to defend the churche from yov For more contrary than yov be / can no man be But the very truth ys / that yov doo intende to make the kyngis grace but youre hangeman thys is a shamfull name for a prynce but the shame be vn to you that are not ashamyd / to geue hym the very offyce off this name / yee and by cause you will doo nothyng but shamfullye also to mock hym / with a glorious title For you make hym but a mynister of youre myschevous tyrannye so that so oftyn as yov haue condemned any man / agenst ryght and agenst godes law / for an heretyke so oftyn must he come and receyve thys man off youre hande for yov saye wyth the Iewes / that yov maye kylle no man and so put hym to dethe / and not once denye yt / nor yet aske yov what he hath done to deserue dethe / for yov are readye to answere hym / and saye as the Iewes did If he were not an evell doar we wolde not commytt hym to youre hondes More getteth he not of you / for you be spretualle men and may kylle no man / but he is bound to doo yt by youre lawe / vnder the payne of losyng his royalme So that he is bound / to crucifye chryst so oftyn as you crye Crucifige / Crucifige Lett euery Christen prynce consyder in hys conscience / whether that the Iewes dyd not procede even on thys maner agenst Christ or no / yee that was more indyfferent than thys ys / for there Pylate was iudge / and here be they Iudgis / and princes be but seruauntes But I pray yov my lordes / where haue yov gotten thys auctorite ouer princes / to coÌ„pelle them to swere to yov in ony cause / what and if the kynge wolde be an infidell / wolde yov expel hym what can you do more bi right than lay the worde of god to him / aÌ„d the daunger of hys infydelite yov haue no auctorite to deposse hym / for Christenyd men must obey to vnfaythefulle princes / did not Christ this did not Peter thys did not Paule thys dothe not the worde of god commaunde yov thys to do saynge 1. Petri. 2 Fere God / honour youre kynge / be subiect not allonly vn to them that be good and easy / but vn to them that be evell Vvhat saye yov to these wordes how can you avoyde them how can yov auoyd the vengeaunce of god But now if yt pleasse youre grace / they wille laye to my charge / that I speke agenst the preuileges of holy churche / I will infringe the lybertyes of holy churche I answere I know no lybertyes nor preuyleges that holy churche hathe / but these that Christ hathe lefte here / Is thys libertye in his worde to do agenst christes holy worde and ordinaunce / and to folowe mens dremes Is Christes holye worde / of so lytle effecte why dyd not Christ than geue this lyberte in his worde to holy churche Did he leue that to yov to do Shewe youre commission Call yov thys a preuilege / to be agenst youre naturall prynce of the royalme / and to make him subiect vn to yov which haue no tytle of preheminence / but alonly of tyranny Than hathe holy churche gottyn a goodlye lyberte But what meane yov whan yov say / holy churche yf yow meane youre selues onlye / than the kynges grace is muche bound vn to yov / that yov do exclude his grace and al his commens out of holy churche / in to the whyche Christ hathe bought them with his most precious bloude And if yov vnderstond by holy churche the wholle congregacion / than are all Chrystenyd men aÌ„d alle there godes exemptyd from the kynges grace and vndernethe yov / So that bi this meanys yov wil make his grace a kynge with out a royalme / and he shal haue the name / and yov shal haue the auctoryte and the foolke But is thys Christes churche Is thys holy churche that is so contrary to the lorde of all holynes who hathe made her so holye why dyd she not clayme this liberte / in christes and his holy apostles dayes But now my lordis oure moste noble and gracious prynce commaundeth yov to answere / and to defende youre awne lawes / to defende youre libertyes / and to laye for yov by what tytle you do vsurpe his graces power / seynge that yow be but his subiectis He wille know by what auctorite yov do kepe any Courtes / or do execute any commaundementes with in his royalme what auctoryte yov haue to prove testamentes / and to take of euery pound a sertyn and to geue letters of mynystracion / ouer those godes / that yov neuer laboured for Vvhat tytle haue you there to The maÌ„ was not youre subiect / and how come yov by the mynistracion of his goodes Also what auctorite haue you to defende youre temporall goodes with bothe swerdes as yt is wrytten in youre lawe 15 q. 6 Auâ—toritateÌ„ 15. q. 6. Auctoritatem This is more than the kynges grace can doo / for he hathe but one swerde / and will you haue bothe But what auctoryte haue you to punysh them that stryke preastes And them that be bacbyters / and sclanderers Furthermore by what auctorite de you coÌ„maund / that preastes shal not appere before temporall iudges 23. q. 8 CoÌ„venior 33 q. 2. Inter hec As yt ys wrytten in youre lawe 23. q. 8. Conuenior in the glosse Also in a nother place 33. q. 2. Inter hec Also by what auctorite / haue yov made that princes shal make no statute as concernynge the goods of the church 23 q. 8 Conuenior in the glosse 23 q. 8 CoÌ„venior But yff ony thinge shal be geuyn vn to you / than the Emperoure and kinges haue sufficient power / but yff you shall paye any thynge to the mayntaynynge of the kynges grace and hys commen welthe / than no man hathe auctoryte wyth out youre consent Haue you not wytched the world this longe tyme But forthermore / the kyngis grace wolde knowe / by what auctorite you haue made that a preast shall not be sued afore a temporall iudge for whoredom These be the wordes of youre lawe Di. 28. c. CoÌ„sulenâ—m But vn to you that be laye men / is lefâ—e no power for to iudge off preastes / nor yet to serche ony thyng of their liuing cÌ„ My lordes maye no man iudge / of youre lyuyng but youre selues a lone not the kynges grace / who hathe geuyn yov this exempcyon who hathe geuyn you power to be iudges over bawdrie Is bawdrye a spirituall cause / Dothe bawdrye belonge to spyrituall men S. paul calleth yt the worke of the fleshe Gala. 5. and will you call yt a spirituall cause It may well be spyrytuall of youre spryte / but I am suer it is agenste the sprete of god But by thys meanys haue you
haue why do they not put them bothe in vse for they must say as the Iuys sayd / we may kille noman This is the article that did byte yov for yov can not be content with the office of a bysshop but yov wille be also kynges but how that stondeth with godes lawe and with youre othe I haue declaryd yt to oure nobille prince I doute not but he wille put yov to the trial of these articles The .9 Article They saye they be the successors of christ aÌ„d of his apostles / but I can se them follow none but Iudas / for they bere the pursse / and yf they had not so greate possessions I am suer an C. wolde speke agenst them where now dare not one for losse of their promosyon As for this artycle I wil ouer come you with the witnes of alle the worlde yov may well coÌ„demne yt for heresy / but it is as trew as youre pater noster / Iudas solde oure master but once / and yov selle hym as oftyn as he cometh in youre handes The .10 Artycle THere is not the greatyst pharisye in thys churche / but I am suer I prycke him with these wordes and he knowithe that these thynges be trewe though he say the contrary aÌ„d that do I wel knowe This artycle dyd I speake by cause of doctour Rydle which on a tyme grauntyd in master doctour buttes house that the bysshops were clear out of order And therfore I say that I know yt The .11 Article THese ordynary bysshops aÌ„d prelattes do folow that false prophete balaaÌ„ for they wolde curse the people but by the prouisyon of god they are compellyd toblesse theÌ„ / that ys to say / to teache them to lyue wel though they theÌ„ selfe lyue most myschevously so the Assis whych they ryde a pon that is the commen people haue their lyuys in abhominacyon Thys ys the heresy for it speketh agenst the holy fathers which be almost as holy as Balams asse whych dyd ons speke the word of god to a good purposse and so do they neuer / but I graunt that I dyd offend in callyng you ordenary bisshops for I shulde haue callid yov inordinate buchers / and as for that that I coÌ„pare yov to balaam it is youre awne lawe .ij. q. vij Secutisunt / And .c. Nos si And as for youre lyuyng alle the world knoweth it The .12 Article THey sett vp an Idolle to dyseaue the people with alle whych is callyd Baal peor / Or baal phegor which is iÌ„terpretated gaspyng that is their lawes and constitucions that gaspe and gape to mayntayne their worldly honoure / they cause vs do sacryfyce by fayre wymeÌ„ that is by their carnall affeccyons and sweate wordes that god of Israell is for gottyn / aÌ„d so by theyr sweat wordes and benedyctyon they disseue simple people These be the false masters that 2. Pet. 2. S. Peter speketh of / these be the fovntayns with out watter for they geue no good doctryne to the people where ys the heresy in thys by cause I coÌ„pare youre lawys to baal / but loke whether the interpretacion of the word do a gre with the nature of youre lawes or not what do al youre lawes but mynyshe the auctorite of princes / and of al other lordes and exalte youres only calle yov not that a gaspyng Idolle let thys article stoÌ„d tyll yov be able to proue it heresy The .13 Article NOw they selle vs / they selle the people / they selle holy orders / they selle church halowyng / there ys no better marchandysse in chepesyde / wilt thow knowe what is the price of a church halowyng no lesse than .xl. shelinges / they sel pardoÌ„s remyssions of synnes as opeÌ„ly as a cowe and an oxe is solde for thei never graunt them with out monny The suffrigan of ely dyd aske of master Iohan pur golde .xl. shelinges and the offringe for halowynge of S. Edwardes in Cambrige / yee and he wolde not do it so good chepe / but bi cause he had a goddoughter buryed in the churche yarde / But this may be prouyd by exampillys ynow for bryng ye forth one churche in all Englond that yov haue hallowyd with out monny or with out hope of mony / and I wyll graunte my conclusyon false / and as for youre pardoÌ„s all the worlde knoweth youre handelyng I dare say yt is the best marchandyse in the worlde as yov handill yt The .14 article VVylte thou know what their benedictyoÌ„ is worthe They had rather geue the ten benediccions than one halfpeny Is not thys a sore heresy you ryde thorow streates and townys blyssynge man and stone but yov never geue halfpeny to man nor to chylde The .15 Article NOw is come a pardon wherby they say that they haue power to send an huÌ„dred soules to heuyn / and if they may so doo with out any further respect than may they lykewysse send a nother hundred to helle for yt followeth in the texte quodcunque ligaueris / that is what soeuer thou bindest Is not this a sore heresy to say that you may not rule thys matter at youre iudgement / but this is a meruelous texte / QuodcuÌ„que ligaueris / for yt bindeth in helle and losythe in heuyn / and openeth mens pursys and cofers in erthe / yt deposith prynces / yt interdyteth londes yt losyth a man out of his cote / yee oftyn tymes yt losethe a man from his wyffe / yee and the horsse out of the carte And all ys done by this text Quodcunque ligaueris / is not thys a mervelous texte that hathe so great power I know not such a nother in aâ— the hole Bible The .16 Article IT ys abhominable to here how they preache and teache that they may absolue a pena a culpa / which I am suer that yt is â—mpossible as they vnderstond it Make of this what yov can / and loke of youre awne scolasticall doctours The .17 Article VVhat ys the cause that they forbyd vs thou we shuld not dyscusse how great their power is but by cause that they wold make all meÌ„ foles holde vs in ygnoraunce / youre awne scole men saye that the popis power is so great that no man can nor maye dyscusse yt / but this ys for from herysy The .18 Article THey haue a law most abhominable and coÌ„trary to godes lawe and cheryte to excoÌ„munycate the people foure tymes in a yeare / that ys to saye the men that rayse the rent off an housse / that must you vnderstonde yff yt belonge not to the church / for yff yt belonge to the church / thou mayst rayse yt everye moneth once and no man shall cursse the. Also they cursse them that be not buryed in their parish church / that must be vnderstond yff that they be ryche men / for yf they be poore they may be buryed amonge the fryars The bisshope of bathe sayd there was
thyng that is commanded vs or els flye / but if any thyng be commanded vs that is agenste the worde of god where by oure faythe is hurt / that we shulde not doo in any wysse but rather suffer persecucyon and also dethe But agenst this power goythe not oure Artycle for it commandeth nothyng as consernynge the consyens / but alonly as consernyng the orderynge of worldly thynges and there fore / it mynistreth a temporalle payne over the boddy wonly and there wyth conteÌ„t / wherfore we wille now speke of the other power whych meÌ„ calle spiritualle Fyrst here is to be notyd that thys is no power Nor none auctorite worldly / but al oÌ„ly a mynystracyon of the worde of God and a spiritualle regement / prechyng the gouernynge of the soule and the mynystracion of the sprett hauyng nothyng to do wyth the exterior Iustes or ryghtwisnes of the world aÌ„d therfore hathe it no power bi ryght lawe to make any statutes or lawys to order the world by / but alonly faythe fullie truli to pÌ„che to minister the word of god there bi iÌ„structiÌ„g the coÌ„syeÌ„s of maÌ„ nothiÌ„g addyng there to / nor takyng there from but as S. Paule saith / 2. Tim. 3 to abyde in those thynges that they haue lerned / Rom. 16 and that be commytted vn to them / for S. Paule as he hym selfe saith durste speke no nother thynge but those thynges which Christe had wrought by him / for he curseth hym be he man or angell that precheth any other gospell / Gala. 1. Hiere 23 than he had preched / therfore the prophete commandeth vs that we shulde not here the wordes of those prophetes which dysseue vs / for they speke visyons of their awne hartes and not out of the mought of god / and yet speke they in the name of god / wherfore these meÌ„ so longe as they speke wonly the worde off god / so longe are they to be harde / as christ him selfe / after that saynge he that hereth yov hereth me / Luce. 10 Mat. 23. Suê‘ IoaÌ„ Trac 46. also what so euer they saye vn to yov syttynge in the chayre of Moses doo yt / on the which texte speketh S. Augustine / By syttyng in the chayre is vnderstonde the lernynge of the lawe of god / and therfore god dothe teche by theÌ„ / but yf they wylle teache their awne doctrine hare yt not / doo yt not / for suche men seke that that ys theires and not Christes cÌ„ These wordes be playne agenst alle them that preche any thynge but the lawe of god wonly / wherefore yff these mynysters wyll of tyranny aboue the worde of god make any law or statute / yt must be consydered after two maner awayes / fyrste whether yt be openly and derectly agenst the word of god and to the dystruccion of the faith / as that statute is where by they haue condemned the new testament / and also forbydden serten men to preche the worde of god hauynge no trew cause agenste them / but alonly their malicius susspeccion / also that lernyng where by they lerne / that workes doo iustify more ouer that statute where by they bynd meÌ„ vnder the payne of damnacyon to be assoyled of them / these statutes I say with other lyke men are not bound for to obey nether of cherite for here is faith hurt which geueth no place to cheryte nor yet for a voydyng of sclander / for the worde of god may not be a voydyd / nor yet geue place / vn to sclander for than shulde yt neuer be preched / but it must be faste stucke vn to and the more that men be offended with alle aÌ„d the styffer that they be agenste yt / the more openly and planlye yee and that to their faces / that make suche statutes must we resyst them with these wordes / Act. 5. we are more bound to obey god than man This is well proued / by Hylarius wordes / Hylarius in Matt. cano 14. alle maner of plantes that be not planted of the father of heuen must be plucked vpp by the rootes / that is to say the tradicions of meÌ„ / by whose menys / the commandimentes of the lawe be broken / must be destroyed / and therfore calleth he them / blynd gydes of the way to euerlastynge lyffe / because they se not that thyng they promys / and for that cause / he saith / that bothe the blynde gydes and they that be led shall faule in to the dyke cÌ„ Marke that alle tradicious of meÌ„ which are agenst godes law must be dystroyed / therfore lett everye man take hede / for yt longeth to their charge / for bothe the blynd gydes and also they that be led shalle falle in the dyke / yt shalle be none excuse / for hym that ys led to saye that hys gyde was blynd / but lett them here the word of god by his holy prophete walke not in the preceptes of youre fathers nor kepe not their iudgementes / Ezech. â—0 but walke in my preceptes / and kepe my iudgementes The other maner of statutes be whan serten thynges that be called indifferent be commanded as thinges to be done of necessite and vnder the paynes of deedly synne / as for an example to eate fleshe or fyshe this day or that day is indiffereÌ„t and fre / also to goo in this rayment / of this collour or that collour / to shaue oure hedes or not / a prest to were a longe goune or a shorte / a gray fryar to were a gray cote or a Russett / a whytte fryar to were a whytte or a blake / a preste to marry or not to marrye / an heremyt to haue a berde or not / these with alle other suche outwarde workes / be thynges indifferent and may be vsed and also lefte / now if the bisshops will make any lawe or statute that these thinges shalle be determynatlye vsed so that it shalle not be lawfulle for vs to leue them vn done / but that we must presyssely doo them and not the coÌ„trary vnder the payne of dedlye synne / here must they be with stoÌ„ded and in no wyse obeyd for in this is hurte oure faith and lyberte of christendome where by we ar fre and not bound / to any exterior worke / but fre in alle thynges and vn to alle men at alle tymys and in alle maner / excepte yt be in suche a cause where as brotherly cheryte / or the commen peace shuld be offended therefore in all these thinges be we fre aÌ„d we must withstonde them that wylle take thys lybertye from vs wyth thys texte of scripture / we are bought with pryce we wyl not be the seruaÌ„tes of men / 1. Cor. 7. this texte is open agenste them that wylle bynd mennes conscyens vn to synne in those thinges that Christe hathe lefte them fre in / off this we
☞ A supplicatyon made by Robert Barnes doctoure in diuinite / vnto the most excellent and redoubted prince kinge henrye the eyght ¶ The articles for which this forsayde doctoure Barnes was condemned of oure spiritualtye / are confirmed by the scripture / doctoures and their awne lawe ☞ After that he disputeth certayne comen places which also he confermeth with the scripture / holye doctoures and their awne lawe ☜ The comen places which he disputeth are these 1 The first is / that Alonlye faith iustefyeth before god 2 The secoÌ„de / what the church is and who be the rof / and where by men may knowe her 3 The thirde / what the kayes of the church be to whom they were geuen 4 The fourth is / that the frewill of man after the faulle of Adam / of his naturall strength can do nothinge but sinne 5 The fifte is / that it is lawfull for all maner of men to reade holye scripture 6 The sixte is / that mennes constitucions which be not grounded in scripture binde not the conscience of maÌ„ vnder the payne of deedlye sinne 7 The seventh is / that al maner of christened meÌ„ / both spirituall and temporall are bounde when they wil be howseled to receyve the sacrament in both kindes vnder the payne of deedlye synne 8 The eight proueth that it is agenst scripture to honoure images and to praye to sayntes Grace and peace from God the father of oure sauiour Iesus Christ be with youre most noble and excellent grace for euer Amen IN most humble wise complayneth vn to youre grace youre coÌ„tinuall Orator Robart Barnes / of the intollerable iniuries / wronges and oppressions where wyth the bisshoppes of youre royalme vexe and haue vexed / contrary vn to the worde of god and their awne lawes and doctours / not onlye me but also all true preachers aÌ„d professours of the same / as they did in condemnynge me for an heretyke whiche thinge they were not able to proue by the scripture of god / nor yet shall not / yff it wold please youre grace indifferently accordinge to the office wher in god hath sette you to here the small as well as the great and to susteyne youre pore orator ageÌ„st their violence and strength God I take to recorde that I am ryght sorye to make this complaynte vnto youre grace agenst them / yf I coulde coniecture any other meane to cause them to redresse their intollerable oppressions / where with they dayly oppresse youre pore and true subiectis / so sore and so violently that wyth out doute yf youre grace se not shortly a remedy god must nedys punish For I doo not beleue that euer he will suffer longe so great tyrannye agenst his worde so abhominable liuing as they liue / and that in the name of Christ and his holy churche / verely we do not reade in any memoryes that oure fathers haue lefte vs / that euer the people were vnder so greate tyrauny as now youre pore subiectis be vn to them It ys so farre come that what so euer he be / hye or lowe / poore or ryche / wyse or folish that speakyth agenste theyr hypocrysy which they calle holynes AmbicioÌ„ / pryde dignite which they calle honoure of the church or vycious liuyng whych caÌ„ not be cloked he ys eyther made a traytour vn to youre grace or an heretyke agenst holy church / as though they were kynges or God This may youre moste exceâ— grace perfytly knowe if you calle to rememâ—â—auÌ„ce those men that they haue had to do with â—s it not a maruelous courte that they haue these was neuer man accused afore them of heresy were he lerned or not lerned but they founde hym giltye ys not that a maruelous courte that neuer hath innocentes what courte within youre realme maye saye this agayne aÌ„d yf any man speake of gods lawe and right coÌ„science agenst thys damnable tyranny / lyttle wyll they stycke to make hym as heretyke And yf that wylle not helpe to coloure aÌ„d mayntayne theyr oppressyon than adde they â—asone agenst youre grace though he be neuer so trewe a subiect and all vnlykly to make ony resystaunce or to thynke any evyll vn to youre grace notwythstandinge they wyll not be a shamed to laye vn to hys charge that he wolde make an insurreccion in youre londe Nowe yf yt please youre grace lett vs consyder to what ende thys vncheritable and vnryghtuous accusacion of the bysshoppes is inuentyd Fyrst if there be any man that preach / dyspute / or put forth in writtinge any thynge not tow chynge them / though yt be neuer so blasphemous agenst god and hys worde / they wyll not ones be moued therewith the examples therof are so playne that yt nedeth no proufe youre grace maye se what blasphemous rubrykes they alowe agenst the bloude off chryst / what shamfull and abhominable pardons they tollerate and admytte / what disputatyons they do maynteyne to proue the pope a god and noo man as theyr conclusyons and questyons be playne in theyr awne lawes That the pope ys nother a god nor a man And that the pope ys no man / And whether the pope cane syn or not and that no man may condemne the pope though he bringe innumerable soules to helle by hys occassyon Agayne let any man but ones speake agenst theyr cloked ypocrysye / or neuer so lytle a thynge that longeth too them whych shulde hyndre theyr abhomynacyons and there can no scripture / no place / no mastershyp nor excuse in the world saue / but they must eyther to open shame or cruell deeth So that yt ys playne that theyr cruelnes serueth to no nother ende / but as they shuld saye yf that ony man wyll take in hond too preache the veryte / and the true goospell off theyr Master Chryst purely wherby those thyngys that we take on vs / that ys oure honour oure dygnyte / oure worldly promosyon / oure dylycyous lyuynge / oure gorgyous aparele / oure sumptuous palases / breuely all thynge that we vse to oure pastyme and pleasure shall be manyfest too euery man / that we doo yt contrary to the worde off god Soo that they shall knowe opynly by manyfest scryptures oure fâ—yned hypocrysy / and that we ought not to be lordes of the parlament / nor to haue no place of worldly honour amonge the people nor to haue dominion ouer them / nor that any thynge shuld be orderyd after oure wyl but onlye aâ—ter the worde of god / nor that we shuld medyll in ony causes but alonly in reding and preachinge of the worde of god / wyth greate studye diligence and labour / yee and thereof be coÌ„tent to haue but a pore lyuing / yee and so pore that we shall be constrayned oft tymis both to hunger / to thrust and to suffer greate colde / as Christ and his appostles were Nowe rather than this shulde come to passe we had lever
gather oure strength to gether aÌ„d oppresse by violence as many as wyll holde wyth this lerning be he kynge / duke / lorde / Barone / Knight / MaÌ„ / woman / or childe So that they / yf it plese youre grace / go aboute to make the insurrexion to the mayntaynyng of their worldly pompe and pryde / and not the trew preacher for he intendith to mayntayne nothinge but the worde of god and that with suffering persecucion as the nature of the worde ys and not wyth persecuting / and ys also neyther able nor likly nor wylling yf he might to make any resurrexion ageÌ„st youre grace / for he maketh no striuinge yf he be the trew preacher of god nor fyghtynge for this worlde / but sufferith the childern of the world to enioye these worldly thynges / and intendeth alonly to bring in to light the most glorious and heuenly worde of god / but that wyll not the bisshops the childern of the world suffer / whych had rather seke and proue all the crafte suttilty and falshode that they can invent / than these thingis shuld by the worde of God come to lyght / so that they wylle make the insurrexion / and not the preacher Notwythstondyng they ar not a shamed / thus falsly to lay it to the preachers charge / and all by cause they wolde make youre grace to mayntaine ther maylyciousnes So that vnder the pretence of treason / they might execute the tyraÌ„nye of their hartis on lye For who ys that that wolde be a traytoure / or mayntaine a traytoure / agenste youre moste excelent and noble grace I thynk no man / yeâ— and I knowe suerly that no man can doo yt / wyth out the great dyspleasure of the eternalle god For. S. Paule commaundeth straytely vnto alle chrysten / to be obedient in all thynges vn to their princes / saynge on this maner / Rom. 13 Lett euery man submytte him selfe to the auctorite off the hye power For who so euer resystyth the power / resystyth the ordynaunce off god / they that resyste shall receyve to them selues daÌ„nacyon Also S. Peter confermyth thys / 1. Pet. 2. saynge Submytte youre selues vn to all maner ordinaunce off maÌ„ for the lordes sake / whether yt be vn to the kyng / as vnto the cheffe hed / eyther vn to dukes as vn to theÌ„ that are sent off hym for the punishment of evell doars / but to the prayse of them that do welle Here most noble prynce no man is except from the subieccyon of youre most excellent powre / neyther the bisshops / nor yet no nother man Not wyth stondyng yff they were so trewe in dede as they pretend in worde / Thys gospelle shulde they preache them selfe faythefully / puerly / and syncerelye to the people / as Paulle commaundeth Titus / and in hym alle bysshops in these wordes Vvarne them sayth he that they submytte them selues to prynces and to powers / and to obeye the offycers Thys are they commaunded not allonly to obserue them selues / but also to teache the people to obey theyr prynces whyche thynge yff they dyd faythefully in dede / as they dyssemble in worde / than they wolde not make so holy marters of them / that haue dyed agenst the liberte of prynces / in defendyng of their glorie / as they haue done Vve haue many that be made sayntes for rebellinge agenst prynces / for defendyng of theyr fayned spirituall lyberte though yt were in sauing a theuysh preaste froÌ„ the gallous / whyche had deserued dethe / ye and for defendynge of their temporall possessyons / and that preastes shulde be fre / aÌ„d all their goodes / not bounde to paye trybute For these artycles haue they made many holy sayntes / but whaÌ„ made they one for defendinge of gods worde and the kyngys prerogatiue / whiche ys alowed by godes word Neuer one in all their liues nor neuer wyll where fore youre grace may se and perceaue / that they be but dyssemblers and hypocrytis / aÌ„d nether trewe in worde nor dede For yf they were / youre grace shulde haue more auctoryte than you haue in youre realme / aÌ„d they shulde haue lesse in the worlde and more in the worde / but they neyther teache it theÌ„ selues / nor suffer with their wille other men to teache it For if any maÌ„ take in honde to teache the people / that there is no teÌ„poral power with in the realme but in youre hoÌ„de alloÌ„ly / anon they are ready to accuse hiÌ„ of heresie / by cause he speketh ageÌ„st the libertyes of holie churche / and they wil lay to his charge the lawes as they cal theÌ„ of the churche / whiche be none other / but dreamis of their owne inueÌ„cioÌ„ / made ageÌ„ste gods lawe his holy ordinauÌ„ces / cotrarie to the prerogatâ—ue of alle noble princes This will I proue by / lawe that they haue / 15. Q. 6. Alius iteÌ„ whose wordes be these zacharias did deposse the kinge of frauÌ„ce / not alloÌ„ly for his iniquite / but also by cause he was vnprofytable for so greate a power and set in his stede PipinuÌ„ the Emperours father / did asoille alle frauÌ„ce of their othe alegiauÌ„ce / that they had made vnto the olde king / the whiche thing / the holy churche of rome dothe oft timis / by her auctorite How think youre grace by this law is this their obedieÌ„ce that they will shewe / also lerne other meÌ„ to be trewe subiectes to their prince / aÌ„d they be first rebellious traitours / yet wil they accuse al other men of treason I wolde knowe ofâ— them all / who hath deposed anye kynge sythe Chrystes passion sauinge they onlye who wyll be kynges fellowes / ye and coÌ„trollars / sauynge they only A cast of Antichrist ys not this a subtyle crafte of Antychrist / to warne other men off heretykes and of traytours / aÌ„d in the meane ceasone while meÌ„ stoÌ„de lokynge for traytours / cometh he in and playth the parte of an open traytoure / sauyng onlye that he coloureth his name / and calleth him selfe / a trewe subiect / is readie to accuse other men of treason / that he myght escape him selfe / but he is suer / that he will neuer accuse none of them / that speake agenst the auctoryte of prynces / and geue to him full auctorite / But yf any man / doo begynne but to open hys mouth / for to declare that he hathe no teÌ„porall power / thaÌ„ rageth he / aÌ„d cryeth out treason treason But let vs returne to their lawe / aÌ„d se how they caÌ„ proue it by gods worde / aÌ„d how it stoÌ„deth with their trewe subieccioÌ„ / Is this resonable / that the pope / aÌ„d they being by gods lawe but subiectis shall deposse a king Vvhat exaÌ„ple haue they of oure master Christ / or of any of his apostles what scripture haue
they to helpe them we ought not to depose a kinge though he be wyked How dare they be so bolde / as to depose a kyng / whyche is ordenyd of god / yee and by hys holy worde / hauyng none example / nor scripture for thē Be they aboue god and hys blessyd worde But they wyl saye / that the kyng was a wyked man / I answere / the cronycles / geue contrary wytnes / how that he was a very good man / ād ryght symple and by cause he was so symple / therfore Pipinus whyche had all the rule vnder hym / thought hym silfe better worthy to rule than the kynge / and so wrote vn to the pope and desyred hym to geue sentence / whether he was better worthy to be kyng that had all the paynes and labours / or he that had no laboure Now the pope / to make Pipinum his frende / gaue sentēce wyth hym / and deposed the other and made hym a monke Thys can I welle proue by good cronycles Now lett youre noble grace consyder / yff yt were ryght / not only to depose such a kinge but also to make hym a monke Thys haue they done wyth other noble kynges / and no doute / but that same or worse / wyll they attempte to doo vn to youre grace / yff you dysplease them / and at the leste they wyll doo their vtter most Lett all the hole rable off thē / tell youre grace / when a trewe preacher off chrystes gospell dyd suche a deade There is no officer that hathe nede to be a frayde off Chrystis gospell / nor yet of the preachers ther off / For they wyll geue them auctoryte tēporalle / But off these preuy traytours / can no man be to ware you may se by experience / how in a maner by their preuy treason they haue gotten in to their handes / halfe youre royalme But lett vs graunt thē / that the kynge was a wyckyd mā The scripture commaundeth vs / to obey to wyckyd princes / and geuyth vs none auctorite to depose thē / who was more wycked than Herode / and yet S. Iohan sufferyd deethe vnder hym who was wyckedder than Pylate And yet Christ did not put him doune but was crucified vnder hym Breuely whyche off all the princes were good in the appostles dayes and yet they deposed none So that gods worde / and the practyse off oure Master Chryst / and hys holy apostles are openly agenste them More over their owne glosse sayeth that he was not deposed / by cause he was vnsuffycient / but by cause he was wanton and lecherous wyth wemen O my lordes yff you be not afrayde of the vengeaunce of god / at the leste take a lyttle shame of the worlde vn to yov / that haue so longe tyme wyth so great tyrannye defendyd these lawes that be so opynlye agēst gods ordinaunce / agenst gods worde / and agenst the commen ordynaunce and consent of all the worlde And this thynge haue yov done / to the greate iniury off noble princes / to the intollerable subduynge off all noble bloude / to the oppressyon off their trew subiectes / to the dystruccyon off alle commen welthes And fynalle to the damnacion off many a Chrystened soule Tell me by youre faithe / doo you beleue that there is a lyuyng god / that ys myghtye to punysh hys enymyes yf yov beleue yt / saye vn to me can yov deuyse for to avoyde hys vengeaunce / whyche be so opynly cōtrayrye to hys worde what answere thinke yov to make to hym Thinke yov that he will suffer youre worde to be harde / lette hys godly worde be dyspysed Thynke yov that yt will be suffycient for yov to saye / that they be the lawes of holy churche Thynke you that he will be thus taught off yov Than were yt tyme to plucke hym downe / ād sett you vpp Naye my lordes he ys no chylde / nor you shalle fynd yt no chyldis game / thus to tryfle playe with hys holy word and hys blessyd ordinaunce / ye and that to the dyspysyng / of the maker bothe of heuyn and erthe Saye what yov wyll / ye are not able neyther by crafte / nor subtyltye and yet be you falce ynough to defende thys matter / neyther a fore god / nor yet afore oure noble prince / nor a fore any mā off lernyng that wyll be trewe to hys prince for whiche waye so ever you turne you / oure Master Christ / and all hys blessyd apostles be agenst you / and will openlye accuse you / that yov be contrarye to their worde / and to their dede Answere ye to them / answere not to me yff I holde my peace / they wyll speake Nor yt will helpe you but lyttle / to crye after youre olde maner heresy / heresy / a Traytour / a traytour for now you crye agēst youre selves / and off those thinges they doo accuse you Doo yov thinke yt with the ordinaunce of god / that you shall depose a kinge by cause he lyuyth in advoutrye / or ys a lecherous man If you thynke yt a lawfull cause / why doo you not preache yt opynly why doo you not laye yt to kingis charges why suffer you them to be kingis that lyue in aduouttry why do you not put youre lawes in execution you saye they be the lawes of holy churche / and there by may you depose princes But yff you will put them in execucion / than were yt moche better / to be a bysshop or a preaste / than to be a kinge / or a duke For you maye lyue in whordom / or in any other vngracious lyuyng / ye and that to the destruccyon off many mens soules / and yet no man so hardye to repreue you / as youre awne lawe dothe openlye commaunde in these wordes Di. 40. Si papa Iff the pope doo drawe wyth hym innumerable people on a hepe to the deuyll of helle / there to be ponyshed for euer / yet shall no mortalle man presume / to repreue hys synnes / for he muste iugde alle men / and may be iudged off no mā c̄ Lykewyse haue you an other lawe in your decretales / that no laye man maye repreue a preate c̄ How thinke yov by these lawys / De. here Cū exiniuncto et sicut in yff they be not off the deuylle / telle me what ys off the deuyll you wyll bothe repreue / yee and also depose princes / but yov wyll neyther be deposed / ner yet repreued off any mortall man what thynke you youre selues godes But how can you depose a kyng / and yt lyeth not in youre powre to make a kyng / For eyther he ys borne a kyng / or he cometh to yt by elecciō / or he wynnethe yt victoriously by swerde which way so euer he cometh by yt / you can not make hym And wyll you depose hym for fornicacion / how wolde
yov handyll kynge Dauid / Dauid SolomoÌ„ Nathan and kynge Solomon / wolde you depose them by cause of advoutrye / So doo yov more than the prophete Nathan durste doo But lett vs come to Herod / Herode that kept hys brothers wyffe / wolde yov depose hym therefore Than doo you more than S. Iohan durste doo For he durste no more do but repreue hys vyce / and dare yov depose hym But lett vs go forth wyth youre lawe / what auctoryte had the pope and you / to sett PipinuÌ„ in the roume And not rather to lett the kyngedom chose them a kynge Oure Master Christ sayd / hys kyngdoÌ„ was not off this worlde But you wyll be above kynges in thys worlde / and not allonly depose them / but also sett in newe at youre pleasure More ouer by what auctoryte dyd the pope dispence wyth the royalme off their othe youre lawe sayth / that the holy church of Roome / is wonte so to doo I pray yov off whome hath she lernyd thys same wonte who hath geuyn her thys auctoryte Can she dyscharge vs of oure obedience that we owe to oure prynces is not thys off the lawe of god Stondeth yt not also wyth the lawe of nature yee doo not turkes and infydels faythefully obey to theyr prynces Is not the prynces powre off god aÌ„d wyll you depose this powre or caÌ„ you dyspeÌ„ce wyth thys lawe Actu· 5 S. Peter lerneth yov that you are more bounde to obey god his lawe / thaÌ„ to maÌ„ / but yov lytle regarde s peters saynge wherfore what say yov to yo oure alone law whose wordes be these Therebe certayne men which saye / 25. q. 1. Sunt quidam that the pope may alle wayes make new lawes The whyche thynge we doo not allonly denye / but we doo stedfastly afferme / that where oure lorde / and hys appostles openlye / or els holy fathers folowyng them haue defyned any thyng / that there the pope maye make no new lawe But rather is bound / to confyrme the thynge that is a fore preached wyth hys bloude cÌ„ Vvhat saye yov to thys law my lordes / that taketh a way from yov all maner off power off those thyngis that be openly in holy scripture / and commandeth you also to dye for the defence of yt Nowe / ys not the prynces power openlye in holy scripture Are not we commaunded by godes word / to obey all maner off prynces Are not we bounde to kepe oure othe by the worde of god / that we haue made to oure prynce Thys may be proved by youre awne lawe / 23. q. 5. Regum officium saynge Vve must kepe vn to prynces and powers fayth and reuerens cÌ„ My lordes hereyâ—d not / fideÌ„ / and oportet / And how come yov wyth youre dispensacion for oure othe and saye non oportet / that we are not bounde to be obedient to oure prynces / yff you dispence wyth vs. How can yov dyspence wyth vs of oure othe / seynge yt ys agenste godes lawe But paraduenture yov wyll answere as youre glosse dothe / Glossa c. supra that ye may be defendyd that the pope maye dyspence in those thynges that be ageÌ„ste the appostle / but not in those thynges that pertayne to the artycles the faythe cÌ„ By thys lawe / the pope may dyspence / that euery man shall haue two wyues He may also geue vs licence to lyue in aduoutrye / and to robbe / and to kylle â–ª he maye also dyspence wyth vs / that we shalle owe none obedyence to oure prynce / nor kepe no faythefulnes towarde hym / but rebelle and be traytours agenste hym That ys the intent of youre glosse in this place for there ys none of these / that be artycles off the faythe Here may men se / what teachers yov haue byn / and also be toward god and hys holy appostles / aÌ„d towarde youre noble prynces The truth ys yov were neuer wonte lenger to holde with theÌ„ thaÌ„ they dyd maintayne youre carnalle desyers and doo those thynges that you commaunded them to doo Thys coulde I well prove both by auncient cronicles / and also by the practes off youre awne lawe / yff it were not to longe a processe But thys dare I well saye / and that vnder the payne off loosyng my lyffe / that yff yt shall chaunce oure moste noble prince aÌ„d off youre partye shalle he want none occasioÌ„s oure to displease yov / or els to restrayne youre carnall appytytes / whiche you call the lybertyes off the churche / or to dymynyshe youre wordly ryches / whych yov call the goodes of the churche / Than shall hys grace welle knowe / ye and also feale yt / that there is no faythefulnes in yov But that yov wyll be contrarye in all youre dedes / to youre fayned wordes that yov now speke I praye god that I maye be a lyer But I knowe youre lordeshyps so well / that you wyl not of youre honoure suffer me to be a lyer And yff hys grace beleue not me / lett hys grace reade all hys cronycles / and not allonly them / but all other noble princes cronicles And hys grace shall neuer fynde that they were trewe chylderne off obedyence / yff their prince dyd dyspleasse them I thynke thys be experyence ynough Almyghtye god forbyd / that euer they shulde lerne yov by any more experyence But lett vs returne to youre lawe / how are they able to defeÌ„d yt by fore your grace Are not they traytours / that will make any power with in youre royalme / not allonly so good as youres / but aboue youres Is yt not ageÌ„st youre prerogatiue Is yt not agenst the commen assent off the royalme who caÌ„ deny thys coÌ„meÌ„ proverbe / but they only On god / and on kyng But what signifyeth youre royall Croune / what the croune signifyeth that youre royalme geueth you Vvhiche ys vnderneth worthely and suffycientlye fulfylled wyth youre graces bed / And so fulfylled / that vnderneth can no manhed come in / so longe as youre graces ys there that ys / no man maye by ryght vsurpe any auctoryte that belongeth to youre grace wyth out treason Furthermore / your crowne ys close aboue / sygnifiyng / that in erth ys there no nother superior powre that belongeth to Englond Now where wyll my lordes the bisshops come in to this Crowne yff they come vnder / they must thruste out youre graces hed / for the Crowne ys to lyttle for bothe youre hedes yff they come aboue / so breke they the clossenes off youre Crowne / and lye also in youre graces necke / sygnifiyng / that they wyll oppresse youre grace Lett them answere to thys / as well as they can I wolde not gladly defende so evell a cause as theyrs is Vvhat wyll they saye to S. Paule / that was a bysshops as well as they / aÌ„d neuer the lesse
obedyent vnto temporalle prynces / ye and that vnto infidels And not alonlye he / but all hys ordinaunce All hys wrytynges / and all his bisshops dyd agre to the same And yff they wyll dispice S. Paule / by cause he was but a begger / and no lorde off the parlament what wyll they say to oure Master Christe oure mighty / gracious / and excellent prynce / was not he obedyent vn to Pylate that was an infydelle / and in auctorite muche lesse than youre grace / dyd not he obey in bodye and goodes / dyd not he paye tribute vn to Cesar / was not he crucifyed / vnder Pons Pylat / was not he a spirituall man / was not his cause ryghtuous / was not he mighty to defende his cause was not he worthy to be exempted / was he not annoynted I meane not with oyle but wyth the holy gost so well as they / and yet wolde kepe the order / that was sett by hys heuynly father Dyd not he sore rebuke Peter / that wolde haue defended his cause / and sought for suche carnall lyberte / agenste the power off princes / Dyd he not clearly take a waye / the temporall swerd from hym we neuer rede that euer he drewe yt after / and yet we reade that he had causys suffycient And now commyth Peters successoure / and he wyll drawe yt out / and hed pryncis there with who gaue master vicare auctoryte / to doo that the the parson durste neuer doo / ner coulde neuer doo yt / was his cause neuer so ryght ye though yt were to defēd christ wyth out greate rebuke of his master Thus youre grace maye se / how they do vsurpe / bothe the name of christ / and off his holye appostles / but they neyther agre in worde nor dede what dothe yt profyte / to call an open whore an honest woman / the name can not make here honest / Disti 40. Nō est facile di 40. multi sacerdot◠so lykewysse as their lawe saith They be not the chyldern off holy men / that sytte in the romes of holy men / but they that doo their workes c̄ Also in a nother place The seate dothe not make a preaste / but the preast maketh the seate The place dothe not sanctifie the man / but the man sanctifyeth the place / All preastie be not holye / but all holye men be preastes c̄ Nowe yff youre grace wolde follow their awne lawe / what were they lesse than bysshops Take a way theyr seate / that is their worldely pompe and pryde / their outwarde shynynge / their glorious name / and what remayneth in them / Surelye not one poynte that belongethe to a bisshope / Thys may youre grace well doo / there is neyther lawe nor consciēce can lett you ye bothe the lawe of god / and also conscience dothe bynde you to doo yt / how can youre grace otherwyse be discharged / except yov sett other men in their romes / that wille doo those thynges / that belongeth by holy scripture to bysshops to doo There out commith their name / why shulde they not also be hounde to lyue there after youre grace hathe taken some off them from the bochers staulle and made them bysshops / you haue taken some out of the carte and sett them in Peters Chayre / who can denye but this youre grace maye doo All ways providyd that they doo those thynges that belongeth to their office by the worde of god / or els youre grace is in daunger But who can proue / that they are worthye off thys dignite / that youre grace hath heuen them moche lesse to be youre controllars / yee and also to be aboue all youre lawes / and to haue auctorite to deposse you But yf youre grace wolde doo thē ryght / you shulde returne them home ageyne / the bocker to his staulle / The begger to hys wallet / the carter to hys whyppe / and than aske them yff they be of the church and what exempcion they haue from youre obedyence and from youre lawe / and what auctorite to deposse kynges But as for thys / youre grace can order yt moche better / than I cane deuyse I saye yt for no nother purposse / but for to declare youre graces power / and youre goodnes towarde them / and lykewyse their vnworthynes / and ingratitude / agenst youre most noble grace I wylle returne agayne to oure Master Christ / whan the multitude wold haue chosene hym kyng dyd he not flye Io ▪ So that he dyd not allonly lerne obedience in his doctrine / but also he dyd practice yt in his outward workes and lyuinge Fynallye / they shall neuer be able to prove to youre grace / but that Chryst and alle his apostles were subiect / to the temporal princes / bothe in bodye and goodes / and toke no nother rule in this worlde / but only to preache the eternalle worde of god / and lefte all wordly rule / vnto temporall princes / whether they were faythefull / or vnfaythefull But now commyth oure spirituall fathers So muste we call them allonly of customme and of no deseruynge and wyll commaunde prynces to be sworne vn to them / and to defende them / and their lybertes / with all their gorgyousnes / and prowde dignytyes of this worlde which othe / yff the prynces wyll not make to thē / they wyll interdyte theyr londe / and priuate them of theyr dignite / yee and also asoyle men off the othe / that they made to their prince This ys opyn in their lawe / de hereticis De hereticis Ad abolendum Ad abolendum How dothe thys agre wyth S. Paulys commaundement / and wyth oure Master Christes factes Is thys obeying to princes / to depelle them their royalme / yff they wyll not be sworne vnto them / Be these trewe subiectes Is this the offyce of byshops / Be these the successors of Peter / Paule Be these the perfyt men that haue forsaken all thyng and followed Christ Doubtles they forsake all thynges / that they can not gett Be not these perfytt / forsakers But they wyll saye that princes be bounde to be sworne / to defēde their churche / from heretykes or ells to be deposed This ys yt that I lokyd for Vvhom call you heretykes Vvho shall iudge these men to be heretikes After what lawe shall they be iudged yff you call them heretikes / that speke agenst youre lawes / and agenst youre libertyes / and agenst youre dignite / than are Christ and all his holy appostles heretikes For they defende pertinaciter as yov say their lerninge agēste youre lawes / and that not in one place / but in euery place / as yt ys open in holy scripture But now yff you take them for heretykis that be agenst Christ and his holy worde / than ys the kynges grace sworne to expelle you his realme and
off synnes that god wolde haue punisshed / he wolde haue them punyshed not by the bysshops and rulers of the churche / but by the Iudgys off the worlde c. be not these wordes playne S. Paule sayeth / Omnis anima / ād origyn saythe / oīa crimina / So that S. Paule takethe awaye all men from their subieccion / And orygen taketh awaye all crymes from their correccion what glosse can they make of these wordes a fore youre grace / yf they laye for them the olde custom ād their lawys I will laye a genst thē oure master Christ S. Paule / S. peter Origen And I will denye their customs / their church and also their lawys And this wil I not doo onlye / but I will proue yt bi their awne lawe that I may doo yt rightfully / These be their wordes Disti 8. c. qui He that doth dispisse the verite ād presume to followe the custome / eyther is envyous malicious agenst hys bretherne to whom the veryte is opened / or els he is vnthankefulle towardes god by whose inspyracion his churche ys instructe / for the lorde sayth not I am the custom / but I am the veryte c. these wordes be playne agēste all customs and al churches that be agenste the worde of god Distin 8. c cōsuetudo This same thynge haue they also in another place in these wordis / that same custom / that ys crept in vn to certayne mē / maye not lett but that the veryte must preuaylle and ouercome For a custom with outh the verite ys but an olde erroure c̄ These wordes be playne that all customs be but errours that be agenste the veryte And as for to denye their churche I maye lawfully do yt / for that is not the churche that ys with out and contrarye to the worde of god for christis churche heareth his worde onlye / as christ sayth my shepe heare my voyce / Ioa. 10. and they follow not a straunger but flye from hym / for they know not hys voyce Also in a nother place / he that is of god hereth the wordes of god / and therfore do not you here / Ioan. 8. by cause yov be not of god Here is yt opyn that they that be not of god heare not the worde of god nor be of hys churche / but of the churche of the deuylle whyche he dothe hate Now haue I prouyd vn to youre grace / that I may ryghtously denye there churche / their lawys and their customs Not with stondynge all thys / yet will I prove by their awne lawe that they haue none auctorite tēporall / but al their auctorite ys allonlye in the ministracion of godes worde whyche they do sore despyce / these be the wordes of their lawe The churche that knoweth no corporall wepons / 16. q. 3. Porro ▪ doth paciently abyd allonly god whyche is her defēder / whan it shalle plese him for to haue mercy c̄ Here is playne that the church knoweth no temporall wepons Also in a nother place The holy churche of god hath no swerde but the spirituall swerde / with the whych she dothe not kylle / 33. q. 2. Inter her but quikkyn These wordes be playne / that the churche hathe no swerde but the spirituall swerde Now how comme the bisshops by the temporal swerd Lyke wyse in a nother place I may morne / I may wepe / I may waylle agenst wepons / agenst sodyars / and agenst the Gothos 23. q. 8. Cōvenior For my teris be my wepons / for suche thyngis be the wepons of preastes / otherwysse I ovght not nor I may not resyst c̄ Here yov this my lordes how that S. Ambrosse had none other wepons / but wepyngis ād prayers / and that he might not in ony wysse defende him selfe with other wepons How thinke yow / was not he of the churche was not he preuileged of god as wel as ye and yet coulde he not nor ought not defend hym nor medylle with the temporall swerde Moreover yt is open in yovre awne lawe .24 q. 4. Quesitum That the temporal swerde / the mynystracyon of the worde are of God / 24. q. 4. Quesitū and these too be dyuers and the one may not vsurpe others auctorite / the wordes of youre lawe be these The mediator betwene god and man Christ Iesus / hathe deuydyd the offices of bothe powers in to their proper actes and in to dystincte dygnityes / Di. 10. ◠Quoniam wyllinge bi hys awne medycinalle meknes that mens hartes shulde be lyfted vpp / and not with mans pryde agayne to be drowned in these inferior thynges / so that christen Emperours As consernyng eternalle lyfe shulde haue nede of bysshops / and lykwysse the bysshops for the course allonly of these temporall goodes / shulde vse the Emperours lawys / so that the spirituall accion shulde be distyncted from the worldlye courses / and he that shuld serue god shulde not wrappe him selfe in worldlye busynesses c̄ Here is playne that youre grace must haue fulle power over al worldlye coursis / and the bysshops allonly mynistracion of the worde of God and as youre grace maye not vsurpe to preache the worde of god / no more maye they vsurpe any power that belōgeth to youre swerde This same sētēce haue they di 96. c. dis 96. c. cū ad verū Cū ad verū So that youre grace may opēly se by godis lawe / by their awne lawe / by the practice of oure master christ of his apostils and bi the exposiciō of holy doctours that the bysshops neither haue nor yet maye haue any power tēporal / but all ys allonly in youre graces honde / and you are bound to vse yt to execute yt / in youre awne parson to the vttermost strength that God hathe geuyn yov And in no wysse may youre grace geue this power or parte thereof vn to other men / for so doyng do yov breake the ordinaunce of godes word and declare youre selfe a fore god that yov are vn worthy and not sufficient to minyster the honoure that god of heuyn hath frely geuyn vn to yov This may not youre grace do / for that were as moch a fore god as though yov wolde controlle his ordinaunce / or els that yov wolde not mekelye a plye youre selfe with dyligēce to mynister that thyng that god hathe enioyned youre grace vn to Not with stondynge / this may youre grace doo allonly yf the busynes be so greate that belongeth to youre administracion that youre grace can not alone discharge thē / than may youre grace chose and assyne certayne other so many as shall be necessary / whyche shal dyscharge all maner of causes All ways prouided / that these men shall be but mynysters and seruauntes vnderneth youre grace / and no kyngis nor they may not vsurpe any power as kyngis by no lawe
perpetuall / but al that they haue is by youre graces eleccion and assynement More ouer these mē may not be of all maner of sortys / but they must be suche men as god hathe ordenyd there vnto / and that haue no nother particular adminystracion As Dukys Erlys / Barons and suche temporall lordes whych be ordenyd of god for that same purposse to helpe youre grace in alle suche tēporall causes And it were vnright that youre grace shulde set a Duke to preache godes worde / and a bysshop to be a Iudge in westmynster halle For the office of a bisshop is onlye to preach godes worde and there in to be a faythefull minister whyche thyng yf he doo / he is a trew bysshop a fore god / for the faythful administracion maketh him a bysshope ād not the name / neyther can the worlde make him A bisshop that dothe not preache truly Chrystes worde / but as oure master chryst saythe / A fore god they be but theuys and murtherars Ioan. 1◠And vn to them be the wordes of the prophete writtin / wo be vn to yov which do the worke of god dysseitfully / ād also S. Paule spekith in the name of all bysshops saynge / w◠be vn to me yff I preach not the gosspell / 1. Cor. 9. for necessite ys put vnto me and an office is committyd vn to me So that if the bisshops do not preach the worde of god / they be not necessarie / nor nedefulle vn to the bodye of christ wyche ys the churche For what good dothe that member of the body that dothe not his mynistracion As what profite were yt to haue an yie / that wolde nother se nor yet coulde se / or to haue afote that wolde neither goo nor coulde goo The bodye were welle easyd yff suche members were cutte a way / for they be but a burdē and a cumbraunce vnto the body So lyke wyse be these bysshops that glorye allonly in the name and in the dignities of the worlde / as oure bysshopes do / of whome the churche of god is nothyng lerned nor holpē / but allonly men doo lerne of thē / al pōpe and pryde / Disdayne / Spytefulnes / fornycacion / Advoutrye / Couituousnes / And how to oppresse oure poore bretherne And to blaspheme the blessyd name of god These be their workes and their examples that the church of god may lerne of them / as al the worlde can testifye And they that be their best frendes and wille lye for them with out shame can not proue a fore youre grace but that these thynges be trewe Now if it pleasse youre grace to remēber youre conscience / and thynke with in youre selfe whether that these bysshops be of God or none / And whether they ought thus to be sufferyd of youre grace or no whyche yf they were a mōge Infidilles colde not be thus sufferid both to rage agenste god also agenst man For doutles if there came an infidelle a monge vs that were lernyd in oure lawe / whyche is the worde of god / ād saw oure bisshops vse so frely their abhominabille pompe and pryde and vycious lyuynge / there were no doute but that he wolde meruelle and rekkyn in hys consciens that we lyued bothe with out lawe of god ād of mā For there is noo lawe that can alowe their lyuinge / wherefore youre grace is bounde in consciens to see a mendment / and to se them reformyd / and to sett them to do their mynistracyon that they be callyd vn to in the churche off god / and not so to steale and by vyolence to vsurpe / other mens administracions / and to dispise their awne dutye And if youre grace doo thus reforme them / no doute but you shall haue the fauore of god ād prosper in al thynges / and haue a commen welthe welle ordered / and welthye and trewe subiectis and faythefulle at youre nede For the ordinaunce of oure eternal father is / that alle men hye and lowe / spirituall or temporal / ryche or poore / of what state so euer they be shall be obedient vn to their prince not in one thynge / but in al thynges bothe in bodie and godis that be not agenst the worde of god So that if the kynges grace wolde requier any worldly ordinaunce over oure body or goodis / that is not agēst oure fayth / 1. Reg. ◠we are bound to obey and to fulfylle yt Thys power was geuen to kynges of god ād not by mā / as it is opē in the boekes of the kyngis So that it shal not be lawfull for no mā / with out daunger of his soule / for to breke yt For this haue the apostles lernyd and fulfylled bothe in worde and dede wherefore there may be no resystaūce / nor rebellion in ony wyse agenst oure prince for orderinge of these tēporal goodis / no though he do vnryght / but all must belefte to god and we must only suffer / and as for the wronge god shal punyshe yt at his pleasure / but it belongeth not to vs to resyst Therfore do I now exhorte al trewe Christen men ād women out of the bottom of my harte and bi the blessyd name of christ Iesus whyche ys the iudge of quycke deed / whose iudgemēt no man cā a voyd neyther by myght / neyther bi power neither by wissedom nor by lernynge / neyther by deeth nor by lyffe / neyther by man nor by angel / neither by saynte nor by deuyll / neither by place hye nor love / that they do fullefille this ordinaunce of oure eternall father with al the strength of their hartes / and obey and also defend their kynge at al tymys whan they be required / agenst al men / yee and if it were possibil for angels to rebelle agenst their kynge / that there also they / defend hym This do I beleue to be the truth / and thys is my consciens a fore god / a fore whome I must answer at the generall daye of iudgement / where as no falsehod nor hypocrysye can helpe where fore I doo protestate a fore God / A fore angelle / a fore man and a fore heuen and erthe / and all them I cal to recorde that I beleue this to be the veryte / and therfore wyll I abyde there by And thys protestacyon make I / with out any worldly compulsyon / Alonly compellyd by the heuenlye worde of god Now most gracyous prince / this is the confessyon of myne obedience that I owe vnto youre grace / whyche bothe I and all trew chrystened mē are bound to kepe And this haue I declared wyth open scrypturs of god and with the exposicions of doctours / the more dylygently / that I might stoppe the mouthes of myne aduersaryes whyche wolde not els be a shamed too instructe youre noble grace / how that I wolde intend treason / and
the sabboth day not allonly the seventh day / but at all tymes as Esai saith cÌ„ But here my lorde of Rochester sayd / fyrst that I vnderstode not Tertulian Secondarilye / that he was an heretike / but I passe over myne answere for this ys but a lordly worde he coulde on nother wyse saue hys honour / but yet stondeth my scripture fast / S. HieroÌ„ S. Augustyn / also their awne law whose wordes be these / De consecra di 3. c peruenit It ys come vn to me that certayne men whych be of an euill sprytte haue sowed sertyn euyll thynges a monge you and contrary to the holy faythe / so that they do forbyd that men shulde worke on the sabboth day / the whyche men what other thynge shall we call them but the prechers of Antychryst / the which antychryst shall make the sabboth day and the sonday to be kept from all maner of worke Thys lawe clearly declareth you to be Antychrystes / thys is more thaÌ„ I sayde I haue great meruell that the bysshop of bathe beyng so myghty a lorde in coÌ„demnynge of heretykis was not lernyd in thys lawe seynge yt ys hys awne facultye The seconde Article NOw dare no man preache the trewe and the very gospell of god and in especiall they that be feble and feare / but I truste / ye and I praye to god that yt may shortly come / that false and manyfest errours may be playnly shewed / There be sertyn men lyke coÌ„dicionyd to dogges / yff they here any man that is not their contrymaÌ„ or that they loue not nor knowe not / that say any thynge agenst them / than crye they an heretyk / an heretyk / ad Ignem ad ignem / These be the dogges that fere trew preachers Vvhat heresy fynd you in thys Artycle The thirde Artycle VVe make now a days many marters / I trust we shall haue many mo shortly for the veryte could neuer be prechid plainly / but persecutioÌ„ dyd follow Here dyd my lorde of bathe inquire of me / yf I rekkenyd theÌ„ for marters that were burnt at brusellis / I answerd that I knewe not their cause wherfore they deyd but I rekenyd as many men to be marters as were persecutyd aÌ„d deyd for the word of god / but he sayd he wolde make me frye for thys ¶ The .iiij. Artycle THese lawys / These lawyers / these Iusticiarys / that saye that a man may lawfully aske hys awne good a fore a Iuge / contend in iugement for they haue dystroyed all pacieÌ„s / deuocyon / and faythe in chrysten people ¶ The .v. Article THis pleatinge in Iudgement is manyfestly agenst the gospell â— Cor. 6 Luc. 12. Homo quis me coÌ„stituit iudicem / And coÌ„trary to S. paule / I am oâ—o delictuÌ„ est cÌ„ The some of these two articles is / that a chrysten man may not coÌ„tend in IudgemeÌ„t with hys brother for hys priuate welthe / how thynke you is thys heresy what say you to S. paul / whych sayeth Now ys there vtterlye synne a monge you by cause you go to lawe one wyth a nother why rather suffer you not wrong / why rather suffer you not youre selues to be obbid May not I speake these wordis / be they not of holy scrypture was not I a preacher and a doctour was not thys Auctoryte suffycyent Matt. 5. Also oure Master sayeth yf any man wyll sue the at the lawe and take thy cote from the / lett hym haue thy cloke also / wolde not oure master that we shulde rather suffer wronge / than to go to lawe for oure priuate welthe May not I say these wordes / wherfore were they wryttyn by the holy goost but that they shulde be lerned But lett vs goo to youre doctours / Athanasiê° ad cor 6. Athanasius on S. paulis texte / There is vtterly synne a mong you / that is to say yt ys to youre coÌ„demnacion and to youre ignominy that you do excercyse iudycialles a monge you / wherfore do you not rather suffer wronge S. HieroÌ„ ad cor 6 Also S. Hierom / yt ys synne vnto you that yow do agenste the coÌ„maundemeÌ„t of christ / that you haue IudgemeÌ„tes a monge you that which ought all ways to kepe peasse / ye though it were with the losse of youre temporall goodes / where fore do you not rather suffer wronge where as you ought by the coÌ„mandemeÌ„t of the gospel / and by the exampyll of the lorde pacyently to suffer / there do you the contrary / not allonly not suffer / but you do wronge vn to them that doo no wroÌ„ge cÌ„ Mark how S. Hierom callethe yt a precept aÌ„d a coÌ„mauÌ„dmeÌ„t and no couÌ„sell Also Haymo sayth / Haymo ad cor 6 yt ys offence and synne in you that you haue Iudicialles for accusacion ingenderth stryffe / Stryffe ingenderth discorde / Dyscorde ingenderythe hattryd And lest peradueÌ„ture they wolde say this is no syne to requyre myne awne / there fore sayth the apostyll / truly it is synne vnto you / for you do agenst the coÌ„mandemeÌ„t of the lorde the whych saythe / Luc. 6. he that taketh a waye thy good aske yt not agayne / wherfore do yow not rather suffer wronge wherfore do you not rather suffer losse that you myght fulfyll the coÌ„maÌ„demeÌ„t of the lorde cÌ„ Mark how he callyth yt the commandemeÌ„t of god and it ys synne to aske oure awne with contencion / 14. Q. d his ita And youre awne lawe sayth They are forbydyn to contende in Iudgement / yt muste be thus vnderstonde that they may not stoÌ„de a fore a Iudge for them selfe but for other men cÌ„ Now what haue I sayd in myne artycle that holy scrypture / holy docturs and also youre awne lawe doo not saye / but vn to thys sayde my lorde off Saynt Asse that these scrypturs were but counselles aÌ„d no preceptes / alleggyd lira for him of this texte / si vis ê‘fectus esse / to whoÌ„ I did laye the auctoryte of S. paul that callyth it sinne which it coulde not be if it were but a counsell Also the auctorite of S. Hierom / which callyth it openly a precept but to this he answeryd shaking of his hed pytuously said / A good M. doctour if you were lernyd in duns you wolde saye other wyse / but the selfe bysshop could saye to a certayne doctor which had great meruell why thy haÌ„delyd me so that I had opyn vroÌ„g but he could not do therto but after this cam a doctour of law whoÌ„ I know not aÌ„d sayd that their lawe had condeÌ„nyd this opynion and declaryd those scripturs to be but couÌ„sells / but I denyed that and sayd I knewe no suche law and sodenly Doctour steuyn shewed me their lawe / whose wordes be these / Illud euangelij / 14. Q. 1. his ita si
quis abstulerit cÌ„ noÌ„ est precipientis sed exhortantis But I dare say that Doctour steueÌ„ knewe that this was but a smal euasyon and of none auctorite / and therfore he wolde shewe me no more of the lawe for it followeth / what so euer he be that doth not obey the commandemeÌ„t ys gytly and worthy of payne for yt ys synne not to obey to the commandement off god 14. Q. 1. quisquis cÌ„ These be Saynt Austaynes wordes in their awne lawe / Now lett euerye châ—stened man iudge whether that the contrary wordes be of sufficieÌ„t auctoryte to resel the holy wordes of scrypture or no / if they avoyde scrypture yet caÌ„ they not auoyd holy doctours thou which by their awne law be of greter auctorite in expouÌ„ding scripture thaÌ„ the pope is but thaÌ„ caÌ„ doctor wolmaÌ„ / he brought thys text / if thy brother do offeÌ„d that thaÌ„ tel the church / what is that sayd he tel the churche / to whoÌ„ I answered that this place made not for suynge at the lawe aleging S. Augustine for me / for it speketh of the crymys that shulde be repreuyd by the congregacion / and not of the correccion of the temporalle swerde / For yt foloweth if he heare not the churche / counte hym as an hethyn and as a publycane / this is the vtter most payne that oure master Christ assigneth there / the which is no payne of the temporal lawe / but at this answere was he movyd and sayd if I dyd abyde by yt I shulde be burnte / this was a sherpe sentence of so great a man as he ys / but and if he had byn halfe so welle lernid in scripture as he ys greate / he wolde haue geuyn a more cheritable sentence But Apelles was a Ioly wisse fellow that sayd once to a shomaker / Ne sutor vltra crepidaÌ„ It is not an C. yere a goo syns that same Master doctour was butler in that same house where off I was master aÌ„d prior / and now to geue suche a strayte sentence this is a soddyn mutacion But here is it playne that I haue spokyn neuer a worde but that holy scriptur / holy doctours and their awne lawe saye the same / bothe in sentence and in wordes wherfore I can not se how they can condemne this article / for herysy / and I dare say for them that they rekkyn it none heresy / but peradveÌ„tur they vnderstond it not nor they dyd not condemne me for this artycle But here after folowe the heresys The .6 Article I wille neuer beleue nor I can neuer beleue that one man may be by the lawe off God a bysshop of .ij. or .iii. Cyttys ye of an holle contry / Titum 1. for yt is contrary to S. Paule whyche saythe / I haue lefte the be hynde to set in everye citye a bysshop And if yov fynde in one place of scripture that they be callid Epyscopi / thov shalt fynd in dyuers other places that they be callid contrary wyse presbiteri I was brought a fore my lorde cardynalle in to his galary and there he red al myne artycles tyl he came to this and there he stoppyd and sayd that this touchyd him and ther fore he askyd me if I thought it wronge that one bysshop shulde haue so meny Cyttys vndernethe hym / vn to whom I answeryd that I coulde no forther goo / than S. Paules text which set in euerye Cytty a bysshop Than askyd he me yf I thought yt now vnryght seyng the ordinaunce of the churche that one bysshop shulde haue so meny Cyttis I answeryd that I knew none ordinance of the churche as concerninge thys thynge but. S. paulys saynge only neuer the lesse I dyd see a contrary custom and practyce in the worlde / but I know nor the orygynalle there of / than sayd he that in the apostles tyme there were dyuers Citys somme seuen myle some sixe myle longe and ouer them was there sett but one bysshop and of their subbarbis so lykewyse now a bisshop hath but one Cytie to his Cathedrall churche and the coÌ„try aboute yt was as subbarbis vn to it My thought this was farfetchyd / but I durste not deny yt by cause it was of so great auctoryte / but thys dare I say that his holynes can neyther proue it by scriptur not yet by any auctory of doctours nor yet by any practyce of the apostles / Athanasiê° but let vs see what the doctours say to myne article / Athenasyus dothe declare this texte of the apostill / I haue lefte the by hynde cÌ„ He wold not committ vn to one bysshop a whole ylde / but he dyd enioyne that euery citty shulde haue his propre pastor supposing that be thys meanys they shulde more diligently over see that people aÌ„d also that the labour shulde be more easye to bere cÌ„ ChrisostoÌ„ Also Chrisostom on that same texte / He wolde not that a wholle contre shulde be permyttyd vn to one man / but he enioyned vn to every maÌ„ his cure by that menys he knew that the labour shulde be more easy and the subiectis shulde be with more dyligence governydde yf the teachers were not distract with the gouernyng of meny churchys but had cure and charge of one churche only cÌ„ My thynketh these be playne wordes and able to moue a man to speke as muche as I dyde / but graunte that you may haue alle these cytis yet can yov make it none heresy / for my lorde cardynalle graunteth that it is but agenst him aÌ„d agenst yov which be no godes / but I must be an heretyke there is no remedy yov wille haue yt so / and who ys abille to say nay not alle scrypture The .7 Article IT can not be provyd by scripture that a man of the churche shulde haue so greate temporal possessyoÌ„s / but they wille say if they had not so great possessions / they could not kepe so many seruantis / so many dogges / so meny horsses as .xl. or .l. and mayntane so great pompe and pryde and lyve so diliciously what heresy fynd you in this is it heresy to speke agenst youre horsses and youre houndes aÌ„d youre abhominabille lyuynge and douteles I did not say but that you myght haue possessyons but alloÌ„ly I spake agenste the superfluousnes and the abuse of them / but I pray you how caÌ„ yov proue it by scripture / that a man in as muche as he is a bysshop must haue temporall possessyons I am in the negatyue prove yov yovre affirmatyue this am I suer of that chrisostome saythe / A bysshop ought to have nothiÌ„g but meate and dryncke and clothe / I wille bringe no scripturs for you regarde them not Ad Tymo c. 5. The .8 Article SVer Iam that they cannot by the law off god / haue no iurisdiccion secular and yet they chalynge bothe powrys which if they
no suche maner to cursse men And all the world knoweth the contrary Moreouer I red these articles in the boke of the generall cursse that belongeth to 〈◊〉 Benyttes church in cambryge ād there did I marke yt with myne awne honde / and yet the bisshops were not a shamyd to denye yt The .19 Article THey haue mytres with glysterynge precicious stonis / They haue glovys for catchinge colde in the middes of their ceremonies They haue rynges and oches ād other ceremonyes / so many that there is in a maner now no thynge els in the churche / but all Iewysh maners wyl you make this heresy by cause I speake agenst youre damnable and pompous myters / I thinke such ornamentes were to be condēned even amonge hethyn men I wyl not say a monge christen men / but this dare I say that there was neuer no god amonge hethyn men that ever delytted in such ornamentes and yet yov wyll serue the god of heuen by them / and youre poore brother whō christ hathe redemed with his precious bloud dyethe in preson and opynly in the streates and hangeth hym felfe for nessessyte / and yet wyll not you bestowe on hym so moche as one of youre precious stones / telle me one bysshope that euer brake his myter to the helpynge of a poore man was there never man in necessyte in Englond but all the world may see what you be / these thynges be sensyble ynough The .20 Article THese myters I can not tel from whence they do come except they take them from the Iuys bysshops / and yf they take thē from the Iuys / than let them also take their sacryfyces and their oblacions from them ond offer calues and lambes as they dyde / and than haue we nothynge to do with them for we be christen men and no Iuys I pray yow telle me where yow fynde but one pricke in holy scriptur of youre miters oure master dyd institute bysshops / and Saint Paule setteth out what is their office and also what is their ornamentis / ād yet speketh neuer a worde of youre myters but I dare boldye saye that yf you be put to the tryall yow shall be fayne to runne to the olde lawe But can I be an heretyke yf I condemned clearly youre myters and sayd they were of the deuill whan yov prove them to be of chrystes institucion than will I be an heretyke The .21 Article THese myters with two hornis I can not telle what they shulde sygnifye except yt be the hornis of the false prophete of whom it is spoken with these hornis shalte thou blowe a fore the al syria / 3. Reg. ād so dyd he mocke their rynges and al their ornamentis and ecclesyasticall ceremonyes It wille come to my saynge that you be bysshops of the olde law for yov haue nothynge to defend youre tynges youre ornamentes and youre ceremonis / but for to mayntayne these deposse yow kynges and prynces / Interdyte londes / and burne man wyfe and chylde and whan yow haue al done / you haue defended but a deuelish tokē of pryde The doctours / that wolde fauour youre proude tokyns and expound them to the best haue declaryd that the two hornys of youre myters dyd signifye the new and the olde testament that yov shulde be lernyd in them bothe / Now I sawe that this exposycion dyd not a gre wyth that thynge / for no man can be lesse lernyd in them than yov be / wherefore my thought it was but a vayne exposicyon and therfore I comparyd them to the two hornis of the false prophete / by cause as yov know thys false prophete sayd vn to the kynge that he shulde with these two hornys blow a fore hym all syria / and yet he lyed for the kyng was the fyrst man that was slayne / so lykewysse you say vn to the kynges if they folow youre coūsel mayntayne youre auctorite ād be rulid after you thā shall they over come all their enymys as synne dethe / and helle / and yet yov lye / for you must nedes bryng those thynges to damacion and to destruccion for you haue not the worde of god for you / wherfore you muste be false prophetes Here haue I compared off a symylitude youre myters to the two hornys and you to false prophetes / what if this be false / what yf I can not proue it yet can you make me none heretike / for than must yov make those men heretykes / that haue comparyd the forkes of youre myters to the new and the olde testamentes and yov to the trew apostles for they haue made a greater lye than I haue done / and they are neuer abylle to proue yt / as for me / I wyll proue my saynge trew yf you will stond to scripture or els wylle I be takyn for an heretyke The .22 Article THey haue baculum pastoralem to take shepe with / but yt is not lyke a sheppeherds hoke / for it is intricat and manyfolde crokyd turnethe alle ways in so that yt maye be called a mase / for yt hathe neyther begynnynge nor endinge and yt is more like to knocke swyne voluys in the hed wyth than to take shepe They haue also pyllers / and pollaxes ād other ceremonies which no doute but they be but tryfles and thynges of nought I pray you what ys the cause that yov cal youre staffe a shepperdes staffe yov helpe no mā with yt / you conforte no man / yov lyfte vpp no man with yt / but yov haue striken downe kynges ād kyngdoms with yt / and knokkyd in the hed dukes Erlys wyth yt / calle yov this a shepperdes staffe there ys a space in the shepperdes staffe for the fote to come out agayne / but youre staffe turneth and wyndeth all wayes inwarde an neuer outwarde / signyfying that what so euer he be that cōmeth wyth in youre danger how that he neuer cōmeth out agayne / this exposiciō youre dedes do declare / let them be examynyd that you haue had to do with But these be the articles for the whiche I must nedes be an heretyke but all the worlde may se how shamfully that I haue erred agenst youre holynessys in sayng the truth But my lorde cardinal resonyd with me in this artycle / all the other he passyd ouer sauynge thys and the sixte article / here dyd he aske if I thought yt good and resonable that he shulde laye downe his pyllars and pollaxes and coyne them I made hym answere that I thought it well done Than sayd he / how thynke you were yt better for me beynge in the honour and dygnyte that I am in to coyne my pyllars ād pollarys and to geue the monye to fyue or syxe beggers thā for to mayntayne the commen welth by them as I doo / Do yow not rekkyn the commen welth better thā fyue or sixe beggers to thys I dyd answere that I rekkened it
hathe alonly dyed for vs. The lambe hathe alonly shed his bloude for vs. The lambe hath alonly redemyd vs. These thinges hath he done alone Nowe if these be suffycyent / than hath he alone made satysfaccion / aÌ„d is allonly worthy to opyn the boke Moreouer / Thys tytyll ys geuen to the lambe by them that be in heuyn / and how dare you beyng but stynkynge caryon geue it eyther in parte or in hole to any other Also they that be in heuyn confesse that thys laÌ„be ys allonly worthy to redeme them / be youre workes better thaÌ„ they Or can youre workis helpe them yf they can / than ys not the lambe alonly worthy to redeme them / yf youre workys doo not helpe rheÌ„ than are they alonly Iustyfyde be the lambe / and yf they be / why shall not we also Moreouer the seniours falle doune by fore the lambe / geuinge him alloÌ„ly praise / And shal youre good workys stonde vpe by the lambe / than be they better than the senyours But let vs proue this thing by opyn scripturs / That no maÌ„ shal be able too denye yt Saynt Paul toke so greate labours to proue thys artykyll / as he neuer toke in no nother / and all bycause he wolde make yt playne / and stope the mouthys off the agayne sayers / But all thys wyll not helpe theÌ„ / that haue not the sprete of god / Neuer the lesse we wyll by godes fauour / do the best we can too confounde the croked enymys of Christes bloude / aÌ„d though we can not make them hys frendes / at the lest we wylle so handylle them / that they shall be a shamyd openly to speake agenste hym / as they haue done longe tyme / And soo wyll we handylle them by godes helpe that all the worlde shall knowe that they glory in Chrystes name and by hym be they also hye promotyd in thys worlde that they can not be hyer yet deserue they of christ / worst or all meÌ„ But lett vs go to oure purposse S. paul sayth / All men be synners / and wante the glory of god / but they ar iustifyed frely by hys grace / Ro. 3 thorow the redemcyon that is in christ Iesu Vvhat is this that all meÌ„ haue synned ye are iustyfyde frely How shall a sinner do good workys how can he deserne to be iustifyde what call you frely yf there be any deseruyng lesse or more / than is it not frely what call you by his grace yf it be any parte of workes / than it is not of grace / for as S. paul saithe / Than grace were not grace Ro. 11. here can be none euasioÌ„ / that wordys be so playne yf you bring in any helpe of workys / than for so muche ys not oure redemption frely / nor yet ys yt of grace / but partly of workys / and than doo yow dystroye all S. paule / and hys holle dysputacyon / for he contendyth agenst workys / aÌ„d clearly excludyth workys in Iustyfycacion / and bryngythe in grace only / Now that that ys excludyd in the wholl by contencion / can not be brought in / in parte to the cause Thys ys opyn in hys wordys / where he sayth Vvhere ys nowe thy reioysynge yt ys excluded / By what lawe by the lawe off workys Nay but by the lawe off faythe / we do Iudge and geue senteÌ„ce that a man is Iustifyde by faythe wyth out the workys off the lawe / Here yow not / that the gloryacyon off workys ys excludyd / and yet wyll yow bost youre workys Here yow not playnly Saynt Paules sentence / that Iudgeth clearly wyth faythe / and agenst all workys in thys cause / how can yow a voyd this is it not clear Vvhat can yow answere too yt Is not this Paulis proposion that he toke to proue / fayth only iustifythe It were but lost labour for Paule to proue that workes dyd helpe to iustifycacion / for that the iuys dyd graunt In so moche that they gloryed ageÌ„st the geÌ„tyllis / which had no maner of workes / aÌ„d for that dispysed them as peopell vn worthy to be iustifide / but paradveÌ„ture you wil make a blynd a damnable evasion / and say that Paule condemneth the workes of the olde lawe / as vnworthy to iustificacion / but not the workes of the newe lawe / are yov now satysfyed in youre conscience Thynke yov that yov haue well assoâ—yd S. Paules argument thynke you that this ys sufficient to avoyde S. Paule that hathe taken so great labour to proue this cause thynke you that yov shal be thus discharged a fore god yf yov doo / than goo boldly in to the strayte iudgement off god with this euasion / and doute you not but there shalle yov fynde S. Paule as styfly and as strongly agenst yov aÌ„d youre newe workes as ever he was agenst the Iuys and their olde workes / and yf he dyd condemne the workes of the lawe / that were institute by the mouth of god / thynke yov that those workes that you haue inuented out of youre idylle brayne shalle be there a lowed Breuely what workes can yov doo / or excogitate that be good whiche be not in the olde law / Ergo he speketh of all maner of workes / for the law includythe all workes that euer god instituted / but lett me stope youre mouthis with S. Paule Doth not he brynge to proue his cause / the example of the great father Abraham / whom no maner off workes culde iustify / but faith only / thynke you that S. Paule dothe speke here of the workes of the olde lawe nay doutles For how coulde AbrahaÌ„ do the workes of the law / and there was no law geuen .iiij. C. .xxx. yeres after where fore S. paule constrayneth you to conclude that no maner of good workis though they be so good as Abrahams workys can helpe to iustificacioÌ„ But yet yov haue a nother evasyon that is of youre glosse / how that S. Paule speketh of cerimonial workys / how they do not Iustifye Glossa Thys distynccyoÌ„ is but for mad men / and for theÌ„ that be not lernyd whyche are glad whane they may avoyd holy scriptur / though it be notyng to purposse but alonly with ydille and vayne wordis I pray yov what nede S. paule to proue that the ceremonials did not iustyfy / was there ever any Iue that lokyd to be iustified by theÌ„ Nay doutles For they were not geuyn to Iustificacion where fore what maÌ„ wolde thynke that S. Paule except mad meÌ„ aÌ„d vnlernyd assis wolde take so great labour to proue that thing / that every maÌ„ did gravnt / where fore say what you can Here stondith holy S. paule styfly aÌ„d strongly for me and ageÌ„st yov and saith that we be frely aÌ„d alonly Iustifyed by faith with out allemaner of workis Ambro ad Rom. â— But let vs see what youre awne doctours
lordis thys matter is not rightyd by youre Iudgment / but by oure Master Christes and his blessyd worde / a fore whose strayte iudgemeÌ„t / you shall be iudged / that straytely For whaÌ„ all youre grace / all youre honour / al youre dignite / al youre poÌ„pe pride / breuely al that youre hartes do now reioyce in shall lie in the dust / than shal you be called to a strayte rekenynge it is no lyght game nor no chyldys play Marke it well for it lithe in youre necke but what nedyth me to lose many wordis / for if you be halfe so full of grace / as yow saye you be of good workys / than wyll yow rekkyn yt better than I can moue yow But a gayne to oure pourposse Saynt Paul prouythe the iustifycacyon of faythe only / in these wordes Gala. 2. No man ys Iustified by the workis of the law but by the faythe of Iesus Christ / and we doo beleue in Iesus Christ / that we may be Iustyfyde / by the faythe of Christ / and not by the workys of the law How thynke yow / dothe not Saynt Paul exclude workys and brynge in allonly faithe / ye and that the workis of the lawe whyche were the beste workys in the worlde and he beleueth to be Iustifyed only by the faythe of Iesus Christ / and not by workis / and that prouyth he in these wordis / Gala. 3. That no maÌ„ ys iustifyde by the law a for god it is manyfest / for a rightwismaÌ„ liuyth by faithe Here you not how a rightwyse man lyuyth by faithe what call yow lyuyng by faith if he lyue any parte by workis / thaÌ„ liuith he not by faithe but partly by workes / ThaÌ„ ys Saynt paulys probacyon vnperfyte But lett vs se how youre doctours do expound this texte Athanasiê° Gala. 3. Nowe dothe he playnly shew / that faithe allonly hath the vertu in hym to iustyfy / aÌ„d bringyth abacuk saynge / of faithe and not of the law shal a rightwyse maÌ„ lyue / he addeth wel a fore god / for a fore man peraduenture they shal be rekkenyd ryghtwyse / that stykke to the lawe / but not a fore god cÌ„ Here haue you Sola Onlye And also that this holy Iustificacyon ys a fore god / and after his Iudgement / and not after meÌ„nys Iudgement wherefore glory as moche as you can of youre good workys / They caÌ„ not alonly not Iustyfye you / But also they be of no valure but damnable and very synne / yf there be no faythe / So for are they from helpyng too iustificacyon August in prologo Psal 31. Thys dothe S. Augustyne wytnes in these wordys Those same workys that be done a fore faythe / though they seme vn to men laudable / yet are they butt vayne / And I do Iudge them / as great strength / and as swyfte runninge out of the waye where for let no maÌ„ count hys good workys by fore faythe / where as faythe ys not there is no good worke / the intencyon makythe a good worke / but faythe do the gyde that intencyon cÌ„ Here Augustyne condeÌ„neth all youre good workys a fore faythe / and saythe that they be nothynge worthe / But vayne and thynges out of the way / How can suche thynges helpe too Iustifiacyon Marke also how that youre good intencyon where vppon you bost that you doo so many good workys by it can not helpe you for heys blynd and knowythe not what to do though he stond weell in hys awne conseyte wyth out faythe whych ys hys gyde Soo that all thynges a fore faythe are but very blyndnes But as sone as faythe cometh / he dothe bothe Iustyfy and also maketh the workys good / whyche were a fore synne But my lordys / you thynke to Iustyfy men a fore god / as you do fulfyll youre offyce a fore the worlde / that ys by workys of hypocrysy / and by workes that haue the name of holynes / and not the dede / and by vayne and glorious namys / aÌ„d wyth youre vayne blessyngys and sanctificacions / and wyth youre daÌ„nable pardoÌ„s / wyth youre whysling absolucyons / by suche workys as these be that haue but the shadow of holines in dede be but sinne / Think you to satissefye god / lyke wysse as with youre bostinge crakinge with proude lokis with youre hie thretniÌ„ges with youre gorgiê° poÌ„pe pryde / you do make the world beleue that you be the very successors of peter paule whaÌ„ in very dede you are the very Antychrystys that Scriptur speketh of / that the worlde hathe lokid so longe for / And yet so mad be we to loke for Antichrist / whaÌ„ he ys long come in to the game place and playeth hys parte to the vttermoost For lett any man that lokythe for Antychryste tell me what Antychryste shall doo whan he cometh / that yow doo not openly / and yet wylle yow be Chrystes bisshops / So that pore Christ must bere in his nek / all youre damnable and a bomynable lyuynge But lett vs se what Saynt Barnarde saythe off good workys I do abhorre saith he what soeuer thynge ys of me / Barnar suê‘ Can. sermo 67 excepte paradventure / that that be mine that god hathe made me his By grace hath he iustyfyed me frely / and by that hathe he delyuered me from the bondage of synne Thou haste not chosyn me sayth christ but I haue chosen the / nor I founde no merites in the / that myght move me to chosse the / but I preuented alle thy merites where fore thus by faith haue I maried the vn to me / and not by the workes of the lawe I haue maried that also in iustis / but not in the iustis of the lawe / but in that iustis whyche ys of faith Now this remaynythe / that thou doo iudge a ryght iudgement by twene the and me / geue thou iudgement where in that I haue maryed the / where yt is open that thy merites dyd not come by twene / but my pleasure wyll cÌ„ S. Barnard dothe dispyse all his good workes and takythe hym only to grace / but you stycke partly to youre workes and not allonlye to grace / had S. Barnarde no good workes to stycke to And yet he saith that there was no merites / nor any goodnes / but that we were frely chosen wherefore he prouokyth you and all suche as you be / to iudge ryghtwisely by twene god and yov / the which hathe preuented al youre goodnes / and that of his awne wylle and off hys awne pleasure / how can he fynd any goodnes / that preuentythe all goodnes So that here haue you clearly / that good workes off the lawe / or morall good workes as you fayne / doo nothyng helpe to iustificacion / for they be prevented of iustificacion This is also well provyd by
content to admytt all these men to be fulfyllars and doars of the lawe Au. despiâ—â— lit And now that you shall not say that this is my dreme / here be S. Augustines wordes / the doars of the law shal be iustifyed / so must yt be vnderstonde that we may knowe / that they can no nother wysse be the doars of the lawe except they be fyrst iustifyed not that iustificacioÌ„ belongyth vn to doars but that iustificacion dothe precede all maner of doynge cÌ„ Here yov not that iustificacion is fyrst geuen that men myght be abylle to doo the workes of the lawe Glossa This is also the exposicion of your commen glosse / I haue mervelle you studye yt no better Also you haue a nother scripture / and that ys this / Cornelius a gentylle did greate almes / and prayd vnto god all ways / Acto 10 vnto whome that angelle spake on this maner Thy prayars aÌ„d thy allmesses are come vpp in to remembraunce in the presens of god / of this texte you gether that his good workes did helpe to iustifie him / I answere the holy gost hathe opinlie declared him selfe there / for he saith that this Cornelius was a deuote man and one that feryd god / how coulde thys be with out that God had taught him inwardly by faith / ye how coulde he know god and that deuotely / but by faith Ergo he was iustifyed a fore god by his faithe / but the worlde knew not his iustificacion / and therfore that holy gost dothe declare his inwarde iustificacion whan he saith that he was deuote and feryd god also dothe shew opynly the frutes of thys Iustificacion / whan he saythe that he dyd allemesse Moreover yov haue there that the holy gost felle on them a fore they were baptisyd in watter the whiche declarythe opynly that they were Iustifide a fore god / This is welle declaryd also in youre awne lawe whose wordes be these / Cornelius Centurio / 2. q. 7 NoÌ„ oÌ„nes Episcopi beyng yet a hethen man / was Iustifyde by the gyfte of the holy gost here haue yov playnly that he was Iustifyed by the gifte of the holy gost a fore alle good workis / For he was an hethyn maÌ„ A nother scriptur yee haue whyche is this / if I haue alle faith / Soo that I may transeposse monÌ„tayns and haue no cheryte I am nothynge / of this gether yov that faithe with out cheryte can not Iustifie / I answere This can yov not gether of S. paule for it is opyn that he spekyth not of that thyng where bi that men may be iustified / but allonly he techith howe they that be iustified must worke with cherite it is also playne that he spekith not of fayth that doeth Iustifye inwardlye / but of that faythe that dothe worke outwardly The whiche is callid a gifte of the holy gost / as the gyfte of tonges / The gifte of prophicyes / the gifte of healing / the gyfte of interpretacion / as it is opyn in the chapter a fore Now this faythe ys not geuyn to Iustefye / but allonly to doo myracles / wonders and sygnys by / and therfore saithe paule / if I had all faith so that I coulde moue mouÌ„tayns Mat. 7. Also it is opyn that sertyn men shalle say vn to Chryst be holde we haue done miracles aÌ„d caste oute deuyles in thy name yet he shalle say to theÌ„ / truly I knowe yov not / So that this faythe is a gyfte of god that iustifythe not / no more than the gyfte of sciens or prophicies And somtyme is it in the churche some tyme not / and yt is neuer of necessite there to be / but the faithe that we speke of whiche dothe beleue the promyses of God / and styckythe faste to the blessed bloud of Christ / hathe no nother vertue but to iustifye / must nedes iustify where so ever he ys / and he stycketh so fast to godes worde / that he lokyth for no miracles This faith is neuer out of the church / Ioan. 17. for yt ys the lyffe of the church / and yt is the faith that oure master Christe prayd for that yt myght neuer fayle / aÌ„d therfore S. Paule whan he describythe this faith / he calleth yt a faythe that worketh by cheryte / not that yt iustyfyeth by cherite / for as he sayth there playnly / Gala. 5. yt is neyther circumcision / nor yet vncircumsicion that is of ony vallure in christ Iesu / but faith Here dothe he playnly exclude from iustificacion the hyest worke of the law circumcision / and setteth faith alone not the gyfte of faithe that dothe miracles / but the gyfte of faithe that worketh by cheryte / and that yov shall not thynke this to be my dreme here brynge I yov Athanasius whose wordes be these Atha ad Rom. There are .ij. maner of faithys won ys iustifying as that of the which it is spokeÌ„ / thy / faith hathe saued the / A nother ys called the gyfte of god where by miracles be done / of the which yt ys wrytten if yov haue faith as a grayne of musterd sede cÌ„ So that here haue yov playne that faith dothe iustify only / and parfyttly / a fore alle maner of workes / that is / faith is geuen of god frely in to oure soules vn to the which faith iustificacyon is allonly promised and is alonly imputed and rekkened of god / neuer the lesse this faith in tyme and place convenient / ys of that strength that he must nedes worke by cheryte / not for to be iustifide there by / for if he wer not a fore iustyfyed / yt were not possible that he coulde haue cheryte / for after youre awne scolle men an infidelle can not haue cheryte / but that he is a freseruant vnto god for the loue that he hathe vnto him / the which loue seketh not in god his awne profytte nor his awne auauntage / for than were he wykked but seketh alonly the wylle off god and the profite of other men / and worketh neyther / for loue of heuen nor yet for fere of helle / for he knoweth well that heuen / wyth all the Ioys there of ys preared for him from the begenynge of the world / not by him / but by his father and yt must nedes follow as contrary wysse the infydelle and the wykked man dothe not worke hys wykked dedes / by cause he wolde haue helle or euerlastynge damnacion to his rewarde / but he wolde rather the contrary / not withstondinge / helle and euerlastinge damnacion must nedes follow his wykked dedes Finallye a ryghtwyse maÌ„ is a fre seruant of godes / and worketh not as an hyerelyng for iff it were possible that there were no heuen yet wolde he doo no lesse good / for his respect is to the maker and the lorde of alle rewardes Nowe
youre exterior sygnes / with alle youre holye ornamentes / as youre holy myters / youre holy crossestauys / youre holye pyllers and polaxis / youre holy red gloues / youre holy ouches / and poure holye rynges / youre holye anoynted fyngers / youre holy vestmentis / youre holly challisys / youre holy goulden showys / yee take also to helpe yov S. Thomas of Canterberys holy showe wyth alle the holy botys of holye monkys all these to gether can not make one crumme of holynes in yov / nor helpe yov one prycke forward / that yov may be wyth in this churche For if these thynges coulde helpe / than were yt no mastery to make an asse to be of the church of god But oure holy mother the church hathe a nother holynes / that cometh from god the father thorow the sweat bloud of his blessed sonne Iesus Christ / in whome is alle hyr confidens trust Vn to whome she stycketh onlye by stedfast faith / by whose purenes she ys also puer in that that she dothe confesse hyr vnclennes / for she beleueth stedfastly that she hathe an aduocate for hyr synne to the father of heuen / which is christe Iesus 1. Ioan. 2. And he is the satisfaccioÌ„ for hyr synnes And he of his marcye not of hyr merites hathe chossen hyr for to be his / and by cause she ys hys / therfore must she be clene so loÌ„ge as she abyâ—eth in hym This is well declared in Ioan. 15 S. Iohan where oure Master Christe is coÌ„pared to the vyne and all the members of holy churche to the branches / that as the branches / can brynge forth no frute of them selfe / so can holy churche of hyr felfe brynge forth no goodnes excepte she remayne in christ by perfyt faithe This is wel proued by youre awne lawe whose wordes be these / therfore is the churche holy / by cause she beleueth rightwyselye in god cÌ„ De coÌ„ Di 4. c. prima igitur Here yov not the cause wherefore the church is holy by cause she beleueth rightwyselye in god / that is she beleueth in nothynge but in hym / and she beleuethe nor hereth nor worde but hys / as oure Master Chryste berythe wytnes / my shepe here my voyce / and a nother mans voyce doo they not knowe / also in a nother place / he that is of god / herythe the wordes of god / how commythe this that the church of god hathe so suer a iudgement / that she knowythe the voyce of Christe from other voycis and can not erre in hyr iudgement By cause that Christ hath chosen hyr / and by cause she ys lerned of god as oure master Christ saith / and by cause she hath as 1 Iohan. 2. S. Iohan saith the inward oyntement off god / that techyth his alle maner of verite / so that she can not erre / but why can she not erre by cause she may do what she wille By cause that all thynge that she dothe / is well done by cause she maye make newe rules and newe lawes at hir plesure By cause she may invent a newe seruice of god that is not in scripture at hir wille Nay nay my lordes For she is but a woman must be ruled by hyr husbonde / yee she is but a shepe and must here the voyce of hyr sheppard / and so longe as she dothe / so longe can she not erre by cause the voyce of here shepperd can not be false De pene Dis 2. Si in glossa 24. q. 1 A recta et in Glossa This maye be proued by youre awne lawe whose wordes be these / the whole churche can not erre / also in a nother place / the congregacioÌ„ of faith fulle men must nedes be which also can not erre cÌ„ These wordes be playne what churche yt is that can not erre / that is the congregacion of faithfulle men that be gethered in christes name / which haue christes spret which haue the holy oyntement of god / whiche abyde faste by christes worde / and here no nother mans voyce but his Now my lordes gather yov alle to gether with alle the lawes that you can make / and all the holynes / that yov can deuysse / Crye / the church / the church / the counsels / the counsels that were lawfully gathered in the power of the holye gost alle this may yov say and yet lye and yf yov haue not in dede the holly goste with in yov / and iff yov do heare any other voyce than christes / thane are yov not of the church / but of the deuylle / and theuys and murtherars as christ saith For yov come a fore him / that is yov come in to the foulde of Christe wyth out him / yov brynge not his voyce / but yov come with youre awne voyce / with youre awne statutis / with youre awne worde / and with youre awne mandamus / mandamus / precipimus / precipimus / excommunicamms / excommunicamus These be the voyces of murtherars and Theuys and not of Christ / therfore yov can not but erre / for yov be not taught of god / you haue not the holy oyntement yov haue not the worde of god for yov / yov here not the voyce of the trewe shepperd / there fore must yov nedes erre in alle youre counselles This is a nother maner of rule thane my lorde of iochester dothe assine to examen youre counselles by / for he saith / where that the pope and the counsell dothe not agre alle in one there wylle he susspect the counselle not to be ryght who did euer here suche a rule of a christenyd man yee and of a bishop yee and of a doctor of diuinite / where hathe he lerned this diuinite to recken a counselle to be trewe / by cause that the pope aÌ„d so many men do agre in one / yee that suche men as haue so oftyn tymes erred in their counsels / as he dothe declare hym selfe rekenynge the counselle of Constantinople that had .330 bisshops and yet did erre / and he knew no nother cause / but by cause the pope dyd not agre to them / is not thys a resonable cause can not the pope erre lett hym redâ— his awne lawe Dis 19. Anastasius / Dis 40. Si papa and also .24 q. 1. A recta in the glosse / there shall he finde that the pope hathe erred wherfore than shulde the matter stonde in hys iudgement Now how wille he by this rule saue the counselles of constance / and of basel where in both counsels the popes were condemned for heretykes as the same counsels make mencion / also that the counsels haue erred that graunteth he hym selfe / but paraduenture he wyll say / that they were not fulle counsels Now is yt well a mended / what dysticcionis as consernynge the veryte in a
with out any holynes Now haue I declared vn to yov / what is holy church / that is the congregacion of faithfulle men thorow out alle the worlde and where by she is holye / that is / by Christes holynes and by christes bloude / aÌ„d also what is the cause that she can not erre / by cause that she kepeth hyr selfe so faste to the worde of god / which is a parfyt and a trewe rule â—ow a maÌ„ may knowe the churche Now must we declare by what sygnes and tokens that we may knowe that in thys place or in that place there be serten members of this holy church / for though she be in hyr selfe sprytualle and caÌ„not be perfytly knowen / by oure exterior senses / yet neuer the lesse we may haue serten tokens / of hyr spritualle presens / where by we may reken that in this place and in that place be sertyne of hyr members As by a naturalle example / though the soule of man in hyr selfe be spritualle and invisible yet may we haue suer tokens of hyr presence / as herynge movynge / spekynge / smellynge / with suche other So lykewysse / where the word of god is trewly and perfytly preached with out the damnable dreames of men / and where yt is welle of the herars reseued / and also where we se good workes that doo openly agre wyth the doctrine off the gospell these be good and suer tokens where by that we may iudge / that there be some meÌ„ of holy church As to the fyrste / where as the gospelle ys trewly pÌ„ched yt must nedes lyght in some meÌ„s hartis / as the prophete wyttnesseth / my worde / shalle not returne a gayne to me frustrate / but yt shall doo all thynge that I wille / and yt shal prospere / Esaie 55. in those thynges / vn to the whiche I dyd send yt Also S. Paule saithe faithe cometh by heryng / and herynge cometh by the worde of god / Rom. x. and therfore yt is open in holye scripture that whan Peter spake the wordes of god the holye goste felle dovne on them alle Actu 10. wherfore yt ys open that godes worde can neuer be preched in vayne / but some men must nedes reseue yt / aÌ„d there by be made of holy churche / though that men doo not know them neyther by theyr names nor yet by their faces / for this worde is reseued in to their hartes The seconde token ys / that the reseuers of this word doo worke welle there after as 1. Tessa 2. s Paule declareth of his herars whan yov reseued of vs the worde where with god was preched / yov reseued yt not as the worde of men / but euen as yt was in dede / the worde of god whych worketh in yov that beleue So that if men doo worke after the worde of god yt ys a good token that ther be men off the churche / though that we hypocrisye ys so subtylle and so secret may be often tymes dysseued by these vtward workes / but neuerthelesse cherite iudgeth well of all thynges that haue a good outward shyne / and be not openly agenst the worde of god / but it is no ieoperdye though cherite be dysseued / for he is open to alle ieoperdyes but faith is neuer disseued Now to oure purposse / that where the worde of god is preched trewly / yt is a good a perfyt token that there be some meÌ„ of christes church / this may be proued by chrisostimus wordes / they that be in Iudea let theÌ„ fle vp in to the mountayns / that is to say they that be in chrystenduÌ„ / let theÌ„ geue theÌ„ selfe to scripturs wherefore coÌ„mandeth he that alle chrystened men in that tyme shulde flye vn to scriptures / for in that tyme in the whiche hereses haue opteyned in to the church / there caÌ„ be no trew probacion of christendom nor no nother refuge vn to christen men willynge to know the verite off faith / but the scripturs of god A fore by many ways was yt shewed which was the church of Christ / and which was the congregacion of gentilles / but now there is no notherway to know vnto them that wylle knowe which is the very trew churche of Christ / but alonly by scripturs By workes fyrst was the church of christ knoweÌ„ whan the conuersacion of christen men / other of alle or of many were holy / the which holynes had not the wykked men / but now christen meÌ„ / be as evylle or worsse thaÌ„ heretikes or gentles yee and greater continencie is founde amonge them / than a monge christen men wherefore he that wille knowe which is the very churche of christ / how shall he know but by scripturs onlye / wherefore oure lorde consideringe that so grett confusion of thynges shulde come in the latter days / therfore commaundeth he that christen meÌ„ which be in christendom willynge to reserue the stedfastenes of trewe faith shulde flye vn to no nother thynge but vn to scripturs for yf they haue respect vn to other thinges they shalle be sclandered and shall perishe / not vnderstondyng which is the trewe church cÌ„ These wordes nede no exposicion they be playne I nough they do also exclude all maner of lernynge sauynge holy scripture / wherefore se how yov can with honestie saue youre holy lawes / and defend them ageÌ„st Chrisostom Moreover iff chrisostom complayne of the incontenency that was in his days / how wolde he coÌ„playne if he now lyued and sawe the baudry fornicacion / that is in the churche Also he sendith men to scripturs that wyll knowe the holy church / and not vnto the holy churche for in the churche were heresys / but not in scripture Also Ephe. 2. S. Paule wyttnesyth the same sayng / yov are bylte a pon the foundacioÌ„ of the apostylles and prophetes / here haue you playnly that the very trewe church is grounded ye and foundyd of holy scripture / and therfore where so euer that the worde of god is preched / that is a good token that there be some men of christes church But now as to the frutes and workes of this church / she dothe alonly fetch out hyr maner of lyuynge / and alle hyr good workes out of the holy word of god / and she faynyth not nor dremythe any other newe holynesse or new invented workes that be not in scripture but she ys content with christes lernynge aÌ„d beleueth / that christ hath sufficienly taught hyr alle maner of good workes that be to the honoure of oure heuynly father Therfore inuenteth she no nother way to heuen but followeth christe only / in sufferynge oppressions and persecucions / blasphemynges and alle other thynges that may be layd vnto hyr / which as S / Augustine saithe she lerned of oure Master Christe Augustinê° Oure holy mother the church thorow out alle
fatherhod / wysdoÌ„ / lernynge / Auctorite / Multytude / and long custom / The which thingis be able to peruerte any maÌ„ be he neuer so wysse or neuer so holy yf he styck not fast to the word of god only / and therfore saythe the prophete blessed ys he whose wyll aÌ„d meditacion is nyght aÌ„d day that is continually in the law of god / Vn to the which if all youre couÌ„cellis / All youre fathers / All youre custoÌ„s / breuely all that you bringe for you be coÌ„pared / thaÌ„ shal we se whether it be trew aÌ„d of god or not / for of theÌ„ selfe they haue no truth / but be inueÌ„cioÌ„s of corruptid reson persuasioÌ„s of the deuell to peruerte the holy church of god But my lordis lett vs go to reson / Tell me by youre honoure is it resonable that the holy churche of god / redemed with christes precious bloud / aÌ„d asolyd by him from all her synnes shulde be now bound vn to you aÌ„d to youre absolucyon aÌ„d that she shuld not be relesyd / but thorowe youre power seyng that you be but ministers aÌ„d seruauÌ„tis ordeyned of Christ vn to her profyte aÌ„d not to youre honoure This will I declare by an example I put thys casse that there be a presoner bounde faste in chenys ouer the whiche you haue the custody and the kepynge after the kyngys commandemeÌ„t / now the kyngys grace saithe vn to you losse me that fellow / lett hym go fre out of preson vnder this coÌ„dicioÌ„ that he shall promisse to serue no prince but me only / what wyll you louse him or not / Can you or dare you kepe him lenger if you wolde / Or can you compell him to make any other coÌ„posycion with yov / thaÌ„ alonly to serue the kynge / yf you wolde kepe him lenger in pryson dyd you not ruÌ„ne in the kyngys displesure / if he did promisse you any other coÌ„posicion / were he bound ther to Nay doutles Moreouer in losinge of hym / what thynge doo you by youre auctoryte / ye what thinge do you at all but that you are mynysters vn to the kyngis coÌ„mandemeÌ„t aÌ„d a seruaÌ„t to the poure fellowe The ministracion aÌ„d seruyce ys yowars / But the auctorite is the kyngis of the whyche you haue neuer a crumme Take an other exaÌ„ple / yf it wolde plesse the kingis grace to make any of you an embassatoure and geue you a coÌ„mission and coÌ„mandymeÌ„t / to fetche whom in to hys londe a banysshed maÌ„ vn to whom the kynges grace writteth his pardon wyth suche wordis and vnder suche coÌ„dicyon as yt plesythe hys grace / Now this pardon delyuereth he to you / for to bere and to declare vn to the banisshed maÌ„ / Here wolde I know of you / what you can do for this banysshed maÌ„ more than ys wrytteÌ„ in youre coÌ„missioÌ„ / Also what can you do agenst hym in these thynges that the kynges grace hath perdonyd him / yow can neyther adde nor take a way from the kyngys pardon / you can no more do but declare yt vn to the partye / And yf he reseue it than may he as law fully / and as frely come in to the londe as yow may / and you can not saye / by ryght that yow haue by youre auctoryte dyscargyd hym or geuen hym any pardon of hys banyshement / but alonly yow haue delyuered and declared vn to hym / the kyngys pardon which whan he had reseued wyth the condysyons there in / than ys he dyscharged of hys banysshement / And yf he wil not reseue the kyngys pardon / Than can yow neither helpe him / in to the lond / nor yet discharge hym of hys transegressyon / but alonly yow leue hym / and declare vn to hym / ye and that by the kyngys wordes that he ys a banyshed maÌ„ and so shall remayne tyll he reseue the kyngys pardon / So lyke wysse the worde of god where in ys pardon for all synners ys commyttyd vn to you to preche and to declare / whyche yff they reseue by faythe they are fre aÌ„d lousyd froÌ„ their synnes / but yf they do not they are bound not by youre auctoryte / for yow be but mynysters and seruantys / and can no forther goo than youre coÌ„myssyon / but by the auctoryte of god only / wherfore se well to youre conscyens how yow can dyscharge youre selfe a fore god that do so presumtuously vsurpe hys auctorite / of the whyche yow haue neyther word nor exampylle in scripture Moreouer howe can you proue thys maner of absolucion Ego ab soluo te auctoritate mihi ê¯missa / for to be lawful / I pray you where was there euer any auctorite coÌ„myttyd vn to maÌ„ to take away sinne There is no auctorite coÌ„mittid vnto maÌ„ / but alonly ministracioÌ„ of the word / Now your absolucioÌ„ / maketh meÌ„cioÌ„ off auctorite ye that with out the word / agret meny of you vnderstoÌ„d not the worde Duns saith / ê™ absolucio sacerdotis / eÌ„ disposicio necessitaÌ„s ad remissioneÌ„ culpe / how think you be these fete wordes for a christeÌ„ maÌ„ if your absolucioÌ„ be necessari than can not god take a waye synne wyth out yov / nor yov with out hym / but god and yov to gether take away sinne / whother wil yov now wyll yov assend so hye / wyll yov be cheke mattes with god I thynke shortly yov wylle also be godes / the phareses dyd rekken muche better of god than yov doo / for they sayd / that god only dyd absolue from synnes / and yov saye I doo assoylle / ye and that by auctoryte / so that yov farre passe the phareses / but let vs se what S. Augustine saith of suche men / meny synnes be forgeuen the / he prophysed of men that be to come Luc. 7. Augus li. Quinquaginta homeliarum ho. 23. There were men to com that wolde say / I forgeue synnes I iustifye / I sanctifye / I make holle so manye as I baptyse wherefore the Iuys dyd better vnderstonde the remyssion off synnes than heretykes doo / for the Iuys sayd / what man is this that forgeueth synnes / and the heretyke saith / I forgeue / I make clene / I sanctify cÌ„ These wordes be playne ynough agenst yov / for you say we haue auctoryte to remytte synnes And. S. Augustine saith yov be heretykes for so saynge yov can not deny / but. S. Augustine repreueth youre awne absolucion / where in yov say that youre absolucion is requisite of necessite to remission of synnes the which is nothynge elles / but clearly denyinge of Christe of his blessed bloud and also of his holy worde / but yff we had grace we myght perseue that neyther yov / nor youre absolucioÌ„ / nor yet any thynge that yov doo were of god / for all that you do vs clearly done for monny and for no nother cause Rekken one thynge
that yov doo / as consernynge youre mynistracyon / but that yov wille haue mony for yt / not so muche as wasshynge of a hepe of stonnes where by haue yov gotten alle youre great possessions / but alonly vnder the collour / that yov be Christes holy bisshops Monye ys a merchaunte For monny you make whordom as lawfulle as matrimonye For monye / stollen good shalle be better than heritage For moÌ„nny / you make vsery lawfulle merchandis For mony / alle synnes be vertue yee and also haue grett perdon to theÌ„ For monny / yov sell man / wyfe / mayd and childe kynge and Londe For monny you make as good merchandis / of womens preuytyes / as a goldsmyth dothe of gylted platte yov wylle rekken that this is a shame for me to wrytte / but yt is more shame for yov to doo yt / and iff yov did not these shamfulle dedes I shulde haue none occasyon to make this shamfulle wrytinge / take yov away the cause and I wyll take a waye the wrytinge yee yov are not so content / but you sell Christ yov selle the blessed sacrameÌ„t off his flesh and bloude / yov selle his holye worde / yov selle all other sacramentes / breuely yov selle / alle maner of thynge that euer he lefte in erthe to the comforte of mans solle / and all for monny / ye and not so content but yov make also molawes and mo statutes / and dyspence wyth theÌ„ for monny / and alle these thynges doo yov / by the auctorite of the keyes / that bothe open heueÌ„ and helle / and a mans coffer and also his pursse yee and sumtyme they losse the cotte from his backe Oure master Christe saith vnto yov / yov haue reseued yt fre geue yt fre agayne / and yov geue nothyng fre / but I know youre answere yov wille say that yov sell not youre masse nor sacramentes nor the worde of god / but the laboure that yov haue aboute them O thou deuylle whan wylte thou be with out an excuse / whan wylte thov graunte they selfe gylty Telle meye that be with out shame / yf yov do selle but youre labour is it not sore and an vnlawfulle pryse to selle yt so dere what bisshop caÌ„ deserue by his labour a thousande pounde by yere / and yet some of them haue a great delle more / and labour nothynge at all How dere wylle these meÌ„ selle their labour yf they shuld be tankerdeberars / they wold make watter derar than wyne / yee telle me what labour there is wyth in the royalme that is halfe so dere solde as their ydylnes ys But yov bellygodes dyd not Christes appostles take paynys and labours / a bought the ministracion of the worde and in fulfyllynge of their office / more in one day than yov â—oo in alle your lyuys / and yet was it not lawfulle for them more to reseue thane a lyuynge for oure Master Christ saide / the worke man is worthy of his mette / Mat. 10 so that oure master wolde that they shulde reseue no more but necessarie / 1. Cor. 9· Also S. Paule saithe oure lorde did orden that they which preche the gospelle shulde lyue on the gospelle / marke how he saith they that preche the gospelle / now which of yov all dothe preche the gospell / Hierom. not one and yet wylle yov enioye these innumerable possessions Saynt Hierom sayth on his same texte / you must lyue on the gospelle / Chrisosto ad Ti. 5. but not be ryche / also Chrisostom saithe / I say boldly that the bisshops and prelates off the churche / may haue nothynge but meate aÌ„d drynke clothe cÌ„ Here haue yov planly / that yf yov dyd laboure faith fully truly in the go gospelle / yov coulde haue but a lyuynge there on / no lordly possessions / but now do yow nothynge in the worlde / but exercysse tyranny on theÌ„ that wold preche the gospelle / make lawes statutes / to destroye them / Chri. s 6. de anathemate the holye gospelle of god / so that Chrisostom speketh well of yov / Be holde I see men that haue no trew sence of holy scripture / yee they vnderstonde nothynge at all therof / to passe ouer meny thynges for I am a shamed to calle theÌ„ mad men / try fyllars wranglars they be suche as know not what they saye nor of what thing they speke / but aloÌ„ly be they myghtye bolde to make lawes / to cursse condeÌ„ne those thinges of the whiche they know no thinge at alle cÌ„ Be not these youre workes who can saye / but that these wordes be spokeÌ„ of yov who maketh statutes lawes but you who curseth coÌ„deÌ„neth but yov how cane yov lay these thinges from yov how can yov avoyd theÌ„ so longe shal they be layd ageÌ„st yov / tylle yov caÌ„ brynge in one that is gyltye of theÌ„ / I tkynke that will be loÌ„ge / yet wille yov haue these greet possessions / be also greet lordis doynge nothyng there fore at alle / but allonly play the parte of a bishop / as a Christemasse game player / dothe of a kynge / as a puppet which springeth vp doune crythe pepe pepe aÌ„d gothe his waye / so do yov make a countenaunce of greet holynes / of greet perfeccioÌ„ / but alle the world caÌ„ testify what yov do in dede Moreouer you are more bounde to the gospell / thane all other men be in the world for there by haue yov all youre honoure / all youre ryches / alle youre lordly possessioÌ„s / if the gospelle were not / men wolde no more regarde yov / thane they do coblers / yet deserue yov worste of all meÌ„ of the gospelle / wherefore I cane no more say vn to yov / but the wordes of oure m. christ / wo be vnto yov hipocrites the which shyt heueÌ„ gates a fore ohter meÌ„ / and as S. Luke saith / Mat. 23. Luce. 11 yov haue takeÌ„ away the key of sciens / and neyther enter in youre selfe / nor yet suffer other that come to enter in / now lett me see / how alle youre keyes / and alle youre power cane asoylle you from thys same woo that oure Master Christ dothe here lay vnto yov This worde of god byndeth yov to euerlastynge daÌ„ nacion let vs see yf youre pykelocke cane opeÌ„ this locke / than wyll I say that yov haue the keyes off heuen or els not I thynke yov may seke all youre clogge with keyes and fynde not one that wylle open this locke Finis ¶ Fre wille of man / after the faulle of Adam / of hys naturalle strength / cane doo nothynge but synne ☜ IN this article wyll we not dispute / what man may do by the commen influence geuen hym of god / ouer these inferior and worldlye
in thynkynge / in wyllynge / or in performynge / and alle these begeuen to god Also oure Master Christ sayeth shalle men gether grappys of thornys / Mat. 7. or fygges of brombylle busshys An evylle tre cane brynge forth no good frute what menyth oure Master whan he saith / that grapys be not gethered of thornys nothynge els / but that the frute must belyke the nature of the tre / therfore saith he / an evyll tre / cane not brynge forth good frute / now cane yov not denye / but that frewylle with out grace is an evyl tre / ergo hys frute must nedes be evelle / he may well bryng forth frute / but yt shall not be good Is not alle frewyls power declared in these wordes / he caÌ„ not / I pray yov what meanethe oure Master Christ in these wordes / he can not Christ said / he can not / wylle yov say / he can Mat. 12. also oure Master sayeth / yov adders byrdes / hov cane yov speke good thynges / seynge that yov be evylle / had not these men frewylle and yet sayth oure Master they coulde not speke good thynges / yov rekken yt but a smalle power / to speke good and yet as smalle as yt ys / frewylle cane not doo yt / he maye welle speke / but yt shall not be good / for how shulde he speke good / that is evylle of hym selfe how shulde he doo good that knoweth no good but ys the very enymye of goodnes / yee and as muche as lyethe in hym / he wolde there were no goodnes for yf he wolde there were goodnes / whye dothe he yt not / you haue also a commen pryncipyll / there is nothynge loued and desyred but that that is knowne / now how shulde frewyll flye from synne and desyer goodnes / and he knoweth not which is very synne / and whiche not / As. S. Paule saith / by the lawe is the knowlege of synne / so blynde is frewylle / Rom. 3. that he knoweth not synne to be synne nor vertue to be vertue / but iudgeth that thynge to be good that is evell and that thyng that is evylle to be good / for he is loste and hathe no trewe iudgement As. S. Augustine saith / what goodnes cane he doo that is loste / In Eâ—he c. 29 except that he be delyuerd froÌ„ his misery Cane he do any good by his frewylle god forbyd / for man evylle vsyng his frewille / dyd bothe lesse hym selfe also his frewylle / and as a man beyng a lyue / dothe kylle hym selfe / and whan he hathe kylled hym selfe / he cane not make hym selfe a lyue agayn So lykewyse whan we doo synne by frewylle / and synne hathe the victory / thane is frewylle clene loste / for of whom a man is ouer comme vnto hym must he be seruant / doutles thys sentence is of Peter the appostle / the which seyng that yt is trewe / I pray yov what maner of fredom cane a bonde seruant haue / except yt be whan yt pleseth hym to synne cÌ„ How thynke yov by this / yov defenders off frewyll / doth he not clearly saye that maÌ„ hathe lost his frewylle by synne and cane no more do vn to goodnes / than a dede man cane do to make hym selfe a lyue agayn / yee he cane doo nothynge but delyght in synne / calle you that a fredom de verbis apost s 11. Call yov that bonum conatum Call yov that a preparinge to grace S. Augustine dothe declare / what goodnes that frewylle deserueth / with out grace saynge / o cursed frewylle wyth out god / we haue experience what frewille cane doo with out god / therfore are we miserable by cause we haue experience what frewylle ys abylle to doo wyth out god / beholde man was made good / and by his frewill was he made an evylle man / whan shal an evylle man by his frewyll make a man good he beynge good / coulde not kepe him selfe good / aÌ„d now that he is evel shalle he make hym selfe good whan that he was good he kepte not hym selfe good now that he is evyll / shal he say I make mi selfe good cÌ„ Here haue yov the very strength of frewille / by his strength are we made miserable / and that dothe experience lerne and yet wylle yov boste frewyll S. Augustine calleth yt cursed frewylle / and you doo call yt blessed frewyll / is not this a goodly fredom and greet power / to bringe vs to this euerlastinge misery This is youre bonum conatum / and facere quod in se est / preparare se ad graciam with other damnable dremes that yov haue / whose conclusions are nothyng els but to bryng vs to damnacion / yov se s Augustines wordes be so playne that no man cane avoyd them Also S. Paule saithe / Roma 8 the wysdom off the fleshe ys enymy to god / yt is not subiect vn to the law nor cane be / for they that serue the fleshe / cane not plese god / and he that hathe not the sprete of Christe the same man is none off hys / for the selfe sprytte bereth wyttnes to oure sprete that we be the chyldern of god / here haue yov playnly / that the wysdom of the fleshe ys very ennymy agenst god / yov cane not say / but by wysdom he vnderstondeth the best thyng that is in man / for better than wysdom cane there nothyng be / and yet that is enymy to god for yt is but fleshe and alle that ys in man with out the spreet of god / and that S. Paule declareth whaÌ„ he saith / he that hathe not the spreet of Christ / the same man is not Christes Here is playne that wyl / reason / wysdoÌ„ / harte or what so ever thing that is in maÌ„ is with out the sprete of god but fleshe cane not be obedieÌ„t / he saithe not he wylle not / but he can not he hathe no myght / he hathe no power / lett hym intend his best / doo all that lyeth in hym / with alle his myght alle hys power / yet cane yt not plesse god / for yt is all but fleshe But here Master Duns men wylle make a disticcion / say that fleshe is taken here for fleshly desyers only and voluptuousnes / not for the desyers of the solle / nor for the eleccion of the wylle / I wolde know of them / what parte in man yt ys / that desyreth / or that couyteth this voluptuousnes / it is not the bonys nor the synowes / nor the fleshe that hangeth there on but yt is the hyest parte of man the verye soule of man / he is the ground and the auctor of alle concupisens / take away hym / and there remanyth no voluptuousnes / therfore S. Paule declareth hym and his operacion / whan he calleth
neuer wille / but eville Here is also to be notyd / That the palagions ād oure duns men a gre alle in won / for they bothe say / that the grace of god doth helpe mans good purposse so that mā dothe fyrst intēd purpose welle / as duns saythe disposithe hym selfe by attricion to reseue grace / thā god dothe helpe hym / but the trouth is contrary for there is no good purposse in mā / no good disposiciō nor no good intēt but alle is agēst goodnes / clene cōtrary agēst alle thyng that agreyth with grace / tille that god of hys mere marry comythe ād geuythe grace ād chāgithe mās wille vn to grace / geuyth hym a wille to wille goodnes / ye that whā he thought nothyng of goodnes / But dyd clearly resist all goodnes / Thys dothe S. Augustine prove in these wordes The pelagiōs saye / Ad bonif li. 2. ca. 9. that they graūt how the grace dothe helpe every mās good purposse but not that he geuithe the love of vertue to him / that siriuyth agēste it This thyng do they saye as though mā of hym selfe wyth out the helpe of god / hath a good purpose a good minde vn to vertu / bi the whiche merite presedynge a fore / he is worthy to be holpyn of the grace of god that foloweth after / doutles the grace that foloweth dothe helpe the good purposse of mā / but that good purposse shulde neuer haue byn / if grace had not preceded / And though that the good study of man whan it begynnyth is holpyn of grace / yet did yt neuer begyn with out grace c̄ Here ys yt open / that the palagions graunte as muche of grace / as my lorde of Rochester dothe and alle his Duns men which lerneth that man may haue a good purposse / bonum studiū / and a good mynde / and a love vn to grace / off his awne naturalle strength / the palagions graunte euen the same / but here yov se hov S. Augustine ys clear agenste them But now lett vs here master Dunssys wordes / a synner may by the naturalle / 4. Sente D◠14. q. 2 and by the commen influence of god consider his synne / As a thyng that hathe offended god / and as a thyng contrary to the lawe of god / and letteth hym from rewarde bryngeth hym to payne / by this menis may he hatte / and abhorre his syn this calleth he attricion where by there is a disposicion / or a merytt in man of congruence to take a way mortalle synne / and this attricion is sufficient for a man / that shall reseue the sacramentes / et quod non ponat obicem / that is / that he haue no mortalle synne actually in his wylle / this is sufficiēt and also a necessary way to reseue grace c̄ This is tentymys worse than the palagions saynges / for they graunt that man must nedes haue a specialle grace / to performe his good purposse / and Master Duns saith / that man may performe his attricion of his naturalle power / ye and this attricion of congruence / ys a disposicion to take away mortalle synne with out any specialle grace / I pray you master Duns off what congruence ys it what hathe attricion deserued / that mortalle synne must be taken away for his plesure / what hathe he deserued / the grace must followe hym / Infideles may haue this attriciō for yov graunt / that yt comyth of naturall strength and yet shall it not followe of congruence / that they must reseue grace / and also remissiō of their syns Also had not Iudas thys attricion / whan he said / I haue synned / ād was sory for hys syn / and also repentyd hym / knew well that he had offendyd god / ad also deseruid payne And was no more willing so to do and had all thou propertes that longeth to youre Attricion / ad yet you se howe he did deserue of cōgruence grace ād remissyon of hys syns ye dyd not this attriciō bring him to extreme disperacy on / How can a mā with out a speciall grace / abhore his sinne / it is not possible but he must loue sinne / so longe as he is the enimy of god / ye he wold there were no god to punishe syn / suche a plesur hathe he vn to syn / This is the nature off oure hartis / that doth euery of vs feale / Though these hipocrittis lerne the cōtrary / but I say to thē the wordis of the prophet redite ad cor preuaricatores / grope in youre bosō hipocritis / ther find you the mortall enimy of god which neither carith for godis displesur / nor yet for his sinne / you say that he may haue a good attricyon / of hys naturall strength / and if thys attriciō be good / than may he do good a fore grace / so that we shall gether / grappis of thornis / and fygis of bryars / but what saithe S. paul to youre good attricyon / He saith that all thing with out faith is synne / you addersbirdis / is not this mā a fleshely mā ād hath nothyng of the spret of god for by youre awne lerning he hath but the cōmen in fluence ād yet shall he be sory that he hath offendyd god shall he abhore his synne Shal he dispose hym selfe of cōgruēce to grace S. paul saith / the flesh lustithe cōtrary to the spret / and the workes of the fleshe be Aduoutry / fornicaciō / vnclēnes Idolatry / wytchcraft / hatred / wrathe / zele / sedycyon / Enuyynge wyth suche other / I pray yow how do these workys agre wyth you e Attrycyon Call you thys abhorringe of synne Calle yow this heuenes that he hath offendyd god Be these youre good disposiciōs be these your good preparacions vn to grace Thynke you that these workys / do deserue of cōgruēce remissiō of mortalle synne These be the best workis that a synner hath in his harte / or ellis S. paul lyeth / wherefore it is not possyble but he must haue in his will actuall sinne / for he can wyll nothing but synne And therfore if he reseue the sacramentes wyth your attriciō / he reseueth thē to his dānaciō for a fore grace he is an vtter ennimy to god and to all his sacramentis wherefore god must of hys mere mercy mollyfy his harte / geue him grace to wyll goodnes / or ellis he can neuer do it / As Saynt Augusti dothe declare in these wordys / De predesti ca. 8. The grace which is geuyn of the largenes of god preuely in to mēs hartis / can not be dispisyd off no maner of harde hart / For therfore is it geuē the the hardnes of the harte shulde be taken away wherefore whā the father ys herde with in / ād dothe lerne
be not maÌ„ may kepe theÌ„ or intend yf he wille / But yf thou wilte kepe them / thaÌ„ they shalle kepe that / where fore of these wordes cane yov not coÌ„clude any power in maÌ„ For it foloweth not whaÌ„ god saithe / do this / do that / here this / here that / kepe thys / kepe that / yf thou wilt here / yf thou wilt do this / yf thou wilte do that / That we cane do these thynges or cane intend to do theÌ„ / for god coÌ„mauÌ„deth vs to do al thynge that is good / ergo we be abille of oure naturalle streÌ„gthe to do them Than were the sprete of god frustrate / for the sprete of god is not geuyn vs / to geue coÌ„maÌ„dimentes but for to geue vs strengthe / to fulfylle / and righttusly to vnderstond those thynges that be commaÌ„ded vs. By the commaÌ„dimentes is declaryd that thyng that we ought to do / also they shewe oure wekenes aÌ„d imbecylite that we myght lerne to seke for a gretter strengthe and gretter helpe than is in vs / As. S. Augustine faithe in these wordes Aug. de verb apost s 13. The law was geuyn that man myght fynd hym selfe / and not to make his syknes holle / but that by hys preachyng the syknes incresyd / the phisicion might be sought wherfore the law thretnyng / and not fulfillyng that thyng that he coÌ„mandeth / makythe a man to be vndernethe hym / but the lawe is good if a man do vse it welle By the law to know oure syknes and to seke godes helpe to helpe vs cÌ„ Here is it playne / that the commandymentes of god geue vs no strengthe / nor yet declare ony strength to be in vs / but shewythe vs oure duty and also oure wekenes / aÌ„d also moveth vs / and causythe vs to seke for der for streÌ„gthe / So that these wordes si volueris / si feceris / si audieris / si emuÌ„daueris / si vis / with alle other suche that be wordes of coÌ„maÌ„dimentes or wordes vnder a condycion / do nothyng declare but what we are bound to do / aÌ„d what shalle folow if we do them / And as the wordes of the lawe do thretyn an yvylle ende for synne alonly for to fere evylle doars / and wykkyd persons from evyl / so do the wordes of promys stur vpe and quickyn good meÌ„s hartes for to do welle and also comforte them that they shuld not dispare in aduersites / but nether these nor those geue vs any strengthe to do that that is commandyd but alonly they do declare / what paynis and what rewarde shalle folowe to the brekers / and the kepers of them A nother scriptur haue yov where as oure Master christ saithe / Mat. 23. How of tyn wolde I haue getheryd thy childern / and thou woldste not Here crye yov / liberuÌ„ arbitriuÌ„ li. arb For if they had no frewille what ned oure M. to say thou woldste not First must we consyder that there are .ii. maner of willes in god / won is callyd his godly wille or his secret or vnscrutable wille / where by that alle thynges be made and orderd / and alle thynges be done Of this wille no creature hathe knowlege what he ought there by to do or not to do / for as S. Paule saithe / it is inscrutable / and there fore it is sufficient for vs / to know there of alonly that there is an inscrutable wille â—e â— The other wille in god is callyd a declaryd aÌ„d a manyfestyd wille / The whyche is declaryd and geuyn to vs in holy scripturs / This wille was shewyd vn to vs to the vttermost by oure Master christ the son of god / and therfore is it lawfulle / and also alle men are bound to serchâ— to know this wille and for that consideracyon was it manyfested vn to vs Thys wille dothe declare what every man is bound to do / and what everye man ys bound to flye / And bi this wille is offeryd vnto every man / those thynges that be of saluacyon / and by thys wille god wille haue no maÌ„ daÌ„ned / Now he that wille know this wille must go to oure Master christ in whome as S. Paule saithe be alle tresurs of wisdom and sciens / So that he wille shew vs as muche as is necessary for vs to know / and as muche as the father of heuyn wolde we shuld know / Now to the texte / here speketh god that is incarnatyd that was sent to wille / to speke / to do / to preche / to be famylier with vs / to do myrakylles ye and also to suffer dethe for oure saluacyon / Now saithe he / I wolde haue getheryd my childern / that is to say I dyd preche / I dyd labour with alle diligence to conuerte the / I dyd myracles a fore the / ye I wept I wayllyd for thy sake / alle these thynges dyd I with alle other thynges that myght be to thy convercioÌ„ and that belonged to god incarnate to do / but alle these thynges did not profite them / whye By cause they wolde not In hym was there no faute / For there was nothynge vndon / that belonged to hym to doo / so that he was willing and yet dyd it not profite Ierusalem / And whi by cause they wolde not But now why wolde they not / by cause it was in their power to wille to consent and to wille not to consent / nay trulye / but by cause as Iohan saithe they culde not beleue / for he had blynded their yies / Ioan. â—â— aÌ„d hardenyd their hartes / that they shulde not see with their yies nor vnderstond with theyr hartes / So that they must nedes aloÌ„ly wille not to consent / aÌ„d culd no nother wisse do but not coÌ„sent / and yet were they neither coÌ„strayned nor compelled / nor wronge to it by violence / but frely they wold not consent / and yet had they the liberte of their frewille that was to be agenst christ and not to be with hym / for the liberte of frewille stoÌ„deth not in thys that he may wylle thys thing / and also wille the contrary there of / But it stondeth in that that althyng that he wille or wille not is att his awne wille ys not ther to constranyd but willeth it frely with out any compulsyon / and yet he can not chouse no nor wille not chose so to wille or so not to wille / So that there is a necessite immutable / but not a necessite of compulsyoÌ„ or coaccion / now is it opyn that this place makythe not for yov for there was no power / nor none intent in their frewille to consent vn to christ / but to wille the contrary and not to wille vn to him and alle was by cause they were blindyd and theyr hartes wer hardenyd / and therfore of their natural streÌ„gth
haue / that be agenst his holy verite / but let vs graunt that that translacion was so false / why did not yov there take a pone yov opynly for to amend it and to sett forthe truly the holy testament of christ yov must nedes graunt that there is an holy testameÌ„t of his in erthe except yov wille deny christ as I dought not but that yov wille in effect where is it whye haue we it not If that wer not it / whye do not yov sett the very trew testament out / yov were reddy to coÌ„demne an other mans faithefulle labor aÌ„d diligence / but yov had no cheryte to amend it / yov thynke alle ways to disseue the worlde with youre holy hypocrysy / men be not so blynd but that they cane welle Iudge / If yov hade condemnyd that testament allonly by cause off errours / yet at the lest ways yov shulde bothe of cheryte / and also of dutye haue set forthe the trew texte / and than wolde men haue thought / that yov condemned the other by the resoÌ„ of errours But men may now euydently se that yov dyd not condemne it for errours sakes / for how shulde they iudge erroures that be soo vnlernyd but alonly by cause that the verite was ther in / the which yov coulde not abyde that men shulde knowe / and that dyd the processe of youre sermon and also youre tyranny that dothe folow wel proue / but mi lord I say to yov / aÌ„d to all youres if yov do not amend it shalle be to youre euerlastyng damnacyon / for god wille not take thys rebuke at youre honde / Esa 62. remember that he hathe sworne by the movght of his prophete hy his ryght honde aÌ„d by the might of his strengthe that he wille defende this cause / Be not these lordly wordes / of the eternalle god / thinke yov to make hym for sworne Heb. 10. Remember how the holygost thretyneth yov in another place saynge / yf a man dyd dysspysse the lawe of Moses / he must with out any mercy dye / howe muche more are they worthy of ponishement / that do trede the sone of God vndernethe their fete / and dyspise the bloud of hys testament / how thynke yov ys not this opynly agenst yov / That coÌ„demne not alonly christ but also his blessed worde / and alle that longythe to hym / Take a way christes word / and what remanythe bi hynd of chryst nothyng at alle I pray yov my lorde to whome was thys worde fyrst preched to whome was it writtyn allonly to prystes not vn to lay men ye was it not writtyn to alle the worlde yes truly / where by wille yov conuerte a turke or an infidelle / not by holy scripture whan they be conuerted / what wille yov lerne theÌ„ what wille yov geue them to rede / any other thyng than holy scripture I thynke nay Now wille yov make youre awne cuÌ„trymen / youre awne citysins youre awne subiectes yee youre awne brethern / redemed wyth christes blessed bloud worsse them Iuys / and infidelles But their is no reson nor no bretherhod / nor no chrysten cheryte that cane moue yov / or that cane helpe yov / for yov are so blynded and so obstinate agenste chryst / that yov had rather alle the worlde shulde peryshe / thane his doctryne shulde be brought to lyghte / but I do promisse yov / if god do spare me lyffe / aÌ„d geue me grace / I shalle so set it out / if yov do not revoke it that it shalle be to youre vtter sâ—ame and confusyon / fynde the best remedy that yov cane / I do beleue stedfastly / that god is myghttyar than yov / and I doo rekkyn and faytheffully beleue / that yov are ten tymys worsse thane the grette Turke for he regardeth no more / But rule dominyon in this world And yov are not there with content / but yov wille also rule ouer mens consyens yee aÌ„d oppresse christ and his holy word / and blaspheme and condemne hys worde / was it not a holy covnselle / of the chanseler of london to conselle a sertyn merchaÌ„t / to by Robyn hoode for his seruaÌ„tes to rede what shulde they do with vitas patryÌ„ / and with bokes of holy scriptur Also the same Chanseler sayed to an other maÌ„ / what fyndest thou in the gospel but a story what good canst thou take there out O lorde god where arte thou why slepist thou why sufferst thou this blasphemy Thov hast defeÌ„ded thy prophetes with wilde fier froÌ„ heueÌ„ / And wylte thov suffer thy wonly sone and thy heuynly worde / thus to be dyspysyd and to be rekenyd but as a story of Robyn hoode Rysse vpe good loorde / Rysse vpe / thy enemys do preuaylle / Thy enymys do multiplye / shewe thy power / defend thy glory It is thy conâ—umely and not oures what haue we to do with it but alonly to thy glory venge this cauâ—e or thy enymys shalle rekkyn yt not to be thy cause / O thou eternalle God though oure synnes haue deseruyd thys / yet loke on thy name / yet loke on thy veryte / Se howe thov arte mockkyd Se how thou arte blasphemid / ye and that by them / that haue takyn on theÌ„ to defend thy glory / But now heuynly father / Seynge that thou haste / so suffered it / yet for the glory of thy name / geue some man strengthe to defend it / or els shalt thou be clearly takyn out of the hartes off allemen where fore most gracious lorde / of thy mercy and grace I besech the / That I may haue the strengthe to defend thy godly worde to thy glory and honour / and to the vtter confusyon of thy mortalle enymys / helpe good lord helpe / and I shalle not fere a thovsand of thyne enymys / In thy name wille I begyn to defend thys cause Fyrst commyth thy faythfulle seruant Moses / trewe and Iuste in alle thy workes / and he commandythe faythefully and trewly / and with grett thretnynges that man / woman and chylde shuld dilygently rede thy holy worde / Sayng / Sett youre hartes on alle my wordes the whych that I do testyfye vn to you thys day / That yov may commaÌ„de them vn to yovre chyldern / to kepe / to doo / and to fulfylle alle thynges that be wryttyn in the boke of thys lawe / Marke howe he commauÌ„ded them / to lerne their chyldern alle thynges that be wryttyn in thys boke / Deu. 32. and so to lerne them that they myght kepe and fulfylle alle thynges that were wryttyn in the boke / Moses maâ—e nothyng of secretnes / and wille yov make secretes ther in how shalle men fulfille those wordes that they know not how cane men know the very trewway of god and haue not the worde of god is not alle oure knowlege ther in The prophete saith / thy
theÌ„ and now wyll you forbyd chrysten men / to rede holy scriptours / that are sworne vn to them ye and also to defende them vn to dethe Also Saynt Paule saythe Let the worde of god dwell in you pleÌ„teuosly / 〈◊〉 â— 3 S. Paul wolde that lay men shulde lerne the worde of god / ye and that plentuusly / and you commaund that they shall haue nothyng of yt How stondeth youre nothynge / with Saynt Paules abuÌ„daÌ„te AbundaÌ„tly / and nothyng / be for a sunder / But thus do you all ways a gre with Saynt Paule and with holy scrypture / And yf you wolde say playnly in wordis that youre dedys do declare openly / than were we in no doute of yow / for all the worlde wolde take you / as you be takyn a fore god / that ys for the Antichristis that the worlde loketh for / Neuer the lesse doute you not / but god shall declare yt openly at hys tyme / to your vtter confvsyon and damnacyoÌ„ / for doughtles yow neyther holde wyth Christ with holy doctors / not yet with youre awne law / where they be agenste you / but all thes must be expoundyd and wronge vn to youre carnalle purposse or ellys you make yt heresy / But thynke you that the father of heuyn whiche for the grett tender loue / that he had to mans soule sent hys wonly sone to redeme yt / and also to geue yt a lawe to lyue by out of hys awne mougth shall thus suffer yt to be loste thorow youre hypocrysy / aÌ„d hys godly word to be ouer tredyn for the mayntaynynge of your worldly Glory naye douteles for yf yt were possybylle / that he coulde moore regarde youre pompe and pryde than mans solle and hys godly worde / yet were yt vnpossyble that euer he shulde so dyspysse / the swet bloude of hys blyssyd sone swet Iesus / where fore loke a pon youre charge But to oure purpose / Augu. aâ— fratres s 38. S. Augustine is openly agenst you in these wordys My brothern rede holy scrypture in the whiche you shall fynde what you ought to holde / and what you ought to flye / what ys a man reputyd wyth out lernynge what ys he Is he not a shepe or a gotte Is he not an Oxe or an Asse Is he any better than an horsse or a mule the whych hath no vnderstondynge cÌ„ Here S. Augustyn movythe men to rede holy scripture And yov commaÌ„de them not to rede it S. Augustine sayth They shall know in them what to do / and what not to do / and yov say they shalle lerne nothyng there out but he resys S. Augustyn saythe a man with out lernyng of scripturs / is no better than a brute beste / ar not yov god fathers that wille make all youre chyldern no better thaÌ„ bestes / Also Athanasyus In epâ—s ad Ephe. c. 6. If thov wilte that thy chylderne shalle be obedieÌ„t vn to the / vsse them to the wordes of god But thou shalt not saye that it belongyth alonly to religious men to studdy scripturs / but rather it belongythe to euery christen man and specially vn to hym / that is wrappyd in the busynessis of this world / and so muche the more / by cause he hathe more nede of helpe for he is wrapped in the trubbilles of the world / therfore it is gretly to thy profyte that thy chyldern shulde bothe here and also rede holy scripturs / for of them shalle they lerne thys commandyment / honour thy father and thy mother c These wordes be playne ynough agenste yov / They nede no exposicioÌ„ / And the doctoure is of auctorite wherfore answere yov to hym In Gen. c. â— ho. 28. Also ChrisostuÌ„ that was a byssope as welle as yov be / condemnythe youre sentens opynly saynge I beseche yov that yov wille oftyntimis come hyther / and that yov wylle diligently here the lesson of holy scriptur / and not allonly whane yov be here / But also take in youre hondes whane yov be at home the godly bibles / and reseue the thyng there in wyth grett studdy for there by shalle yov haue grett vantage cÌ„ These wordes be so playne that I cane adde notyng to them / wolde yov that we shulde take yov for bysshops and for holy fathers / that be so opynly agenst scripture / and so contrary to holy doctours / that wille I neuer do whylle I lyue / I neuer loke to see other Antichristes than yov / And so wylle I take yov tylle I se almyghty god coÌ„uerte yov Also the same doctor saithe In Mat. c. 1. hom 2. Vvhyche of yov alle that be here / if it were requiryd coulde say won psalme with out the boke or any other parte of holy scriptur / not won doubtles But this is not aloÌ„ly the worste / but that yov be so slow and so remisse vnto spritualle thynges / and vnto deuillishenes yov are whottar than any fyer / but men wille defend this myschiffe with this excuse / I am no religious man I haue a wyfe and chylderne / and a hovse to care for / This is the excuse where with yov doo as it were with a pesteleÌ„ce corrupt alle thynges for yov do rekkyn that the studdy of holy scriptur belongythe alonly vnto religius men / whane they be muche more necessary vn to yov than vnto theÌ„ cÌ„ Here may yov se that youre damnable institucion was in the hartes of men in chrysostuÌ„s days / how they wolde rede no scripturs / but yov se he coÌ„demmyth it / aÌ„d callithe it a pestilens / wille yov now bryng it in agayn If yov had but a lovsy statute of youre awne ageÌ„ste me or an other man / yov wolde caulle vs heretykes / But yov neither regarde chrystes holy worde nor holy doctours nor yet any other thynge that is ageÌ„ste you But lett vs se what youre awne lawe sayth to this / Di. 38. Si iuxta If christ as paule sayth be the power and the wysdom of god / thane to be ignoraunt in scrypturs / is as muche as to be ygnorant of Christ cÌ„ Here haue yov playnly that to take away scripturs from lay men / ys as muche as to take away christ from them / the which no doute / but that yov doo intend in youre hartes to doo / and that thinge god knoweth and youre workes doo declare yt the whiche god shalle venge full stratly over you / also in an other place / 7. sinod c. OeÌ„s et di â— I wylle sett my meditacion in thy iustificacions / and I wylle not for gett thy wordes / the which thing is exidyng good for alle christen men to obserue and kepe cÌ„ Here ys a counselle of youre awne that hathe admytted that alle christen men shalle studdy holy scripture And wylle yow now condemne yt Is their neyther scripture of
men in the glorius name of oure myghty lorde Iesus christe which is bothe their redemer shall be their iudge that they wylle indifferently here thys artykel discussed / by the blessed worde of oure Master Christe Iesus whiche wasse not alonly of god / but also very god him selfe / and all that he dyd was done by the counselle of the wholle trynyte / ād not alonly by his / by whose counselle all counsels bothe in heuen and erthe must be ordered / and that counselle that is contrary to yt whether yt be of Saynct Angel or of man must be a cursed and iudged to be of the deuyll / though they be neuer so myghty / neuer so welle lerned / and neuer so meny in multitude / for there is no power / no lernyng / nor yet no multitude nether in heuen nor in erthe / nor no iuperdes nor no sclanders that may iudge Christe and his holly worde / nor that they maye geue place vnto / wherefore yff I cane prove by open scripturs / of oure Master Christe / and also by the practes of holly churche / that this counselle / ys false and damnable / than lett alle christen men iudge which of vs must be harde and be beleued eyther the counselle hauyng no scriptour ye cōtrary to alle scripture / or els I that haue the open worde of god / and the very vse and practes of the holye appostles and of holye churche / Christe is of god / and that no man douteth / but the holye counsell though there were fyve thousaddes bisshopes there in muste proue them selfe to be of god by the word of god by their workes the whyche they cane not doo iff they be contrarye to Christe and hys blessed worde Moreouer Christe is not trew vnder a condicion by cause that men doo a lowe hym / for though alle the worlde were agenst hym / yet were he neuer the lesse trewe / but the counselle ys not trew but allonlye vnder this condicyon by cause yt dothe agre wyth Christes holy worde / and of yt selfe yt hathe no veryte / but ys off the devyll yff yt vary from Christ A fore the dreedfulle trone of god shalle the counselle be iudged by Chrystes holye worde / and Chryste shalle not be iudged / by the decre off the counsell but he shall be the counsels iudge / and yf christes worde condemne the counselle who shall approue yt / who shall prayse yt / who shall defende yt The temporalle swerde / nor the multitude of bisshopes nor interdiccion / excommunicacion nor cursynge / cane than helpe wherefore lett euerye trew christen man loke on thys matter indifferently / it is no tryflyng with god nor with his holy worde / for god wille remayne for ever / and his holy worde must be fulfylled / yff we wille not fulfylle yt / he shall caste vs dovne to the depe pytt of helle / and make of stonys men in oure stede that shalle kepe his worde / yt ys no lyghte thing / for yt lyethe on the saluaciō and damnacion bothe of boddy ād soulle / from the whiche we can not be delyuered / with these glorious wordes / Concilium / Concilium / Patres / Patres / Episcopi / Episcopi / for alle these may be the minysters of the deuylle / ye though they were angels / therfore wons agayne / I do monyshe and exhorte in the glorious name of the lyuynge god / and in the swet bloude of christe Iesus all trew christen men / to take hede what they doo agenste christes holy worde which is their eternalle god / their mercifulle redemer and shall be also their myghty and glorious iudge Nowe lett vs examen the wordes of the coūsell Fyrst of all the counsell graunteth that in the begenyng of the churche / alle christen men were housled vnder bothe kyndes / now wold I know of the counsell of whome the church had reseued this maner of christe or hys holy appostles as doughtles she did than what auctoryte had the counselle to change the institucion of christ / and of his holy appostles / and also the vse and practys of holy churche / was not the fyrst churche of god Dyd she not kepe Christes institucion dyd she not fulfyll christes worde Dyd not the holye appostles lerne hare so and now shalle the counsell of constanciens fyrste condēme Christ and his blessed worde / and thane the lerninge of Christes holy appostles and also the longe vse and practes of christes blessed churche / with out any scripture / with out auctorite or with out any speciall reuelacion from god but alonly for avoydyng of serten perelles yee and not content alonly to condemme these thinges but vnder the payne of heresy to condemne them / this is to sore a condemnacion of christes open word and of that thing which they graūt that the church did vse at the begenyng Forthermore the counselle saith that holy fathers and the churche did bringe in this custom to housseile laye men vnder won kinde / are yov not a shamed of these wordes Dothe not youre consciens pryke yov thus openly to lye ye of Christ and of his holye churche Chrystes worde is openly agenste yov / and yov graunte that the vse of the church was also other wyse / and as for holy fathers here maye yov se what they saye to it / but yov are the chylderne of the kingdum of lyis / ād doughtles if yov bring not forth the holy fathers that make for yov / yov shall not allonly be taken for abhominable and open lyers / but also for shamfulle and detestable sclanderars bothe of holye churche and also of holye fathers But it is no wōder for Antichrist must declare hym selfe openly to be agenst Christ and yet is he neuer with out an excuse / and a shaddow of holynes / where by he maye blynde the poore people / but what excuse had he here in the counsell to condemme Christes worde That they myght avoyde serten sclanders and perylles bycause that there is no boddy with out bloud Be not these lawfulle causys to condemne christes open worde / yee and that vnder the payne of heresy Is not thys a new maner of lawe to make that he that wylle not obeye a statute made agēst godes worde which he is bounde to obey vnder payne of euerlastinge damnacion / allonly for a voydynge parelles to be condemned for an heretyke Breuely by this reson may they condemme alle holye scriptur / by layynge iuperdys and perylles there to / they may condemme alle the creaturs of god / for there maye be peryll in vsynge of them alle But what nede meny wordes to proue this counselle to be of the deuylle for yf that be not of the deuyll that ys contrary to christ / and hathe no excuse for it but alonly to avoyd perelles / I can not tell what is of the deuyll I am suer Antichrist shalle
signifiynge and teacheynge that christes ordinance is not to reseue the bloude in the boddy wonly / but to reseue the bloude after his institucion by it selfe out of the cuppe / lest they shulde be found corectours and blasphemers of the holy institution and coÌ„mandymeÌ„t of the lorde / Of whom S. paule reseuyd this coÌ„mandemeÌ„t / and of no counselles Now what christen man can dought but oure Master christ to whom all thing is bare and opyn bothe thingis present and also to come knew that there was bloud in hys awne boddy / Also Saynt paul his scolare which lerned this lesson of him was not ingnorant that there was bloud in his body / And yet firste oure M. christ geuithe his bloud a lone by it selfe out of the cupp / aÌ„d his diligeÌ„t scolar knowing that doctrine of his M. dyd the same regarding his masters doctrine pÌ„ferryng it by fore his carnall reson which knew that there was bloud in euery body / but his M. doctryne taught him that his M. kepte not his blud in his bodi / but for vs / lost daÌ„ned parsons for oure innumerable detestable aÌ„d a boue all capassyte to declare daÌ„nable and abhominable sinnes / Brake his boddy shed his bloud there out pleÌ„tuusly there with made sacrifice aÌ„d satysfaccioÌ„ for all our synnes as S. IohaÌ„ saithe / The bloud of Iesus chryst clenseth vs from alle sinne / also we are santifyde by the offerynge off the body off Iesê° christ wons for all / now that all christeÌ„ meÌ„ whych be santifide by the offering of thys boddy / 1. Ioan. 1· aÌ„d by sheding the bloud out of this boddy / shuld all ways haue bothe those partes in remeÌ„brance / Hebre. 10. he accordyng as the bloud was deuyded froÌ„ the body for all sinners indifferently that wil come vn to christ And a cordynge to hys masters institucyon and coÌ„mandement / ministerde thys sacrament and also ordened yt to be ministred to all men / The body / by it selfe and the bloud by it selfe / That they might all way not remember aloÌ„ly that oure sauyour christ offerd his boddy for vs / but also shed out of that same body his most precius bloud and therfore sayth S. paule as his Master chryst taught him As often as you shall ette thys brede and drink this cuppe / you shall shew the lordes dethe tylle he come Now my lordys come to youre counselles Christ and Saynt Paull defendythe thys thynge partinacyter as yow calle yt that ys stytfy and strongly wyll they a byde by it and wyll nott reuoke it / wherefore after the decre of youre Counselle they be condemned for heretykes I can no more say but god helpe them for there is no remedy with theÌ„ but they must nedis to the fyer / for they wyll not be abiured in nowisse / it is a pittyus case that .ii. so good men as these be / wyll be thus openly agenst the decre of the holy counsel ye and agenst so meny and so noble fathers / aÌ„d so gret clarkis the which knew this matter as ye saye as wel as they / it is not to be thoughe that the holy gost wolde leue so menny excelent and holy fathers / and gret doctours of dyuinite / and so meny noble prynces and wisse men of the world / And be wyth these .ij. poore meÌ„ whych be of no reputacyon in thys worlde / wherefore my lordes procede agenst them after the holy decreys that he inuentyd agenst heretykys / styck not for their namys for it is neyther christ nor paulle that can hurte you / yow haue also coÌ„demned ther lernyng and preuaylyd agenst theÌ„ why shulde you not coÌ„demne them as well / you be lordes / and you haue the streÌ„gthe aÌ„d the wysdum of the worlde wyth you and as a sertyne doctor of lawe sayde / they haue no man to holde wyth them but a sorte of begers and dyspysyd persons of the world / wherfore spare them not / be bolde / Implete numerum patruÌ„ vestrorum / All tyrans be not yet deede But now whaÌ„ you haue coÌ„demned them / yet haue you as muche to doo as euer you had De consecia di 2. â— câ—perimê° for youre awne law is opeÌ„ly agenste yow in these wordes Vve vnderstoÌ„de that sertyn men reseuyng alonly the porcion of the blessyd boddy / do abstayne from the chalys of the holy bloude the whych doughtles seynge I can not telle by what superstycyon they are lerned to abstayne lett them eyther reseue the whole sacrament or elles let them be forbyddyn from the whole sacrament / for the dyuision of won and of the same mystery cane not be done wyth out grett sacrylege cÌ„ How thynke you by these wordes be they not playne that all men shall eyther reseue both kyndes or none / here haue you a nother heretyke / for he Iudgeth and sayth that it is sacrilege which is openly agenst youre counsell to reseue yt in won kinde But peraduenture you will say this law was wryten to pristes I answere To whom so euer it was wryten it maketh noo matter for these wordis be playne / The diuysyon of won mistery caÌ„ not be done with out gret sacrilege / These wordis be not spoken of the persons that shall reseue yt / but of the deuydynge of the sacrament / who so euer shall reseue yt / yt is sacrylege to deuyde this thing / answere yow to that Marke also that youre awne law callythe yt supersticion to reseue but won kynde aÌ„d no dought they that dyd reseue yt so wher blindyd by this damnable reason of youres that there ys no boddy wyth out bloude / and yet he calleth yt supersticion But let vs see what youre glosse sayth on this texte / yt ys not superfluusly sayth he reseued vnder bothe kyndes / for the kind of bred ys referryd vn to the fleshe / aÌ„d that kynd of wyne vn to the bloud / The wyne is the sacrament of bloud in the which is the seatte of the solle / and therfore it is reseuyd vnder bothe kindes to sygnifie that Christ did reseue bothe boddy and soule / and that the pertakynge there off dothe profyte both boddy and soule wherefore if it wer reseuyd alonly vnder won kynd it shulde signifie that it dyd profyte allonly but won parte cÌ„ How thynke you dothe this glosse vnderstonde it of pristes wonly haue lay men no soules May not this sacrament profite theÌ„ bothe body and soule Marke also that he saythe it is not superfluusly nor with out a cause reseuyd vnder bothe kyndes Also an other lawe / De coÌ„secÌ„ di 2. c. cum fraÌ„gimus Vvhan the hoste is brokyn and the bloud shed out of the chalys in to the mouthys of faithfull men / what other thynge is there signyfid but the immolacyoÌ„ off oure lordes boddy on the crosse / aÌ„d the sheddyng of his bloud out of his side cÌ„
/ alle his confydens / alle hys beleue / alle his hope / Alle his harte on hym wonly / and yf he wille haue any thynge necessary to boddy or soule of hym he askythe yt alonly as the prophet Dauid lernythe vs sayng / I wylle pray vn to the lorde and in the mornyng thou shalte here my voyce / Psal 5 what is thys in the mornynge but shortly / quycly thov arte so mercyfulle that thou wylte not prolonge the tyme but shortly here me / and therfore whane I am in any dystresse of boddy or soule to the I calle for delyuerance and truste to obtayne yt on the wonly / For thou lorde / psal 4. thou haste sett me in thy hope wonly Thus dothe euerye good man pray and truste in god / for he takythe hym not allonly for hys god but also for his mercyfulle god / yee and for his father which wille deny hym nothyng / but contrary wisse do the infidelles aÌ„d the faynyd christenmen / for they mistruste hym ad rekkyn hym to be a tyrant and a terrible and a ferfulle Iudge / which lokythe for muche intercession / that regardithe parsons / and therefore runne they hyther and thyther / to seke an other mediator / to seke an other helper / to seke a nother diliueâ—ar than chryst for with hym be they not satisfysyd / ye they rekkyn hym to be so provd aÌ„d so statly and so cruelle and so hye that they dare not speke first to hym nor desyer hym for they clearly mystruste him / that is the summe there of And for that cause seke they to this saynt and to that saynct / and desyer of won Rychys of an other helthe / of won they wille be holpyn to heuyn / of an other they wille be delyueryd from helle Of won they wille haue frendsshyp in thys world / of an other longe lyffe / of won they wille be sauyd from syknes / of an other they wille be made wholle / and alle this is by cause they mistrust Chryst and rekkyn that he is eyther not abylle / or that he wille not optayne these thynges for them / This is the very ground of their hartes / lett them lye with their mouthis what they wille / and of thys are they compellyd to flye from chryst Is not this makyng of meny godes S. Paule saythe that in covytusnes is Idolatry / by cause that mans harte is of hys godes / how muche more is here Idolatry where as mans faythe / hope and truste ys set soo muche of creaturs Trevth it is that saynctes be holy / and worthy to be belovyd in christe and for chryst / but yet be they but creaturs / and no godes I loue them as welle as yov doo and praysse and magnyfy them / but wherfore by cause they haue chryst in theÌ„ which is the auctor of alle goodnes whych yf he were a way / I wolde spitte at them and disspisse them / But I do not make them Chryst that is my sauyour / my redemer / my coÌ„forter my trust and my hope by cause that Chryst of his mercy and of hys grace dwelleth in them / but I seke alonly to hym that hathe made theÌ„ holy and hathe also allonly power bothe me aÌ„d alle men lyke wysse to make VVhere fore dere brethern / yf yov wille be Christes / make hym alonly youre mediator aÌ„d your intercessor to the father of heuyn / and alle thynges that yov desyer / desyer them in hys name wonly Make hym first youre frende aÌ„d than haue yov alle saynctes on your syde / For they can not chosse but be youre frendes wherfore set alle youre truste hope and confydence in Christ wonly aÌ„d dyrecte alle youre desyers / alle youre peticions / alle youre prayers vn to hym wonly And as for sayntes yov shalle love them / fauoure them and magnyfy them aÌ„d praysse them for godes sake and to godes honour / and where they lyued welle after Chrystes worde there in shalle yov followe them / But in no wysse shalle yov beleue / hope / or truste in them / or make any prayers vn to them or desyer any peticyon off them nor theyr lyuynge shalle be any rule to lyue by forther thaÌ„ they followed the word of Chryst / for yov be callyd chrysten men of chryst and not of saynctes But now wyll I answere too theyr carnall reasons / Fyrst they haue a law whose wordes be these Christen men do not call worshupfull Images godes / nor they do not serue them as godes / nor thy sett no hope of theyr saluacyon in them / nor they doo not loke for off them the Iudgement that ys too come / But they doo worshyp them / aÌ„d affectually pray vn to theÌ„ in remembrans and recordacion of the fyrst frutes but they do not serue them nor yet any other creature wyth godly honoure cÌ„ Lett euery Chrysten man consyder well in hys conscyens the wordes of thys lawe / and calle also too remembraunce what god ys hym selfe / that ys too say howe omnipotent he ys / howe lyberalle he ys / how mercyfull he is how gracyous he ys vn to vs / And than I thynke he shalle welle perseue / that thys decre ys neyther made wyth faythe / wyth lernynge / nor yet wyth reason / but an opyn blaspemye agenst god and a great mystrustynge of oure mercyfulle Master Chryst Iesus / Breuely there ys nothynge / but an hepe of blynde and vnfaythfulle woordes in ventyd too be gyle sympylle men there by To the fyrst worde venerabiles / Vvhat faythe / what lernynge / what reason wyll that Images shulde be Iudged worthy veneracyon thys dothe the lattyn worde / venerabiles sygnyfye seynge they be but Deffe / dumme and deed / what reason ys yt than too calle them venerabiles Master Doctour Rydley wylle say that noo man ys soo made too worsshyp and too honoure the stocke and the stone / and yet hys awne lawe callythe them venerabiles / that ys as muche too say as worthy too be worsshiped and honoured / Calle you them won thynge by name and rekken them vn worthy in dede It foloweth / Chrysten men calle them no godes / what nede these wordes All the worlde knowythe that they be noo godes in dede / But than why calle you them venerabiles Forther more I wolde know of all my Masters the lawyers why they be suche blasphemers of god / suche infydelles / and suche mortalle enymys vn to god / as to suffer / yee and to compell sympylle men / to geue too those stockes and stonys suche exteryor honoure as belongythe wonly too god seynge you calle them noo godes Vvhat maketh yt matter for the name soo longe as you geue them the very thynge Assygne you what exteryor worsshyppynge and honourynge belongythe to god / or that wee may doo or cane doo too god / and I wyll proue that yee compelle men to geue that same
yt Fol. v. Kynges croune what it signifieth Fol. viij Lawes constitucions and decrees which be not grounded in scripture bynd not oure conscieÌ„s C.xij Lyra saith / the churche doth not stonde in men / by the reason of spiritual power or secular dignyte / for manye princes and manye popes and other inferior persons haue swarved from the faithe wherfore the church doth stonde in those parsones in whom is the true knowlege and coÌ„fession of faith and verite cÌ„ lx Monye is a marchaunte lxxix Onlye faith iustefieth before god xxxvij Origene saieth / alle maner of synnes that god wold haue punished shulde not be punished by the bisshopes rulars of the church but by the iudges of the world accordinge to S. Paule Roma xiij And why shuld not princes punish prestes for their knavery xv Origene hath these wordes / Paule saiethe that the iustificacion of faithe is alonly sufficient so that if a maÌ„ do beleue alonlye / he is iustefied though there be no workes done of him at all By faith was the thefe iustefied with out the workes of the lawe wherefore a man is iustefyed by faith vnto whom as concerninge iustificacion / the workes of the lawe helpe nothinge xli Origene sayeth / vppon these wordes thou arte Peter cÌ„ these wordes were spoken vn to Peter / vnto all appostles / vnto all maner of perfeite faithfulle men for all they arte Peter / and in all them is buylded the church of christ / agenst none of them can the gates of hell prevayle cÌ„ lxxv Pope contrarye to the prerogatiue of alle princes did depose the righte kinge of fraunce / and set in pypinum and assoyled al fraunce of their oth and allegiaunce due vnto their right kynge as his lawe testifieth Fol. v Pope wyll not be repreued although he drawe innumerable people vnto the deuell Fol. vij Popes lawe saithe that the pope maye make no newe lawe where christ or the appostles or holy doctoures haue dertermyned any thinge Fo. 7 Popes lawe saieth that we must kepe vnto princes and powers / faith and reuerence / but the pope doth otherwyse Fol. viij Popes lawe saieth / they are not the childern of holye men that sitte in the sete of holye meÌ„ / but they that doo their workes Fol. ix Popes lawe saiethe / the seate doth not make a preaste but a preast maketh the seate / the place doth not sanctifie the man but the man sanctifieth the place All preastes be not holye / but all holye men be preastes / but now oure popes denye this Fol. ix Popes lawe saith / he that dyspyseth the veryte and presumeth to folow the custome is envious and malicious agenst his brethren and vnthankefulle toward god xv Popes lawe saith / the custome maye not lett but that the veryte must prevayle for a custome with out the verite is but an olde erroure xv Popes lawe saith that the church knoweth no corporalle wepons / and that the holye churche hath no swerd but the spirituall swerde but now the pope saith otherwyse xv Popes lawe saith / that the temporalle swerde the ministracyon of the worde are dyuerse offyces and that the one maye not vsurpe the others auctorite xvj Popes lawe sayeth / that the bisshoppes shulde vse the emperours lawes as concerninge temporall thinges and shulde not wroppe him selfe in wordlye busynesses Fol. xvj Popes lawe saieth that as a temporall officer maye not vsurpe to preach the worde / no more maye the minister of the worde vsurpe any power that belongeth to the temporall swerde xvj Popes lawe saieth / they that forbid men to worke on the saboth daye or sondaye are the preachers of Antichrist This lawe is like to make all oure clargye membres of Antichrist xxv Popes law saieth / Corneliê° ceÌ„turio beinge a hetheÌ„ maÌ„ was iustefied bi the gifte of the holy gost lv Popes lawe saith / therfore is the church holye / because she beleueth rightwyselye in god lxij Popes lawe saithe / the counsell maye erre as yt hath erred / as concerninge the contracte of matrimonye inter raptoreÌ„ et raptam / the sayenge of S. Hierome was afterwarde preferred aboue the statute of the counsell For in thinges concerninge the faythe ys the saynge of a pryuate persone to be preferred a fore the saynge of the â—ope yf he haue better reasons and scriptures 〈◊〉 him than the pope lxiiij Popes law saieth / the church doth oftymes excomunicate a man that is with in / that is / which is a true christen and a member of the church / And contrarye wyse kepeth him with in the church / which is with out and is in dede no membre of christes church lxv Popes lawe sayeth / if peter haue power alonly to bynde and to lose than doth it not the church / but if this be done in the church / theÌ„ dyd peter whan he receyved the keyes sygnyfye holi church lxxv Popes lawe sayeth / if christ as Paule affermeth be the power and wysdome of god / than to be ignoraunte in scripture is as moch as to be ignoraunte of christ C.viij Popes lawe recyteth a counsell which thought it exceadinge good for al christen men to be ocupied in the meditacyons of godes lawe C.viij Popes lawe sayth / we vnderstonde that certeÌ„ men receuinge alonlye the porcyon of the blessed bodye do astayne from the chalice of the holy bloude / the which doutles seynge I can not tel by what supersticyon they are lerned to abstayne let them eyther receue the hole sacrameÌ„t or els let theÌ„ be forbiddeÌ„ from the whole sacrament / for the diuisyon of one and of the same mysterie can not de done with out greate sacrilege cÌ„ C.xxviij Popes lawe sayeth / whan the hoste is broken and the bloude shed out of the chalice in to the mouthes of faithfull men / whatother thynge is there sygnifyed but the immolacion of oure lordes bodye on the crosse and the shedinge of his bloude out of his syde cÌ„ C.xxix Popes lawe sayth / if that the bloude of chryst be shed for remyssyon of synnes than ought I lawfullye for to receue it I which do al wayes synne must al wayes receave a medicine Cxxix Preastes will haue princes sworne vnto theÌ„ x. Preastes wyll defende their temporall godes with both swerdes by what auctoryte fo xij Preastes maye not apeare be fore a temporall iudge xij Princes maye make no statutes of preastes godes excepte any thinge shulde be geueÌ„ theÌ„ xii Preastes liuinges maye not be iudged of lay-men .xii Sacrament of the altare ought to be receyved of al meÌ„ vnder both kyndes or els the receuers synne C.xxiij Sayntes It is ageÌ„st scripture to honoure images or praye to sayntes C.xxxiij Scriptur It is lawfull for al maner of men to reade holye scripture C. Solucyons to the reasons scriptures which they falselye alege that workes shulde iustifye xlix Tertulian sayeth / that we must kepe the saboth not alonlye the seventh daye but everye daye so that oure saboth is nothynge but to harken vnto the worde of god and to lerne to abstayne from synne xxiiij Vvetheral prouincial of the fryar austynes xliii Amen