a full and wanton beaste trode them vnder hys fete For the which cause Mitridates the kyng of PoÌ„tus as Iustinus dyd note out of Trogus Pompeius was wonte to say of the Romaynes That they dyd trulye boste that theyr fyrste begynners or auncetters were brought vp with woulues mylke because that all the people of Rome had wolues myndes neuer full of bloude euer gredy gapynge after dominioÌ„ ryches Also Plinius in the .vii. boke of his natural hystory the .xxv. chap. sayth of Iulius Cesar Iulius Cesar He fought in playn felde fyftye tymes he only passed Marcus Marcellus a captayne of the Romaynes also whych yet had pytched fyghten .xxxix. battayles For besydes hys vyctoryes ouer cyties trulye I wolde not speake to hys prayse of eleueÌ„ C.xcii M. men that were slayne by hym in battayles Also the greate iniury that mankynd suffred by hym whyche thynge to be true he hymselfe confessed although he made no mencion of hys destruction in cyuile warres The selfe same Plinius in the .xxvi. chapter wytnesseth that in the temple of Minerua was a table hanged vp brefly coÌ„taynyng the actes of Gneus Pompeius the greate which he had done in the Easte partes Gneus PoÌ„peâ—â—â— in these wordes followynge Gneus Pompeius the greate Emperoure guyder of the Romaynes hooste in the tyme of hys warres which contynued .xxx. yeares dyd beate down put to flyghte slewe and toke to mercye twenty hundreth lxxxiii thousand men he bowed and toke .viii. hundreth .xlvi. shyppes he had yeldyd vnto hym a M. CCCCC.xxxviii townes and castels and subdued all the contrye from the water of Meotis vnto the reede see And the title or inscrypcion of hys tryumphe had the thyrde daye of the kalendes of October Marcus Messala Marcus Piso beynge coÌ„sules was thys When he had once rydde the see coostes of Pirates and had restored the Romaynes vnto theyr dominion whiche they had on the see he brought gloryous spoyles out of Asia PoÌ„tus Armenia Paphlagonia Capadocia Cilicia Syria froÌ„ the Scythians Iewes Albanes out of Iberia the I le of Creta and from the Basternes And besydes these he led vnto hys triumphe these two kynges Mytridates Tigranes We haue touched only the actes vyctories tryumphes of two Emperours we haue spoken nothynge yet of Scipions Fabyones Marius and Metellus nother yet of Lelius Sylla Lucullus Marcellus Crassus Paulus Aemilius Flaminius Sertorius Cornelius Cinna and Fymbria and of many noble men of thys sorte and degre by whose study feruencye ambycion couetousnes and desyre to beare rule To conclude by whose wylde cruelnes extreme tyrannye it came to passe that accordynge to the prophecye of Daniell all the world was deuoured destroyed and troden vnderfoote Ye haue now the mystery of that cruell beaste nowe shall we shewe what is sygnifyed by the ten hornes and what by the halfe horne that sprange vp amonge them and plucked awaye other thre hornes The nombre of ten signifyeth a multitude The diuydyng of the Empyre of Rome and the departyng froÌ„ it and hornes kyngdomes and it meaneth that the Empire of Rome shulde be diuided agayne in to many kyngdomes that is the thorow meÌ„s departynge froÌ„ it it shulde come to passe that manye kynges at once shulde rule in the Empyre of Rome The whiche thynge beganne to be aboute the tyme of Constantine the greate some gouernynge the kyngdomes of the Easte and some of the Weste And after that by processe of tyme manye nacions beganne to fall from it also takynge other kynges and princes vnto them Farthermore rude nacions brake in and that agaynst the Emperoure of Romes wyll yee and subduynge the Prouinces and kyngdomes of the Empyre of Rome they raygned strongly For those thynges are well knowen whiche wryters of storyes do tell of the Frenchemen Germaynes Lombardes and Perses And so are those thynges and storyes also whyche credyble auctoures bothe Grekes and Latins haue wrytten of the bloudye dominion of the Gothies Hunnies and Wandaies And after thys maner dyd tenne hornes sprynge oute of that beaste and the departynge was fulfylled of whyche the Apostle hath nowe spoken Of the spryngyngs vp of Antichrists Nowe shall we speake of the commynge vp of Antichriste that is to saye of the reuelacion of that synfull man Ther grewe vp a certayne foolyshe opynion that Antichriste shulde be one onely man the whyche shulde be borne in Babylon and of the trybe of Dan and that he shuld raygne certayne yeares to the greate hurte of the faythfull But the foolyshe men se not that Daniell dyd vnderstonde all the Kynges Emperoures or heade rulers of the Babylonians Perses Macedonyans and Romaynes vnder the names of one Lyon Beer Leoparde and other beastes Therfore it muste nedes be that he mente by that lytle horne that is to saye by Antichriste not some one onely man but an whole kyngedome and an whole bodye which shuld fyghte agaynst Christe with theyr lawes coÌ„stitucions maners strength Let vs therfore marke the wordes of the Prophete I marked the hornes sayeth he and behold another lytle horne came vp among theÌ„ before whom thre of the hornes were pluckyd awaye And agayn Another sayeth he shall aryse after them and shall be greater then the fyrste shall subdue thre kynges Ye haue nowe the mysterye and the exposicion of the same For the hornes do sygnifye the diuidynge and confusion of the kyngdomes And in thys confusion of thynges by lytle lytle sprynge the vp another kyngdome in the world whych doth subdue thre other kynges Let vs coÌ„pare wyth thys those thynges which the wrytters of hystoryes haue shewed Machomet of Arabia some sayde that he was of Pâ—â—â—â— Nowe Machomet of Arabia in the yeare of our LORDE .vi. hundreth and .xx that is to saye whyle ther was a maruaylous confusion of thynges both in the East and also in the West sprang vp in the tyme of Heraclius the Emperoure whyche as Volaterranus doth recyte out of a lybrarye came of a lowe stocke and beynge fatherlesse one Abdemonaples a man of the stocke of Ismaell boughte for his captiue and loued hym for hys fauoure and wytte for the whiche cause he made him a ruler ouer hys marchauÌ„dyse and busynesse TheÌ„ one Sergius a monke which for the secte of heresie fled oute of the cytie of Constantynople into Arabia endued hym with the heresie of Nestorius loued Machomet greatly for hys wytte In the meane season hys mayster dyed wythout chyldren leauynge behynde him muche ryches and his wyfe a wydowe of fyftye yeares of age whome Machomet maryed and after that she was dead he was made heyre and greatly encreased wyth ryches and beynge had in honoure wyth the foolyshe people by the counsell of Sergius beganne to call hym selfe the greate Prophet of God Therfore after that hys name was publyshed hys authoryte greatly augmented amonge hys people he made a law which he borowed partly of the Iewes partly of the
to weake for to resyste thē The whiche thynge apeared well by thys one token that whē Theodorus the Emperoures Leuftenaunte in Italy had once foughtē with the Lombardes at Scultenna a ryuer in Mutina The kynges of Lōbardye it was sayde that he was shamfully put to flyght and chased away with the losse of .vii. thousand souldiers of Rome by reason of whiche vyctory Rotharis the kynge of Lombardye not a lytle proude ioyned vnto hys kyngdom all Lyguria Therfore after thys maner the Emperours power beganne to decaye in the West the Byshopes of Romes power encreased by so muche the more as the Lōbardes and Frenche men dyd raygne largely For a lytle after he was exalted by theyr strength wyth whome he beganne to falle into amitye But it came to thys passe by lytle and lytle of the which thyng we shall nowe speake Yf the Byshope of Rome had bene chosen by the clergye and people of the Romaynes yet had the eleccion ben counted as vayne excepte the Emperoure or the Debyte of Italye had aproued it vntyll that Constantyne the Emperoure the sonne of Constance whyche beganne to raygne the yeare of oure LORDE CCCCCC lxx beyng moued with the holynesse of Bēnet the second Byshop of Rome sente a decre that from thēce forth all men shulde beleue that man to be immediatlye the true vycare of Christ which the clergye wyth the people and the souldiers of Rome shulde choyse to be the pope wythoute any tarynge for any authoryte ether of the prynce of Constātynople or the Debyte of Italye as it was wonte for to be And after that the Byshope of Rome had gotten thys priuilege he beganne to plucke hys necke frome the Emperours pocke and the more boldly to parte in so muche that wythin a lytle whyle after thys when a mete occasion was offered hym that is to saye a bytter contencion betwene the Byshoppes of the East and of the West he beganne the boldelyer to exercyse hys authoryte agaynst the Emperoure hymselfe For the heresye of the Monothelytes sprange vp vnder Heraclius the Emperoure The heresy of the Monothelites And that secte confessed onely one wyll in Christe Martyn the fyrst of that name gathered a synode of C. and .l. Byshopes and condemned it at Rome The syxte synode holden at Cōstantynople cōdemned the same And that same infecciō semed then to be quenched But Philippicus the Emperour beynge infecte with the same after he had banyshed Cyrus a Byshop of good iudgemēt into Pontus he made one Ihō a certayn mōke Byshop ouer Constantynople sente hys naughtye doctrynes into Rome cōmaundyng the they shuld be approued by the consent of all mē Here Cōstantyne the Byshop of Rome the fyrste of that name gettynge a good occasion to wythstande the Emperoure gathered a councell and condemned Phylyppicus of heresye and Ihon the monke yee and decreed also that the ymages of those holy fathers whiche had bene present at syxe Councelles approued of all men shulde be paynted in S. Peters porche Contencion aboute the vse of ymages And therfore thorowe thys occasyon thee beganne to be a disputacion among them of the vse of ymages also In the whiche cōtrouersye they of the Easte parte thought more godly then they of the Weste But for because that a ryghteouse cause was ioyned wyth a wycked it came to passe that it had the lesse fauoure amōge many wyttye and learned men And the Grekes fell not wythout affeccion into thys contencion whome it greued that the Romaynes dyd abuse ymages as a token of victorye in the despyte of them of the Easte for by thys meanes they turned all theyr cryenge agaynst ymages But I am not very sure whether that the Emperoures Leo and Constātyne dyd defende the learnynge of the Monothelytes but thys is playne that they dyd abrogate ymages for auoydynge of Idolatrye not wythout the example and authoryte of the scryptures and cōmaunded the Romaynes more then once for to do the same But the Byshopes of Rome by the meanes of thys occasion dyd wythdrawe all the people of Italy from the obedience of the Emperoure and thruste in themselues by theyr owne authoryte callyng vnto thē straūge kynges by whose helpe the Byshope of Rome was made Lord of Italy the Emperoures Debyte dryuen oute For when the Emperoure Leo had geuē a cōmaundemente that all whyche were vnder the Empyre of Rome shulde take awaye the pyctures and ymages of sayntes for auoydynge of ydolatrye and that he that dyd other wyse shulde haue hym for an open enemye The byshoppes of Rome do cōdemne the Emperoures of Rome Gregory the secōde admonyshed all men that they wolde in no wyse fall into suche erroure nether for feare nether yet for ony commaundemente of theyr prynce steared vp all the people of Italy wyth so great vehemency of oracion that a lytle more wolde haue made them to haue chosen them a new Emperoure And at Rauenna trulye after that a great sedycion was raysed vp Paule the Debyte of the Emperoure was slayne there with hys sonne also Gregory the thyrde followynge hys exāple dyd depreue Leo as well of hys Empyre The byshoppes of Rome do calle vpon the helpe of the kynges of Fraunce as of the cōmunion wyth the faythfull The same Gregorye called fyrste of all vpon the kynges of Fraunce for helpe agaynst hys enemyes For whyles the Luythprandus kynge of Lombardye was moued wyth the desyre to beare rule dyd besege the cytye of Rome and had taken all the townes on euery syde thys same Gregory sente embassadoures into Fraūce for to desyre Charles Marcellus the father of Pipyne that he wolde now the fyrste tyme helpe Rome and the churche beynge in trouble And the Byshoppes of Rome were wounte to aske helpe of the Emperoure of Constantynople yf any euell had bene commynge towarde them by any forayne enemy The whych thyng Gregory wolde not nowe do because he had publyshed Leo the Emperoure to be an heretyke or chefely because that Leo coulde scante defende hys regall cytye frō the Sarracens muche lesse helpe other men By thys meane therfore it came to passe sayeth Platina that then fyrst of al the defence of the church was translated frō the Emperoures of Constantynople vnto other men Then Charles toke vpō hym thys defence and delyuered Rome from the sege After that he had wythdrawen Luythprandus the kynge and hys godfather from hys pourpose wyth a louynge exhortacion But the kynge of Fraunce through thys good turne bound the Byshops of Rome so much vnto him That Zachary the fyrst the successour of Gregorye the thyrde denyed not hys consente vnto Pipyne the sonne of Charles Pipyne by the meanes of the B. of Rome is made kynge of Fraunce in a matter moost vnhoneste For Pipyne went about the kyngdome of Fraunce and desyred greatlye for to put Clyperichus hys Lorde whyche came of the auncyente and noble stocke of the kynges of Fraunce and
was the laste kynge of the stocke of Merouea out of hys kyngdom and to make hym selfe kynge Nowe whē he had troubled greatly both the nobylite and the laytie yee and also the clergye aboute thys matter at the laste he sente Burghardus the byshope of Herbipolis wyth Folradus hys preste vnto zacharye the Byshop of Rome for to aske whether that he were more worthye to be kynge whyche was but the kynge onely in name and could do nothynge wyth hys counsell and helpe or elles he whiche bare all the burthen of the kyngdome alone yet in the meane season lacked the dygnite of a kynge Thys Byshope of Rome remembrynge what had bene done for hym gaue an expresse sentence I wryte the wordes of Frysingens a wrytter of hystoryes a Byshop that it was meter that he which toke the charge of all thynges shuld be called kynge then he whiche had but onely the name of a kynge For of an olde costume the kynges of Fraunce dyd leaue the gouernaūce of theyr kyngdom vnto the moost auncienteste of theyr stocke for it was the hygheste power nexste the kynges Nowe whē these embabassadoures had broughte thys answere vnto the kynge Pipyne bearynge hymselfe bolde of the verdyte of these great learned men and chefe of relygyon also of the ayde of certayne prynces noble men dyd thruste Chylpericus hys Lorde and kynge oute of hys regall dygnite and when he was oute of hys authoryte dyd shutte him in to a monastery and he hymselfe by the consente of hys mē toke vpon hym all the kynges power And when thys good kynge called vpon the cōmune fydelite that mē had promysed him and that ther were many in the realme whyche greatly improued suche tyrannye and breakynge of theyr othes Zachary the Byshope of Rome assoyled Pipyne wyth all hys of theyr othe whyche they had made vnto Chylpericus theyr kyng And that thys matter was thus handeled I wyll brynge for the two wytnesses The fyrste oute of the hystorye of Platina and thys it is Pipine beynge desyrous to beare rule sente hys embassadoures vnto the Byshoppe of Rome and desyred hym that he wolde confyrme the kyngedome of Fraunce vnto hym by hys authoryte The Byshop graunted vnto his requeste after he had remēbred what good turne he had receaued and also the olde kyndnes that had ben betwene the Byshoppes of Rome and the kings of the familie And so by hys authoryte the kyngdō of Fraūce was iudged vnto Pipyne in the yeare of oure LORDE .vii. hundreth .liii. Thys is Platinas sayenge Nowe followeth the latter testymonye of Gelasius wrytten vnto Anastasius the Emperoure whyche is conteyned in the .xv. questyon the .vi. Canon in these wordes Another byshop of Rome called zacharye deposed the kynge of Fraunce from hys kyngdome not so muche for hys iniquyties as because he was vnmete for so greate a dygnite The shepe troubleth the wa ter that the wolfe shulde drynke in that is an occasion is lyghtely founde dyd sette in hys place Pipyne the sonne of Charles the Emperoure and assoyled all the people of Fraūce of theyr othe of alegiaūce Hetherto go the wordes And kynge Pipyne for to recompence the Byshopes of Rome helped Steuen the seconde Byshop of Rome beynge oppressed of Aistulphus kyng of Lombardye and fledde into Fraunce after that Pipine had passed the mounteynes twyse with an armye of men he baysted into Italye and at the laste cōpelled Aistulphus to restore agayne those thynges whiche he had taken awaye goynge aboute by thys meanes for to quyte the Byshope of Rome for confyrmyng of hym in hys kyngedom Pipine geueth vnto the Byshoppes of Rome that whyche belōged to the Emperour Then was the offyce of the Debyte geuen vnto the Byshop of Rome and all that lyeth betwene Padus and Apenninus frō the Placentyns vnto the pooles or stondynge waters of Venyce and all that is cōteyned wythin Isaurus a floude of Apenninus and Adriaticus and what so euer the Aistulphus had gottē of the men of Hetruria and of the Sabyns All these thynges I saye dyd Pipine of hys lyberalyte geue vnto the Byshope of Rome the Emperoures Legates nothynge regarded For as Pipine was remouynge into Italye agaynst Lombardye Gregorye the chefe Secretary of the Emperoure Cōstantyne the fourthe met hym and in the name of the Emperoure warned the kynge that yf he happened to haue the vyctorye of the Lombardes that he shulde not geue vnto the Byshope of Rome nor to the Romaynes the Debyteshyppe ouer Rauenna whyche was oppressed of the Lombardes and belonged vnto the Emperoure But Pipine droue hym awaye from hym with a metely sharpe answere because he thoughte to do as he dyd a lytle whyle after for the whyche cause he was the fyrste of the kynges of Fraunce that was called the moost Christen kynge Hys sonne that was called Charles the greate followed the ensample of hys Charles the greate wyth a lowde voyce he ordeyned thys Charles to be Emperoure gaue him a kynges ornamenete the people of Rome cryeng thryse together Longe lyfe victorye be vnto Charles Augustus crowned of God the greate peaceable Emperoure These thynges were done the yeare of our LORDE .viii. hundreth and .iii. nor it is not lyke that these thinges were done without the consente and counsell of Irenes the Empresse of Constantinople specially because that the Cronicles of the Grekes do shewe that ther were messaūgers dyrected from Charles and Leo vnto Irenes to requyre her that she wolde be maryed vnto hym the whyche wolde soone haue graūted vnto theyr requestes yf that the prynces of Constantinople knowyng of the matter had not banyshed her strayght way and that before the face of Charles Embassadoures vnto Lesbus into an Abbey that she had buylded But Egynhartus in the lyfe of Charles dothe laye all the faute of the translacion of the Empyre to the Byshope of Rome For Charles at the fyrste sayeth he dyd so greatly refuse the name of the Emperoure and augustus that he sayde that he wolde not haue entred into the churche that daye although that ther were greate solempnyte yf he myght haue knowen the Byshopes mynde before He addeth more yet he suffered wyth greate pacience the euell wyll that he had for takynge that name vpon hym for the Emperours of Constātynople were greatly dyspleased wyth it and he ouercame theyr grudynge wyth hys myghtinesse in the whiche he passed them farre Moreouer theyr forayne warres helde them backe that they coulde not set vpon the Byshope of Rome and kynge Charles And therfore dyd Nycephorus the fyrste Emperoure of Constantynople after the diuidynge of the Empyre make alyaunce wyth kynge Charles Hetherto haue we shewed at large with what begynnynges in what ordre The conclusion that lytle horne crepte vp and gatte so greate power Nether was ther then truely ony power so great in all the Weste partye as the Byshoppes of Rome was For at theyr sentēce were ther
contrary wyse Wherevpon we reade in the Gospell that to the ryche glutton it was sayde Sonne remembre that thou in thy lyfe tyme receauedeste thy pleasure contrarye wyse Lazarus payne Nowe therfore he is refreshed and thou arte tormēted It differeth nothyng frome thys that we reade in the fourthe chapter of the boke of Sapiēce And these thynges truly are to be layd vp in the remembraunce of the faythfull to the intente that in tyme of aduersyte we myght perseuer in truth and ryghteousnes A true sayenge agaynst the tentacions of the deuell For the prosperyte of wycked men whiche they haue in thys world and on the the other syde the trouble of holy mē theyr moost infortunate estate do greatly vexe our myndes for to caste of the kyngdome of God and embrace thys presente worlde Let vs remembre therfore the ryghteous iudgemēt of God and the chaunge of all thynges Forsothe ther were in the tyme of the Prophetes contemners of God and louers of thys worlde which after the maner of our men commendynge the felicite of the wycked and scornynge or condēnynge the perylles that sayntes are in sayde Men serue God in vayne for ther commeth no profyte by that we haue kept hys commaundementes And we se that prowde men and subtyll persons are happy and they that do wyckednes to spede well and to be shorte that suche are safe as do tēpte God And what other thynge is it that men nowe adayes do obiecte agaynste the true worshypers of God what good haue ye gottē by your belefe saye they But what doth Malachie answere The LORDE gaue hede and herde thys and ther was a boke of remēbraunce wrytten before the LORDE ye shall se in tyme to cōme that ther is great differēce betwene the ryghteous the wycked betwene the seruaūte of God the despyser of hym Malachie the .iii. chapter Vvhan the LORDE Iesus shall shevve hymselfe from heauē vvith his myghty angelles in flamynge fyre rendryng vengeaunce vnto them that knovve not god and to them that obey not vnto the Gospell of oure LORDE Iesus Christe vvhiche shal be punished vvith euerlastynge dāpnacyon from the presence of the LORDE and from the glorye of hys povver vvhā he shall come to be glorifyed in hys sayntes and to be made maruelous in all thē that beleue because our testimony that vve had vnto you vvas beleued in that same daye He doth here paynt and wyth expresse and very notable wordes sette forthe before our eyes the commyng of the LORD Iesus and the maner of the iudgemenete The same cōmynge shal be vnto all sayntes very acceptable and moost beste welcome and to the vngodly very sowre and sorowful And euery word hath his strēgth and pythe Nowe saythe he the matter goeth all by wordes But whan the ende of all thynges shall come those thynges shall apeare manyfestly of which all sayntes haue disputed so long many yeares For the LORDE Iesus hymselfe to whōe all power is geuen in heauen in earth and to whome all iudgement belongeth shall apeare in a corporall fourme and lykenes for to iudge all fleshe And nowe doth he descrybe the behaueour of thys myghtye Iudge that vnto all hys enemyes shal be so terryble and so desyrous and longed for of hys frendes He shall comme I saye frome heauen not nowe as once crepynge vppon the earthe nor yet lowe and despysed as he appeared in hys fyrste cōmyng But cōpassed about wyth the hoost of angelles For we reade in Daniell the .vii A thousande thousandes mynistred vnto hym tenne thousand tymes tenne thousande stode before hym And therfore euē as a myghty kyng beynge apoynted with a chosen stronge hooste of men doth sett vpon hys enemy so shall the LORDE Iesus vse the mynisterye of angels in subduynge of the wycked mayntenaunce of the godly Therfore doth he call them the myghty angels of God as he wold saye they by whō god doth exercyse hys power or myghte Nother shall he thē come forth gently pleasaunte and for to heale the vnruly but be armed with horryble and flamynge fyre The Apostle Peter beareth wytnesse also that the LORDE shall iudge the world by fyre .ii. Petri .iiii. And the Prophete Dauid descrybynge that maner of Christes cōmyng to iudgement Psal xviii sayeth Fyre shal go forth before him he shall sende forth hys arowes skatter thē he shal cast oute lyghtenynges destroy thē And Daniel A fyry flowde brake forth sayeth he wēt out frō his syghte Furthermore Paul doth in playne wordes declare whō the LORD shal destroy at his cōmynge He shall of his wrath rēdre vēgeaūce vnto thē which knew not god or at the lest wold not know god which followynge the world regarded not hys preceptes obeyed not the Gospell of oure LORDE Iesus Christe Which thyng agreeth very well to the matter that is now in hāde For the Thessaloniās obeyed the Gospell suffered persecuciō for it It was swete therfore to heare that theyr obedience shuld be healthfull vnto thē to theyr aduersaries that persecuted thē damnable For he repetyng agayn the same thyng whiche he had sayd euē now in other wordes which shal be punyshed sayeth wyth euerlastynge damncion For euē so doth he rendre vengeaūce vnto thē For he punysheth these contēpners when he appoynteth them vnto euerlastynge fyre For so we reade in Daniell also the xii chapter Many that slepe in the duste of the earth shall waken some to eternall lyfe and some to shame and euerlastynge fyre After the same maner also dothe the iudge geue sentence Math. xxv Departe fro me ye cursed chyldren into euerlastynge fyre which is prepared for the deuel and hys angels they shall go into euerlastynge payne And S. Ambrose sayth excellently wel The wycked shall haue the paynes whiche are due vnto them that is they shall euermore fele eternall confusyon and yet shall neuer wholy fayle that the payne it selfe myghte engendre renew them after a certayn maner wherby they may euer from tyme to tyme be as it were consumed Therfore they deceaue and are deceaued as many as do promyse themselues delyueraunce out of hell and do fayne that after the day of iudgemente wycked men also shall be forgeuen The whych thynge men saye the Orygen thought I wote nere how truly but it is sure the certayne of the Anabaptystes haue taught this openlye But out of thys place it apeareth howe falsely and wyckedly For the vngodly shall peryshe by euerlastyng death From the presence of the LORDE that is whē the LORDE commeth from the glory of hys power that is when he shall come gloriously for to shewe hys power strength vnto good and euell For wyth these wordes sayeth Theophylactus he sheweth howe easy it is for God to punyshe nether shall it be harde for hym to punyshe because that rebellious and obstynate people shal be tormented euē wyth the very syghte of hym And the diuine
ChristeÌ„ yee and also of the Heythen and called it Alcoran And those that obeyed it he gaue them to name Sarracenes or Agarens and armed them agaynste the Perses Agaynste whom because he had metelye good fortune he beganne to be taken for a Prophete or a man of God And whan he had gotten hym great glorye he dyed after he had lyued .xl. yeares After hys death many prynces of that nacioÌ„ by succession when they had dyuyded the multytude or hoostes betwene them raygned some in one place and some in another And Homar the thyrde after Machomet after that he had subdued the Perses toke Ierusalem and all Syria about the yeare of our LORDE CCCCCC lxx Constantine the fourth then reygnyng After thys they that followed hym inuaded Egypte also and ordeyned Calypha to be ruler ouer it A man mâ—â—e reade more of the Sarracenes and of theyr kyngdome here and there amonge the wrytters of histories And the nacion of the Turkes commynge of the Scythyans warred vnder the Sarracenes in Asia toke theyr professioÌ„ and relygion of them from tyme to tyme as it were by hande from one to another euen as they toke of them also the greatest porcyoÌ„ of theyr Empyre kepe it to thys daye gettynge synce therto Asia Macedonia Moesia Athens Peloponesus Epyrus Thratia Illiricus with many other contryes Nowe by thys ye perceaue what that lytle horne dyd sygnifye the whyche commynge vp among the tenne hornes dyd plucke vp other thre For it is Machomet the whyche coÌ„myng of a meane yee of a moost lowe stocke of a marchaunte is made a kynge whose successoures haue holden thre of the mooste myghtyest kyngdomes of the world Persia Siria and Egypte and yet I rehearse not the other kyngdomes of whych I made mencion euen now For by the nombre of thre he vnderstode many kyngdomes But yet all thys whyle we haue not mad an ende of the mystery of iniquite The bysâ—â—p of Rome For ther is another certayn thyng also which pertayneth to the perfeccion of thys body of Antichrist Therfore whyle these thynges were in hand in the East partyes the By shop of Rome goeth aboute the dominyoÌ„ of the West in the West partyes Ye loked not that I shuld saye suche thynges of the By shope but yet they are true And who wolde euer haue thought the the ministers of Godes word and of the churches shuld once haue come vnto suche madnes as for to thynke cauncell howe they myght gette the gouernaunce of the cytye and of the worlde Specially in as muche as Christ had sayd in so playne wordes The kynges of the gentyles do rule but so shall not ye but I haue chosen you that ye shulde go and brynge forth muche frute And he that is greatest amonge you shal be a seruaunte to you all But these commaundementes of the LORDE beynge neglected ther beganne certayne men to dispute of the primacy of the Byshope of Rome at suche tyme as that lytle horne was acoÌ„mynge forth And because it was wrytten Thou arte Peter and vpoÌ„ thys rocke wyll I buylde my churche And I wyll geue the the keys of the kyngdom of heaueÌ„ And what so euer thou byndest vpoÌ„ earth shal be bounde in heauen And agayne because that Achasius the Bishop of Constantinople and Timotheus men of Grecia dyd desyre of Simplicius the Byshop of Rome that he also wolde condempne Peter the byshop of Alexandria the follower of Euthicetys heresye as one whyche had rule ouer the chefe churche whose authorite was of greate value among all meÌ„ certayne men coÌ„cluded vpoÌ„ thys that the seate of Rome was the chefe of all churches and that the Byshope of Rome was the head ruler ouer all byshopes Thou seyst here also howe that lytle horne beganne to lyfte vp it selfe Ihon of CoÌ„staÌ„tinople And IhoÌ„ of Constantynople puttynge more coles vnto thys fyre helde a Councell amonge the Grecyans in the whyche he declared hymselfe to be the vniuersall Byshop or Patriarke The whyche thynge Mauricius the Emperoure of the Romaynes dyd sygnifye vnto Gregory the fyrst Byshope of Rome of that name commaundynge hym for to submytte hymselfe and to be obediente vnto Ihon. But Gregory answered that the power of byndyng lowsyng was geuen vnto Peter not vnto the Byshopes of Constantynople and that therfore he shulde ceasse to prouoke the wrath of God vpoÌ„ hym Thys same Gregory wrytynge vnto Anastasius of Antioche and to Eulogius Byshop of Alexandria in the register of the .vii. parte of hys .xxx. Epistle sayth Youre worshypfull holynes knoweth that thys name vnyuersall byshope was offered by the holy CouÌ„cell of Calcedonye vnto them of the Apostolyke seate whych god so disposynge I do nowe serue But none of my predecessoures dyd consente for to vse so prophane a name because surely that yf one be called an vniuersal Patryacke it is a derogacioÌ„ vnto the name of other Patriarkes But God forbyd the ony ChristeÌ„ maÌ„ shuld take that to hym selfe wherby he shulde seme to dimynyshe the honoure of hys brethren in ony parte were it neuer so lytle These are Gregorius wordes But not al only the Byshopes of Constantynople but also of Rome the successoures of Gregory forgettynge these thynges dyd not cease to stryue aboute the prymacy vntyl that Bonyface the thyrde of that name not longe from the tyme of Gregory had optayned But yet as Platina sayeth also not without greate coÌ„tencion of Phocas the Emperoure whyche slewe Mauricius with hys chyldreÌ„ very cruelly That S. Peters seate shuld be counted called the head of all other churches Of the whych thynge Paule the Deacon maketh mencion also in the .iiii. boke of the actes of the Lombardes the .xi. Chapter Nowe whan thys was graunted vnto the Byshopes of Rome ther was as it were a wyndowe opened vnto the whole Empyre And theÌ„ they cast theyr mynde for to rule ouer the cytye the whole world And theÌ„ hauynge an occasyon they gaue all theyr diligence to the same And the wanders whyche were sene at that tyme dyd sygnifye a greate chaunge of thynges for they were suche as were neuer sene before of whych the hystoryes do testifye dyligeÌ„tly And ther were theÌ„ very many occasions whyche dyd lyfte vp the Byshope of Rome very hye then goynge aboute the same thynge and specially the sedycious warres and the often breakyng in of rude nacions The breakynge in of the Sarracens For the Saracenes the generacion of Machomet after they had taken Africa dyd spoyle Syria and Asia and set vpon Europa Therfore the Emperours beynge holden in the East partys because of these presente perylles were coÌ„pelled to set asyde the gouernauÌ„ce of the West And by thys means it came to passe that the Frenche men and Lombardes encreased greatlye in so muche that the Emperoure was at the laste afrayed of the kynges of bothe those nacions For althoughe the Emperoure had set certayn Debytes for to gouerne Italy yet was theyr power