¶ An answere to a letter ⧠♣ Cum priuilegio ¶ Here begynneth the answer I Haue receyued youre letter wherby I perceiue that syth your returnyng iÌ„ to your contrey Ye haue herde that there is yet here in London moche coÌ„munycation great dyuersytie of opynions vpon suche articles as were spokeÌ„ of whaÌ„ ye were here And ye haue also written to me at a good leÌ„gth all the articles that be noysed ther in your countrey to go yet abrode here in the cytie And thervpon ye desyre me to write vnto you my coÌ„ceyt / what I thynke is to be holdeÌ„ in those articles surely that is a right great request for me to accoÌ„plishe For though I entende to speke the truthe therin / do so in dede yet paraduenture some men wyll be offeÌ„ded with it / nat take it playnly after my meanyng but neuertheles / trustyng that the most parte of the people be nowe iÌ„ these dayes enclyned to take all thiÌ„ges to the best I wyll nat for the opynyon of a fewe / fully deny your reqÌ„st theriÌ„ / but shall shewe you with good wyll my conceyt to all your articles / for I trust charitie hath moued you to that desyre And I wyll nat recyte here your artycles perticulerly togither / but wyll answere to them after the same order as they stande in your letter And so / euery man that shall happen to rede this answere shall knowe the order of the articles iÌ„ your letter And fyrst ye saye / that many in your couÌ„trey reporte that there shuld be a sayeng here about London / that the kyng hath many newe authorites gyuen hym / by that he is recognysed to be the supreme hed vpoÌ„ erth vnder god of the church of EnglaÌ„de / ye desyre me to shewe you my conceyt what I thiÌ„ke therin / I wyll fyrst with good will say soÌ„ what to it to satisfye your desyre ¶ Whether the kynge by that he is recognysed to be supreme heed vnder god vpon erth of the church of EnglaÌ„de / haue therby any new power giuen hiÌ„ ouer his subiectes that he had nat before The first cha THe kyng / by that he is recognysed by the parliamente to be the supreme heed vnder god vpon erth / of the church of Englande / hath as I take it no newe power gyuen hiÌ„ in any thiÌ„ge but that lyke as before that recognisyon made / he had all such power ouer his subiectes spirytuall and temporall / as to a kyng beloÌ„geth by the lawe of god so after the seyde recognisyon / he had the same power without alteration / none other but that And therfore he maye nat as I suppose by reasoÌ„ of that recognisyon / take vpon hiÌ„ any auctority that our lorde gaue only to his apostels or discyples / iÌ„ spirytuall ministratyon to the people And though he may nat / yet the recognisyon was nat to al inteÌ„tes voyde / for by reason therof the power of the kyng is more euydeÌ„tly knowen than it was before that recognisyon made for before that recognisyon / the clergye had gretly defaced the power of kingê in this realme And for a more playne declaration of this mater / it is to be consydered / that there are some thynges that are called mere spirytuall / and that be so in dede And ther be some that haue beÌ„ called mere spirituall / whiche neuerthelesse perteygne to the power of kynges and princes The thynges mere spirituall be these The consecration of the sacrament of the auter / the makynge of absolucyons / the gyuyng of orders / the ministratyon that saynt Paul speke of ad Corin. iiii Whan he sayd of hiÌ„self of other Apostels discyples of Christ thus / Let euery man esteme vs as ministers of Christ / as dispeÌ„satours of the misteryes of god / wherby he vnderstode princypally the ministratyoÌ„ of the sacramentes And suche ministration the kynge may nat take vpon him / ne he intendeth it nat I knowe well that a kynge maye be a prest yea / a bysshop also / thaÌ„ might he lawfully minister al such spuÌ„all thiÌ„ges if he lyst but I wolde nat thynke that it were an incresynge of his honour to do so for the honoure of a kynge staÌ„deth specyally iÌ„ doyng iustyce vnto his people / as it appereth Ps xcviii where it is sayd The honour of a kyng loueth iustyce And one poiÌ„t of iustyce is / to se the ministers vnder hiÌ„ do their duty And therfore if bysshoppes were neglygente in doynge their ministration to the people / the kyng might coÌ„mauÌ„de them to do it that were more honour to him than do it hiÌ„ selfe And though as it appeareth ii Par. xix Kyng Iosaphat ordeyned iugê in all the cyties of Iuda and that in Ierusalem he ordeyned Leuytes prestes / princes of famelyes that they shuld iuge the iugement and cause of our lorde c. Yet it appereth nat that he made them prestes no more than he made Amaryas a preest for thoughe he appoynted Amaryas to be cheife preest / yet it appereth that he was a prest before And also though kyng Dauid appoynted the prestes and leuytes to their offyces / as appereth .i. Par. xxiii xxiiii Yet it appereth nat that he made any of them preestes Also trouth it is / that euery kyng is bounden to minister iustyce vnto his people / accordyng to the lawes of his realme And may therfore to that intent be called a minister but yet that ministration is all in a nother maner / than is the ministration of the successours of the apostels for the ministration of a kynge / is the ministration of power / iustyce souerayntie and to it ar necessary great possessyoÌ„s / honour and ryches / to maynteyne his estate And the ministratyon of the other standeth in spirytuall seruyce to the people / in mekenes / ghostly counsell / preachynge and teachynge in all charyte in somoche that none shulde be mery in god / but they shulde be mery with him none shulde be in heuynesse / but they shulde sorowe with him and to these ministers is necessary suffysaunce without abundaunce and honest pouerty is nat directly agaynst that ministration they ought alway to haue a contynuall desyre that the people shulde lyue in such brotherly loue quyetnes that there shulde nede no ministration of iustice by the high powers to be vsed amongest them And if any suche happened to come / they shuld feare gretly that it might happen to come through some defaute in them And surely whaÌ„ any gret variaunce trouble ryse among the people / it is nat vnlyke but that some parte of the occasyon therof rose fyrste through the defautes neglygence of some of the clergye Than syth it is right highly expedyeÌ„t for the ministration of a price to haue habundaÌ„ce of possessyons as is sayde before / howe maye he take any other ministration vpon him
of place and power of prechyng / if they lyst before any there bysshops yet neuerthelesse they made emperours kynges their people beleue that they had suche power / and brought theym in belefe also / that they were bounden to gyue credence to the clergye in all spirytuall maters / and that to doute at the popes power was heresy so through pusyllanimitie and wylful ignoraunce of princes and their people / and throughe a confederacy of Bysshoppes / they were therin right gretly deceyued but whan the parliament in the said xxvi yere c. recognysed the kyng to be the supreme heed in erth vnder god of the churche of EnglaÌ„de they vnderstode by the terme churche / the hole coÌ„gregation of all the people within this realme / aswell of the clergy as of the lay people that the kynge is the heed of them all / as he is in dede for it had ben a recognisyon of small effecte / to haue recognysed hiÌ„ hed of the clergye only / that was before heed ouer his subiectes spuÌ„all temporall And so by that recognisyoÌ„ the kynge hath none other auctoritye ouer his subiectê but as he had before so that he maye nat vse any power mere spuÌ„all / that our lorde gaue onely to his apostels discyples as to consecrate or make absolucions / ne any other lyke / as is sayde before And if percase the parlyamente conuocacyon also had expressely graunted to the kiÌ„g with the seyd name of the supreme heed such spuÌ„al auctorityes / it is no dout / but that the graunt had beÌ„ voyde for they haue no auctorite to chaunge the lawe of god And if this be trewe / it wyll be very harde to tell what auctorite or power is taken by the seyde recognisyon fro the bysshop of Rome that he had before the seyd recognision made for the extorte powers that he toke vpon him by occasyon of that name in this realmeê were taken fro him before by the statutes made in the sessone holden in the seyd .xxv. yere c. But that name of heed of all bysshops remayneth yet vnto hiÌ„ nat taken away bi any statute / that maye appere in this maner The seid statute of .xxvi. is only that the kyng shall be supreme hed vnder god vpoÌ„ erth / of the churche of EnglaÌ„de / wherby is vnderstaÌ„de that he ought to haue suche power iÌ„ this realme ouer his subiectes spuÌ„al temporal / as to a kyng belongeth by the lawe of god / as is sayd before with that it may well staÌ„de / that one may be hed bisshop minister in thynges mere spuÌ„all ouer the same people but than admyt that he be so / yet what power he ought to haue therbi ouer other bisshops is to be sene / and to gyue other occasyon to treate more thorowly of that mater I shall somwhat shewe my coÌ„ceite theriÌ„ And that is / that it shulde seme that he shulde thereby haue this preemynence / to haue the hyghest seate aboue all other bysshoppes And if he wolde preache / that he ought to haue the place before all other / as is sayd before / these preemynences other lyke remayneth yet vnto hiÌ„ / if he cam into this realme for ought that the ê‘liament hath don if any maÌ„ wyll say that he ought therby to haue vse also the power of a bisshop in mere spuÌ„all thingê as in gyuyng ordres / makynge of prestê / makyng of excoiÌ„cacioÌ„s absolutioÌ„s / such other in all places wher he shuld come / aswell wtout his owne dyocyse as within to that it may be answered / that if the generall counsell whereby Rome was made hed of al other churches / had enteÌ„ded that the bisshop of rome shuld haue had the power of a bisshop vniuersally in all other bysshops diocyses through cristeÌ„dome / that than the seyd general couÌ„sel wold haue expressed openly that power / and wold also haue reuoked the counsell on Nycene / which appoynted the bisshop of Rome to his diocise and that in all other prouynces / the honoure shulde be kepte to euery church But forasmuch as the seid generall counsell dyd nat so / it semeth that it inteÌ„ded that the counsell of Nycene shulde stande in effecte that the bysshop of Rome shuld styll kepe him to his diocise as he dyd before / hauynge only by that name such preemynence at the generall metynge of bysshops / as before appereth in whose diocyse soeuer they mette neuer the lesse I wyll nothynge speke determynatly in this mater but remytte it to them that haue auctoritye And than if it be thought by the kynge and his parlyament that no hurte can come hereafter to the comenwelth / though the bisshop of Rome be suffred to kepe styll his name of the heed bysshop of crystendome / bycause the kynge natwithstandynge that name maye enioye the name of supreme heed vnder god vpoÌ„ erth of the church of EnglaÌ„d they may suffre it contynue but if they se lykelyhodê / that if the name be suffred to coÌ„tynewe / that than by colour of that name / he wyll pretende hereafter to haue power aboue kynges princes / as his predecessours haue done in time past than maye the parlyamente repell that name as to this realme for euer it wyll be a very good dede to do it for the mayntenance of the whole comen welthe But as yet it is nat auoyded / bycause bothe names may stande togyther to seueral intentes as before appereth How may any man than resyst the seyd statutes but he resyst god or how may any man say that if he agreed to the statute / that he shulde fal therby fro the vnyte of christes church / syth the vnyte therof standeth nat in that poynte / whether Rome be heed churche of all other churches or nat But thaÌ„ some meÌ„ say in this mater / that the parlyament dyd nat wel to recognyse the kynge to be supreme heed in erthe vnder god of the churche of Englande where saynt Paule sayth ad Ephe. v. Man is the hed of the woman / as Christ of the church also he sayth ad Colos i. He is the heed of the body of the churche that is to say Christ and thaÌ„ it is said i. Corin. xi The heed of Christ is god so say they / the parlyament shulde haue holden lyke ordre / as s Paul dyd haue recognysed that the kyng was supreme heed vpon erth vnder Christe / to whom god was heed / that the parlyamente erred in that they kept nat the ordre that s Paule did And truly this is a daungerouse sayeng for if the ê‘lyament erred therin / than were no man bounden to obey the ê‘lyameÌ„t in that behalfe for the ê‘liament may nothiÌ„ge do against the lawe of god neuerthelesse it is apparant that the ê‘lemÌ„t dyd well varyed no thinge fro s Paule for it sayth that the kyng
is the supreme heed vpon erth vnder god / and that is true that he is vnder god And yet in that it saythe / that the kynge is supreme heedde vnder god / is nat Christ excluded for god is Christ and Christ is god / and the whole Trinitie is in Christe And so he that is vnder god / is vnder christ so Christe is God / and so God and Christ is all one But if the ê‘liameÌ„t had recognised the kyng to be supreme heed vpon erthe vnder god / of the churchc of Englande / but nat vnder Christe than had they erred in dede / no man had ben bounden to haue taken the kyng vnder that maner as supreme heed c. But here it is nothing so And I dare wel afferme that it was neuer the inteÌ„t of the ê‘liameÌ„t / to make any distynctyon or dyuersytie betwyxt god christ ne to exclude Christe fro the heedshyp of the church if the ê‘liameÌ„t had sayde expressely that the kyng was supreme heed c. vnder god and Christ / than noman wold haue taken any exception to it And statute is nowe of the same effecte and syth it is now a lawe of the realme / it must be iudged accordynge to the groundes and rules of the lawe of the realme / and vndoutedly they wyll iuge the statute to be of such effecte as I haue sayde before that that was the very meanyng of the makers therof / for the wordes therof proue suffycyently that it was so though they do so / yet is that iugement no thynge agaynst saynte Paule for with that it standeth verye well / that Christ is the heed of the churche / that god is also the heed of Christ / as saynte Paule sayth ¶ Also whan Rome was made heed of all other churches / as Platyne sayth it was yet it is vncertayne what princes were warned to be at that counsell / what nat And if any Prince or Countrey were nat warned to be there / than that couÌ„sell bounde nat that priÌ„ce / and no man can iuge for certayne that the kynge of this realme that tyme beynge had suche warnynge for it was in the tyme whan there were many kynges in this realme and whiche of them were warned and whiche nat / no man can tell And if this realme were nat bounde by the seyde generall counsell to accepte Rhome as hedde of all churches bycause it had no warnynge but hath by custome assented to it / than is that custome the thynge that shuld bynde this realme to it / and nat the generall counsell / and than it is no doute if the parlyamente see a hurte folowe to the comen welthe / by that custome but that they maye yea / and are bounde of iustyce to redresse it Also / though it were admytted that this realme hadde warnynge and were therefore bounde by the seyd generall couÌ„sell as other realmes were yet for as moche as a generall councell shulde be holden at certayne tymes appoynted by the lawe to redresse wronges done to the people And it is well knowen throughe christendome that popes in tyme paste haue delayed suche generall counseyls / further than the lawe wold this many yeres Therfore if the wronges done by popes / shulde nat be reformed before a generall counsell / the people mighte be longe greued / and haue no helpe of longe tyme and there is no reason why they shuld susteyne wronge any one daye specyally by him that dyffereth the meanes whereby they might haue remedye And therefore the parlyament hath good auctoritye to remoue such wronges iÌ„ this realme and so haue all other Realmes that be in lyke maner greued as this realme was ¶ Also though it were nat the intente of the sayde Phocas to take any power fro princes / but onely to make Rome the hedde of other churches yet neuerthelesse the popes haue by occasyon therof taken great power fro princes / as whan they pretended to gyue all spirituall promocyons thorowe all christendome / and to do dyuers other thynges vnder the pretence that they were thynges mere spirituall as in the fyrst chapiter of this answere appereth And whan they pretended to make personall cytacions to whom they wolde cause them vpon payne of cursynge / to appere at Rome aswell bysshops as other / that all appelles shulde be made to Rome / fro all bysshops of crystendome / that all bisshoppes shulde be sworne to them And that they myghte prohybyt what bokes preachers they wolde by their owne auctorite And certayn it is that they optayned all these powers more thorough the sufferaunce of princes / rather than by the lawe of god Also many of the sayd pretences made by the bysshops of Rome / dyuers other nat here remembred were dyrectly agaynst the power of other bysshops / that they had receyued of the immedyate gyfte of god And bysshops coulde nat haue ben compelled to haue suffred suche vyolence if they wolde haue resysted it And therfore great defaute offence of conscyence was in them / that they wolde wylfully suffre suche wronges nat onely to their owne hurte but also in maner to a whole confoundynge of al truth / and of al good comen welth in many countreys ¶ Also / for as moche as the bysshop of Rome / natwithstandyng the seyde statutes And also natwithstandynge any other statute made in this present parlyamente shall haue as moche auctoritye in this realme as his predecessours had at the sayd couÌ„sell of Nycene no man may say that they that obserue those statutes declyne fro the vnytye of Christes churche or fro the gospel but he sey also that the sayd couÌ„sell of Nycene dyd so like wyse and that no man wyll saye as I suppose ¶ Of prayenge to sayntes and worshyppynge of them The thirde cha THis is a good prayer lord I besech the in the honour of our blessed lady of all the graces vertues that thou gauest vnto her for the which gracyous giftes I al other ar specially bouÌ„de to honour loue both the and her / that thou to thy honoure to hers graunt me that I aske if thou know it expedieÌ„t for me if nat thy wyll by done nat myne And I suppose verily that they that made the Letani entended none other wyse but that all the prayers that be made therin to our lady to other sayntes shuld be takeÌ„ as prayers vnto our lorde that he for al the graces that he gaue to them gyue vs his grace help vs in all our necessyties But no man ought to aske any peticioÌ„ of our lady as thought she of her self hath power to grauÌ„t it there be many also that wil say ferther that oure ladye of her owne power dyd neuer yet any myracle but that our lorde only of his power to shew that he had accepted approued her vertue / wherby other might be encouraged to labour to haue lyke
emperours / kynges princes / with their people / aswell of the clergye as of the lay fee make the catholique church and the clergye but a parte of that church than may the emperoure / kynges priÌ„ces with their people expounde it But for as moche as the vnyuersall catholique / people can nat be gathered togyther to make suche exposycion / therfore it semeth that kynges princes whoÌ„ the people haue chosen agreed to be their rulers gouernours / and which haue the whole voyces of the people / maye with theire counsell spirytuall temporall make exposycyon of such scripture as is doutfull / so as they shall thynke to be the true vnderstandyng of it / and none but they / that theire subiectes be bounden euen by the lawe of god to folowe their exposycion for the goodnesse of oure lorde is suche that he wyll nat leue his people in suche doutes but that they maye haue some meanes whereby they maye come to the knowlege of the trouth so as shal be necessarye to their saluatyon if they wyll dyspose them to it / and that is by obedyence to their princes whom god hathe appoynted to haue rule ouer them / as is afore sayde And here it is to be noted / that there be two maner of powers that kynges and princes haue ouer theire subiectes The one is called / Ius regale / that is to saye a kyngely gouernaunce And he that hathe that power maye with his counsell make lawes to bynde his subiectes / and also make declaration of Scypture for the good order of his subiectes / as nede shall requyre / for appeasyng of varyance The other is called / Ius regale politicum / that is to saye a kynglye and a polytyke gouernaunce And that is the most noble power that any prince hath ouer his subiectes / and he that ruleth by that power / maye make no Lawe to bynde his subiectes without their assent / but by their assent he maye so that the lawes that he maketh be nat agaynste the lawe of God / nor the lawe of reason And this power hathe the kynges grace in this Realme where he by assente of his lordes spirytuall and temperall and of his commons gathered togyther by his commaundement in his parlyamente maye make lawes to bynde the people And of those lawê there nedeth no ê“clamation / bicause they be made by all the people / for the ê‘liament so gathered togyther / the people representeth the estate of al the people within this realme / that is to say of the whole catholyque churche therof And why shuld nat the parlyament than whiche representeth the whole catholyke churche of Englande expounde scrypture rather than the conuocacyon whiche representeth onely the state of the clergy ouer that me thiÌ„keth that no maÌ„ ought to pretende that at a generall counsell anye other shulde be iuges but kynges princes suche as they wyll appoynte vnder them to bere voyces therin seynge that they haue the power voyce of the whole people of christendom / which is the catholyque churche as is sayde before and I thynke verily that generall counsels shall do lytell good tyll christeÌ„ princes wyl knowe their owne power the auctorite that they haue receyued of god ouer his people / and that they set the clergy in such power as they ought to haue by the lawe of god without diminisshiÌ„g of it in any maner to se also that they haue no more but as shall be thoughte expedyent for the comenwelth / also for the helth of their owne soules of the people And surely it is greatly to be douted / that the power that bysshoppes of Rome haue claymed in tyme past ouer princes other bysshoppes / haue ben a great occasyon of the desolacyon of manye countreys that nowe be estemed amonge vs latyns as scismatykes desperate persones And therfore it is good that the Emperour and all christeÌ„ kynges princes the clergy also loke wel vpon the matter and to se whether the seyd countreyes were nat most priÌ„cypally estemed as heretykes scysmatykê bycause they weÌ„t fro the obedieÌ„ce of Rome / thaÌ„ for any other cause whether ther was such dilygence charitie mekenesse shewed to haue theÌ„ reformed as ought to haue ben shewed or that they were extremely or happely / maliciously haÌ„dled by excomunycatyons interdictions as men vnworthy the confort of christê passioÌ„ that so wold fall fro the obedieÌ„ce of the heed of Christes church And yet vndoutedly the saluatyon or dampnatioÌ„ of christeÌ„ men staÌ„deth nat in that poynte / whether Rome be the hed of christes church or nat And I meane all this that I haue said of the Grecyans / of the SuriaÌ„s of the Iacobytê / of the Nestorians wherof gret ê‘te be now in Percye which is heed enemy to the cursed turkê Of the armins The georgiaÌ„s that be gret archers and very apte meÌ„ to the warre Of the Abasynes otherwyse called Indyans of the Maronytê of these Maronytes Bernard deane of the church of magunce in his boke of his iorney to HierusaleÌ„ / writeth that the seyd Maronytê about v. C. yeres were heretykê seperated fro the coÌ„pany of faythfull people but at the last he sayth / that through the inspiracyoÌ„ of god / they turned to their owne hertes confessiÌ„g that they had erred were noÌ„bred agayne in the obediens of the church of Rome returned to the vnite of the catholyke fayth that thervpon though all the bysshops of the Est ê‘tes the chefe prelates of other nacions vse no ringê miters ne bishops staues yet saith he that these Maronites vse theÌ„ al as we do iÌ„ their diuyne seruyces ministration of the sacramentes And thus were they seyth he reformed but yet it may be douted whether they were natte reformed to more pride than they had before and I beseche oure lorde that all christen princes through the inspyration of god may encourage theÌ„ selfe to bringe all the seyde people and vs also to the verye true obedyence of Christ of his lawes / to a true vnderstandyng / and a deuoute folowynge of his scrypture all worldly pompe pride / desyre of worldly honoure / specyally in the clergy / whiche ought to be the lyghte leders of the laye people / vtterly dispysed and set a parte asmoch as in them is than I dout nat but that gret charytie grace shal shortly after appere amoÌ„g the people And than forthermore if a man be in doute vpon any thynge concernynge scrypture as is sayde before / and he hathe no counsell to instructe hym therin / or els if there be counsell / the counsell varyeth amonge them selfe as is said before And princes haue no tyme yet to determyne the mater ThaÌ„ it is good that he so beyng in dout lyfte vp his herte to god / and aske counsell of him and if he do so /
vndoutedly our lorde wyll so helpe him and assyst him therin / that he shall nat erre / ne be disceyued For it is written ii Paralip xx Cum ignoremus quid facere / debeamê° hoc soluÌ„ residui habemus vt oculi nostri ad te dirigantur That is to saye / Lorde / whan we be ignorant wot nat what to do / this only remayneth to vs for our confort / that we lyft our eyen vp to the. And if we do so we may trust verily that his helpe and counsell wil neuer fayle vs / but wyll bring vs to the knowlege of that that is necessarye for vs. ¶ An answere to dyuerse shorte particuler questions conteyned in the letter The .viii. chapiter TO all the shorte partyculer questions coÌ„teined in your letter I wyll brefely as I can make answer in this .viii. cha And as to the fyrst of the sayd particuler questyons / I thinke that kynges and princes might haue prohybyt the clergy to haue ordeyned amongest theÌ„ patryarkes / cardnials / or any other degree iÌ„ the clergye but onely bysshops / prestes deakoÌ„s Also if a maÌ„ had takeÌ„ two benefyces with cure iÌ„ this realme / they both after the old groundes of the law of the realme had ben voide / this voydance was called cessyon but in ê“cesse of tyme lycenses wer opteyned from Rome to haue two benefices And those lyceÌ„ses by power of the clergy were iuged to be good / and so the lawe and custom of the Realme in that poynte was broken And yet it wyll be verye harde to proue it by the lawe / that it shulde haue ben so And neuerthelesse by reason therof / the seyde grouÌ„de was altered to this effect / that if a man toke two benefyces without dyspensacyon fro Rome / that both benefyces shuld be voyd but if the first grounde were clerely reuyued none to haue but one benefyce / it were well done for the breking of that grounde hath done gret hurte / than it might ther vpon be ê“uided that he that is more worthy shuld haue the better benefyce no vnyon of benefyces to be made in tyme to come Also though the apostles discyples of Christ and theyr successours had auctorite by the gospell to preche the gospell yet that any one of them shulde haue auctorite to prohybyt another of them of prechyng / appereth nat by the gospel but in case that any take vpon him to preche teche any thyng agaiÌ„st the catholycall faythe / to the parell and daunger of the kynges subiectes / and whereby scysmes and varyaunces be lyke to folowe amoÌ„ge his people suche of the clergye as knoweth it / ar bounde to enforme the kyng of it / than he thervpon may prohibyt them of prechyng / see them corrected as the case requireth But if the rulers in the clergye / shulde haue full auctoritie to make such prohibicyons / it might be that abusioÌ„s in the clergy shuld nat be so well touched as charytie wolde they shulde be / that might be greate hurte trouble to all the realme / and that the kyng and his parlyament hath auctorite to make that prohibycyon The clergye of englaÌ„de knewe right well whaÌ„ they laboured in the parlyament / that commyssyons shuld be grauÌ„ted to the sheryffes to arest prechers of heresy Anno .ii. Rich. ii stat ii Cap. vltimo And as to that opinyon that ye write to me of / whether the soules that be dyscessed in grace be nowe in heueÌ„ / or that they rest for a certayne tyme in a place to them appoynted by god tyll that the tyme of the generail resurrectyon shall come / so that the bodye the soule may be ioyned togyther / and than they both togyther to go to heuen and haue the fruycyon of the godheed nat before Verily I haue herde but lytell spekynge thereof many a daye For scrypture is so playne therin / And is nowe so well knowen to many by the reasoÌ„ that it is come in to the Englysshe tonge / that dyuers that haue douted therin in tymes past / be nowe contented and holde theire pease And parte of the textes that haue somewhat stablysshed theÌ„ therin / I shall brefely recyte One texte is Psal C.xxvi where it is sayde Cum dederit dilectis suis somnum ecce hereditas domini filii merces fructus ventris That is whan our lorde hath gyuen to his beloued / slepe lo the inherytance of oure lorde / the rewarde of the sonne / and the frute of the wombe whiche is thus moche to saye That whan oure lorde hath taken a ryghtwyse man / nat bounde to anye synne / ne to anye payne for synne / by the slepe of naturall deth that forthwith cometh the enherytaunce of god / the rewarde of the sonne of god That is to saye / the eternall glorie of heuen And the frute of the wombe / which is christ Another texte is this oure lorde sayde to his discyples Ioh. xiii If I go fro you / and prepayre to you a place / I wyll come agayne and take you to my selfe / That where I am / you shal be And so syth he is in heuen / it muste nedes folow that they be there with him And also he sayde Iohannis xvii Father / those that thou hast gyuen to me / I wyll / that where I am / that they shall be with me that they shall see my clerenesse whiche thou haste gyuen me And also it appereth Apocalipsis .xiiii. That Saynte Iohan sawe a Lambe standynge on the mounte of Syon / and with him a hundreth and .xliiii. M. hauyng his name the name of his father / written in their foreheeddes and they sang as it had beÌ„ a newe song before the sete / and before the .iiii. bestes seygnyours / that no man coulde saye but those C.xliiii M that were bought fro the erth And in that he saith that they wer bought fro the erthe / it appereth that they were the soules of theÌ„ whiche had lyued before in erth / whiche saynt Iohan sawe en vysyon standynge before god And it can nat be takeÌ„ that they were there in bodye and soule / but in soule only It appereth also in the gospell that Lazar was in the bosome of Abraham And it is no doute but that the bodye of Abraham that tyme slepte By these textes and dyuers other nat here rehersed / that matter is well appesed / so that I wolde nat haue written to you anye thynge therin / but that ye desyred me in your letter so to do Also there be some here aboute the cytie that thynke that they that endeuour them selfe to withdraw the mindes of the people somwhat fro the inordynate goynge on pilgrymages / prayeng to sayntes / worshippynge of them And fro worshippynge of ymages and relyques styrre theym to set theyr myndes and their deuocion / holly and fully in Christ our sauyour / of whom all goodnesse cometh in heuen and in erth / do more to maynteyne the true honour to our lady and to other sayntes / thaÌ„ they that endeuour them selfe to maynteyne such thynges after the old fashion all that they can for sayntes wold haue no honour gyuen to them / ne any trust put in them but it were princypally for Christe and to his honoure And they saye also that no man may with clere conscyence moue the people to contynue suche thinges after the olde maner But they moue theym lykewyse to be well ware of suche parelles and daungers / as they maye lyghtelye fall in to by occasyon thereof but they take good hede And I thynke verily that it is euen true as they saye in that behalfe Also it is true that ther be right manye here aboute the Cytie as well of the clergye / as of the commen people / that thynke that some doctours that haue written vpon Scrypture in tyme past / haue in thynges concernynge the honoure power / lybertye / and rychesse of the Clergye exteÌ„ded Scrypture / verye farre iÌ„ fauour of the clergy But vpon all places of Scrypture that concerne the faythe and the morall lyuynge of the people they thynke the doctoures haue taken the true sence of it / and veryly I suppose it is euen as they saye And I thynke further that it were right expedyent that it shulde be ofte declared and made manyfest to the people / that Scrypture is the thinge that is of hyghest auctorytie in the churche of god / and that it is alwaye trewe and maye neuer be denyed / that the more it is knowen and loued / the more goodnesse shall folowe of it for it is the fouÌ„dacion of the church the shelde of the world the subuersioÌ„ of the fende / the ladder to paradice and the very true fode of the soule and is also of more vertue ghostly strength / than ar the sayengê of all doctours and sayntes / wherefore blessed be they that can wel folowe it And now haue I accordiÌ„g to your desyre shewed you my conceyte to all the artycles coÌ„tayned in your letter And thus I coÌ„mit you to oure lorde Iesu Amen FINIS ¶ Here endeth the answere to the letter And here foloweth the table of the Chapiters The table of the chapiters wHether the kynge by that he is recognysed to be supreme heed vnder god vpon erth of the church of EnglaÌ„de / haue therby any new power gyuen hiÌ„ ouer his subiectes that he had nat before The fyrst cha ¶ Of dyuers thynges concerniÌ„g the power of the bysshop of Rome and of the statutes made in the .xxv. yere .xxvi. yere of kynge Henry the eyght / which treate of the sayd power The .ii. chapiter ¶ Of prayenge to sayntes and worshyppynge of theym The thyrde cha ¶ Whether there be any opinyon among the people / that there be some abusyons concernynge the masse The fourth Cha. ¶ Of pardons and absolutions The .v. Chapiter ¶ Of restitucyon The .vi. chap. ¶ Who hathe power to declare expounde scrypture / and whose declaracyon we be bounde to folowe and whose nat The .vii. chapiter ¶ An answere to dyuerse shorte particuler questions conteyned in the letter The .viii. chap. ¶ The ende of the table ⧠Printed at London by Tho. Godfray Cum priuilegio Regali