Christ. And as immediatlye after the consent of Marye whole Christe was in her wombe so likewise out of hande after the wordes of consecration be pronounced by the priest the bread is turned into the substance of the very body of Christ secoÌ„dly as the blessed virgine after she had brought forth Christe bare hym in her handes and layde him in the cribe and tooke hym vp agayne so likewyse the priest after the consecration lifteth vp Christ and layeth him downe agayne and beareth hym vnto the sicke and handleth him with his handes Thirdly as the blessed virgine was saÌ„ctified in her wombe before she conceaued Christ as it is written The most high hath saÌ„ctified his tabernacle so in like manner the priest receaueth holye orders before he coÌ„secrateth for he could not consecrate excepte he were ordered And therefore a Laye man be he neuer so holye can do nothyng in thys matter althoughe he pronounceth the wordes of consecration Ninthly God hath honored the priestes aboue Aungels yea and somwhat also aboue the dignitie of blessed Mary the virgine First in the dignitie of keping For a priest is bound to kepe many soules as the Byshop is bounde to looke vpon al the diocesse and the Pope the whole worlde and the Curate hys parishe as Bernarde saith O how worthy kepers are they which so carefully watche that they may kepe the soules that are committed vnto them from euerlastyng death But an Aungell hath but one soule committed vnto hym for to kepe as Bernarde testifieth Great is the dignitie of soules that euery one of them euen from the very tyme of their birth shoulde haue an aungel appointed for to kepe them Secondly in taking and touchyng the body of Christ. The angels doe but see God as it is written Their aungels see the face of my Father whiche is in heauen But in this is the priest greater than the AuÌ„gell for he doth but see God but the priest handleth hym yea and eateth him which was neuer giueÌ„ to any Aungell so to do but it sufficeth hym to beholde God Thirdly in consecratyng the bodye of Christe And in this point the priest doth not onely excell the Aungels but also after a certayne manner Marye the Mother of Christ so that the lessest priest on earth is able to do that whiche the greatest Aungell in Heauen can not doe Therfore saith Barnarde O the dignitie of priestes worthy to be had in great reuerence in whose handes as in the wombe of the Virgine the Sonne of God is incarnate Austen also saith In the consecration of the holye host the whole court of Heauen doth seruice to the priest yea and the Lorde of heauen commeth downe vnto him Likewyse saith Ambrose vpoÌ„ Luke Doubt thou not but that Aungels are there preseÌ„t when Christ is present on the altare wheÌ„ he is offered so y t Christ may well say to euery priest y t which is writteÌ„ in Esay What coulde I haue done more for thee haue not done it Furthermore we must know that euerye maÌ„ is bouÌ„d to honour priests seing y e god himself hath so many sundry waies garnished beautified theÌ„ with suche so great honour But contrary to this do all they that dishonour priestes and in this they greuouslye offende God as Henricus de vrimaria writing vpon the fourth commaundement saith Wo be vnto them and euerlasting damnation hangeth ouer their heades that do dishonour priestes speake euill of them diffame backbite them for they crucifie the Sonne of God againe For so often as thou backbitest or â—laundrest a religious person or priest so often dost thou put a crowne of thorne vpon Christes head For they are the head vpper parte of the Churche militante So often as thou doest any displeasure vnto them so often dost thou fasten Christ with nayles to the crosse So often as thou raylest vpon them so often dost thou spit Christ in the face And so often as thou dost euill entreat them and find faulte either in their speaking or doying so often dost y u thrust Christ vnto the hart with a speare God therfore willing to shewe howe greatly he detesteth that synne hath made it euident with that wonderful punishment and vnwonted paine whiche Dathan Abiron and Chore suffered whom the earth dyd swalowe vp quicke bycause they dyd mysuse the Priestes Of these thynges aforesayde it euidentlye appeareth y t priestes euen of dutye ought to bee honoured of all men In sermonibus discipuli Germ. iii. Dom. 14. Post. Festum Trinitatis O ye Priestes which are the buckelars and officers of y e true Salomon that is to saye of Iesus Christ and the chamberlaynes and dispensatoures or stewardes of the mysteryes of God Consider marke diligentlye in what degree and dignitye ye are set ouer all the goodes of the Lorde What could God doe more for the Priestes than to geue them power for to make hymselfe to handle hym to eate hym to geue him to other Therefore remeÌ„ber your selues and consider well y e noble priuilege of your dignitye Althoughe glasse bee made of vyle matter and stuffe yet is it reproued founde to be more clere than golde and siluer so likewise euery priest be he neuer so great and greuous a sinner yet doth he farre excell al other creatures both Kinges and Princes is of greater dignitie than al y e creatures y t are Ye are sayeth S. Peter speakyng to priestes a chosen generation a royall priesthoode an holy nation a wonne people not only of a temporal election but also of an eternall predestination O the worshipful dignitie of priests if ye liue worthily and priestlike within whose handes as in the Virgines wombe the sonne of God is incarnate and made man O heauenly mysterye which y e father and y e sonne and y e holy ghoste doth so maruelouslye worke by you y t in one and in the same moment the same God whiche sitteth ruleth in heauen is a sacrifice in your hands The heauen wondreth at so noble a priuilege the earth marueleth man is greatly astonied hell quaketh for feare the deuell trembleth and shaketh all y t is on hym the Aungelike highnesse is in great admiration What then shall I priest geue agayne vnto the Lorde for all thinges that he hath geuen me As for an example He that hath made me hath geuen me power to make hym yea he that made me without me is made by the meanes of me c. Consider therefore O ye Priestes the maruelous dignitie of your excellencye that God hath not onely ordained you before al other people but he hath also made you passing all other creatures which he hath created vnto the prayse and glorye of his name c. Sauyng y e Aungels reuerence whose number is infinite I say playnly that ye are greater than Aungells and doe farre excell their dignitye largo modo loquendo For to whiche
God howsoeuer the wicked and wilye papistes bewitche the simple people and thorowe their suttle Sophistrye caste mistes before the eyes of the ignorant and so darken theyr senses and wittes that they can not espye y e truth of Gods worde in thys behalfe which is aboundauntly setforth thorowe the greate benefite of God in these oure dayes by the diligente laboure paynfull trauayle of many Godly learned men both in Latin and in Englyshe and in diuerse other speaches vnto the great cōfort of all faythfull Christians and vnto y e confusion of Antichrist and of hys kyngdome Vercellen Concil Florent Concil Roman Concil Secund. Sinod Lateran Extra de summa fide cathol Cap firmiter Pope Pelagius the second ordayned praying for the dead in the Masse In y e yeare c. 580. Plat. Pol. Grat. D. Barns Pope Gregorye the fyrst succedyng y e aforesayd Pelagius encreased this cōstitution concerning y e memoration and prayer for y e dead being hereunto allured by y e disceatfull apparitions of deuils rather than of dead mens spirites which many times appeared vnto him euer crauing at his hand helpe and succour for their deliuerance out of y e most bitter paynes of purgatorye thorowe Diriges and Masses of Requiem such like prayers made for the dead greatly abusing his childish pity light beliefe For he writeth y t a certayne mā called Paschasius being deade appeared vnto him desired him to pray to say masse for him which thyng he most diligently did so y t afterward y e soule of Paschasius appeared agayne vnto hym tolde him y t whē he had once sōg for him .xxx Masses he was streyghtwayes deliuered out of purgatorye Gregorius in Registro He writeth agayne y t a certayne Monke called Iustus was deliuered out of the fyre of purgatorye thorowe the sacrifyce of thyrtie daies that is to say thorowe a trentall of Masses whiche are thyrtye in number Gregor in Lib. dialog 4. Cap. 54. Here mayest thou see good Reader vpon what foundatiō singing of masses for the dead is builte Uerely vpon the delusions and disceatfull apparitions of the deuill and hys aungells Is not thys the commaundement of God Thou shalt not aske the truth of them that be dead Agayne if they saye vnto you aske councell at the Southsayers witches charmers and coniurers thē make them thys aunswere Is there a people any where y t asketh not councell at hys God Shoulde men runne vnto the dead for the liuyng If any man wante lyghte let hym looke vpon the lawe and the testimonye whether they speake not after thys meanyng If he doe not thys he stumbleth and suffreth hunger if he suffer hunger he is out of pacience and blasphemeth his king and his God It had bene Gregoryes dutye not strayghtwayes to geue credite to the wandryng spirites but to haue considered by the holy scriptures what the will of God is in this behalfe Beleue not euery spirit saith Saint Iohn but proue y e spirits whether they be of god Pope Innocent appoynted that the names of the dead shuld not be rehearsed in the Masse before but after the consecration Durandus Pope Gregory the first put the Pater noster to the Masse and commaunded that it should be sōg with a loud voice In the yeare c. 590. Ioan. Laziardus He also commaūded that the priest at his masse before the Lordes prayer should sing these words Oremus praeceptis salutaribus moniti c. Blessed Gregory saith Durandus thought it good that the Lordes prayer after y e Canon should be sayd ouer the host affirming in hys register that it is vnsemely that the prayer whiche Scholasticus made should be sayde ouer the Euchariste y e prayer left out whiche the Lord himselfe had sayd the Apostles likewise were wōt to say It is song sayth he among the Grekes of al y e people together but amōg vs of the priests alone Rat. di off Ioannes Nauclerus writeth in his chronicle y t the holy Apostle S. Peter when he celebrated the Lordes supper vsed none other but y e Lordes prayer which we commonly call the Pater noster As for all other thinges that be now vsed in the masse they haue bene added and brought in since that tyme by dyuers mē of theyr owne fansy brayne without the authoritie of gods worde Pope Gregory the firste added to the masse also this prayer Libera nos quesumus c. and commaunded that it should be said after the Lordes prayer Chron. Germ. Pope Innocentius the first put to the masse Pax domini sit semper vobiscum and cōmaunded that the people should aunswere Et cū spiritu tuo In the yere c. 408. Chron. Germ. Pope Sergius the first of that name inuented the Agnus dei and commaunded that it shoulde be songe of the clergye and of the people together at the communion or masse In the yeare c. 684. Plat. Durandus D. Barns He ordayned also that while the quiere sing the Agnus the priest should breake the missal bread in three parts one for the soules of the Sainctes that are in Heauen an other for them that are in purgatorye the thirde for them that are in this world liuyng in sinne Agayne that the priest shoulde holde stil in his hands two peces of that broken bread ouer the chalice and let the thyrde parte thereof fall downe into the chalice saying these wordes Hec commixtio corporis sanguinis c. Pope Leo the second ordayned y e carying about kyssing of y e Paxe y t the people might haue somwhat to doe as it may seeme while the priest eate vp drink vp altogether alone at the altar In the yeare c. 676. Grat. plat Fasci Temp. Durandus D. Barns Vannius Notwithstāding some attribute this idle inuētion to pope Innocent the first De consec dist 2. Cap. Pax igitur Lib. Concil Michael Bucchingerus c. Pope Innocent the firste made a decree that on solemne feastes the priests at the Agnus should kisse one an other but the commō people should kisse the Paxe In the yere c. 408. De cons. dist 2 cap Pacem Plat. Sabell Pol. Pantal. In the masse for the dead the Paxe is not giuen sayth Durand bicause the faithfull soules are no more neyther shall be in the trouble of this worlde but they rest now in the Lorde so that the kysse of peace is not necessary nor nedefull for them whiche is the signe of peace and concorde and therefore at that masse this prayer is not said Domine Iesu Christe qui dedisti Apostolis tuis pacem c. Hereof also commeth it to passe that among the monkes there is no Paxe giuen bicause they are coūted dead to the world Rat. di off Polid. Pope Calixtus the first ordained that so many as were present at masse after the
prophecie of our Sauiour Christ shall for euer euer abide true Euery plaÌ„t that my heauenly father hath not plaÌ„ted shall be plucked vp by the rootes Of the Massing Priest FOrasmuche as no man hath authoritie and power to consecrat make and offer the body and bloud of Christ as the Papistes teach but he onely whiche is a priest lawfully made and appointed no neither Aungels nor Archaungels neyther blessed Mary nor any Sainct in Heauen Pope Gaius the firste of that name ordayned that he whiche shoulde be a Massemonger or Godmaker that is to saye a prieste shoulde as it were by degrees ascende and come vp vnto the order of priesthoode Therefore he appoynted that suche one as woulde be a priest and saye Masse shoulde fyrst of all be a doorekeper secondelye a Reader thyrdelye an Exorciste or Coniurare fourthlye an Acholute a lyghter and carier of Candles fyftlye a Subdeacon sixtly a Deacon and seueÌ„thly a priest Plat. Polid. c. Pope Calixte the fyrst appoynted y t y e aforesayd orders shuld be geueÌ„ foure times in the yeare y t is to say at y e Embring dayes whereas before they wer geuen only in y e moneth of December so y t whosoeuer wil be a Massing priest must diligently attend vpoÌ„ those times Plat. Valent. Vannius Pope Boniface the fyrst made a decree y t no man shoulde be made a Massyng Prieste before he were thirtye yeres of age Grat. Dist. 78. Cap. Si quis triginta Pope Zacharius the fyrst notwithstaÌ„ding fearyng that Ladye Masse would wante Chaplens and customers dispenseth wyth the former acte and graunted that a man might bee made a Massyng Prieste at the age of .xxv. yeares if necessitye so required Lib. Concâ—l Pope Anicetus ordayned y t the Massing priest should weare no long haire nor bearde but y t he should haue Aures patentes and y t he shuld haue his crown shauen as rounde as a bowle Gratian. Dist. 23. Cap. Prohibere fratres Plat. Pope Leo the fyrst made a decree y t no man that is bonde should be admitted to be a Massemonger Dist. 54. Cap. Episcoporum Nullus Pope Bonifacius the fyrst commaunded y t no banckeroute or endebted person shuld be admitted vnto y e Clergye Plat. Lib. Concil Pope Calixt y e first appointed y t whosoeuer wil take vpon hym the order of a Massing priest must forsweare mariage leade a single lyfe Grat. Dist. 27. Ca. Presbyteres Nauclerus Pope Gregorye the fyrst made a decree y t none y t had bene twice maryed shuld be admitted to be a priest Dist. 33. Cap. Maritum duarum Pope Gelasius the fyrst ordained y t no dismembred person shuld be admitted vnto y e order of priesthode Grat. Dist. 55 Cap. Si euangelica Pope Clement the fyrst appoynted y t the priest after he had sayde Masse should continue fastyng by the space of three houres before he eyther eate or drinke Dist. 2. de consec De tribus Gradibus And Gratianus witnesseth that a priest also ought to come to Masse fasting De cons. Dist. 2 Can. Liquido Item Cap. Sacramenta altaris Of the dignitie and power of the Massing Priest and of the honour that is due vnto hym be he good or bad PRiestes are worthye to be honoured of all men for the dignitie whiche they haue of GOD. For God hath geuen them power to bynde and to loose as it is written Whatsoeuer ye shall bynde vpon earth shall also be bounde in heauen And whatsoeuer ye shall losen vppon earth shal bee losoned also in heauen For a priest after a certaine manner is lyke Mary the Virgine And thys is declared by three thinges Fyrst as the blessed Virgine dyd conceaue Iesus Christ by fyue woordes as is it mentioned in the Gospell of Luke Fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum So lykewyse the Prieste maketh the true bodye of Christ by these fyue woordes Hoc est enim corpus meum And as whole Christ immediatly after the consent of Mary was in her wombe so lykewyse immediatly after y e pronunciation of y e wordes of consecration the breade is transsubstaÌ„tiated turned into y e true body of Christ. Secondly as the blessed Virgine after shee had broughte forth Christ dyd beare hym in her handes layde hym in y e maunger so likewyse y e priest after the consecration immediatly lyfteth vp the body of Christ and laieth him down again beareth him handleth him in his hands Thirdly as y e blessed Virgine was saÌ„ctifyed in y e wombe before she conceaued Christ so likewise y e priest receaueth orders is annoynted before he consecrateth For without taking orders he could consecrate nothing and therfore a lay-man although he be neuer so holy can do nothing in this matter although he should pronounce the wordes of consecration In consideration whereof we must know y t the dignitie of priests after a certayne manner doth farre excel the dignitie of Angels For power to make y e body of Christ is geueÌ„ to none of the Angells so that the baseste and moste inferioure prieste in the worlde can doe that whiche the greatest and highest Aungell in heauen can not do Therefore Barnarde sayeth O the worshipfull dignitye of priestes in whose handes the Sonne of God as in the Virgines wombe is incarnate Wherefore Austen sayeth that in the consecration of the holy hoste all the heauenly courte serueth hym that is to say the priest and the Lorde of heauen commeth downe vnto hym Ambrose therefore also sayth writing vpon Luke Doubte thou not but y t the Angels are there present when Christ is present vpon the altare so y t priests are to be honoured aboue all Kinges Princes Knyghtes and men of Nobilitie For a prieste is higher than Kynges more blessed and happye than Aungells beyng the maker of hys maker and therefore he is worthye to bee honoured c. Yea let it be graunted that the priest bee euill yet is he to be honoured for y e dignitye of priesthoode as it is declared in the decrees Priestes although they bee euill yet ought we to honoure them for the sacramentes sake 1. Quaest. 1. Sacramenta c. Sermones Discipuli in Sermon 28. De honore As there are nine quiers or orders of Angells in heauen so like wise ar there nyne dignities of priestes Fyrst Priestes are aboue all Kynges and Princes of the earth as God sayeth by Ieremye I haue set thee thys daye ouer Nations and Kingdomes And this to bee true appeareth thus The dignitye of the prieste is such and so great y t it lyeth in his power to consecrate and make Kinges but all the Kynges of the worlde are not able to make one Priest And for a profe thereof that priestes be greater and of farre more excellencye than Kinges are it is to be noted y t there is no Prince so greate whiche doth not bowe
of the Aungels hath God geuen that whiche he hath geuen to the priest I meane Whatsoeuer ye bynde on earth shal be bounde also in heauen Note there are two keyes that is to say of knowledge and of power geuen of the Lord to blessed Peter and to other men not to al meÌ„ but to Priestes alone and to their successoures For althoughe God alone forgeue synne yet neuer or verye seldome dothe he forgeue synne withoute his ministers that is to say Priestes Whiche thyng may be proued by the Lepers to whome when the Lorde had healed them he sald Go shewe your selues to the priestes and humbly obey them And whyle they were goyng they were made cleane It maye also bee proued by Lazarus whom when the Lorde had raysed vp he sayd to hys Disciples Loose hym and let hym go But wherfore dyd not the Lorde hymselfe loosen hym from y t knots of the byndings which had losoned hym froÌ„ y e bondes of death And wherfore dyd he not commaunde Mary and Martha hys systers to loose him or hys kynnesfolke the Iewes whiche were nerer vnto hym by the course of nature than the Disciples of y e Lord Verelye to declare manifestlye and to proue playnly that the power to loose and to bynde is geuen of the Lorde to priestes alone Beholde how great the goodnesse of God and the worthinesse of priestes is For the Lorde himselfe worketh good somtime euen by them y e are euell and that to thys ende bycause the keyes of the Churche should not be despised or set at nought of the faythfull For although priestes sometime haue not thys power ex merito yet haue they it ex officio dignitatis And if any priest â—e vnworthye which god forbid y t hurteth hymselfe it hyndreth thee nothyng at all Beholde what greate power is geuen to you priestes For your tounges are made the keyes of heauen O how great dignitie saith Bernard hath god geuen to you How great and excellent is y e prerogatiue of y e priestes order He hath preferred you aboue the Kynges of y e earth He hath exalted thys order of priestes aboue all men Yea as I may speake more highly he hath preferred you before Aungells thrones and powers For as he toke not Aungels but Abrahams sede to bryng to passe redemption so lykewyse hath he committed y e consecration of his body and bloude not to Aungells but to men that is to saye to priestes only Seing then y t a priest is of so greate dignitie y t he is the maker of hys maker him to destroy or to condemne it is not conuenient c. This is a very heauenly priuilege this is an exceding great glory this is a grace excelling all grace a priest to holde God in hys hands We beleue are thorowly perswaded y t the celebration of so noble a mysterye is committed to none of the Aungels to none of the Archeaungels nor to any other heauenly spirites but to your order onely c. For on the altare thorowe the mouthe and the handes of y e priestes the bodye of Christ is made euen that very bodye whiche is on the right hand of God c. O ye priestes howe greate a thing is this that at the lifting vp of your handes Kynges bowe down their heades yea Kings and Queenes offer giftes to you All the Churche or congregation confesseth calleth you fathers and desireth you to praye for them c. O the worshipfull holynesse of priestes handes O blessed and happie exercise O the true ioye of the worlde where lowe things ar ioyned to y e most high thinges when Christ handleth Christ y e priest y e sonne of God Thou hast a delight to be with the sonnes of men Therefore sayth Peter speakyng of priests ye are a chosen generation a royall Priesthoode an holy Nation a wonne people c. O ye priests consider the excellencye of your moste noble dignitye For the lord hath enriched beautified you before al other his creatures Verely priestes ar worthy to be honoured seing y e the Lord hath geueÌ„ vnto theÌ„ passing al other so greate grace and honoure in the worlde Ex lib cui titulus est Stella Clericorum Of the ceremonies of the popyshe Churche Of holy water POpe Alexander the fyrst as y e papistes fayne ordayned water mingled with salte to bee halowed afterward sprinckled vpon the people to put away their sinnes and to make theÌ„ holy and pure He also commaunded y t it shoulde bee kept both in churches and in houses to chase and dryue away deuills and wicked spirites not onely oute of houses wher meÌ„dwel but also out of y e hearts of the faythfull as though fayth and y e deuel could dwel together in one heart In the yere c. 110. Grat. Plat. Sabel Lib. Concil D. Barns Pâ—antal The wordes of pope Alexanders canon ar these We blesse y e water mingled with salte for thys purpose that all that bee sprinckled therewith may bee made holy and pure whiche thyng we commaunde all Priestes lykewyse to doe For sayeth he if the ashes of an heyfer sprinckled made holy and clensed the people from veniall synnes Muche more water sprynckled wyth salte and halowed with holye prayers doth sanctifye make holye and clense the people from veniall synnes And if the salte being sprynckled by Helizeus the barennesse of theâ— water was healed Howe muche more salte being halowed with Godlye prayers taketh awaye the barennesse of such thynges as appertayne to man and sanctifyeth and pourgeth them y t are defiled and multiplyeth suche goodes as we haue nede of and turneth away y e disceates of the deuill and defendeth men from al naughty and wicked fansies c. De conse Dist. 3. Cap. Aquam sale conspersam Lib. Concil Is not this good stuffe is not this worthy to be called gods seruice Oughte not y e people to ryse vp make curtesy to the Popyshe shauelynge when he sprinckleth theÌ„ with water of so great vertue Are not the scriptures here wel applied Doth not this ceremony make Christ Iacke out of office with all hys workes and merites God haue mercy on vs and shortly confouÌ„d Antichrist Guilihelmus DuraÌ„dus sayth y t the holy water hath deserued to haue of God so great vertue that as outwardly it washeâ—h the body from filthynesse so inwardly cleÌ„seth the soules from sinnes O blasphemye intollerable This is y e goodly Godlye Catholyke doctrine wherwith the vngoodly vngodly Papistes infecte the mindes of such Christians as are simple and light of belief yea wherwith they caste the soules of all suche as put their confidence and trust in these pylde begarly and lousy ceremonyes into euerlastyng damnation And yet must they be called laudable ceremonies well worthy and God will to be frequented and vsed in the Churche of Christ. And the teachers of thys doctrine the ministers of these
by fayth in Christ God complayneth greuously on thys manner and sayeth Be astonyshed O ye heauens be afrayde and abashed at suche a thyng sayeth the Lorde For my people hath done two euills They haue forsaken me the well of y e water of lyfe and haue dygged them pyttes yea vile and broken pittes y e can holde no water Blessed is the man sayth the Psalmographe whose hope the name of the Lord is and hath not turned vnto vanities nor vnto suche as goe about with lyes Of Purgatorye Who was the fyrst inuentour deuiser and fynder out of the Popes false fained fyrie purgatorye I can not finde by any historyes or monumentes that I haue red vnto this daye But after it was found and deuised by some subtill heade thorowe the subtil suggestion of most subtill Sathan whiche seketh all meanes possible to obscure the price of Christes death and to sowe erroures and heresyes in the heartes of paynted Hipocrites yea of all people so muche as lyeth in his power vnto y e destruction and condemnation of their soules there wanted not specially of the companye of Sophisters and Monks espiing that there woulde ryse no small auauntage to their purses of this goodly newe and late inuention whiche set a good face on the matter countenauncing it out with the authorityes of the holy Scripture addyng therunto their false pestilent and lying gloses wherwith they bleared the eyes of the simple and caste suche mystes before theyr syghte that these certayne hundred yeares they coulde neuer see the true purgatorye of the soule whiche is the precious bloud of our Sauiour Christ but beleued verelye that there was a place of purgyng after thys lyfe as though the bloude of Christe were not a sufficient purgatory for their soules from the which they must be deliuered eyther by sufferyng intollerable paynes themselues in that firye fornace till they haue made sufficient satisfaction for their sinnes or els by the Suffrages and sacrifices of the Masse or by almosse dedes done for them of theyr executours and frendes c. Thys dreame of purgatorye and praying for the dead hath bene maintayned from tyme to tyme not onelye by the writinges of diuerse men but also by the decrees and Councelles of diuerse sundrye Popes and of theyr adherentes as a myghty and straunge defence of the Catholyke Churche and her deuoute Chaplens withoute the whiche a greate parte of the Popes Churches buildings is like out of hand to fall vnto miserable ruine and vtter decaye Where thys place of Purgatorye is none of oure purgatorye rakers or proctoures thereof is able to declare Diuerse of them haue diuerse opinions in thys behalfe as it is an harde thing for lyers and taleforgers to agree in all points among themselues so alone is the truthe perfecte and constant and without verities or discorde Some of them affyrme and saye that it is in a certayne place euen nexte vnto hell vnder y e earth Some holde y t it is not nie vnto hell for then myghte it seme y t suche as are in Purgatorye shoulde neuer ascende and come vnto heauen for asmuche as we rede in y e Gospel of Luke that there is so great a space betwene them that are aboue and them that are beneath y t they whiche are aboue can not come downe to them y e are beneath neither can they that are beneath come vp to them y t ar aboue But aboue in the ayre yea and that in torrida zona bycause that after they bee sufficiently purged they may be nighe and goe strayghtwayes vnto heauen Some other saye y t they be neither beneath neere vnto Hell nor yet aboue nighe vnto Heauen but accordyng to the dispensation and appoyntment of god diuerse soules are diuersly placed some here some there some in thys place some in that place some beneath some aboue some in the middest according to their desertes but all suffering paynes eyther more or lesse till sufficient satisfactiō be made for theyr sinnes either by themselues in paynes sufferyng or els by other in Massesingyng in almosse geuing in watching in praying in pilgrimage going in the popes pardons bying c. The tales and lies which the papistes haue inuented concerning the places of soules after their departure is to much wonderfull and maruelous In Longobardica historia in Legenda aurea in vitis patrum in the Festiual c. shalt thou finde examples plentifully whiche bookes in tymes paste were better knowen and more preached to the simple people than the true and pure worde of God And as they do not agree amonge themselues where pyckpursse Purgatory is so likewise doe they dissēt both in the tormentours in the tormentes of the soules Some teach y e the soules in purgatory are punished of the good aūgels at gods appointmēt some say that they be wicked Spirites of hell y t punishe them Some agayne hold that the soules in purgatory are tormented with fire onely accordyng to this sentence of Saint Paule Vniuscuiusque opus quale sit ignis probabit some contrariwise affirme y t they are punished both with fyre and water according to this saying of the Psalmographe Transiuimus per ignem aquam reduxisti nos in refrigerium But howsoeuer the sely simple soules be punished the Papists with one voyce affirme that they are most paynefully afflicted and tormented yea and that with such paynes and tormentes as be incomparable the paynes tormentes of hell only excepted Of those most intollerable paynes of purgatory thus rede we in the Popes decrees He must firste be purged with the fyre of purgatory that hath differred the frute of conuersion vnto an other world And this fyre althoughe it be not euerlastyng is notwithstanding a wonderfull greuous fyre For it excedeth and passeth all payne whiche any man at any tyme hath suffered in this life In the fleshe there was neuer so greate payne founde althoughe the Martyrs did suffer maruelous tormēts c. And in the booke entytled Sermones discipuli we rede on this manner The soules whiche are in purgatory are in moste greuous paynes For if all the burnyng coales in the worlde were gathered together and poured vppon an heape and a man shoulde stande in the myddes of them yet shoulde he not suffer so greate heate and burnyng as the soules doe in Purgatory No temporall payne maye be compared with the paynes of Purgatorye The paynes is so greate that a lyttle shorte tyme seemeth to be verye longe and greate tyme. Therefore we rede that a certayne Religious man burned in Purgatorye onelye while one Masse was a saying and he appeared to hys felowe and sayde that he had burned in Purgatorye a greate number of yeare And some soules are punished there a longe space some thyrtie yeares some an hundred some a thousand more or lesse some vnto the ende of the world