can not doe For thoughe God be called Omnipotens Almightie yet he is not Almightie bycause he can do al thinges but bycause he can doe all that he will or woulde doe whych the Pope can not do for all he taketh himselfe to bée a God for if he could this our realme of England shoulde not haue béene so long in quyet as it hathe béene And if Christe and the Pope make or haue one Consistorie or Iudgement seate then hereby the Pope maye be copercioner and fellow Iudge with Christe at the daye of Iudgement and iudge both the quicke and the deade But if then the Pope shoulde be so contraâ—ie to Christe and so muche hys enimie as he is here the controuersies of all matters and crimes from the beginning of the Worlde will not be determined and iudged in one daye For one daye woulde be little ynoughe to trye whiche of them shal sitte the vppermost for if he be ther then as haughtie and proud as hée is and hathe bene héere he will scarcelye suffer Christe to sitte aboue him for he that hathe sitâ—e aboue Emperours and kings and hathe made the Emperours necke his foote stoole wil be loath I beléeue to sit beneath Christ that was so poore as he was Nay if his power be aboue all the powers in Heauen and in earth as is before declared you shall sée that the Pope will goe neare to thrust Christ besides his seate and sitte there alone and be Iudge and al himselfe And if the authoritie of the Romaine Churche and the Pope is more than Gods worde as Siluester Prierias doeth write Then when Christ shal sit in iudgemente at the laste daye and hathe seuered the Shéepe from the Goates and bidde the blessed Shéepe to come into the kingdome of heauen and sente the curssed Goates into Hell the Pope maye come in then by hys aucthoritie and say to Christ by your leaue sirra a little séeing you haue giuen iudgement by your lawe I will nowe giue definitiue sentence by my lawe whiche is more than Gods worde And then the Pope maye say Come backe againe yée curssed that Christ bad to go to Hell and looke that yée go into Heauen for I haue appointed it for you to dwell in and you blessed that Christe hath willed to goe into Heauen come backe againe or I wil fetche you and sée that you goe into Hell for that is the place that I haue appointed for you to dwell in And thus maye the Pope by his aucthoritie whiche is more than Gods worde as Prierias sayeth controll and vndoe all Christes doings and sende the godly to Hel and the wicked to Heauen and he himselfe to be in Heauen like a God that liued on the earth like a Diuel What Hel-houndes are these that would make vs beléeue that the Popes power and aucthoritie is more than the word of God But if the Pope in a maner can do whatsoeuer God can doe or if he haue all power giuen hym in Heauen and in Earth as he sayeth then why did Pope Boniface the eight suffer Scaira wyth his souldiours to set fire on the gates of his pallaice and to breake downe the dores and windowes where he was in Aruagium and to enter vpon him and to rifle him of all his goods iewels and Treasure which was suche a deale as Christe and all hys Apostles neuer had And why then did he suffer them to sette him on a wilde and vnbroken colte with his face towardes the horsse tayle and the colte to runne vp and down with him vntil he was almost breathlesse and why did he suffer himselfe to be imprisoned by the sayde Scaira thrée dayes and to be almoste famished for meate thys holye Father that coulde commaunde the Angels to carry mens soules to Heauen I maruell that he did not commande them to come out of Heauen to deliuer him out of prison and out of his enimies handes But be bolde he woulde haue done it if he coulde haue done it And therefore you maye perceiue that he promiseth you more by hys Pardons than he is able to performe for if the Pope hath suche power to pardon you and to forgiue you your sinnes and to sende your soules by Aungels to Heauen then the Pope woulde haue helped himselfe out of prison and thraldome Therefore you maye sée if you wil sée that he tels you that he can doe a greate deale more than he can do for if he coulde deliuer mens soules from Hel he were able to deliuer his owne bodye out of prison And iâ— he be able to bring other mens soules from Earthe vnto heauen where he was neuer then he were as able to bring his own body out of prison to his own house where he hath bin And thoughe the Pope hathe suche greate and high aucthoritie as he hath he claimeth it not but by the aucthoritie of the Scriptures or by excellente and learned argumentes As thus the Sun is higher and greater than the Moone therefore Pope Innocentius sayeth that the Pope is greâ—er and higher than the Emperour this is that holy and méeke Pope that sayde that either he woulde lose his Mitre or else he woulde pul the Emperours Crown from his head Maister Harding to excuse the Pope withal said This is not a reason but a similitude To whom Maister Iewel the Bishop of Salisburie aunswereth as followeth This thing may easilye be graunted for in deede it is a similitude vtterly voyde of either Witte or Reason But who taughte the Pope so childishlye to playe with similitudes thereby to aduaunce himselfe and to abase the Emperour of the Worlde who tolde him that the Pope is the Sunne and the Emperour the Moone or that the Emperour is so farre inferior to the Pope as the Moone is inferior to the Sunne Isodorus that liued 600. yeares before Pope Innocentius the third sayth quite contrarie By the Sunne saith he we vnderstande the kingdome and by the Moone wee vnderstande the Priesthoode whereby he giueth vs to vnderstand contrarie to the iudgement of Pope Innocentius that as the Moone is inferior to the Sun so is the Pope inferior to the Emperour And here is another excellent argumente to proue the Popes aucthoritie both of the Spiritualtie and Temporaltie Peter sayde to Christe Lo heere are twoo swords Therefore Pope Boniface sayeth that the Pope hathe power both of the Spiritual Sworde and of the Temporall Sword Uery wel gest Maister Pope euen so one may say that by as good aucthoritie Lo here are two daggers And then a straunger to him that hath the Daggers may starte straighte-way in and say Marry therefore I oughte to be Lord Chauncelor of England and the Archebishoppe of Canterburie The Pope can lacke no power if suche conclusions may serue his turne Marke what a trimme exposition one of the Popes pâ—n men to maintaine the Pope in his Godhead hathe made vpon a verse of the eighte Psalme attributing
vtterly damned for euer Which no true Christian will beléeue Therfore if you will néedes beléeue the Popes Transubstantiation and that the Sacramentall bread is turned into the body of Christ and that if you eate it with your mouth champe it with your téeth that then you eate the very bodie flesh of Christ then you must also beléeue that al these holy men martires yong children and the théefe that neuer did eate it with their mouthes are dāned Which Diuelish and most vntrue doctrine I hope you wil beléeue no longer but if you do yet we will rather beléeue they are saued that your Diuelish doctrine of Transubstantiation is altogither false Thus you may sée into what a great mischiefe inconuenience you are driuen by beléeuing that the Sacramentall bread is the very body of Christ. And now marke well how you are brought into an other maruelous mischiefe and inconuenience by this your Romishe doctrine Christ sayth Whosoeuer eateth my flesh and drinketh my bloud hath eternall life and I will rayse him vp at the last day Now if your eating of the Sacrament with your mouth and téeth and your drinking of the wine is the right eating and drinking of the bodie bloud of Christ then Iudas is saued for he did eate drinke it and Iewes Turkes and the Heathen worshippers of Idols shalbe saued if they once catch holde of your bodie of Christ and eate it yea and the little Mouse shalbe saued if she catch it and eate it for I dare say for hir that she neither beléeues in Christ nor would beléeue that it were the bodie of Christ but a péece of bread or a cake for if shée did thinke it were the bodie of a man shée would not come so nie it Thus if it be the very bodie of Christ and be truely receyued whether one beléeue in Christ or not then the greatest Infidels Idolaters Tirants and the most wicked persons on the earth yea and the Mouse the Dogge or any other beast if they may once get this your Christes bodie into their mouthes mawes are sure to be saued Christ will raise them vp at the last day for Christ saith as it is before whosoeuer eateth my flesh and drinketh my bloud hath eternall life and I will raise him vp at the last day And so by this your true reasonable doctrine Christ will raise vp Mise and Dogges that haue and shall eate your Sacrament at the last day and also by this meanes the théefe is damned that Christ said should be saued and Iudas is saued that Christ saide was damned When you haue red this may you not be ashamed that euer you gaue such credite to this vile Diuelish doctrine of the Romish Church Yes verily if you haue any wit or reason but especially any sparke of the grace of God Sée hereafter I praie you how Christes doctrine and your Romishe religion agrées in this point forsooth euen as it doeth in all the rest Christe sayde I am the liuing bread that came downe from Heauen but cleane came and quite contrarie you saie that your earthly dead bread is Christ that went to Heauen for I am sure that the bread that you make your Christes bodie of was neuer in Heauen therefore your bread neuer came from heauen and so your bread can not be the bodie of Christe for that hée sayth I am the liuing bread that came downe from heauen And so your dead bread can not be the bodie of Christ. And now bycause it can not be the liuing bodie of Christe it must néedes be a dead Substance or péece of bread Therefore be no longer allured by the Romishe Religion that teacheth you thus falsely and vnreasonably that the Sacramentall bread by their consecrating of it is the bodie of Christ but beléeue as the Gospell doth tell you the Apostles do shewe you as Saint Steuen doth learne you and as your Créede doth teache you that the bodie of Christe is now in Heauen on the right hande of God the father from whence hée will come to iudge the quicke and the dead And if these be not sufficient to persuade you that he in his bodie is in Heauen and no where else you shall heare the opinions of auncient godly and learned men therein S. Augustine saith Ibat per id quod homo erat manebat per id quod Deus erat c. Christ departed by that he was man but abode by that he was God he departed by that that was in one place he abode by that that is in all places Fulgentius writes as followeth concerning Christes absence and presence Secundum humanitatem suam localiter erat in terra c. Christe according to his manhood he was placed in earth but according to his godhead he filled both heauē earth The manhood of Christ is contained in place the godhead of Christ is infinite and in all places The fleshe of Christ is doubtles locall or in place the godhead of Christ is for euer in euery place There remained still in Christ the infinite godhead there was receiued of him a locall manhood how ascended he into Heauen sauing he is very man contayned in place how is he present with the faithful sauing he is infinite and true God And last of all he saith Vnus idemque Christus secundum humanam substantiam c. Christ being one according to the Substance of his manhead was absent frō Heauen when he was in earth and he forsooke earth when he was in heauen Now if we may beléeue Christ if we may credite our Créede if S. Steuen said truly if S. Paule be true of his worde If Tertullian Cyprian Augustine Chrysostome and this Fulgentius with many other godly fathers and learned writers haue not fabled herein then surely the very body of Christ that died on the Crosse is at this present time in heauen on the right hand of God the Father neither here on earth nor any where else though the Pope and his Parasites tell vs that he is here But marke further you shal sée how learnedly clarkly M. Hard. goeth about to proue this turning of a cake into Christ. Who saith that Christ made his Apostles saith M. Iewel misteriall Spirits saying Do this wherein is contained make this in my remēbrance saying a litle before that Christe was a Priest and consecrated as a Priest as S. Hier. dothe witnesse that as Melchisedech in foreshewing the figure of Christ had done Panem vinum offerens ipse quoque veritatem sui corporis sanguinis representaret Christ himselfe also should make present the truth of his body and bloud To whom that famous and learned man M. Iewell late Bishop of Sarisburie answeared as followeth Is representare Latine to make present M. Harding what Grammarian euer taught you so to say or what making finde you in this worde as you tender your credite tell vs who euer
into wine that is one creature into an other contrarie creature the Priestes woulde make vs beléeue that they turne a creature which is bread into Christ which is no creature but God Mā the sonne of God creatour maker of al things So that Christes body cānot be made of bread nor of any other thing for Christ is the Sonne of God and was not made but was begotten by God his Father and was conceyued by the holy Ghost and borne on the virgin Marie Therefore let it neyther sinke in your mindes that a péece of bread or a cake can be turned into the bodie of Christe nor that the bodie bloud of Christ is to be eaten and drunke with our mouthes and so to be conueyed into our bodies as other meates and drinkes are but they are onely foode of the Soule and must be eaten and drunke of the same by faith as before is declared If the Canibals are to be abhorred bicause they deuour and eate mans flesh their enimies whome they take in the warres are not you then much more to be detested that are not ashamed to eate and deuoure with your mouthes and téeth the very bodie of Christ your great high friend the onely Sauiour of all the worlde Bels Priests were much more to be commended than the Popes priestes and were not such Caniball rauenours as they be for they did honor their God Bell and did but eate his meate from him but the papisticall Priests after they haue honoured the bodie of their Christe they eate him cleane vp deuoure him Are not these fellowes woorthy to haue a Christ that after they haue honored him a litle do then eate and deuoure him that he shall neuer be séene againe If a King Cyrus did put the 70. Priests of God Bell woorthily to death for eating their Gods meate from him surely then our Quéene might more lawfully put the papisticall Priests to death that eate and deuoure vp their Christ himselfe But the Priestes haue none other song but this Christ sayd This is my body therfore it is the bodie of Christ and Christ bad them eate it and therfore according to Christes commaundement they eate the bodie of Christe well the meaning of those wordes and what is the true eating of Christes bodie is sufficiently expressed before but to driue you cleane from this grosse and absurde errour marke wel these reasonable argumentes following As Christ did say this is my bodie so he said I am the waye c. yet wée must not thinke therefore that he is a very waie that leades vs from Towne to Towne or that wée muste treade or goe vppon him when wée walke or goe to any place as the proude Persian Prince Sopores vsed to treade on a Kings backe when hée got vp vpon his Horse But as this worthie Sacrament doth signifie Christes bodie which by his death hath redéemed vs Euen so Christe is our Spirituall waye by whome we must go to Heauen And as our common wayes leades vs in our earthly trauell to the place wée determine to go so Christe doth onely lead and direct vs in our Spirituall iourney to Heauen Christe also saith he is the light of the worlde If wée shoulde take these wordes litterally and as they are spoken then wée might say that Christe is the Sunne that shineth dayly vpon vs for the Sunne is the chiefest lighte that wée in this worlde doe sée by and without it we could not so perfectly direct our iourneis in this worlde as wée do But Christ doth not meane that he is the Sunne or any suche light But as the Sunne doth gyue vs light to direct our iourneis on the earth so Christ being the Sunne of God doth shyne and giueth vs our whole light in our Spirituall iourney to Heauen And thus Christe is the light of the worlde that in this worlde doth light vs to Heauen Christe also sayd I am the doore but wée muste not thinke though he sayde so that he is a very doore but in some respect is lyke vnto a doore for as the righte and readie waie into a house is to go in at the doore so Christ is the very true doore of Heauen by whome euery one must enter that shall go into Heauen And as Christ calleth them Théeues that enter into the house any other waie but by the doore euen so they are Spirituall théeues and enimies to God that goe aboute to enter any other waie into Heauen than by Christe the true doore of Heauen And this is the true meaning of Christe that sayd he is the doore Christ also sayd haue I not chosen twelue of you and one of you is a Diuell meaning Iudas that after betrayed him if we may credite old wiues fables the Diuell hath hornes and clouen féete yet we must not thinke though Christ called him so that Iudas was turned or Transubstantiated into a Diuell and had hornes and clouen féete But as the Diuell is a murtherer and a betrayer of innocent bloud so Iudas did resemble the Diuell in betraying his innocent maister Christe and in procuring his death Thus you may sée that the wordes of Christ are not alwayes to be vnderstanded litterally as Christe spake them no more ought those wordes spoken by hym of the Sacrament But if all this that is sayde herein will neyther satisfie nor persuade you I woulde fayne knowe of you whether the bread is turned into Christes bodie that was vncrucified or that was crucified if you saye it was his bodie that sate among his Disciples at his last Supper before hée was crucified then how coulde he die on the crosse after séeing his Apostles had eaten his bodie before If you saie it was his bodie after it was crucified that coulde not be for when he brake the bread to his Disciples he was not then crucified therefore he could not gyue them his crucified bodie to eate for then it was not crucified for as one can not gyue to any baked bread before it bée baked so Christe coulde not gyue hys crucified bodie to his Disciples before it was crucified And thus euery way you are dryuen to a mischiefe There was a learned man he was a maister of Arte at the least chaūced to be at supper where I was with diuers other who said then that he would proue by Scriptures by learning that the bread after it is cōsecrated by a priest is the very bodie of Christ the same that was borne on the virgin Marie whome then I asked if he would stand to his worde and he said he would then I said to him againe that I would eyther make him denie his worde yéeld vnto me or else hold his peace for want of answere who answered me againe as it séemed both proudely and disdainfully saying that I was to yong a Scholler to do that Then I sayd againe if I do it not then let all them at this table beare
make Christe and eate Christe and if he once be past mans meate burne Christe who hath as great authoritie so to do as Iosias had shée might likewise saye their fleshe nor bodies were not burned nor hurte but their Accidentes as their length breadth thicknesse thinnesse weight and colour and such like but if they were thus handled though they woulde make vs beléeue that nothyng of the Sacrament is burned but the Accidentes they woulde then both beléeue and féele that their bones fleshe skinne sinewes and all their whole bodies were burded aswell as their Accidents Marke this also if the bread bée chaunged into the bodie of Christe by the Priestes consecrating it then why was the Emperoure Henrie the sixth poysoned by eating the bodie of Christ and why was Pope Victor poisoned in his Chalice by drynkyng the bloude of Christe is the bodie of Christe nowe so farre contrarie to it selfe to that it was before and is nowe become a destroyer and killer of menne whiche before was a helper and healer of men a meruailous matter when Christ was here on earth and his bodie not glorified he raysed Lazarus from death to lyfe that had bene foure dayes dead and now that he is in Heauen and glorified his bodie hath poysoned and killed men that had lyued aboue thirtie yéeres and so brought them from lyfe to death Therefore how soeuer you haue vsed Christ amoÌ„g you he is woÌ„derfully changed A man would thinke it had bene more likely that Christes bodie being so full of vertue and power as it is that it should haue turned the poyson mixt with it to the good nature and vertue of it selfe and to haue preserued mens bodies and not the poyson to turne Christes bodie into poyson and so to poyson or kill men Perhaps you will saie that it was not Christes bodie that the poison was mixt withall truely if you say so I beléeue you I allow his wit the better that he tarried not it was time for him to be gone for if he had tarried he had bin poisoned But I pray you what was it then that the poison was mixt withall you will not now for shame say that it was the accidents of Christes bodie least you make Christ to haue such a strange bodie or rather no bodie at all as is before mentioned Belike then it was the bread that was there before for the one it must néedes be for what soeuer the Popes Doctors saie al learned and wise men affirme that there can be no Accidentes without a Substance and yong children that are but in the beginning of their Grammer can tell you that an Adiectiue must néeds haue a Substantiue truly if the bread being the bodie of Christ and exalted to so high a degrée did vnchriste himself was content to become bread again to be poisoned to saue the bodie of Christ froÌ„ poisoning then it was the louingst bread the friendliest bread a bread of the greatest consideration that I euer heard of well in so doing I muste néedes saie that the bread shewed Christ a verye friendly part for if the bread had not come againe then Christ himself had bin poysoned and then he had dyed twice then the professors of the Gospell had bin vtterly vndone for the Pope beyng â—opercioner with Christ hauing both one consistorie or seate of Iudgement would haue claimed all by suruiuor and so he woulde haue sit alone and thereby he might haue sent the Diuels and the wicked to heauen and the Angels and the godly to hell But if one shoulde aske you howe many bodyes Christ had I am sure you will say he had but one if you say truely then if the bread were changed as you say yet coulde it be but a péece of the body of Christ or else Christ hath had at one time twentie thousand bodyes at the least for I am sure there haue bin so many Masses at the least saide in one day Though this be sufficient that I haue alreadie spoken to any ChristiaÌ„ godly wise or reasonable man that the bread is not neither by any meanes can be changed into the body of Christ yet I will go further with you Suppose y t Christ at his last Supper by these wordes this is my bodye dyd turne the bread into his very body which before is proued he did not both by the scriptures auncient Doctors and naturall reason yet therefore the Priestes are neuer a whyt the neare for the turning or changing of the breade into the body of Christ. For if he had done it yet he gaue them no warrant nor commission to doe it For where can you finde that Christ said as often as any Priest shal pronounce and say these wordes ouer a white little cake this is my body and shall blesse and consecrate it that straight way the little cake shall be turned and transubstantiated into my very body and the substance of the bread from thence forth shall be cleane gone and my very bodye fleshe bloud and bone that was borne on the virgin Marie my mother shall remaine there in the steade of bread If you coulde shewe vs these wordes or such like spoken by Christ then it woulde séeme that they had Christes commission so to doe but they haue from Christ no such commission or warrant so to doe if Christ had done it as he did it not Therefore all the racking glosing and expoundyng of the some wordes of Christ serue your turne neuer a whyt all that Christ said therein to his Apostles was doe this in my remembrance So that neyther Pope nor Priest can haue anye more authoritie therein than the Apostles had themselues Therefore the Priestes doe not onely most wickedly to make you beléeue that the Sacramentall breade is the body of Christ which is but a signe or remembraunce of Christ and his death but also both they and you committe moste horrible and abhominable Idolatrie in knéeling to it and worshipping of it If a great Lorde that loues me wel being my maister should deliuer me his painted picture which were somthing more like him than a cake is like Christ say to me when you looke on this my picture in my absence remember me and then if I should when he were gone shew the same picture abroade say to euerye one that sées it that the same picture is my Lord maister himselfe that left it with me and so make curtesie to it and reuerence honor it for the said Lorde all that should sée me doe so woulde not onely thinke I were starke mad but also my said Lord maister that loued me so much would not be very wel content with me for taking and honoring that dumbe dead and sencelesse picture for himselfe that he did leaue with me for a signe to remember him withal in his absence besides that I thinke he would dismisse me as I were wel worthy out of his seruice Euen so all wise men may
change that you desire and hope for must néedes be warres troubles penurie aduersitie crueltie and such like as before is mentioned Now if you will not beléeue me beléeue y e word of God that cannot lye which plainely declares what prosperitie and blessings they shall haue that followe his worde and kéepe his commandements and also the plagues that shall happen to them that chaunge and turne from his worde which are written by Moyses the Prophet the seruant of God as followeth If thou shalt obey diligently the voyce of the Lorde thy GOD not the voyce of the Pope and obserue and do al his commandements which I do coÌ„mand thee this day then the Lord thy God will set thee on highe aboue all the nations of the earth and al these blessings shal come on thee ouertake thee if thou shalt obey the voice of the Lord thy God Blessed shalt thou be in the Citie and blessed in the fielde blessed shall be the fruite of thy bodye and the fruite of thy grounde and the fruite of thy Cattell the encrease of thy Kine and the flockes of thy Sheepe blessed shal be thy basket and the Dough blessed shalt thou bee when thou comest in and blessed also when thou goest out The Lord shal cause thine enimies that rise againste thee to fal before thy face they shal come out against thee one way and shal flye before thee seuen ways The Lord shal coÌ„mand the blessings to be with thee in thy storehouses in al that thou seâ—st thy haÌ„d vnto wil blesse thee in the land which the Lord thy God giueth thee The Lord shal make thee an holy people vnto himselfe as hee hath sworne vnto thee if thou shalt kepe the commandements of the Lord thy God walke in his wayes TheÌ„ al the people of the earth shal see that the name of the Lord is called vpon ouer thee they shal be afraid of thee And the Lord shal make thee pleÌ„teous in goods in the fruite of thy body and in the fruite of thy Cattel and in the fruite of thy ground The Lorde shal open vnto thee his good treasure eueÌ„ the heaueÌ„ to giue thee rayn vnto thy land in due season and blesse al the workes of thy handes And thou shalt lende vnto many nations but shalte not borrow thy self and the Lord shall make thee the heade and not the taile and thou shalt be aboue onely and shalte not be beneath if thou obey the commaundementes of the Lorde thy God which I commaunde thee this day to keepe and to doe them But thou shalt not decline from anye of the wordes which I commaunde you this day eyther to the right hande or to the lefte to goe after other Gods to serue them But if thou wilt not obey the voyce of the Lorde thy God to keepe do all his coÌ„mandements his ordinaunces which I commaunde thee this daye then all these curses shall come vpon thee and ouertake thee Curssed shalt thou be in the Towne and curssed also in the field curssed shal be thy basket and thy Dough cursed shal be the fruite of thy bodie and the fruite of thy land the encrease of thy kine the flockes of thy sheepe cursed shalte thou be when thou comest in and cursed also when thou goest out The Lorde shall sende vpon thee cursing trouble and shame in all that whiche thou settest thy hande to do vntil thou be destroyed and perish quickly bicause of the wickednesse of thy works whereby thou hast forsaken me the Lorde shall make the pestilence cleaue to thee vntill hee hath consumed thee c. The Lorde shal smite thee with a consumptioÌ„ and with the feuer and with a burning ague and with feruent heate and with the sword and with blasting with meldew they shall pursue thee vntil thou perish And thine Heauen that is ouer thyne head shall be brasse and the Earthe that is vnder thee Iron The Lord shall giue thee for the raine of thy lande dust and Ashes euen from the Heauen shall it come downe vpon thee vntil thou be destroyed And the Lorde shal cause thee to fall before thine enimies thou shalte come out one way against them and shalt flee seauen ways before them And shalt bee scattered through al the kingdomes of the earth And thy carcasse shal be meate to all the foules of the ayre and vnto the beastes of the earthe and none shall fray them away The Lord wil smite thee with the botche of Egipt and with the Emrods and with the scab and with the Itche that thou canste not bee healed And the Lorde shal smite thee with madnesse with blindenesse with astonnying of the heart Thou shalt also grope at the noone days as the blinde gropeth in darknesse and shalt not prosper in thy wayes Thou shalt neuer but be oppressed wyth wroÌ„g be polled euermore no man shal succour thee Thou shalt betrouth a wife and another man shal lye with hir Thou shalt build a house shalt not dwel therein thou shalt plant a Vineyarde and shalt not eate the fruite Thyne Oxe shal be slaine before thine eyes and thou shalt not eate thereof Thine Asse shal be violently taken away before thy face shal not be restored to thee Thy sheepe shal be giueÌ„ vnto thine enemies and no man shall rescue them for thee Thy sonnes and thy daughters shal bee giuen vnto another people thine eyes shall still looke for them euen till they fall out and there shall be no power in thine hand the fruite of thy land and all thy labors shal a people eate which thou knowest not Thou shalte neuer but suffer wrong and violence alwaye so that thou shalt be madde for the sight that thine eyes shall see The Lorde shall smite thee in the knees and in thy thyghes with a sore botch that thou canst not be healed euen from the sole of the foote to the toppe of thine head The Lord shall bring thee and thy King which thou shalt set ouer thee vnto a natioÌ„ which neither thou nor thy Fathers haue knowne there thou shalt serue other Gods euen wood stone thou shalt be a wonder a prouerb a common talke among all people whether the Lord shall carry thee Thou shalt carrie out much seede to the fielde shalt gather but little in for the Grassehopper shall destroy it Thou shalt plant a Vineyard dresse it but shalt neither drinke of the Wine nor gather the Grapes for the wormes shall eate it Thou shalt haue Oliue trees in al thy coasts but shalt not annoint thy selfe with the oyle for thine Oliues shall fall Thou shalt beget sonnes and daughters but shalt not haue them for they shal go into Captiuitie c. Here you may sée the great blessings of God promised to his people that hearken to his voyce and obey his lawes and commaundementes so that they decline neither to the right hand nor
Iudah if we forsake the word of God commit Idolatrie receiue againe Papistry worship Images sette vp aulters crouche and knéele to an Idol in the Masse and force and coÌ„pel with threatning punishing emprisoning racking famishing killing and burning the people of England so to do Also what a mightie king did king Iotham become and howe did God blesse him make him victorious ouer his enimies bicause he walked vprightly according to y e lawe of God What good successe and prosperous raigne had that godly king Hezekiah and what a wonderful victorie did God giue him against the blasphemous king Sanneherib hys huge mightie host by sending his angel to fight for him bycause he hearkened to the voyce of God and did walke rightly in his sight But nowe if GOD did blesse and giue victorie plentie quietnesse peace and prosperitie to these godly kings Rulers before mentioned besids many other for hearkning and cleauing to his word and for setting forth and obeying his law that was deliuered by Moses the prophet then it is not to be doubted but that he wil and doth giue victorie plentie prosperity quietnesse and peace to al godly kings and rulers that shal put down idolatrie superstition and al heretical religions and shal plant in steade thereof the pure word of God and the Gospel which was preached and deliuered to vs by our sauiour Iesus Christ the only and very son of God And if God did sende troubles wars huÌ„ger vncurable diseases thraldome and captiuity with many other curses and plagues aswel to these kings before mentioned as also to king Saule king Salomon Rehoboam Ieroboam Baasha Elah Omri Ahab Ahaziah Ioash and Ahaz with diuers other and to them that they gouerned being the chosen people of God for committing of idolatrie reiecting y e law of God deliuered to them by Moses the Prophet Then we must néeds thinke that God wil send troubles wars hunger vncurable diseases thraldome and captiuitie with other plagues and curses vpon al those kings and their people that were not his chosen people but once gentiles and heatheÌ„ that commit idolatrie worship Images and embrace Papisticall superstition and despise and obstinatly and wilfully withstand the very true and pure word of God the gospel that at the first was taught deliuered by our sauiour Christ y e very soÌ„ of God which is more thaÌ„ ether apostle or prophet Therfore if you be not blind dumb deafe altogither senselesse you will with all spéed flée from your Papistrie superstition and idolatrie on the professors and followers wherof the aforsaid curses and plagues do dayly light and embrace the true word of God and the comfortable Gospel of Christe whiche bring the greate blessings of God as quietnesse peace plentie prosperity and victorie in this world and endlesse ioy in heauen after this life to the professors and followers therof I hope you are not foolishe but that you haue some vnderstaÌ„ding not so blind but y t you haue some glimmering and not so senselesse but that you haue some reason Shut not therfore your eyes purposely bycause you will not sée If you knew how swéete our law the Gospel is as I know how sowre your papistical law is if you knew what certaintie of saluation is in our lawe the Gospell of Christe as I know what certaintie of damnation is in your law of Papistrie the doctrine of Antichrist and if you knewe and felt how this our law the Gospel of Christ doth make the wicked to be godly and to be the children of God as I know that your law of Papistrie makes the godly to be wicked and to be the children of the Diuell you woulde then I thinke embrace our Gospel and forsake your Papistrie vnlesse you loue darknesse better than light the diuel better than God hel better than Heauen which I truste you do not Perhaps some wil saye if they that get the victorie ouer their enimies are blessed of God so they are the people of God Then y e Heathen Idolaters are blessed of God are Gods people for they haue had haue dayly good successe victory ouer their enimies yea haue many times ouercome the people of God y t had his law his word I graÌ„t it as before it appeareth but therfore they were not Gods people and blessed For the heathen and Idolatrous people bicause they haue good successe doe ouercome are not blessed and godly but the children of God are scourged and ouercome by them bycause they are euill and wicked and forsake the law of God The rodde is not good bycause it doth beate the childe but the rodde doth beate the child bycause the childe is euil It is manifest before that the children of Israel were ouercome and carried away Captiue of King Aram an Heathen Idolatour yet King Aram his people was not blessed of God nor yet wer the people of God neyther their law was the law of God althoughe they got the victorie But God deliuered the people of Iudah into their hands and suffred them to be carried awaye Captiues by them bycause they did forsake the Lord disobeyed his worde and committed Idolatrie for so God did promisse The scriptures are ful of the like examples It is most manifest throughout the whole Scriptures that God hathe chieflye blessed those Kings and countries with wealth prosperitie and victorie which mightily and spéedily pluckte down Images and false Gods and did extirpe and destroy Idolatrie and set forth earnestly and zealously the worde and lawe of God though they in some other particular things somtimes offended as King Dauid did â—n numbring of his people and committing aduoutrye and murther as King Asa for putting confidence in the King of Syria and leand not wholy vpon the Lord and as King Iehoshaphat did in going to fight with King Ahab diuers other committing such like whose faultes thoughe God punished yet he neuer therefore deliuered them into their enimies hands nor to be caryed away captiues But those Kings that cast away Gods word and hearkned not to his voice but fel to Idolatrie and worshipped Idolles and strange Gods thoughe they were neuer so godly before immediatly the Lords wrath kindled against them and stirred vp enimies to fight with them and sold and delyuered them into their enimies hands suffred them either to be killed woÌ„derfully to be plagued or to be caryed awaye prisoners and captiues So that hereby it plainely appeareth that the most safetie quietnesse prosperitie and victorie of a Prince and his people and to be moste assured to haue God on their side and to defende them is to sette forth and maintaine the true lawe of God and the Gospell of Christe and to plucke vp put away deteste and abhorre all Idolatrie superstition and all religions whatsoeuer that are contrary to Gods word But as al the Kings and people that did set forth and obey Moses lawe and
why do you wish and are content that we shoulde be spoyled burned or killed for our religioÌ„ Therfore you that are of the Popes religion are not of Christs religion bycause you haue rackt vs spoyled vs tormented vs burned vs and murthred vs which you would not haue vs do vnto you Now if your religion be not Christes religion as these words and your workes haue sufficiently proued then I know not whose religion it is vnlesse it be the diuels religion whose religion must néedes be wicked and euil for that Christes religion is most holy and good And thus I haue sufficiently proued vnto you that the Gospel that we haue is the true law of Christ And the Pops law that you followe is the false law of the Diuell or Antichrist But if your harts be so obdurate that no trueth can enter into the same Then mark this that followeth and deny it if you can or confute it if you are able If god bestowed these his blessings before mentioned onely vppon that people that hearken to his voyce and obey his worde as he hath promised and if our gracious Quéene we hir subiectes and hir realme haue had these gods blessings moste plentifully poured vpoÌ„ vs euer since she hath set forth this our religion the worde of God put away the Masse and Idolatrie then it is most euident that this our religion is the true religion of Christ and lawe of God bycause of the wonderfull blessings that we haue enioyed withall And if God send these plagues and curses before rehearsed only vpon that people that doth not harken to his voice but disobeyes his lawes and commandementes commit Idolatrie as he hath promysed if these Kings and Princes their people that obey the Pope and his lawes that are enimies and suppressors of the word of God haue dayly these plagues curses light vppon them then it is most apparant that the Popes religion is false abhominable and wicked and that God therewith is highly displeased bicause of the manifolde plagues and curses that he dayly sendes among them And thus for that God doth blesse vs with his foresayde blessings and that with such a plentie quietnesse peace and prosperitie as Englande neuer tasted before And bycause diuerse Countreys that obey the Pope and embrace Papistrie haue bene and are yet still compassed and enuironed with the saide plagues and curses of God that is warres troubles scarcitie and such like both we striuing and taking our selues for Christians as did the Israelites and the people of Iuda that were all Iewes and called the people of God whereof the Kings of Iuda and their people for cleauing to Gods lawe were blessed and prospered of God and the Kings of Israel and their people bycause they committed Idolatrie and disobeyed the lawe of God were plagued and cursed of God Therefore it cannot be denyed by any vnlesse they be as senselesse as brute beastes but that this that we haue is the true Religion of Christ whereby wée haue our name of Christians and that Papisticall doctrine which you haue is a most false and erroneous religion the professors whereof cannot iustly be called Christians but rather Antichristians Yet perhaps al this wil not persuade some of you though it be neuer so plaine and true But if this and the rest will not allure you to â—lye from Papistrie and to sticke to Gods word Surely surely you are then fully bent to resist the open manifest truth And though therby you willingly cast of God and his word yet I beséech God that he do not cast you of for euer It may be that some of you wil graunt that Gods word is true but that we do mistake it and that we haue not the true meaning and vnderstanding thereof so that we misuse it certainely this I will saye to you if we do misuse it and mistake it then God takes his markes amisse and is maruellously ouerséene that blesses vs so aboundantly that mistake and misuse his word and sendes his plagues and curses on those Countries and people that vse it well take it rightly and so by this it should séeme that God doth directly against his promise But assure your selues thoughe your presumptuous Pope and his obedient Prelates may be deceiued ouerséene as no doubt they are God and his déere sonne Christ can neyther be deceyued nor yet ouerséene marrye God ouersées them all looke they neuer so high Therefore turne to the Lord and to his holy worde that therefore will blesse and prosper you and forsake the Pope and his doctrine whereby God doth plague and cursse you and loue obey and thinke well of your most louing naturall and mercifull Quéene that mercifully and myldely doth protect you If you would marke but hir Maiesties power and knew what she may do weighe your owne doyngs what you ought to do truely you would say then that she is the most myldest and mercyfullest Quéene one of them that euer raigned You thinke not amisse in hir grace and count hir not vnmercifull though she put Théeues to death for stealing which God hath not commaunded to bée punished wyth death and can not you sée that hir maiestie is maruellous mercifull in that she suffers you to liue for disobeyng of Gods word and committing of Idolatrie which God by his law hath commaunded to be punished with death King Iosias burned the Idolatrous Priests vpon the Altars that committed Idolatrie and yet he is reckned for a godly King but our mercifull Quéene Elizabeth hath not burned the Popish Priests on the Altars where they committed Idolatry in saying of masse and worshipped a piece of bread for the body of Christ which she might haue done if she would and yet you count not hir for a godly and mercifull Quéene You prayse and extoll Quéene Mary to the Heauens for vsing crueltie and for burning hir humble and faultlesse subiects but if our Quéene Elizabeth should vse lawful seueritie on hir stubborne and disobedient people Gods foes and hir enemies that desire hir death and destruction the confusion of their countrie and the ruine of this Realme you would dispraise and slaunder hir and saie she were a cruell tirant Nay for all hir highnesse hath vsed you so mildely mercifully as she hath done yet some of you would darken hir deserts if you could in saying most spitefully falsely that this is the time of Tirannie these are the daies of persecution this I grauÌ„t but not in England though you meane in England truly such as do say so must néeds I thinke speake against their coÌ„science their knowledge vnlesse they take mercie for crueltie crueltie for mercie then I may say vnto them as Esay saide to the Iewes Wo be to you that call euill good and good euill c. If this be the time of tirannie and persecution when you that are manifest enimies to your Quéene and Countrey before wel proued are
you and suffer you vnplagued and vndestroyed that are but Bastards and as wilde Oliues whiche cruellye murther Christes members or reioice in the same whiche is as much as though you had killed Christ himselfe or reioyced in his death And if God spared not the Aungels in Heauen whyche serued hym day and night not for hurting of hym and hys members but for their Pride in that they would haue bin higher not content wyth their estate that God called them vnto doe you thinke then that he wil spare you that are vile earthly wretches whyche regarde not his lawes and burne spoile and murther the innocent members of Christ for the professing of Christs Gospell no no I warrant you Yet Lucifer and his fellowe Aungelles looked and hoped for as fayre a day as you hope for for they thought to be equall with God whyche you looke not to be thoughe you had your fayre hoped day but their hope was aslope and for their faire â—ndlesse daye they gote an euerlasting fowle darke and stormy night for the glorious and ioyful kingdome of Heauen they haue got the moste dolefull sorrowfull and paineful kingdome of Hell where the moste furious flames of fire shall neuer go out and where shal be wayling wéeping howling and gnashing of téeth for euer worlde without ende Thus you may sée what a faire day the tyrannicall Emperours that persecuted tormented and killed Christs innocent members the true Christians and the Iewes that put Christ to death and also the Aungels of Heauen haue got which they hoped and looked for Therefore if you hadde vppe your Masse and the Papisticall religion againe and thereby burnte youre brethren killed your countreymen and embrewed your armes vp to the shoulders in their bloud and drunke so much therof vntil your bellies burste what other daye could you looke for but onely for suche a day as the Iewes that killed Christe the tyrants that murthered Christes members and as the prowde Aungels of Heauen had that resisted God whyche in stead of a fayre day is turned into a darke terrible and stormy night Wherefore I beséeche you abhorre and forsake the Masse and the Popes doctrine which will not bring you a faire warme calme and bright daye as you thinke but a moste darke stormie and tempestuous night as we know and not a ioyfull day as you beléeue but a moste sorrowfull and doleful night as we are moste certaine I woulde you should not thinke that eyther the Quéens Maiestie doth feare you or that we dread you bycause so vehemently I do persuade you neyther lette this my exhorting you cause you to be more hawtie that oughte to make you more humble to encourage you to be more obstinate that teacheth you to be more obedient and procure you to rebellion that persuadeth you froÌ„ treason for the Quéenes Highnesse and hir louing and obedient Subiectes are most assured that as God hitherto hathe blessed and defended hir Grace for the setting forth and maintayning of his holy gospel so he wil hereafter blesse and defend hir against you and al hir enimies that shal goe aboute to resist or fight againste hir to suppresse the Gospel If you that are hir subiects do hope that the Pope wyll blesse you for disobeying your Prince Then hir Grace being your Quéene may be wel assured that God wil blesse hir Highnesse which is as good as the Popes blessing for obeying of him in setting forth maintayning and defeÌ„ding the doctrine of Christ the lawe of God You may perceiue if you wil perceiue by the reasons arguments examples and proofes before mentioned that if the Popes souldiours that you procure or wishe to come fight against our Prince to aide and helpe you vp with your Masse and y e rest of the Popes paltry should get the victorie whyche the Lord forbidde yet they would spoile you kil you murther you as they woulde vs though you be of their religion and woulde neyther trust you nor suffer you to beare any rule or be in aucthority for they would thinke as they might wel ynough that you that are false and rebellious to your lawfull naturall and most mercifull Princesse and Quéene that suffreth you to enioy quietly all that you haue and that dothe preserue you in suche prosperitie quietnesse peace as neuer any Subiectes enioyd before in England would not be true and obedient to them being forrain vnlawful and more straighter rulers that woulde dayly exact on you poll and pill you and your liuings to bring you vnder and in thraldome to them Whiche when you shoulde féele then their crueltie would teach you what our Quéene Elizabeth was whome nowe hir mildnesse and mercie cannot learne what our Quéene Elizabeth is And on the other side if the Quéenes Maiestie shoulde vanquishe you and them then manye of you shoulde be knowne for open Traytors that nowe are not surmysed to be hir priuie enimies and so therfore to be executed as you were well worthy This were but a verye foolishe and an vnwise matche made of you for whiche side soeuer should win you should be sure to loose and which side soeuer got the victorie you should be sure to haue the ouerthrow Therefore giue ouer your wilfulnesse and be persuaded by reason cease from your diuelish deuises your wicked attemptes and priuie conspyracies against our most milde and merciful Quéen and forsake your doctrine of the Pope and embrace the gospell which wil teach you to feare GOD to beléeue and hope in Christ to obey your Prince to loue your brethren and to be true to your countrey Thus I haue sufficiently prooued you specially you that are wilfull obstinate and determined Papistes to be not onely English enimies but also the worst enimies to England that can be and how the Pope is moste wicked and his doctrine false that you so muche loue and followe and that our religioÌ„ is most true which you abhorre and withstande that you hate your Prince enuy hir happy estate contemne our concorde desire our destrustion and therefore séeke your owne sorrow for that thereby you shal procure God to powre his plagues and cursses on you before mentioned Al which I haue done by sensible similitudes by tryed testimonies by infallible arguments by euident examples by ineuitable reasons and by the sacred Scriptures whyche if you be wise you wil wegh if you be Christians you wil consider and if you be of God you wil regarde But some of you are so addict to your holy Father the Pope that be a thing neuer so plainelye proued by arguments reasons proofes similitudes examples learning by learned Doctors and Writers yea and by the moste holy Scriptures yet you wil not beléeue it vnlesse it bée allowed or confirmed by the Pope who you think can not erre nor lye and therefore of all other to be trusted and al other besides him and his Chaplains to be mistrusted Wherfore to satisfie you withal I wil bring a Pope that
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
knéele to him and kisse his féete surely he woulde haue done it But séeing these holy Fathers Popes who you do so reuerence and whose lawes you so loue did not learne these Luciferlike doings of Christ nor of his Apostles then surely they must néedes learne them of the Diuell who will reward them one day if they haue not repented for learning his lessons so well and for putting that in practise that he taught them If the Pope did not meane to kéepe the people in blindnesse errour what reason shoulde then leade him to kéepe the Scriptures from them and not to haue the same in their vulgar tongue You sée that children schollers are suffered to haue rules in their owne tongue that they vnderstande to make them Gramarians they that learne Arithmetike are permitted to haue the Rules of that science in the tongue they vnderstande to make them Arithmeticians they that studie Geometrie are permitted to haue the same in such a tongue as they vnderstand that they may become perfect Geometricians they that desire to learne Phisicke are suffered to studie the same in the tongue they vnderstand wherby they may be perfect Phisitions so of all other Sciences And shall not wée then that professe Christianitie be suffered to haue the lawe of Christ to looke on the lawe of Christ and studie the law of Christ in that tongue that we vnderstand whereby we may become perfect Christians Nay we haue more néede that meane to be Christians to haue y e law of Christ in our mother tongue that we vnderstand than they that studie any other Sciences For the sciences that they studie can but make them Doctors to maintaine them here to liue a while but our lawe of Christ if we studie it and practise it well will make vs Saintes and the sonnes of God whereby we shall liue in Heauen for euer And therfore the lawe of Christ which is the Gospell hath most néede of all other lawes sciences to be in the vulgar tongue y t euery one may reade studie vnderstand it vnlesse you wil say y t it is not méete for euery one to be Christians or that it is not méete for euery one to be saued Therefore howe iniuriously and tyrannously doeth the Pope vse the people in taking Gods worde from them that should guide them to heauen and without which they must néedes wander in darkenesse and fall into Hell If many goe out of their way which they haue gone in a faire bright day then it is impossible for one to goe right in a darke night where they knowe not the way or neuer went before Wherefore the childe of God will be willing that his brother shoulde haue a torche or a candle to guyde him in the darke Then may not he be called the child of the diuell that doth put out the candle or torche purposely that his neighbour hath in his hand for y e lighting of him home in the night and leades him a wrong waye in the darke whereby he falles into a ditch and is drowned yes truely and none will iudge the contrarie Then must the Pope néedes be a most cruell and diuelish Tyrant that pluckes the light of Gods word from vs that should guide vs to heauen so leades vs in the darke out of our way into the déepe pit of Hell where we shal be drowned both body and soule For he doth not onely burne Gods worde but also burnes them that haue it in their hands to light them withall and to guide them in this darke worlde to the kingdome of Heauen Perhaps some of you will say that we doe belye y e Pope for he suffereth vs to haue y e scriptures in Latine Yea marry but that is euen as though one should take the burning candle out of the launtorne and suffer the launtorne still in our handes and doe you thinke that then we shoulde sée to kéepe our way aswell as we did before No I trowe Euen so though we should haue the Bible in Latine and vnderstande neuer a worde of Latine what shoulde we then bée the better for the Bible Perhaps you will say that your Bishops Doctors and Priests would teach vs the right meaning of it and would leade vs the right way forsooth that they woulde as they haue done alreadye and as he that plucketh out the bright lincke out of ones hande and leades him in the darke into a ditche and so makes him to be drowned If one ment that I should go right he would not put out the Candel and leade me in the darke No more the Pope meaneth that we shoulde walke in the right way to Heauen that blowes out the Candel of Gods word and leads vs in the darke which way he list Nay he that is my friende and woulde haue me goe right wil not only suffer me to haue a linke to light me in my way in the darke but also he himselfe wil direct me in my waye Euen so if the Pope and his Prelates were of GOD they woulde not onelye suffer the people to haue the word of God in theyr vulgar or known tong that they vnderstande to guide them in the way but also they themselues would preach Gods word vnto them and so directe them the right way to heauen Therfore as théeues hate the light and desire to be in the darke bycause they woulde not be spyed so the Pope bycause he is a spirituall théefe hates the lighte of Gods worde and woulde not haue the people to haue it but kéepes it from them and suppresseth it least they by that light should spye his théeuerie and perfectly perceiue that he is a spirituall théefe For he knowes that Gods worde is the chiefest lighte of all other whereby to espye a spirituall théefe being well assured that if they hadde the lighte of Gods worde that then he coulde neyther robbe them of theyr goods and treasure as he daylye doeth neyther woulde they honour estéeme or credite him but take him for a Théefe a murtherer the enimie of God a destroyer of soules and the very Antichrist as he is in déed And therefore by no meanes he can abyde that the people shoulde haue Gods worde openly in theyr vulgar or knowen tongue for it woulde shewe them what he is what he hath bin and to what slauerie bondage and thraldome he brings them For as the word of God in our English tong hath vttered reuealed him what he is and therby out of estimatiō with our Prince vs here in England Euen so he knoweth well ynough if the word of God were in al other realmes in their vulgar tong they would then estéeme him no more than we do And so the Pope bycause he hides the Gospel and takes it from the people which shoulde chiefely guyde them hates the light and so is a spiritual théefe Christs enimie Therefore it séemeth that Christ did not chose his enimie to be his Uickar but the
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
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
is consecrate is the body and bloud of Christ. Marke further of the goodly doctrine of your Romish doctors in this point Clemens that they will call the Apostles fellow sayth Let no Mise dung be founde among the fragments or peeces of the Lords portion meaning the Sacrament if Clemens said so then he did not it to be the body of Christ. For the glorious body of Christ is not nor will bée where such filth is The Glose also saith that the bodye of Christ may be vomitted vp againe O horrible wordes not méet to be named or once thought though y e priests Christs body of their owne making may be vomitted vp yet we are sure that the body of Christ which is in heauen will suffer no such absurditie And as this their doctrine is absurd wicked concerning their transubstantiation of the bread into y e body of Christ so is the doings superstitious ceremonies of the Priest in saying of the Masse and celebrating as they call it of their said body of Christ as fond and ridiculous as may appeare by their duckings turnings crossing lycking and feyned sléeping with many other such toyes with the childish and ridiculous garments and attire that he then weares drest more like a player than a Priest But Doctor Durand sets out the Priest then as though hée were in his complete harneys Who sayeth as followeth His Amys is his heade peece his Albe is his coate of male his Girdle is his bowe his Subcingle is his quiuer his stoale is his Speere his manyple is his Club his Chyseble is his target and in the ende he sayth these be the peeces wherwith the Bishoppe or Priest must bee harneyssed that will fight agaynst Spirituall wickednesse Muste not thys bée bothe a holye and strong harneys the Diuell dare not come néere hym that hath all thys on his backe If the Diuell wyll bée afrayde it must néedes make him flye awaye for feare I remember that Saint Paul telles vs of a harneys for vs to weare to resiste our spirituall enemye and the fyrie Dartes of the Diuell but among all hys harneys hée names not one iotte of the Priestes harneys that hée weares at Masse Whose wordes are these For this cause sayeth he take vnto you the armour of GOD that ye maye bee able to resiste in the euyll daye and stand perfect in all thinges Stande therefore your loynes gyrte aboute with veritie hauyng on the breast plate of righteousnesse and shodde with shooes prepared vnto the Gospell of peace aboue all take to you the shielde of faythe wherewyth yee maye quenche all the fyrie Dartes of the wycked And take the Helmette of saluation and the sworde of the Spirite whiche is the word of GOD. And praye alwaye wyth all manner of prayer and supplication and that in the Spirite c. Loe here is not one worde of Doctor Durands harneys therfore if it be so good a harneys as he makes it to be I muche muse that S. Paule did leaue it out and spake not of it belike either S Paule knew not of it or he had forgot it or else did mislike it but bicause we are assured that the armour that S. Paule speakes of is an olde auncient harneys and is an armour of proofe and this Doctor Durands harneys is but some couÌ„terfeit new made harneys therfore y e Popes Priestes were best to throwe awaye Doctor Durands harneys and to take S. Paules sure armour of prooffe Marke I beséeche you to what streites the Popes Doctors are driuen for the prouing of this their transubstantiation and changing of the bread into the body of Christe and yet it will not be nay they are vanquished with their owne argumentes For they saye that the body of Christ in the sacrament hath neither forme nor proportion nor limitation of place nor distinction of partes and is neithâ—r highe nor lowe long nor short thicke nor thyn and yet for all this saying many of you beléeue firmely that it is the very body of Christ truely if it be so it is the strangest body that euer I hard of if they make Christ body such a body but for maners sake he were as good haue neuer a bodye This your Christes body is such a body by their saying that none can sée it féele it heare it nor perceiue it and so within a whyle they will make I hope that not none will beléeue it and when none beléeues it then farewell the Masse the flowre of your follio I haue heard diuerse of you say y t they would desire no better iudge than S. Augustine well I am content S. Augustine shall be iudge but when you haue heard hym speake I feare you will not like his iudgement But if S. Augustine or any other shoulde say that the body of Christ may be without shape proportion qualitie quantitie or be without place I would saye then that neither he nor they were worthy to be counted to be learned or at the least wel learned Nowe let vs heare what S. Augustine saith in this case These are his wordes Spatia locorum tolle corporibus nusquam erunt quia nusquam erunt nec erunt c. Take away sayth he from bodyes limitation of place and the bodyes will be no where and bicause they be no where they wil be nothing Take awaye from bodyes the qualities of bodyes there will be no place for them to be in And therefore the same bodyes must needes be no bodyes at al. And now bycause that which you call the bodie of Christ hath neither quantitie qualitie nor place neither proportion of a body Therefore by Saint Augustines iudgement it is no body And if it be no bodye then it muste be bread or else it must néedes be nothing but I truste you wil not say that it is nothing y t the Priest doth consecrate or that it is nothing that he doth holde ouer his head Therefore you were beste to take and vse it as Christe by his Gospell hath appointed and as he himselfe did vse it and so you shall haue it thoughe not Christes very bodye yet a worthye something that is a holye Sacrament a pretious pledge a singular seale a soueraigne signe and a most comfortable remembraunce of our redemption and saluation by the passion and death of our Sauiour Iesus Christe the sonne of God Marke I beséech you how wide they wander that walke in a wrong way Was there euer any thinke you did so grossely so fondly so vnlearnedly and so vntruely applye the sacred Scriptures as Maister Harding one of the Captaines of your crue hath done for the prouing of this your Transubstantiation or changing of the bread into the body of Christe I thinke but a fewe For he saith That the sonne of man came not to destroy but to saue That is He tooke breade and wine and turned them into his bodie and bloude aduauncing these creatures of breade and
impossible Therfore as the Iewes were worthily plagued for going from the word of the Lorde in committing suche wicked Idolatrie to a golden Calfe euen so assure your selues for your contemning and refusing the Gospell and for committing this moste detestable Idolatrie to a Cake of bread making it your Christe that you shal receiue the gréeuous plagues before rehearsed or greater in this world and after your deaths euerlasting torments in hel fire suche as no tong can expresse or hart can thinke vnlesse you repent vnfainedly flye from your Romish doctrine moste spéedily and embrace Christes Gospel right thankfully whiche is the pure doctrine of Christ and law of God thoughe many of you moste blasphemously call it Heresie Therefore right earnestly I desire you and most humbly beséeche you to cease from worshipping a Cake on earth and fall to the honoring of Christ in heauen Thus you maye sée if you wil sée that youre Popishe Masse and your Transubstantiation or turning or chaunging of the bread into the body of Christe by Gods worde is confounded by the Doctors confuted and by naturall reason cleane ouerwhelmed which you counted y e most truest and holyest parte of the Romish religion besides that it is a most diuelish detestable and damnable doctrine which robbes God of his glorie Christe of his merites and you of youre saluation Hitherto you may perceiue that the Popes and their doctrine doe not muche differ for as the Popes were moste wicked and diuelish so their religion is most erronious and pernitious So that howe can you thinke well of your selues and how can you take your selues to be méete members of Englande that for to haue this abhominable Idolatrous and monstrous Masse againe planted here you seeke or wish the supplanting of our prince the ouerthrow of our Nobilitie the sorrowe of our Communaltie the confusion of our Country and the ruine of the whole realme of England wherefore with all spéede of English enimies becom English friends to be defeÌ„ded by the power of England and to be nourished in England And séeing that I haue proued vnto you that your Masse is a gugaw not a Iewell a poyson not a preseruatiue a confusion not a consolation and a guyder to Hel not a leader to Heauen Nowe you shall heare what proper things the Popes pardons are to please you withall as your yong children are pleased with Babies but I would to God his pardons did hurte you no more than the Babies doe the children for the Babies doe stil them when they crye and make them mery hurte them not but the Popes pardons please you here for a while to displease you euer after I may compare the Popes pardons to a counterfaite Priuiledge as if a false suttle fellowe to get mony withal should write a large Priuiledge from the Prince counterfayting the Kings seale wherein he sheweth that the King hath giuen hym licence and whome hée shall allowe to steale without daunger of any lawe and to haue no harme therefore thoughe they be taken with the manner where vppon many giue him money to be priuiledged thereby to steale and think it to be no counterfaite but a true priuilege from the Kyng whereby they steale boldelye but are hanged therefore sodainely and though they alleage for themselues at the gallowes and shewe their aucthoritie to steale from hym that had the counterfaite Priuiledge and say that hée had money of them for it yet al that wil not serue but they are hanged for their stealing Euen so the Pope maketh you beléeue that he by his power and auctoritie from God may pardon whom he list for whatsoeuer offence they commit but whatsoeuer he say he hath no such Priuilege from God therfore his is but a counterfaite Commission which he like a false harlot hathe inuented onelye to get money whose wordes you so credite that you beléeue that God himselfe solde his Commission wherevppon you thinke that Commission from God is so cocke sure that you gyue hym mony for his pardons whereby you thinke you are not onely pardoned of all your sinnes and as cleane as when you were newe borne but also that you maye fréely commit what sins you wil assuring your selues for money therfore at anye time to be pardoned at the Popes handes yet we must not say but that your religion doth restraine men from sin and our religion of the Gospell doeth giue libertie to sin but how true it is herein you may sée if you be not blinde but when you are deade if before you haue not a better pardon of God without money than you haue of the Pope for money you are like to be hanged in hell with the Popes pardons about your necke And then the Pope bringeth you into a worse case than they that were hanged for stealing by a counterfaite Priuiledge But marke the mischieuous crafte of the Pope all the wares that he selleth you as his Masse Trentalles Dirges and pardons and al other his trumperie are such that by iust tryall in this life you cannot comptroll them or say they haue not pleasured you excepte you looke in Gods worde whyche hée kéepeth safe ynoughe from you for the tryall of hys wares whether they do you good or not is after your death whereby he is sure you can not come backe agayne to chyde or checke him for selling to you such deceitfull wares He promiseth and selleth you great and woÌ„derfull things that are to be tryed after your death but he doeth not promise and sell you things of smaller force and waight that maye be tryed duryng youre life I warrant you he wil not sell you any Pardons or Priuiledges that steale as ofte as you wil you shall neuer bée hanged or putte to death therefore that eate as muche as you will you shall neuer surffet or be sicke of it drinke as much as you wil you shal neuer be drunk and spend what you list you shal haue neuer the lesse mony in your puâ—â—e and yet these are easier things for him to promise and perform than to giue vs the kingdom of heauen y t deserue the kingdom of hel thaÌ„ to saue vs from our spirituall hanging in Hel though we neuer so much robbe God of his glorie and though we offend neuer so much yet still to be pardoned and cleane clensed from sinne Wherfore you may wel suspecte nay firmely beléeue that his pardons and other wares that he so boldly sels you are naught bycause they are such as you can not reproue before you be dead and for that he neuer offers to sel you any thing that you may trie whiles you are aliue For he knowes full well that if hée should sell you a priuiledge that though you eate neuer so much or what meate soeuer you eate you shoulde neyther be sicke or surfet thereby yet when you were sicke or did surfet by eating of it wherof you should be sure then you would say that his priuiledges were naught not
only contemning and despising them but also all other that knewe it would neuer after buy any of those his priuiledges And also the Pope is right certaine if he should sell one a plackard that whatsoeuer he did steale he should neuer be hurt hanged nor put to death for the same yet when he should be troubled hanged or executed for stealing which he should be sure of at one time or other then the same théefe would not only crie out of the Pope for deceyuing of him and for selling to him suche a false plackard and perhaps would saie that he had neuer played the théefe but for the Popes warrant to saue him harmelesse as manye I feare would not sin so muche but for the Popes pardons but also euery one that shoulde heare howe the Pope hadde serued hym woulde despise the Pope and buy no more of his plackardes But as these that shoulde buy suche Priuiledges of the Pope to robbe and steale at their pleasure without anye feare of punishement were worthye to bée compted for théeues so you that buy the Popes pardons to release you of your sinnes whereby you may be bolde to offende God at youre pleasure can not be compted verye true to God But nowe for that perhaps you wil giue but small regarde to my reasons arguments or persuasions for the reprouing of the Popes pardons though some of you may happly yéelde as bad reasons arguments or persuasions for the proouing of the Popes pardons I will first shewe you by Christes owne wordes who is worthy to be beléeued that we ought to craue pardon for oure sinnes onelye of God For in our prayer whiche Christe taught vs wée do say Our father which art in heauen c. Forgiue vs our trespasses c. Here you maye sée that wée are taughte by Christe to aske pardon for oure sinnes of God and not of the Pope And forasmuch as we committe our sins againste God and not againste the Pope therefore wée ought to craue Gods pardon and not the Popes pardon if we offende the Pope the Popes pardons maye doe vs pleasure but if we sinne against God the Popes pardons can doe vs no good though they may doe vs muche harme by trusting to them that can do vs no good Al the holy Patriarkes Prophets holy and vertuous kings that God both loued and blessed Christs Apostles al holy Martirs other godly men did neuer aske pardon for their sins and offences but onely of God And shal wée think that bycause they had not the Popes pardon y t therfore they wer not pardned or shal we beléeue that you are better pardned of the Pope than they were of God think you what you wil for I can neuer thinke it neither wil beléeue it If you can shewe me but one of the holy Patriarks Prophets or the Apostles or godly martyres or other auntient and holy fathers that either bought any of these Popes pardons or desired anye of the Popes pardons as wée can shewe you that euery one of them didde onely require and craue Gods pardon I will yéelde vnto you and graunte that the Popes pardons are good necessarie and requisite But bycause I am sure you cannot therefore to allowe the Popes pardons we oughte not And bycause none of all these holy menne of God whome God dearely loued nor yet Christe the sonne of God whome God aboue all other estéemed did neuer teach write nor once make mention of the Popes pardons therefore I am sure that they are neither good nor necessarie For if the Popes pardons hadde béene so full of vertue as some of you fondely beléeue wée should haue hearde something of them in one place or other of the Scriptures Nowe for that they are not warranted by Gods word nor to be foūd in any part of the Bible therefore if you are true Christians if you loue Christe if you woulde haue Christ to take you to be of his shéepe and flocke then beléeue not the Popes pardons trust not to the Popes pardons neither allow the Popes pardons bycause they are not allowed nor expressed in the Gospel and lawe of Christe For if an Aungell shoulde come from Heauen or if one should come vnto vs in the likenes of Christ teaching any other doctrine than Christe hathe alreadye taught vs we ought not to beléeue them Then wée may wel ynough discredite the Pope that is a wicked earthlye man cleane contrary to God and also contemne and refuse his paltrie pardons that are contrary to Gods worde And though some of you through ignorance and Papisticall persuasions thinke that the Scriptures doe allowe the Popes pardons you shall here what Siluester Prierias that was Maister of the Popes Pallace writeth therein who saith Pardons are not knowne vnto vs by the aucthoritie of Gods worde but by the aucthoritie of the Church of Rome and of the Pope whiche is greater than the aucthoritie of the Scriptures Here you sée that the Popes owne seruant confesses that pardons are not aucthorized or warranted by Gods worde but they are aucthorized by the Churche of Rome and by the Pope whose aucthoritie hée saith is greater than the word of God Marke this wel to proue the Popes abhominable pardons the vile wretch and the Diuels Doctor doth not sticke to committe moste horrible blasphemie making the Pope aboue God and the Churche of Rome aboue the lawe of God Saint Iohn saith In the beginning was the worde and the worde was with God and the worde was God c. So that hereby it appeareth that God and his worde is all one Then thys Siluester Prierias affyrmeth That the aucthoritie of the Pope is greater than the aucthoritie of God For if the aucthoritie of the Pope be greater than the aucthoritie of Gods worde and God his worde be all one then it must néedes be so and so by this meanes this vile blasphemer maketh the Pope and the Churche of Rome to bée greater than God and hys worde I hope that you that are the déepest drowned in Papistrie wyll detest and abhorre the Popes pardons that muste bée allowed or aucthorized by one that is greater than God and his word O flie from this purple whoore of Babilon the Antichrist that thus extolleth hir selfe aboue God and hys worde leaste you bée partakers of Gods terrible vengeance that God hath prepared for hir Fisher once Byshoppe of Rochester sayeth That hee knoweth not from whence pardons firste beganne whiche hangeth only vppon Purgatorie then what shall we néede pardons Marke also how the Popes pardons do bewray themselues what they are for some of the Popes pardons are for a twentie thousande yeres and if you set all the yeares of the Popes pardons togither they come to such a number as they that bought them paid for them yea and all other y t should haue profite by them shal haue little néed of them For the whole worlde will not laste by coniecture nor by conference
pleasure to talke of their tormentes yet they had no great pleasure in féeling their torments But who I pray you did put them to death in their errour false heresie as you call it euen they y t are of your holy Romish Church who without repētance shall answer y e shedding of their guiltlesse bloud yea some haue not sticked to say that they that were burned were damned which was but a hard iudgement first to iudge their bodies to be burned here on earth and after their soules to be burned in Hell they will not stand to this iudgement they will rather appeale But if they died in errour and are damned as some of your religion saide then who was the cause of their damnation forsooth euen they that condemned them and burned them for thoughe they had bene so wilfull to burne in an euill opinion yet they shoulde not haue bene so mercilesse to haue burned them in that opinion If you should sée a mad man running into a pit to drown himself would you run after him thrust him into the pyt The children of God would rather pluck him backe saue him frō drowning Euen so if they had bene such heretikes as you would make them their opinions so damnable as you report them why did your holy religious brethren of the Churche of Rome so cruelly burne them whereby they were damned haue you no greater zeale to your brethren but so rashly and vncharitably to sende them to hell Euerlasting damnatiō is an horrible and dolefull thing for they that are there once shal be in torments vnspeakable in hell fyre for euer and euer worlde without ende And can you or any such looke to haue any mercie at Gods hande that thruste your brethren being as you say in a damnable opinion or heresie first into the fire here and burne them from thence sende them into an other fire the fire of hell where they shall burne for euer truely you may looke and hope for mercie but if you refraine not from this your heathenish crueltie and repent the same vnfaynedly you are more like to goe without it than haue it You that are such burners of your brethren herein doe condemne your selues for most cruell and mercylesse tyrants for you burne them here and after say they be damned The Franciscane Friers of Paris in Fraunce maye séeme to bée more charitable than the Popishe persecutors before mētioned for they whiles one was in a good opinion as they said hanged him vp quickly bicause he should be saued go to Heauen but these said cruell Papists haue burned their brethrē bicause they should go to hel Marke it wel for it is worth y e hearing There was a ritch marchant mā in Paris who said in 〈◊〉 to the Friers of S. Fraunces you weare a rope about your bodyes bicause S. Fraunces once shoulde haue bene hanged and the Pope redéemed 〈◊〉 vppon this condition that all his lyfe after he shoulde weare a rope Upon this saying the Franciscane Friers of Paris caused him to be apprehended and to be laid in prison also iudgement past vppon him that he shoulde be hanged But he to saue his life was content to recant and so did the Friers hearing of his recantation commended him saying if he continued so he should be saued and so the Friers calling vpon the officers caused them to make hast to the gallowes to hang him vp whiles he was yet in a good way sayd they least he fal againe And so this Marchant notwithstanding his recantation was hanged Thus though some of you do burne men to send them to hell yet these charitable Friers did hang this Marchant to sende him to heauen But as your burning of vs contrarie to your saying doth bring vs through Christ to saluation so I pray God that the Friers hanging of the Marchant contrarie to their saying did not bring him to damnation If the Popes Friers do hang men for iesting against them then it is no maruell though the Popes Champions doe burne men for speaking against them in earnest The hanging of this Marchant may well be iustice according to y e Popes lawe but it is scant iustice by Gods lawe nor by the lawe of any godly Prince These holy Friers might learne this of the Diuell for I am sure they neuer learned it of God You shall sée by Christes wordes whether you that doe this murther and persecute your brethren are of God or the Diuel Christ saith Whatsoeuer you would that men should doe to you do euen the same to them Now weigh with your selues would you be content that if you were heathen men or Iewes that other shoulde burne you and sende you thereby after to hell I thinke not Christ saith Blessed are the mercifull for they shall obtaine mercie but the Papisticall persecutors are vnmercifull tyrantes as their burning of their brethren and their saying after they be damned do euidently declare therfore you that are the Popes persecutors are vnhappie shal not obteine mercy vnlesse as I said you repent in time But we are most sure that they are not gone to Hell as some of your sect haue both boasted and bragged for they are vnder the Altar where the rest of the Saints Martirs be that haue dipt their garments in y e bloud of the Lambe But if they had bin in errour or Heresie thus you would haue serued them And though they died willingly they died not in Heresie and yet they died not so willingly as the mad man I spoke of parabolically but that they woulde haue liued if they might with a safe conscience without denying Christ. For you droue them to a mischiefe eyther to be burned here in your fire and to saue their endlesse life in Heauen or else to saue their life here and to burne for euer in Hell who remembred Christes wordes which are these Whosoeuer shall denie me afore men him also will I denie before my father in Heauen Thus you may sée what cruell Tirantes the Pope and his partakers are that without all pittie and mercie do burne and kill vs here to burne vs and kill vs euerlastingly in Hell And yet the Popes for all this call themselues the Seruants of Gods Seruants but if the Pope be such an vnderling then he vsed y e Emperour his maister but homely when he made him lie downe and trode in his necke and also if the Pope be the Seruant of Gods seruants then he is a very euill seruant that hath killed so many of his maisters And now you shall haue an other infallible rule that our Religion is the true Religion and that the true professors and followers thereof are of the kingdome of God The Popes kingdome is encreased and mainteyned with crueltie murther and persecuting but Christs kingdome increaseth by humilitie by being murthered and persecuted for though the true Christians are dayly killed and murthered yet their number is
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
his cardes neuer so cunningly yet if a wise man haue him in handling his own tale will trippe him and trye him a théefe yea thoughe before he were thought to bée a true man For assure your selues that trueth will abyde all tryalles Veritas non querit angulos trueth seeketh no corners and trueth as is before said feareth nothing but least she should be hid And trueth doth most triumph when she cōmes to tryall And nowe for that your Romish doctrine refuseth triall that argues that it is not true For if your Papisticall doctrine bée so true so perfect and so pretious as you saye it is and our doctrine so false so wicked and so hereticall as you blase abroade then why doe you not confounde it rather wyth persuadyng than wyth punishing by disputing than by destroying by learning than with murthethering by preaching than by presecuting and by writing than with burning Thoughe I haue written this to wynne you and for your instruction yet I feare some of you therefore wyll wyshe my destruction And thoughe some of you doe barke against it as I thinke you will yet I am moste sure that none of you can disproue or confounde it for that the foundation whereon it is builded is truth which no storme can shake nor tempest can ouerthrowe Marrie if you had our power ioyned to your crueltie you woulde confute it and the writer thereof quickelye if burning and kylling maye bée called a confuting But if you shoulde so doe I muste bée content the seruaunte ought not to grutche to followe his Maister but this I wyll tell you by the waye the greatest friende I haue in the worlde coulde doe mée no suche pleasure as you shoulde doe mée thereby if the sendyng of one to heauen bée a pleasure for Christ sayeth whose wordes I beléeue Blessed are they which suffer persecution for righteousnesse sake for theirs is the kingdome of Heauen Therefore if by your burning and kylling of mée you shoulde send me to Heauen then surely in my iudgement you coulde doe mée no greater pleasure And contrarie all the enemies you haue in the world could doe you no greater displeasure than you thereby should doe to your selues if going to hell be a displeasure for if they be blessed that are thus persecuted and shall enioy the kingdome of Heauen then their persecutors must néedes be cursed and vnhappie for theirs is the kingdome of hell And so by sending me to Heauen you shoulde sende your selues to hell vnlesse you repent but it is a more common thing to the persecutors of the Gospell as before you may sée if you will sée to die desperately than repentantly Wherefore let their dreadfull and desperate deathes driue you from the Popes persecuting Religion hoping that these terrible and fearefull examples of Gods heauie wrath powred on the persecuting and reuolting Papistes if they were fewer are ynowe to such of you as are ignorantly ledde in Papistrie and that will open your eyes to sée but I feare they are too fewe for such of you as are obstinately wilfully and purposely bent to continue in the same and that wyll winke for the nonce bycause you will not sée But marke this wel I beséeche you which of you if you did sée a man goe before you and fall on a slipperie ground where he may rise or be helped vppe againe woulde not shunne that place and séeke an other safer waye Nowe if you will shunne with one example a slipperie place for feare of a fall where you maye ryse or bée helped vp againe wyll you then runne wylfully hauing so manye examples and warnings into the dolefull and horrible pitte of Hell where you can neuer get out againe by any meanes thousandes haue shunned hell with a great deale lesse warning and will you fall into hell for all this great warning Though you féele not the tormentes of the saide persecutors and dead desperate Papistes yet if you doe and die as they died you shall féele as they féele But perhaps you thinke bycause you taste no smarte that they féele no sorrowe Be not incredulous and thinke not that your neighbours house is not burned bicause your house is safe and vnburned And be not lyke fooles that will not beléeue that fire hath burned their neighbours house before they themselues haue set fire on their owne houses and vntill they sée them burned and consumed before their faces It is not your harme to take héede by other but it would be your harme for other to take héede by you Therfore yéelde willingly vnto Christe and to his Gospell in time least you yéelde to Christ and his Gospell as the said desperate Papistes did agaynst their willes out of time And embrace Gods mercie whiles it is offered in tyme least it be denied you when you would haue it out of time And beware by the sayd desperate Papistes that are dead but let not them beware by you that are aliue The sayde Papists of your religion that died so horribly dolefully and desperately would giue all the world if they had it to giue to be but one howre in your place that they might repent then how happie are you that are here where you maye turne to the Gospell without giuing anything and where you haue many houres to recant and repent Therefore take héede in any wise that you come not into their place where you can not repent or else cannot haue mercie though you repent neuer somuch Detest and abhorre Papistrie with repentaunce leaste you detest and abhorre it as the other before mentioned haue done without repentance And refuse not Christes Gospell in this lyfe least Christ refuse you after your death And as we haue one God our heauenly father so let vs obey him as his moste louing children as wée haue one Christe that hath redéemed vs moste déerely so let vs embrace his Gospell that teacheth vs his will most truely as we haue a Noble and mercifull Quéene that gouerneth vs most prudently so let vs obey hir and loue hir as true subiectes most faithfully As we were all borne in this famous Iland of England so let vs loue one another to the strengthning of England As we are or haue bene nourished in this Realme of England so set vs all séeke the com̄oditie quietnesse of England And as you haue followed Papistrie the Popes wicked doctrine which hath made you enimies to England so now I most earnestly beséech you professe and followe the holy Gospel Christes doctrine which wil make you true friendes to England I thinke I haue written to much to many of you sufficient to some of you and to litle to a great sort of you But if any of you be so obstinate so wilfull that neither Gods word can winne you nor the learned godly writers can withdrawe you nor my reasons can persuade you nor my arguments will allure you nor the exāples I haue brought can moue you nor the pacient
an Innocent Pope gaue to Philip the French king full remission of all his sinnes and the possession of al the realme of England to him to his heires if he eyther did kill King Iohn then King of this realme or expell him Was not this a frée and liberall Pope that would giue whole kingdomes at once this is more than euer Christe gaue that euer I heard of for he neuer gaue any remission of sinnes nor yet any Kingdomes for killing of Kings or of any other or for driuing them out of their owne kingdome or countrey Pope Boniface saide that Whoredome is no more sinne than the rubbing of the handes togither Some of you say that this our religion doth giue libertie to sinne but these wordes of the Pope doe not séeme greatly to forbid or restraine sin Saint Paule saieth that neyther whoremongers nor fornicatours shall enherite the kingdome of Heauen But I neuer heard that either he or Christ said that they that rub their hands togither shal not inherite the kingdome of heauen therfore rubbing of our hands togither is no sin but Whoredome is a great sin if the Scriptures be true therefore the Pope is a most wicked liar to saie that is no sinne that God Christ and the Apostles called sinne And as here he cals whoredome no sinne which is a great sinne so in other places the Popes call that a great sinne which Christ doth not cal sinne And thus you may sée plainly that the Pope is both in his sayings and doings cleane contrarie to Christ therfore if you followe the Pope you are then contrarie to Christe and so no true Christians Pope Sextus at the request of Petrus Ruerius a Cardinall of his owne making and of Ierom his brother permitted and graunted vnto the whole familie of the sayde Peter the Cardinal in the thrée hotte moneths of Sommer Iune Iuly and August frée leaue and libertie to vse the sinne of Sodomitrie a thing most shamefull to be vttered but most horrible and abhominable to be licenced or permitted What a wicked Pope was this that did licence and permitte that which God doth so detest that therefore he consumed Sodom and Gomora and whole countries with fire from Heauen And now as these that committed this detestable sinne were destroyed with fire from Heauen so I feare this Pope Sextus and other that licence and allowe it shall be tormented with fire in Hell Pope Clement the sixthe poysoned Lodowike that good vertuous and godly Emperour whiche shewes what hée was for euil men haue oftentimes poysoned good men but good men neuer poysoned euil men Therefore you may sée that this holy Pope was not of God but of his father the Diuell who was a murtherer from the beginning who teacheth his children to be of his owne occupation Pope Alexander did set his foote on Frederickes necke the Emperour when the said Emperour told him that he yéelded that honor not vnto him being Pope but vnto Peter yes sayd the Pope both to me to Peter so he placed himselfe before Saint Peter Be not here pretious Popes to make Emperours beléeue that Peter lookes for such honor Surely it is verie straunge that Peter should looke for that now being dead that he neuer desired when he was aliue nay when he was aliue he was most humble and willingly suffered the Emperour to put him to death now that he is dead would he so faine tread in Emperours necks or take pleasure that other shall do it for him truely I can not beléeue it nay I am most sure he doth abhorre it Therefore if pride be godly then your proude Popes are holy Pope Marcellinus was an Idolatour and Pope Siluester the seconde was a Coniurer and gaue himselfe wholy both body and soule to the Diuell by the Diuels procurement was made Pope must not these be good vertuous Popes when the Diuell muste be faine to make them Thus you may sée if you will not winke for the nonce that the Popes that name themselues Christes Uickars to bryng themselues in credite are neuerthelesse the Diuels Chaplaines for as they onely were Christes Apostles that Christ did chose and allow so they are the Deuils disciples that he doth elect and authorize And now bycause this sayd Siluester was made Pope by the Diuell therefore he was none of Christes but the Diuels deputie to determine and order things for the Diuel as no doubte but he and all other such like and of his religion haue done Pope Iohn the two and twentith was a cruell wicked Tirant he proclaymed al them for Heretikes that taught that Christ and his Apostles had here no possessions Bicause the Pope would not be poore like vnto Christ therefore he would haue Christ to be rich like vnto hym so bycause he can not resēble Christ therfore he wold haue Christ to resemble him and therfore he woulde haue it blased abrode that Christ and his Apostles were rich and had great possessions not that he would be like them in vertue but that they shoulde be like him in wealthe and thus he makes them Heretikes that tell trueth of Christe and them to be his Catholikes that shal tel lyes of Christ thus you maye sée howe the Pope Christes Uickar is vnlike to Christ for Christ would haue vs say true and the Pope would haue vs to lye Pope Clement caused certain of the electours to choose a new Emperour for he liked not the old which was Lewes Truely Christ nor all his Apostles neuer caused a new Emperour to be chosen I maruell that Peter did not cause a newe Emperour to be chosen in the steade of Nero when he was Pope for I am sure that the Emperour that the Pope did depose was not so euill as hée But whereas Peter was contente to suffer an euill Emperour to raigne our holye Father the Pope will not suffer a good Emperour to rule Pope Gregorie promised the kingdome of Heauen to all thē that fought against the Emperor thus he set Kings and the Emperour togither by the eares and encouraged his subiectes to rebell against him But I neuer read in the Scriptures that heauen should be gottē by fighting against their Prince or for one to murder kill another But I remēber well that Christ saith but it is something contrarie to the Popes wordes Blessed are the peacemakers for they shal be called the children of God Now if we may beléeue Christe who is of as good credite as the Pope the Pope will hardlye performe this his large promise For if the peace-makers shall be called the children of God then the peace-breakers who are cleane contrarie to them shall be called the children of the Diuel And I trust the Popes authoritie doth not extende so farre to giue the kingdome of Heauen to the children of the Diuell for heauen is onely appointed for the children of God as Christ doth
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