buffet her husband in his members This is me thinkes a shrowde wife and most vnwomanly woman This is a woman according to that saying A woman shall hunt for the precious soule of a man that is an harlot shall hunt for the precious soule of a man. Or according to that Geue not thy substance to womeÌ„ that is to harlottes She is a woman as Antichrist is a womaÌ„ that is to witte the whore of Babylon And euen as Rome Venice Paris and Corinth when better meanes of prosperitie did want made their cities to be frequented through faire harlots and beutifull braue â—…urtisans so these Papistes haue drawen after them such a riotous route through â—…he painted brauerie of this their brothell woman The Church of Rome is a woman but an harlot but the Popes concuâ—…ine She hath womanhead but it is a â—…rothels browe She learnes of her husband but when she liste She holdes her â—…oung in respecte of her husband but I â—…ake a lie She is subiect to her husband Christ but Christ beares the strokes She is no woman nor hath any womanhead nor is she fayre or fayrest but by way of painted fayrenesse The Church of Christ is a woman hath womanhead and is fayre and fayrest of all women For her louelinesse she is called a Doue for her pretie trimnesse she is called a Roo for her fruitfulnesse she is called a Vine for her safenesse she is called MouÌ„t Sion for her holinesse she is called a Priesthoode for her royaltie she is called a Queene for her qualities she is called Sweete Comely Perfecte and most Blessed for her glittering she is called an Iuorie Tower for her brightnesse the Morning for her brauerie the Sunne and for her beutie she is here called the Fayrest of all women They say the Ceder trée is fayre to be séene amongest shrubbes and bushes the Lilie of the valleys amongest lesser flowers Mount Sion is péerelesse amongest monntaines and Ierusalem amongest cities Behemoth is marueilous in the land and Leuiathan in the sea Dina was fayrer then the daughters of the land Iudeth fayrer then any Holofernes had séene and Hester pleasing in the eyes of Artaxerxes none so fayre as the Sunamite to be found out for the contentation of King Dauid and no Church so fayre as this Church of Christ which is in true speech called the fayrest of all women not so far doth passe noble Sarai base Hagar nor Rebecca those of Abimeleckes court nor well fauoured Rachell the blere eyed Lea as this woman for her beutie surmounteth all women But the beutie of this woman is not in outward face but in inward grace Omnis decor filiae Sion abintus All the beutie of the daughter of Sion is from within her This is that woman that is clad with the Sonne Christ and therefore must néedes shine and shewe trimme This is she that is maried to Christ in mercies and pities in fayth and iustice Fayth purifieth the hart the mercy of God working by his bloudshed scoureth all filth and reformeth all the deformities by sinne in this woman This woman therfore must néedes be fayre and fayrest of all women Oh fairenesse of mans face of womans face Oh treasure for a time Oh faire fâ—…lishe vanitie A little colde doth pintch thée a little heate doth partch thée a little sicknesse doth match thée and a little of sores doth marre thée But the fairenesse of Christ in this woman or in his elect may be soyled but it will be washt it may be blacke but it will kéepe a good fauour may be made red as scarlet but it will be renued woll white and shewe white The Church of the beloued is fayre and fayrest of all women Idolatrous Churches are foule and euill fauored women and of all foule and euill fauored I thinke the Church of Rome to be one of the foulest of women The euill fauorednesse of Mahomets womaÌ„ or Church is in this euill fauored Romishe woman That euill fauored Mahomets woman or Church defendeth many wiues This Romishe Church defendeth stewes and strompets curtizans concubines and boy harlots Mahomets woman dreameth heauen to be a place goodly of riuers pleasaunt Apples young delicate women and faire fruites The Popes woman doth say and hold that S. Dorathey made baskets of Apples that came downe from heauen Mahomets woman defendeth workes The Popes woman defendeth workes That woman from the 5. chapter of the Alcaron beleueth Purgatory The Popes woman will néedes haue Purgatory Mahomets woman curseth all those that thinke not of Christ as Mahomet doth The Popes Church curseth all those that thinke not of Christ as the Pope doth Mahomet in the 15. chapter of the Alcaron alloweth no disputing in religion The Popes woman gaggeth mens mouthes lest peraduenture they speake Mahomets Alcaron was published in the night time So the Popes doctrine in the time of darkenesse Mahomet sayth Buy heauen The Bishop of Rome practiseth a sale of heauen Mahomet sayth he is bigger then all the kinges in the world The Pope â—…ayth that he is lorde of lordes and king of kinges Thus then I may say that the Popes woman or Church is as foule as the Church of Mahomet and as foule as the Church of the Iewes and who soeuer will proue this to be true shall compare her traditions and the Iewes traditions by the vew of a booke written by Petrus Galatinus of y Iewes That coÌ„parison I go by with silence for I can not tary in euery thing Againe that woman that hath a foule head is a foule woman The woman or Church of Rome hath Antichrist to her head therefore she is a foule woman That Antichrist is a foule head I proue because Christ is a fayre head Antichrist and Christ be contrary Againe that Antichrist is the head of this woman I referre me to Bullinger and Gualter that haue treated that probation to a booke called Antichristus siue de fine mundi Againe if Peter were a fayre head then this woman hath had many a long day a foule head and so hath bene a foule woman The proofe of this poynt standeth in this to shew that Peter and the Popes of long tyme haue bene contrary And it is easie to be shewed Peter is as much to say as a rocke Peter was in déede a rocke but this Pope of late daies hath bene a réede in religion or els irreligious Peter is called Symon that is an auditour of Gods word This is a corrector and burner of Gods worde Peter was Called to be an Apostle This thrusteth in by simonie and coniuring and poysoning as Cardinall Benno can tell â–ª Peter was an Apostle this an Apostaâ—… or renegate as the Apocalyps caÌ„ tell Peter was a man this is a woman Peter was a man this is a beast as the foresayd Apocalyps can tell Peter preached to the Iewes this neither to Iewe nor Gentile Peter healed the sicke and the sâ—…re this woundeth and
nomine eius Where two or three were gathered together in Gods name But where were these two or thrée gathered together in Gods name Mundus non nouit vos The world knoweth you not Where was the Church Suruewe Foxes Martyriologe and the Cataloge of witnesses agaynst the Pope and there sée for there is to be séene where was the Church But where soeuer els it was the Church of Rome this many yeares was not the Church The best argument they haue for the Church of Rome is because it was once a holy place and the sound of the Gospell went thence and therfore still Rome must be the broode mother of religion and that there néedes must be the Church And peraduenture they will make it of the nature of Rome that Rome hath the best religion then we may thus say Mount Flascon hath the best wine the Athenians the best honie Persia the best oyle Babylon the best corne India the best golde Tirus the best Purple Basan the best Okes Libanus the best Ceders Persia y best iewels Arrabia the best spices Tharsis the best shippes England the best shéepe Saxonie the best oxen Cicilia and Dalmacia the best horses Pirones the best fishe Ithaca the best swine and Rome the best religion Or thus the Italians be most wittie the Spanyardes best water skirmigers the Frenchmen best kéepers of holdes the Scot with his Launce the Irishe maÌ„ on foote the Germane in voice the Mirmadons in strength the olde Romanes best suffering of hunger and colde and the new Romanes are most religious Or thus the Egyptians haue no Beaues Affricke hath no Bores the couÌ„trey Helaeus hath no Mules the Macrobians haue no Iron Athens hath no Owles England no Wolues Wight no Foxes Ireland no venemous beast nor Rome no bad religion But because I do sée in the Scriptures that Ierusalem was turned into Ierustikaker that is the valley of vision was turned into the valley of confusion and the fine valley of Siddim into the valley of salt that Lucifer did sinne in heauen and Adam in Paradise and Lot in the holy Mount that the mountaine Garezin where the father 's prayed became a prophane dwelling of the Samaritans when I read that Mount Sion became a place for Foxes and Bethel the house of God became to be Bethanem the house of iniquitie then me thinke I thinke of Rome as Ieremy did of Ierusalem Facta est meritrix ciuitas fidelis That Citie which was once faithful is become an harlot These places were altered for wickednesse and Rome is altered for wicked life and wicked religion And now me thinke of these Romanes I may thus say The Moores are a vaine people the Phrygians fearefull the Israelites of an hard necke and loden with sinne the Athenians vaineglorious the Grecians light the Galathians dullardes the Carthaginians falsifiers of their fayth the Cretes liers the Sodomits full of bread the Iewes vsurers the Persians wasters the Spanyardes lechers the Flemminges drinckers the Englishe glottons the Germanes vnciuile the Lacedemonians théeues the Canibals cruell and the Romanes Idolaters So may I say and euen so do I say for vndoubtedly y Church of Rome is not Christes true Church Christes shéepe heare his voice but the Church of Rome heareth not hys voyce therefore it is not the true Church She writeth in her coyne that kingdome and people that do not obey me shall be rooted out contrary to that the kinges of nations beare rule ouer them but ye shall not do so therefore she is not the true Church Ambrose sayth that the true Church is the mother of the liuing but those that be in this Church are dead for they haue no fayth because they haue no knowledge therefore this Church is not the true Church She committeth Idolatrâ—… and spirituall adulterie many waies therefore she is not the true Church The Church of Rome nâ—…bers her multitudes as Dauid numbred his souldiers and therefore she is not y true Church These Papistes are like Cockels they cary their house about with them and they their Church Aspalathus will not grow but in Boetia ye kill these men if ye take away y couerture of the Church of Rome This Church is the ritch Arras that couereth all their faultes and follies But admit good people that we were wonderfull burom obedient to this Church and most willing to come againe to the skirt of this Church and to aske of her questions and demaundes as these young women aske of this fairest of women I protest before heauen and earth and the founder of them both that I thinke it not good we should be bolde in asking for the great and eminent daunger in her aunswering For if we aske whether Iesus be Christ or no this Romishe woman or Church geueth out her aunswere that the Bishop of Rome is the high priest and that the sayd Bishop hath the strength of the kingdome of Christ and the vnfallible veritie of a Prophet and therefore they allowe him to ouerrule Christ by adding and taking to and fro his worde If we aske if Christ were the onely oblation offered vp once for all for the sinnes of the worlde her aunswere is very dauÌ„gerous that the Masse is a sacrifice for the quicke and the dead and she falleth in commendation of her wheaten God and doth attribute the health of the world to that vnbloudie bread Idoll If we aske her iâ—… Christ be the intercessor to God she aunswereth then most wickedly iure matrâ—… impera that Christ forsooth shall commaund his father by the right of his mother If we aske her of the state and condition of man since the fall of Adam she aunswereth that he may ouertake heauen of him selfe and well inough by him selfe worke out his owne saluation Aske her what fayth is and she will tell of an implicite thing and of a generall fayth that is that good Christian folke ought to beleue that the Church can not erre nor yet the Pope but touching Christes merites to be applied to vs by fayth and to be holden fast by that hand there she kéepeth glomme silence and is as spéechlesse as a fishe If we aske her what the lawe is she lodeth our shoulders with the heauie ceremonies of Iudaisme and Paganisme If we aske her what the Gospell is she maketh boyde Gods promisse with her owne iustice If we aske her of good workes she aunswereth iust like S. Lukes Pharisie then againe she deuiseth good workes to be thus to hyre certaine men for money to pray and to mumble vp much quantitie of Psalmes in a couert toung to kepe huge troughes of Ling and Saltfishe many yeares to waxe horce with mutch chaunting to waxe spéechlesse with seldome speaking to waxe lame with mutch sitting to vse many knottes in their girdles and many windowes in their showes to be buryed in Monkishe wedes and Nunnishe cowles c. If we aske her of the number of Christes Sacramentes â—…he answereth that
bare witnesse of the light and therefore was of more authoritie then the light it selfe So in the first of Peter and the third chapter it is sayd That men should be wonne to the word without the word by the conuersation of women so that the conuersation of women should be of more authoritie then the word But it must be considered that this argument is not good The authoritie of the church to Sainct Augustine being a puny and a nouice in matters of religion was greater then the authoritie of Christ therfore the authoritie of the church is simply greater then the authoritie of christ No more then this argument Iohn was in better credit with the Iewes then Christ when he â—…are witnesse of Christ therefore Iohn his witnessing ought to be the better Or this argument womens conuersation moueth some men more then the word therfore it doth moue or ought to moue simply more then the word But euen as Iohn that bare witnesse of Christ did confesse that he was not worthy to loose Christes shoe latchet no more the church though it beare witnesse of Christ in respect of credit and authoritie is not worthy to loose Christes shoe latchet And euen as when Christ put forth him selfe and began to be knowen to the people Iohn said it behoueth me to waxe lesse and him to waxe greater so when the church hath geuen a man to vnderstand of Christ and that Christ beginneth to appeare vnto vs the church decreaseth in authoritie and estimation like Iohn and Christ increaseth and waxeth greater in authoritie and credit Euen so do the Samaritanes in the fourth of Iohn that were brought to Christ by the woman of Samaria say thus we do not now beleue for thy talke for we our selues haue heard and do know And yet S. Augustines case and ours is not like For he was moued by the authoritie of that church which perswaded him to the Gospell the authoritie of the church of Rome doth bend it selfe and is directed to moue vs onely to the church of Rome Besides that that church did compell no man as he writeth to Fundamentus in the 4. epistle the church of Rome doth compell vs to beleue theyr church or compell the soule to forsake the body Agayne they reason that the Church shall be a citie standing vpon a mountayne and therfore it must alwayes be visible and no church say they is so but the church of Rome The very true exposition of thys place is this as it may appeare by all good expositors that the Apostles are called the citie vpon a mountayne the salt of the earth So that the true meaning is this a good Apostle is salt and therfore let him season a good Apostle is a mountayne citie or a high citie and therfore let him shew and shine so in workes that he may glorify God his heauenly father And in déede this text is expounded naturally thus and without violence For it is very straunge to a diuine to thinke that Gods church should be a mountayne citie or a mounting citie a high thing or a renounded thing or a thing glorius in the world For the church of God is represented in the burning bush of Moses it is neuer without fiery persecution it is like the white horse in the Apocalips that is alwayes chased with a red horse it is like the Arke of Noah that is tossed in the sea and this is tossed in the world it is compared to the Moone that waxeth and wanteth by the presence or absence of the Sunne It is like Iacob that sleapeth on a stone It hath semen sanctum subsistentiam eius holy seede and holy men the substance and not commonly great personages and solemne personages the substaunce I know the church of God is oftentimes famous but that is thus ascendamus in montem Domini c. Let vs go vp vnto the mountayne of the Lord and he will teach vs of hys wayes The teaching of Gods wayes maketh Gods church a famous mountayne If Gods wayes be not truely taught though she sit vpon seuen hilles as the church of Rome vpon seuen hilles shée is not a famous mountayne but an ignominious valley Then they reason thus Christ prayed for Peter that his fayth shoulde not faile therefore Peter nor the Pope can erre Christ prayed likewise for all those that shall beleue hereafter then they may thus conclude that all those which haue do or shall beleue caÌ„ neuer erre TheÌ„ they reason thus Dic ecclesiae Tell the Church 〈◊〉 say that must be done when it may be done In the time of Constantius whom would they tell but Arrius for he bare all the countenaunce of the Church hys Church stoode then rather vpon a mountaine then any other Church for it was the highest and most mounting in mens eyes They reason againe that y Church is a pillor But I reason that Christ is the rocke Take away the rocke and downe comes y pillor The rocke is well inough without the pillor the pillor can not be without the rocke But besides all this they haue a perilous interrogation by which alone they thinke to master all the worlde to make vs all starke dumme and for euer to locke vp all our lippes and that is In such and such yeares where was your Church And this is that choking interrogatorie where was your Church I aunswere them euen from the very Articles of my Créede Credo sanctam Catholicam ecclesiam I beleue that there hath bene is and shall be a holy catholicke Church My sense can not shewe it and therefore I beleue it for if I sée it belief is in vaine for where sense faileth and can go no further there beliefe beginneth Nor is iâ—… necessarie that I should froÌ„ time to time sée the Church but I should from time to time beleue there is a holy catholicke Church But in déede they and such like brimme persecutors haue of so long time kept vnder the Church that we are driuen to beliefe onely for they haue left scarse any sense or memory of the true members of Christes Church But they cry still a loude Where was the Church I tell them that it is sayd of God Tu es vere Deus absconditus Thou art verily a hidden God. So the Church is oftentimes hidden The husband of an hidden condition and the spouse of an hidden condition Where was the Church Christ stoode in the middest of them and they knew him not The Church was in the middest of them and they knewe it not Where was the Church Venient dies in quibus raedices aget Iacob There shall come dayes in which Iacob shall take roote Where was the Church when the Church had taken no roote Where was the Church Erat in vobis sed non erat ex vobis It was amoÌ„gest you but it was not of you Where was the church Ubi duo vel tres congregati erant in