e Gospel which is y e doctrine of Christ yea and before the Popes holie religion or the Romish doctrine yet for all that the Iewes now are not the people seruantes nor the true Churche of God Who might now say thus aswell as the Popes proctors a great deale better Our law hath bene approued too long to be put in daying in these daies at the latter end of the worlde I trust you would not thinke y e saying were sufficient to ouerthrowe your Churche of Rome although it might well inough It is not the auncientnesse but the truth of the doctrine that ought to be allowed or accepted Caine the first wicked murtherer that murthered his brother Abel was elder than Abel Yet murther for all the auncientnesse and long continuance therof may be put to daying wel enough and that by Gods lawe which Abel profest though he were the yonger brother The Heathen may say by as good reason our worshipping of Idolles beyng long before the religion of the Christians hath bene approued and vsed too long by our auncestors to be put in daying in these dayes in the latter end of the worlde The Diuell was before the worlde began and fell from Heauen for his pryde a great while before God did sette foorth his lawe eyther by Moses or else by Christe Yet I trowe that pryde is not therefore to be allowed to be good The Diuell might likewise say my law of pryde began so long agoe yea before the worlde
was created or made and hath bene allowed approued and vsed by many great Emperoures Kings yea and Popes Cardinals and Byshops and many other too long to be put in daying in these daies at the latter ende of the world But whereas the murther of Caine the Idolatrie of the Heathen and the pryde of the Diuell began long before Christe yet the Pope and his Religion began long and many a day after Christ as plainly appeares Therefore seing the murther of Caine the Idolatrie of the Heathen and the pryde of the Diuell that are so ancient and so long before Christ may be put to daying then the Popes authoritie his new Romishe religion that began so long after Christ wherein murther Idolatrie pride beares such a sway may aswel be put to daying be brought to accōpt Therfore regard not the church of Rome for hir anciētnes who though you beléeued she was so old so ancient yet in cōparison of y e gospel she is very yōg but sticke to the worde of God and the Gospell which is both auncient and true wherevpon the right true Churche is buylded and be not angrie with vs for forsaking that false late vpstart Church of Rome and in following Christ and his Gospell which makes vs the true Churche neyther say that we boast our selues to much in saying so which is no proude boasting but a godly reioysing For if it be a proude parte to followe Christe in religion and liuing who is the best patterne to followe of all that euer dwelled on the earth what is the Pope then that claymeth Christes authoritie to him selfe and to be as Christ For one saluted the Pope in this maner as followeth Touching prymacie thou arte Abel Touching gouernment thou arte Noe touching the Patriarkeship thou art Abraham touching order thou arte Melchisedech touching dignitie thou art Aaron touching Authoritie thou art Moses touching Iudgement thou art Samuel touching power thou arte Peter touching annoynting thou art Christe All this I trowe is sufficient for a Pope and I may say further touching thy takyng of all this vppon thée thou art Antichrist That Churche that hath such a head and chiefe Captaine as claymes and takes all these Titles and yet for all that is a very limme of the Diuell muste néedes be a true and holy Churche such a Churche is that Churche of Rome that you haue so much estéemed therefore if you meane to be of the Churche of Christe then flie away with spéede from this Churche of Antichrist For how can that be the Churche of Christ that will not suffer the Gospell which is the Statutes and Lawes of Christ to be red and taught in it As all earthly Emperours Kinges haue their statutes lawes for the obeying of them the maintenance of the countrey Cōmonwealth so hath Christ the sonne of God his statutes lawes for them that be his people the Christians thereby to obey their Captaine Christe to do these things that may conserue them all togither here in a holye congregation and that maye leade them the waye to the kingdome where their head King Captaine in Christ is But as they that wil not suffer the lawes of their Kings or Emperours to be read published to their people but will hyde them destroy them and burne them bycause they should not obey their Emperours and kings and that they should not do their things that should be for the prosperitie concord and continuaunce of their Countrey and common wealth are no true subiectes of those Kings or Emperours but rather rebels and traytors Euen so the Pope and the Churche of Rome are not the true children nor Churche of Christe but rebels and Traytors to him that hydes destroyes and burnes the Scripture Gospell Gods worde bycause we shoulde not knowe our duetie to oure Christe and that we shoulde not kéepe his commaundements Perhappes some of you wil saye if the Popes be so wicked their doctrine so detestable and the Churche of Rome so contrary to Christe as is here alleadged then why doth the Emperour and diuers Kings and so manye Rulers in Christendome followe him and do not espie his diuelish doings Mary I wil tel you why they do not forsooth bicause they looke not in the worde of God whych is the only Candle that woulde make them to sée and so without it they are blinde therefore the Pope doth suppresse it burnes it and hydes it and falsely expoundes it and makes them beléeue it is Heresie to be in their vulgare and knowne tongue and all bycause he woulde not haue them to sée that he maye leade them by the noses whiche waye he liste for the Pope is assured that if the Kings and Rulers that are the defenders of his religion did once know the Scriptures and had them in their vulgare tongue as oure gracious Quéene of England the King of Denmarke the King of Scots and other Dukes and Rulers of Germany and of diuers other Countries haue then they woulde spye his iugling and forsake him as hir Grace and the other Kings Rulers haue done The Lion or wilde Bull saieth M. Iewell bee they neueruer so cruell or great of courage yet if you may once closely couer their eyes ye may easily leade them whether you lyst without resisting Euen so doth the Pope hoodwinke and blindfolde the Princes of the worlde and holde them in ignoraunce for want of looking in Gods worde which done he maketh them to holde his Styrrop to leade his horse to kneele downe and to kysse his shoe and to attende and wayte vppon him at his pleasure but if they eyther knewe him or them selues they woulde not doe it which they will neuer knowe well before they know Gods word better than they doe And thus the blynde Popes leade the blinde Kyngs Princes and Rulers whereby they are all lyke to fall in the ditche and the Pope learnes the blinde Kings and Princes méekenesse and humilitie and the Diuell teaches him to bée presumptuous and proude for humilitie it can not wel be called vnlesse the Pope hath one humilitie and Christ an other For Christ sayth learne of me for I am méeke lowly in hart Nowe if Christ which is the chiefe teacher of humilitie and méekenesse had thought it had bene a point of humilitie to haue troden in the Emperours necke that an Emperour with his wife and childe shoulde haue come in the colde frost and to stande thrée dayes without at his gate for his absolution and pardon that an Emperour shoulde holde his Styrrop whiles he got vp on his horse y e Kings shoulde holde his horse leade his horse by the brydle and go on foote whyles he did ride to set the Emperours Crowne on his head with his foote and to strik it off againe with his foote to suffer a Duke to lie in chaynes vnder his Table whiles he was at dinner and that Kings and Emperours shoulde
And thus that holye Father that names hymselfe the Uicar of Christe whome you so muche estéeme fauour and honor the third time is proued to be the chiefe cause of the ignorant peoples damnation by kéeping them from the worde of God which is their onely guide to Saluation Christe bad al his Apostles go throughout the worlde and preache the Gospell and to teach al Nations to obserue all things that he commaunded them whiche is a manifest token that he that woulde haue it preached to all would not haue it kept away or hyd from all What Emperor King or other Prince that makes good orders lawes for their subiects to kéepe with penalties of death for the breaking thereof woulde locke vp the same in their Chests and neither suffer them to be proclaimed nor their subiects to looke on them nor know them yet would put them to death that should break the same Truly there was neuer any Emperour or Ruler that were so vnreasoble For it were méete that their subiectes shoulde learne reade heare vnderstand the lawâ—s that they are bound to kéepe For how can they kéepe these lawes they know not Then it staÌ„deth as much with reason that we should learn know search study and heare the word law of God not to haue it hid or kepte from vs the kéeping and not kéeping wherof stands vpon our euerlasting saluation or damnation Therfore it is a moste diuelishe and tyrannous part of y e pope to take y e word of God from vs which Christe hathe left behind him only to leade vs to heauen to leade vs in y e darke with his Idolatrie and superstition to bring vs to Hel. Saint Paule saith There is no damnation to theÌ„ that are in Christ Iesu but how can they be or abide in Christe that neither sée heare or reade the law of God that should teach them to be or remaine in Christe Whatsoeuer S. Paule saith Pope Bonifacius telleth vs an other manner of tale who saith if we may beléeue him That There is no Saluation without the Churche of Rome And also the glose of the same saith Quicquid saluatur est sub summo Pontifice Whatsoeuer creature is saued is vnder the highest Bishop that is the Pope Here is neither mention made of Christ nor of his Gospell Christ and Saint Paule may both be deceiued but the Pope cannot erre for Christ prayd for Peter that his faith should not faile therfore the Pope cannot erre But why not thus rather Peter denyed Christe his Maister therefore the Pope denyes or forsakes Christ I think this is the more likely and truer argument for if Coniurers Idolators Murtherers Heretikes Blasphemers Fornicators Apostatas Periured persons that giue theÌ„selues body and soule to the diuel as Pope Siluester the second did that deny forsake Christ then the Popes haue erred and haue denyed forsaken Christe for they haue bin such as before is manifestly proued Therefore if the Pope holde any thing of Peter it is his denying of Christe But as they deny Christe with Peter so I beséeche God that the Pope and his Prelates may repent with Peter and not to forsake him with Iudas And though Christ prayed for Peter yet he prayed not that the Popes shoulde be Coniurers Idolators Murtherers and suche like as before is declared Christ saith moreouer My Sheepe heare my voice whiche is the Gospel Euen so the diuel may say My Goates heare my voice whych is Papistrie Thus it is manifest that they that heare not the gospel which his Christs voice are none of Christes shéepe Then the tyrannous Pope his murthering ministers that heare not Christes voice that stop their eares at his voice that suppresse and burne the Gospel his voice that torment murther and kill his shéepe that heare his voice are none of Christs shéepe And if they be none of Christes shéepe then they muste néedes be the Diuels Goates For there are none but must néeds be the one of these two that is either the shéepe of Christ or the goates of the Diuell And truely there is no better marke whereby to knowe Christes shéepe than by hearing of Christes voice whiche is the holy Gospel And there is no plainer marke whereby to know the Diuels Goats than by refusing to heare the Gospel which is the voice of Christe Therefore if you entende to be Christes shéepe then heare the Gospell Christs own voice But if you had rather be the Diuels Goates then refuse as you doe to heare the Gospell and care not for Gods Gods worde but loue and obey the Pope and followe Papistrie whych is the voice of the Diuel Here may you plainely perceiue that the Popes doctrine is to refuse the Scriptures in the mother tongue and so not to heare the voice of Christe therfore they that are of the Popes doctrine are none of Christes shéepe bicause they heare not Christs voice so that you by the refusing Gods word which is Christss voice you make your selues to be none of Christes Shéepe Therefore flye from Papistrie and hearken to the Gospell the voice of Christe that you may bée Christes Shéepe and so to bée placed on the right hande of Christe at the laste day in the Kyngdome of Heauen For assure your selues if you wil not heare the Gospell whiche is Christes voice you can be none of Christes shéepe yet to heare Christes voice is nothing vnlesse you vnderstande his voice For though the Iewes heard Christs voice when he preched to them in the Hebrewe tong whiche they vnderstoode yet if one should come vnto vs and preach the Gospell in the Hebrewe tong we should be neuer the better for though wée hearde his voice yet we shoulde not vnderstande his word whiche is the right hearing of Christs voice When the Nobles and chiefe of Thessalonia receyued the worde of God whiche Paule preached they searched the Scriptures daily whether those things that he preached were so or no but these Scriptures were not then in the Latine tong but in their mother or vulgare tong that they vnderstoode when they did reade them or else what should their searching of the Scriptures haue profited theÌ„ If one did lacke fire thogh he had a flint stone lying by him did not know ther were fire in it or if he knew it could not tel which way to get y e fire out of it what were he y e better Euen so thoughe the vnlearned in the Latine tongue had the Bible in Latine lying by them what were they the better Therefore I muse what learning or reason shoulde leade you that it is sufficient for vs to haue the Scriptures in the Latine tongue that we vnderstande not that in the Primitiue Churche and a greate while after were in the common tongues Saint Augustine was not of youre minde who saide The holy Scriptures passing from one tong and beeing publyshed abroade farre and
with a greate man it is no harme to speake to his Chamberlaine or to one that is next vnto him that he may shewe y e king of vs which vaine reason Saint Ambrose answers very wel saying we are broughte vnto the Princes of Kings by Lordes and officers bycause the king is a man and knoweth not to whom he may committe his Realme But to obtaine Gods fauour from whome nothing is secrete as knowing what euerie man is meete to haue we neede no spokes man but a deuoute minde wheresoeuer suche a one speaketh vnto God God wil aunswere him Thus hath that learned Doctour aunswered this foolish and vaine obiection wherby it plainely appeares that there wer some of your opinion in his days and that he was of the same opinion that we are in these dayes But if Saint Ambrose Saint Augustine and a thousande moe of learned men shoulde write that we ought to praye vnto the Uirgin Marie and to the Saintes yet we oughte not to beléeue them for as muche as Christ hath taught vs contrarie who biddes vs to make our prayers onelye to GOD oure Heauenlye Father But as long as the Doctoures and Fathers doe agrée with the Gospell we wil allowe them but if they do not we wil reiect them But whatsoeuer Christ sayth y e Pope saith otherwise now marke wel herein the holy doctrine of the Church of Rome which allows wils you to pray vnto y e blessed Uirgine thus Let him know thee to be his mother commaund thy sonne vse thy motherlye authoritie ouer him Is not this a trim kind of prayer you shal not finde this in al the Lordes prayer that Christ taught to his Disciples if you say y t this is but a spiritual dallying as M. Harding said to maister Iewel then I wil answere you as M. Iewel answered M. Harding this must néedes be a blessed kinde of Diuinitie that can turne praying to dallying This kinde of prayer was vsed vniuersally saith M. Iewel throughout all the Church of Rome that men women and children learned and vnlearned were taught and forced thus to praye Thou art the Queene of heauen Thou art the Lady of Angels cōmaunde thy sonne shew thy selfe to be the mother Cardinal Bembus sometimes the Popes secretarie calleth the Virgine Mary Lady and goddesse Ambrosius Catharinus in the late Chapter at Trydent calleth hir goddes fellow by these words fidelissima eius Socia that is Gods moste faithful fellow Nicholaus Cusanus a Cardinal of Rome saith This thing turneth to the praise of God and the Virgin Marie the mother of Christ that she was neuer at any time vnder the Princehoode of the author of death That Virgin neded no deliuerer that should redeeme hir from the sentence pronounced against Adam and his posteritie Mary was neued raced out of the booke of death for she was neuer written in it Here we are taught that Marie the Virgin is our Lady and goddesse that she is Gods fellow and that she had no neede to be saued by the death of Christ nay your church of Rome teacheth to pray vnto hir thus Saue thou al thē that glorifie thee and this also is in Lipomanus beholde howe mighty is the mother of God and how no mā may be saued but by hir What is blasphemie if this be not blasphemie yet this is the religion of your holy church of Rome would you haue thought y t either they had writtē thus or durst be so bold to write thus there was none that euer came of the séede of Adam but they haue néede to be saued by the death of Christ. These Bookes that containe these things you ought to burne and not the holy Scriptures wherin you can spie no such faultes Your Church of Rome calles the Uirgin Marie which is the mother of Christ the Quéene of Heauen but it mistakes hir as it doth many other things for she is not the Quéene of Heauen but hir Sonne Christ is the King heauen Therfore the Church of Rome doth most wickedly to worship hir as they doe Wherevpon Epiphanius sayth Let no man eate of this errour touching S. Marie for though the tree be faire yet is not the fruite to be eaten although Marie be beautiful holye and honorable yet is she not to be adored But these women worshipping S. Marie renue againe the sacrifice of wyne mingled in the honor of the goddesse Fortuna and prepare a table for the Diuell and not for God as it is written in the Scriptures They are fedde with meate and wickednesse And againe Their women boult flowre and their children gather stickes to make fine cakes in the honour of the Queene of Heauen Therfore let such women be rebuked by the Prophet Hieremie and let them no more trouble the worlde and let them not say we worship the Queene of Heauen Thus much writeth that auncient Father Epiphanius against the fonde and vnchristianly exalting and honouring of the Uirgin Marie for the Quéene of Heauen Marke also what a blasphemous prayer y e holy Church of Rome doth teache you to pray whereby it appeares that they that belonge to that Churche néede not the bloud of Christ to saue them for the bloud of Thomas Becket which was once a traitour to his King here in England is sufficient for they say thus in their Mattins O Christ make vs to ascend vnto heauen whether Thomas is ascended euen by the bloud of Thomas that he shed for thy sake Is not this Church of Rome thinke you the true Churche of God that blots out the blessed bloud of Christ without which there is no saluation puts in the bloud of a sinfull wretch to climbe to heauē by but I thinke they mistake y e words perhaps the meaning of them is thus make vs to descende into hell whether Thomas is descended euen by the bloud of Thomas y t he shed for the Popes sake for surely if Thomas Becket did pray to ascēd by the bloud of any but of Christ as these of the Churche of Rome doe by his I beléeue that this your holye Saint Thomas a Saint of the Popes making is rather in hell than in heauen Can the children of God or they that are Christians bée content to abide in this blasphemous Church of Rome that vseth suche a kinde of praying as desires to climbe to heauen by the bloud of a vile wretched sinner and refuseth the bloud of that immaculate lambe Iesus Christ the sonne of God Surely if I were as déepely drowned in that detestable Papistrie as any of you are or euer was hearing but halfe this that I haue written I should not onely with al spéede detest that abhominable Religion of the Pope but also flie vnto Christ and take holde on his holy Gospell as I doe not doubt but assuredly trust that many of you will And as this Romish Church hath with hir most wicked prayer blotted out the pure and perfecte order of praying
sunder Priestes from their wiues saying He placeth strumpets before honest wiues and fornication incest and aduoutry before Chast marriage What neede wee manye wordes in so cleare a case the whole practise of your Church M. Harding professeth the same If a Priest marrie a wife yee suspende him yee excommunicate him yee depriue him ye disquiet him and trouble the whole Church But if he keepe a Concubine one two or three ye are then contented and readie not onely to dissemble it but also with fauour to excuse it Thus much Master Iewel against Maister Harding I heard it credibly tolde that a certaine married Priest came in Quéene Maries time to Doctour Bonner then Bishop of London bringing a letter with hym from a gentleman that was wel acquainted with the Bishop which letter was to desire the sayd Bishop Bonner to be good to the Prieste for the admitting of him into a certaine benefice that he required which letter y e Bishop louingly receâ—ued willingly red which done the Bi. shewed a louing countenaunce vpon y e Priest bidding him to come again to him another time then he would answere him what he wold do As soone as the saide Priest was gone there was one y t was in coÌ„pany of the B. that knew the Prieste who sayde vnto the Bishop my Lord if you let him haue the benefice you know not what you do why said the Bishop forsoothe my Lord sayd he bycause he is a married Prieste is he so said y e Bishop now afore God let me alone y e knaue wil come to me againe And then after within thrée or foure days the same Priest came again to Bonner the Bishop of London Ah sirra said y e B. you are euen he y t I loke for you are a married knaue you no my Lord said the Priest y t is vntrue whosoeuer told it to your Lordship no said the B. it is credibly told me y t you are a married Priest truely said the Priest I had a woman I must néeds confesse but I neuer toke hir for my wife but for my Harlot no sayd the B. I pray God it be no worse I pray God it be no worse and so went casting his armes abrode saying stil I pray God it be no worse as though to haue a wife was worse than to kepe a whore Whether this honest chaste Prieste sped of that he came to the Bishoppe for I knowe not but the Bishop was better pleased with him for saying that he toke hir for his whore than if he hadde sayde that she was hys wife Thus you maye well perceiue that thoughe the Popes shew a face of chastitie by restrayning of Priests from mariage yet both he and his Prelates preferre and mainetaine abhominable whoredome as by the sequele it shall more manifestly appeare Upon the Legantine constructions of Otho ye maye finde these words noted in the glose Whether may a Priest be forced to forsweare his CoÌ„cubine or not it seemeth saith the glose that he may not the resolution hereof is this If a Priest haue married a wife in this case he is forced to forsake hir by an othe Thus these holye Fathers forbidde not fornication nor aduoutrye nor they maye not take an othe to putte their Harlots away but they muste sweare to put away their wiues and to forsake them If Saint Paul had the holy ghost then this Popes lawe is the doctrine of Diuels Further the glose sayth but marke it wel for it is good doctrine It seemeth that the Church of Rome ought to dissemble the falt of whoredome or else it is not worthye to be Sathans Synagoge for the Popes Marshal in deede receiueth tribute or pention of whores Is not this holy father worthye to beléeued estéemed and honored of you as a GOD or Christs own vickar that mayntaines Stewes and brothell houses and takes yearelye rente for whoredome you shal not finde in all the Scripturs that God did either appointe it but plainly forbad it or that eyther Christ or Saint Peter who they say was the first Pope did euer permit or allow it or got money on that fashion Yet Maister Harding woulde fayne excuse the Pope for the kéeping of his Stewes and therefore he sayth thus as followeth Wherefore is the Bishoppe of Rome more to bee blamed for maynetenaunce of his Stewes than the Frenche King or the King of Spayne well sayde Mayster Harding it is spoken like a Diuine Doctour you haue w t no small consideration allowed the Popes Stewes For though the French King and King of Spayne can learne no chastitie of y e Pope yet the Pope may learne Whoredome of the French King of the king Spaine But me thinks the Frenche King and the King of Spaine mighte saye thus rather why maye not we maintayne whoredome and open Stewes as well as our holye Father the Pope for if it were not good and lawful he being Christs vickar would neither vse it nor suffer it This had bene more méete for a lerned Doctour to haue said though not for a Catholike Doctour God sayde vnto the Iewes There shal bee no whore of the daughters of Israell nor anye whore-keeper of the sonnes of Israel Yea but the Pope and his glosers may glose this saying well ynoughe for they may saye that the Pope nor his Prelates nor Priestes that are within hys Uickaredge or Dioces are no Iewes nor are the sonnes or daughters of Iacob Therefore they are none of the sonnes or daughters of Israel and so they maye kéepe whores and playe the Harlots well ynough and bicause Gods law doth not touche them therfore the Popes law doth allow them Marke here what a straight law was made against women for lying with Priests In a prouinciall Councel holden at Oxford it is written thus Let Priests Cuncubineâ— be warned by the Archdeacon c. if they wil not amend then let them bee forbidden to kisse the Pax and to take holye breade in the Church was not this a grieuous and sore punishment to make Harlots refuse their whoredome wyth Priests did their Harlots care so much for kissing of the Pax that they woulde forsake the kissing of Priests no I warrant you and therfore this hard and straight law was made As good a law to auoyde druÌ„knesse were this whosoeuer wil not forbeare drinking of wine wherby they become drunke let them in no wise be suffred to drink water this is as good a law to suppresse drunkennesse as their law at Oxford was to auoyde whoredome Saint Paul sayth It is better to marry than to burne but the Pope is of a clean contrary spyrite and iudgement For his lawes and his déedes shewes that it is better to burne in concupiscence than to marry But if Saint Pauls words be turned cleane backward they will be the Popes owne law And though the Popes law is quite contrary to gods law yet I dare vndertake to make the Popes law
in my beliefe Marke further howe the Popes learned Doctors agrée in this the Popes transubstantiation or chaunging of the breade into the body of Christ Some of you holde saieth M. Iewell against M. Harding in his defence of the Apologie that Christes body passeth downe into the stomacke some say that it onely entreth into the mouth and goeth no further some other say assoone as the formes of the bread be grated with the teeth straight way the bodye of Christ is caught vp into heauen Another of you saith that a mouse can not eate it yea but if she might catch it she would aske no better dinner Peter Lombarde the grand maister of your Schoole is piteouslie confounded in the case and can not imagine poore man what thing it should be that the mouse eateth for after he himself had moued the question what is it then that the mouse receyueth or what eateth it he answereth now God knoweth as for my paâ—te I can not tell Such is your doctors Maister Harding saith M. Iewel such is your doctrine Thus farre hath M. Iewell written You may sée what a sounde doctrine this is of your transubstantiated bread into the bodie of Christ and how certain it is whereon the Popes doctors so diuersly descant Therefore séeing the learned Papistes are not fully resolued among themselues of this their Christes bodie that they saie is made of bread what fooles are yée then that do so stifly maintaine the same and that will so faithfully beléeue that they so firmely doubte and to take that for the bodie of Christ that a Mouse will eate and deuour But bycause some of these learned do saie that a Mouse wil eate it I am of their opinion if she may come by it and then if she eate bread then it is not the bodie of Christ and if it be the bodie of Christe then it is but a simple Christ that will suffer a Mouse to eate him therefore turne it which waie you will you bring your selues into the breares Consider I beséeche you the absurde and vile sayings and opinions of them of the Popes side touching the same whose wordes be these If it be said that a Mouse receiueth the bodie of Christ it is no great inconuenience And Alexander of Hales a great Schoole doctor in vnséemely and grosse manner doth saie If a Dog or Sowe saith he should happen to swallowe downe the whole hoste beyng consecrate I see no reason but the bodie of our Lorde may passe withall into the belly of the Dogge or of the Sowe Is not the doctrine of this holy Romish Church woorthie to be embrased and followed that hath such heauenly doctrine in it what execrable wretches are these that woulde make Christes bodie which is most holy and glorious and is in Heauen on the right hand of God the father to be deuoured of Dogges and Swine If such leaue not to allure and leade the ignorant from the trueth and forsake not their abhominable papisticall Religion and doctrine betymes I feare thy shall haue their portion with Dogges Swine Owles and Gotes in the endlesse and vnquenchable fire of Hell from whence neyther the Pope nor their Christ of bread shall euer be hable to deliuer them Marke how Diuelish and detestable Maister Harding writes in the defence of this doctrine of Transubstantiation at the Supper of our Lorde saith he ministred in the Catholike Church by Priests rightly consecrate there is the true and holy bodie of our Lord and Sauiour giuen and receiued be the receiuers beleeuing or not beleeuing If this be true that M. Harding sayth then it skilles not whether we beléeue in Christ or no so that we may once get it into our mouthes and eate it But S. Augustine and other ancient writers are of a contrarie opinion to M. Harding For he saith Quid paras dentem ventreÌ„ crede manducasti Why prepares thou thy tooth and thy belly beleeue and thou hast eaten Thus by S. Augustines rule beliefe is chiefly required to the receiuing of the Sacrament though M. Harding makes no accompt whether we beléeue or not S. Cyprian calleth the Sacrament Cibum mentis non ventris the foode of the minde or Soule not of the belly Tertullian sayth Christe must be deuoured by hearing chewed by vnderstanding and disgested by fayth Saint Augustine sayth To beleeue in Christe that is the eating of the bread of lyfe And he saith also Vnlesse yee eate the fleshe of the Sonne of man and drinke his bloud yee shall haue no life in you Christe seemeth by these wordes sayth Saint Augustine to commaunde vs to doe an horrible wickednesse for it is an horrible matter to eate mans fleshe or to drinke mans bloud Therefore this is a figure commaunding vs to bee partakers of Christes passion and comfortably to laie vp in our minde that his flesh was crucified and wounded for vs. Therefore the eating of the Sacrament or Christes body with our mouthes as Maister Harding doth dreame is not to eate Christes fleshe and drinke his bloud for this holy Sacrament of Christe supper is the foode of the soule not of the bodie and as the bodie hath a mouth whereby it dothe féede Corporally so hath the Soule a mouth whereby it doeth féede Spiritually which mouth of the Soule is faith and as our bodies are fedde and norished by eating of meate so are our Soules fedde and nourished by beléeuing in Iesus Christ. For if there be none other eating of Christes body wherby we shall haue eternall life but only by the fantasticall fleshly eating with our mouth and téeth then how can the holy Fathers in the old time before Christe be saued as Abraham Isaac and Iacob Moses Dauid Samuell and other of the holy Prophetes that neuer did eate the Sacrament with their mouthes neuer knew it There haue bene a great sorte of godly Martirs yong christian childreÌ„ besides the théefe that died with Christe on his right side whome Christ promised that he should be with him in Paradise that haue not with their mouthes eaten this Sacrament yet I trust fewe will therefore saie that they are al damned But if this eating of the Sacrament with the mouth as M. Harding saith and many of you beléeue be the true perfect eating of y e body or flesh of Christ then there is none other shift but they all must néedes be daÌ„ned As it appeareth by Christs owne words for he saith vnlesse you eate the fleshe of the Sonne of man drinke his bloud ye haue no life in you Hereof we must néedes coÌ„clude if your Romish religioÌ„ doctrine be true that AbrahaÌ„ Isaac Iacob Moses Dauid al the Patriarkes Prophets and other holy men al y e godly Martirs al yong children yea the théefâ— that Christ promised to be with him in Paradise y t neuer did eat or receiue the Sacrament with there mouths haue no lyfe but are
him as did but contrarie to the Pope he promised little performed much The Centurions seruaunt that laye grieuously payned of the palsey was healed by Christ at the same houre when the Centurion did require him and yet Christ did not say y t he would heale him but sayd Go thy way as thou beleeuest so be it vnto thee When Christe had touched Peters wiues mothers hand that was sick of a feuer straight way y e feuer left hir and she arose When they that were possest with Diuels came to Christ for helpe with his words immediately he caste out the Diuelles in déede out of them he made the lame to go the blind to sée the death to heare and the dumbe to speake When one that was sicke of the palsie was broughte on his bedde to be healed of Christ Christe did not onely heale him but also gaue him hys pardon saying son be of good chéere thy sinnes are forgiuen thée also sayd vnto him arise take vp thy bed go home to thy house Yet after that Christ had giueÌ„ him his pardoÌ„ I neuer heard or red that he eyther hanged himself drowned himself or brake his necke died sodainly or desperately as many of them haue done that haue had the Popes pardon Christ layde his hands vppon yong children and blessed them which was as good and a litle better than the Popes or Cardinals blessings but none of the same Children did breake their necks y t euer I herd as the B. of Douer did after he receyued the Cardinals blessing Therfore none but fooles or mad men wil refuse Gods pardons and blessings which wil make vs dye the seruaunts of God for the Popes pardons and blessings that wil make vs dy the children of the Diuel Thus I haue not only proued that the Popes whom you so reuerence and estéeme are not only wicked mischieuous the impes of Sathan and euen the very Antichrist himselfe but also that his religion and doctrine and the Church of Rome is most false abhominable and detestable and cleane contrarie to y e Church of Christ and his doctrine the holy Gospel Therefore I beséeche you refuse the Pope and his doctrine whiche hathe made you English Enimies and embrace Christe and his Gospell which wil make you English friends And further you shal perceiue that the Church of Rome hath one especial mark that shewes perfectlye that she is the Synagog of Sathan and not the Church of Christe whiche is hir persecuting murthering killing of such as wil not obey hir law for y e encreasing maintayning setting of hir vp Chrisostome writes thus Nunquid Ouis lupum persequitur aliquando Non sed lupus ouem c. What doth the sheep persecute the Wolfe at any time no but the Wolfe doth persecute the shepe for so Cain persecuted Abel not Abel Cain so Ismael persecuted Isaac not Isaac Ism so the Iews persecuted Christ not Christ the Iewes so the Hereticks persecute the Christians not the Christians the Heretickes Therfore yee shall knowe them by their fruites Thus farre Chrisostome And now bycause the Papists persecute y e Protestantes therfore Chrisostom cals the Papists wolues the Protestantes shéep and the Papists Heretikes and the Protestants Christians Here may you sée that they that are of the Church of Rome y t persecute are the Diuels wolues and the Gospellers that are persecuted are Christes shéepe Tertullian sheweth who are the true Christians who are not The proper office sayth he of the true Christians is to pray for al meÌ„ to loue their enimies neuer requiting euill for euill when as all other doe loue but onely their friendes and scantly them Now if they are not to be counted Christians that loue but onelye their friendes then what is the Pope his holy Prelates that hate trouble torment murther burne and kille the friendes of Christ hereby it must appeare that you that are of y e Popes persecuting religion are no true ChristiaÌ„s and so you haue not the true religioÌ„ of Christ. For none but the true Christians haue the true religion And as the Pope is the very Antichrist so they that are of his religion are Antichristians therefore continue no longer in the Popes doctrine for so long as you embrace hys doctrine so long muste you néedes bée Antichristians and no true and perfect Christians Therfore deceiue not your selues but persuade your selues that if you murther kyll persecute you are not of Christs folde nor any of his shéepe For Christ was persecuted and his Apostles were persecuted Now if Christ y t was persecuted was and is the sonne of God and Christs Apostles y t were persecuted his shéepe then they y t persecuted Christ and his Apostles and you that persecute now must néedes be the children the Gotes of the Diuell It is not y e propertie of shéepe to bite or deuour but of dogs wolues such like Therfore whosoeuer doth bite douour or kill certainely though he looke neuer so like a shéepe he is no shéepe he maye well haue the coate of a shéepe but he hath the heart of a Wolfe And so as Christ saieth they come to you in sheepes clothing but inwardly they are rauening Wolues Therefore you especially that are bloudie and persecuting Papistes bicause you are rauenours therfore you are Wolues and not of Christes flocke And the professors of the Gospell are Christes shéepe bycause they are kylled and deuoured Though you of the Popes religion kyll vs yet we doe neyther kyll you wishe your death but amendment saying with Saint Hierom Would God wee may rather kyll the children of Heretikes and of all them that be deceiued with spirituall arrowes that is to say with the testimonies of the Scriptures And with S. Augustine would God thou wouldest kill them O Lorde with the two edged sworde that is with thy holye worde that they maye lyue vnto thee And agayne God so reuenge our cause against you that he maye kyll your errour in you that yee may reioyce together with vs of the trueth Thus wée wishe you to bée kylled and not to murther you in your errours and so from one fire to sende you to an other fire the fire of Hell as you séeme to doe to vs wée deale not thus with you but suffer you to lyue and praye for you that you may turne but you burne vs whereby if wée were in errour wée shoulde not turne and some of you haue sayd that we ought not to bée prayed for If you be so blind that you can not sée your crueltie and our mercy then I beséeche God to open your eyes to sée it But some of you make but a iesting and scoffing at them y t died and were burned murthered in Quéene Maries time saying that they died stubbornly wilfully and in most damnable heresie Though they died in your heresie yet they died in Gods veriâ—ie though you haue
heauen aboue encountred with them Earthquakes brake out and ouerthrewe there buildings lightnings fel downe and burnt both the tooles in their hands and the coates on their backes And then was the Gospell of Christ more bewtiful and more glorious than euer it had bene before Thus the Iewes might haue perceyued that God was bothe angrie and dispised them and their Iewish sacrifices though once he estéemed them aboue all other and the Temple that he before commaunded to be buylded and wherein he appeared to the Iewes now he from heauen ouerthrewe and the builders thereof Wherby they also might well vnderstand that he had an other people and Religion that he estéemed better and would fight for And therefore séeing God ouerthrewe the building and the builders of the Temple of Hierusalem which he commaunded to be builded and that he once so well liked then he must néedes ouerthrowe as he hath begon partly well already all the dennes buildings of the temple or church of Rome which he vtterly hates and that he neuer commaunded to be builded For as Christ sayth euery plante that my heauenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted vp Therefore flie from this your Romish Church and hir doctrine which God doth daylie ouerthrowe and let the Pope and his partakers do what they can at length he wil plucke vp by the rootes and walke in the lawe of God least God powre his plagues and cursses vpon you For if they are accurst by Gods lawe that turnes out of it either to the right hande or to the left hande then thinke not that you are blessed that wilfully walke cleane oute of it and neuer come in it And let this suffise you that Woolues deuoure and Shéepe are deuoured So that the deuouryng Woolues are of the Sinagoge of Sathan and the deuoured Shéepe are of the Church of God But some of you haue saide that God in the olde lawe shewed for the better crediting of the same many wonderfull miracles that there haue bene many strange miracles for the confirmation of the Popes religiō Then belike you looke for miracles for a religion you think without miracles is nothing worth and therfore one of your religion said where be your signes where be your miracles but as Christ called the Iewes an euill aduouterous generation bicause they required a signe from heauen that they might the better credite him his doctrine so I can not count you a godly generation that wil not beléeue the gospel of Christ without miracles yea such miracles as you your selues should like And wil you not beléeue our doctrine without miracles nay will you beléeue it with great strange miracles I would you would Wel bicause yée would so faine haue myracles you shal haue myracles that other manner of miracles than euer your Romish church could shewe for the confirming of hir doctrine therfore marke them wel for they are wonderful and maruellous miracles Our litle Bible hath driuē al your great idols out of al the churches of England Our holy Communion hath put to flight all your Masses which you thought nothing could ouerthrow They that were blind the Gospell hath made them now to sée clearly the craftie iuggling of the Pope they that before were dumbe nowe speake so plainely and vehemently preach the Gospel of Christe These are wonderfull myracles I thinke But if some of you should say that these are no myracles or else no great miracles to be counted of yet I dare boldly say they are maruellous great myracles yea and passe your miracles a great deale For marke this well if you had neuer knowne that fire would increase in burning and should haue suddenly séene a whole Cittie burned and cōsumed with one litle sparke of fire and that such a huge and mightie fire shoulde come of one little sparke would you not haue thought that the same had bin a wonderfull myracle I thinke you would then why should not you thinke that the spiritual burning and enflaming with such a little sparke of the gospell at the first of such a number of peoples hartes consuming and wasting the idolatrie false religion and Papisticall superstition of Kingdomes Dukedomes Prouinces and such a great number of countries Cities and Townes and the mightie encreasing of this spirituall fire the gospell and that within so shorte a time is a maruellous myracle although the Pope and his power did what they could to quench the same Surely it is such a miracle in all wise mens eyes considering the Pope and his power do what they could were not able to quench as there can not be a greater And there is nothing that may more better persuade you that this our Religion is the very true Religion and worde of God than that God so mightily defendeth it and so miraculously increaseth it This and the other miracles before mentioned are sufficient miracles I hope for the confirming of any Christian hart to beléeue the Gospell yet you shall heare more miracles hereafter And now for that you haue called for our miracles I trust I may likewise call for your miracles What kind of miracles were they wherby your Romish religion was cōfirmed forsooth they were such as might make the wittie to become fooles but oures are such as will make fooles to become wisemen And now marke your miracles of your Romish Churche your Roodes and Images can speake if they haue a false knaue stande behinde them your Idols can roll their eies wagge there chappes and caste their armes abroade if there be one behinde them to plucke there Engines and they will sweate in Winter and colde weather if they be well oiled with Penetratiue oyles yea your images can light their owne lāps which is as great a miracle as a iack of the clocke to strike on y e bell your holy water can chase away Mise and your Priestes giuing women good counsell and blessing them for the Pope will not haue it called kissing and dallying miraculouslie make them to be with child your Popes pardons can make men die desperately and suddenly your Cardinals blessings can make Bishops breake their neckes your Agnus deis can make menne hang themselues are not these your Romish myracles wonderfull are they not woorthie to go for myracles yes I trow our miracles of the Gospel are no such they are not lyke vnto them but this you were best to beléeue that our miracles before mentioned are of God and these your miracles nowe mentioned are of the Diuell Thus I trust I haue sufficiently proued by Gods word by auncient Fathers and learned Doctours by naturall Reason by Argumentes by Similitudes by Examples by the Popes themselues by their owne wryters and by persecuting and murtheryng that the Pope and many of his predecessors Popes was and is wicked Diuelish the Diuels deputies not Christes vickars and the verie Antichrist and that his Religion is most false erronious and detestable and cleane contrarie
voyce that vttereth Christ hath néede of the tongue to be the minister The Captaine at this halfe out of his witte bare in hande that the hangman deceiued the sight of the people by some subtill and craftie conueyance Not so quoth the hangman if ye suspect my déede open his mouth and searche the roote of his tongue The Captaine at length being confounded with the fortitude and courage of the Martir commaunded him to be brought backe into the prison and there to bée strangled And so he was where his sorrowfull lyfe and paines being ended he now enioyeth quiet rest in the Lord and where no Tirants can hurt him This worthy Martir in whom God thus myraculously did speake when his tongue was plucked out by the rootes and in whom God thus maruellously wrought and whom God did thus strengthen and made bolde and stoute in his cause though his name was Romanus yet he was not of your Romish religion but a professor of the Gospell and of Christes religion And as the spirite of God was plentifull in this holye Martyr and true Christian so hath he bene most aboundant in our Martyrs of late and wil be for euer in all them that professe the Gospell of Christ and are true and perfect Christians And now I will recite no moe examples of the auncient Martyrs but of such as were persecuted and suffred for the professing of Christes Gospell of late dayes wherein you shall plainely sée that as they were persecuted and tormented in Christs quarrel and cause as Romanus was so God wrought in them as he did in Romanus the holye Ghost taught them as he taught Romanus and Christ did strengthem them most wonderfully myraculously as he strengthned Romanus Therfore marke the most cruell and mercilesse dealings of these Tormentors the Papistes which they doe to shew themselues howe like they are to their father the Diuell who as Christ saith was a murtherer from the beginning and yet they will néedes be Christes shéepe and his chiefe flocke But thoughe they saye they are the Churche and flocke of Christ this moste horrible murther and slaughter doeth shewe that they are the Churche and flocke of the Diuell By that holye Father Pope Pius the fourth the professors of gods word were persecuted in Cabria wherof thys that I wil now describe and shew as wel for an example of the maruellous constancie and patience of them that were persecuted as of the crueltie of them that did persecute is to be well noted There were fourescore and eight persons that were Protestants put all into a house togyther and the executioner commeth in and amongst them taketh one and blindfoldeth him with a mufler about his eyes and so led him furth to a larger place where he commaunded him to kneéele down which so doing he did cut his throte and leauing him halfe deade he helde the bloudye knife betwéene his téeth as Butchers vse to doe and carried the mufler all of goare bloude in his hande and came againe to the rest and so he led them out one by one into that other house and cut their throtes And thus Butcherly he killed thē al like Calues and shéepe Whych was a dolefull and horrible spectacle to behold who wente so humbly and patientlye to their deathes as many wyll scantly beléeue Yet as y e true professors and persecuted for the Gospel haue alwayes vsed to doe There was a blind woman was burned at Darby for saying that the substaunce of the breade and Wine is not turned into the substaunce of the bodye and bloude of Christ which woman did offer to the Bishop that perswaded hir to beléeue that the Sacrament was the verye body of Christ that if he would before that company take it vpon his conscience that that doctrine which he would haue hir beléeue concerning the Sacrament was true and that he woulde at the dreadfull daye of iudgement aunsweare for hyr therin as Doctour Taylor before in King Edwards time in diuerse of his Sermons did offer for that that hée preached she woulde then further aunsweare them Wherevnto the Bishop sayde he would But Doctour Dracote his Chauncellour hearing that sayde my Lorde you know not what you do you maye in no case answere for an Heretike Then the Bishoppe asked hir if she wold recant or no and sayde she should answeare for hir selfe Then the poore blinde woman perceyuing this sayde if you refuse to take it on your conscience that it is true you woulde haue me beléeue I wil aunsweare no further and desired them to do their pleasure And then they gaue sentence against hir and so she was burned Were not these godly and holy Fathers and of a good and true religion that did burne innocente people bycause they did not beléeue that they themselues did not beléeue to be true for if the doctrine was true that they taught and they beléeued the same why mighte not they then haue sayde on theyr conscience that it was true and why might not they haue aunswered for them therein to God at the daye of iudgemente this notable example shewes plainely that the doctrine of these persecuting Papistes is wicked and false that they are not of the church of God but of the fellowship of the Diuell that burned these poore blinde and simple women and manye other bycause they beléeued not that the Sacramentall breade and Wine was the verye body and bloud of Christe and theyr wicked religion of the Pope whyche they themselues being learned Byshoppes and Doctoures dyd not beléeue nor stande too But our Preachers of the Gospell will take on theyr conscience and wil stand betwéen God and their hearers that the doctrine they teach is true Therfore this only example if I had writtē nothing else vnto you is sufficient to persuade you that our doctrine is true and your Romishe religion is false vnlesse you winke for the nonce bycause you wil not sée Here also is another notable example whereby you may vnderstande howe God giues his spirite of trueth to the professors of the Gospell hys seruauntes that dye for the Testimonie of the same wherein you shall heare howe maruellouslye and truelye a poore man that was burned for thys our Religion prophesied of the shamefull ende of his persecuter a wicked Papisticall Commissarie A certaine pore man of Callais saying that he woulde neuer beléeue that a Priest coulde make the Lordes body at his pleasure was therefore accused and also condemned by one Haruy Commissarie there Whiche Haruy in time of his iudgement inueighing againste him wyth opprobrious words said that he was an heretike and should dye a vile death The poore man aunswering for himself saide againe that he was no heretike but was in the faith of Christe And whereas thou saist that I shall dye a vile death thou thy selfe shalt dye a viler death and that shortly And so it came to passe for within halle a yeare after the said Haruy
yea and thou shalt accuse thy father and mother if they professe the Gospell to the holy inquisitors of the church of Rome that they may be burned for Heretikes if thou be an Emperors son or a Kings son thou shalt rise against thy father and put him downe place thy selfe in his roume as Henry the Emperour was serued by his son if he loue embrace the Gospell and do any thing against the Popes wil and pleasure And whereas God saith Thou shalt do no murther now the iudgement of the Church of Rome is chaunged therfore God hath likewise chaunged his iudgement so that thys commaundement must now be turned thus quite contrary Thou shalt murther kil and burne thy brother mother father sister or else any other whatsoeuer he be if he professe the Gospel and followe Christes lawe And whereas God saith Thou shalt not commit adultry nowe the iudgement of the Pope and the Churche of Rome is chaunged and therfore Gods iudgement is chaunged so that this lawe by the iudgement of the Churche of Rome must now be thus Thou shalt not marry but thou maiest haue a Concubine or a Harlot to commit aduoutrie or fornication withal and thou shalt haue a licence for money of the Pope to doe so and so he shall allowe thée to commit aduoutrie or to playe the whoremonger or Harlot but take héede thou marry not according to the law of God for then thou shalte loose all thy lyuing thou shalte be taken for an heretike and the Pope wil not dispence with thée therfore And wheras God saith Thou shalt not steale now y e iudgement of y e Popes church is changed so Gods iudgement is changed therefore this law must now be after this sort thou shalt steale and rob God of his glorie thou shalt giue the glorie that is due to God vnto his Saints nay vnto stockes and stones yea and if thou chaunce to steale anye mans good care not for the Pope shal pardon thée therfore for the Pope by his power is able to dispence with all the lawes both of y e olde Testament of the new Testament And whereas God said Thou shalte not beare false witnesse against thy neighbour nowe forasmuch as the iudgement of the Romishe Church is changed the iudgement of God is changed therfore this lawe muste be turned an other way and thus it muste be taken thou shalt beare false witnesse against God his word say there is no saluation without the Church of Rome and that the death of Christ is not a sufficiēt sacrifice for our sins if thou chance to bear false witnes against one that professes the gospel thou shalt be heard the Pope shal giue thée his blessing for it thou shalte haue no harme therfore And if thou chance to beare false witnes against any for a little mony thou shalt haue y e Popes pardon for it therfore beare false witnesse and spare not for y e pope the holy church of Rome do giue thée leaue And whereas God sayd Thou shalt not couet thy neighbours house thou shalte not couet thy neighbours wife nor his seruant nor his maide nor his Oxe nor his Asse nor anye thing that is his Now this is not Gods commaundement bycause the Churche of Rome doth not allowe it and Gods iudgement is therein changed bycause the Church of Rome hath now chaunged hir iudgement therfore you must turne this lawe vpside downe take it thus thou maist be bolde to couet any thing that is thy neighbors for if thou steale anye thing from hym or take it by vyolence or take thy neighbors wife or his maid lye w t them or lye with thine owne sister and marry hir the Pope wil dispence with thée and pardon thée for money as Pope Martin didde dispence with one that marryed his owne sister Thus this vile and viperous generation haue by their authoritie whiche they say is aboue the Scriptures allowing the scriptures whatsoeuer they list and taking from the same what they thinke good haue turned cleane contrary the commaundements of God into the commaundementes of the Pope whiche you maye plainelye perceiue by their doings and dispensations before mentioned to be the very doctrine of the Diuel And further this Carnal Cardinal sayeth Scripturae ad tempus adaptantur c. Scriptures are applyed to the states of diuerse times so are taken in diuerse senses so that at one time they are expounded according to the current order of the Church but the order being chaunged the sense of the Scripture is likewise changed Howsoeuer they would haue the Scriptures to be chaunged in their meaning the wicked Pope and his presumptuous Prelates are chaunged from al goodnes and truth both in their sayings liuings for according to the time they make the Scriptures and the Gospel of Christ agrée with their doings but they wil not frame their liuings to make thē agrée w t y e scriptures And bycause the Popes conditions and the iudgemente of the Church of Rome is chaunged therefore the meaning and sense of the Scriptures must be chaunged as is before sayde For whereas Christ sayd Blessed are the mercifull for theirs is the kingdome of heauen nowe the meanyng and sense therof ought to be chaunged quite contrarie and say thus blessed are the vnmerciful for theirs is the kingdome of Heauen or else thus vnhappye are the merciful for theirs is the kingdome of Hell And whereas Christe sayde Blessed are the peace makers for they shall bee called the children of God Now according to the time the sense of the Scripture is chaunged bicause the iudgement of the Church of Rome is chaunged and therefore not to be expounded as it was in Christs time So that now it ought to be turned thus Blessed are the peace breakers and they that set men togither by the eares as the Pope doeth and blessed are the rebels that fighte againste their Prince and Country in the Popes quarrel for they shal be called the children of god and the Pope wil giue them the kingdome of heauen And wheras Christ sayth Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good workes and glorify your Father in heauen Now the meaning thereof is chaunged according to the time therfore now it is thus let not your light shine before men but worke the déedes of darknesse wherby you may please the Diuel your Father And wheras Christ saith Whosoeuer puts away his wife except it be for fornication and marryeth with another cōmitteth aduoutry now for as much as the iudgement of y e Church of Rome is chaunged therfore according to y e time y e meaning of this saying must be changed therfore vnderstand it now thus what Priest soeuer kéepeth his wife and puts hir not away from him though she be neuer so honest shal be coūted