wel Wilt thou preferre this thy vnsetled fantasie and mad gare before the most sincere meaning of the Apostle of God If he be giltie of the bodie and bloud of our Lord which receiueth this bread vnworthelie He that slaundereth and depraueth it he that reuileth and so muche as in him lyeth rendeth it in peeces he that treadeth vnder his foot◠the bodie and bloude of Christe he that goeth about to take away and vtterlie to abolishe the vertue of that so wonderfull a Sacramente howe shall he be punnished according to his wicked and horrible facte What is it so If thou vnderstande not by what meanes the moste holie bodie of Christ is in this Sacramēt not placed or limited according to the measure and proportion of the greatnesse thereof but presente in the eyes of a faithfull heart through the almightie power of the woorde of God if thou see not that merueilouse chaunge of earthly breade into the nature of heauenlie bread if thou perceiue not by what meanes the most excellent Maiestie of Christ which filleth al things multiplieth the giftes of his whole bodie that he may therewirh feede and refresh the faithfull soules and glewe them all together with charitie within them selues and tye them fast to him selfe with the band of euerlasting loue is it therfore reason that thou shouldst slaunder and depraue this so wonderful a benefite of God What thing doest thou vnderstande What thing doest thou conceiue by discourse and reason What thing is there in all the worlde whiche thy minde is able to perceue exactly and to know perfectlie Why then doest thou not order thy life by cleere faithe and not by troubled reason Tel mee I pray thee doest thou mistrust Gods power or mercie or elles doth the greatnesse of the benefite trouble thee Neyther can the power of God be hindred by any let or staie neyther can his mercy be limited with any bowndes and the greatnes of the benefite is a very good proofe of the truth thereof For why there is nothing more agreeable to the greate bountifulnesse of God then the greatnes of the thing which he geaueth Then I aske thee an other question What is the cause thinkest thou why I doe beleue that the bodie and bloud of Christe is after a wonderfull manner conteined in this Sacrament and thou beleeuest it not It is not surely bicause I will suffer my selfe to be abused for lacke of witte For thou doest not passe mee either in witte or learning But this is the cause Thou trustest thy senses and I directe al my doinges according to the faith of holie Churche Thou doest caste of the yoke and spurne against it but I doe of myne owne accorde put my heade into the moste sweete yoke of Christ Thou doest refuse his benefites but I doe praie vnto him to encrease my faieth Moreouer we see this by daily experience The more a man yeldeth to vice and vncleanes of life the feinter is his beleefe as touching this dreadfull Mysterie Wherevppon it is concluded that he that geaueth him selfe wholie ouer to the pleasure of the bodie and therefore falleth from the vnitie of the Churche wil beleue nothing at all of it But on the other side we see that the chaster and cleaner life any mā leadeth the more sure and constant is his belefe in this point in so much that he persuadeth him self that he beholdeth in this Sacrament euen Christ him selfe nailed vpon the Crosse Surely this agreement of the mind and wil of man is a thing to be woondered at The mind seeketh the thing that is true the wil desireth the thing that is good and the wel gouerned wil foloweth the iudgement of the truly directed mind It foloweth therefore that they only see the truth perfectly which are wel ordered in their life and conuersation for vicious and naughty men are cōmonly tourned away from the truth bicause they haue their mind disordered with vnruly desires Now therefore consider to whom it is better to geaue eare To those holy men the which being of mind most pure of life most chast in holie Scriptures most excellently wel learned haue from the time of the primitiue Church folowed this faith or elles to these madbraines and frantik felowes to these filthie licentiouse ribawdes to the newe vpstart doctours which haue most wickedly and heinously violated this faith This Sacramente the holie Fathers whiche were taught of the Apostles called Synaxim that it to say a bringing together bicause it linked the mindes of men together wi in themselues and brought them to be ioyned al in Christ In like māner they called it Eucharistiam that is a thankesgeuing bicause there is no benefite of God in this life for the whiche we are bound to yeald vnto his Maiestie greater praise and hartier thankes For it supporteth the state of the sowle it establisheth the powers of the minde it clereth the vnderstāding it strēgthneth faith it stirreth vppe hope it enkendleth charitie it inflameth hartes it filleth the godlie and deuout mindes with meruelouse great sweetenes and comfort With this heauenlie foode S. Cyprian so often as any tempest or persecution was towarde thought it good to fortifie them that were appointed to suffer tormentes for the name of Christe And therefore dyd he the sooner admit into the Churche againe such as were yet penitentes that is to witte menne separated from the Church for a tyme to do penance for some offence committed to the intent that being strengthned by this cōmunion of the body of Christ they might stand valiātly to the end against al the power of Satan For the holy mā was of this mind that the foode of this heauēly bread gaue such strēgth ād courage as could not be brokē or weakened by any force of our enemie the deuil What should I here rehearse other holy Martyrs without nūbre al holie writers the faith and agreemēt of the vniuersal Church continued euen frō the Apostles time to our daies And yet wilt thou keepe open war against the ordinaunce of Christe against the doctrine of S. Paule against the inestimable greatnesse of the fruictes in this mysterie cōteined against the experiēce of such wōderful profit and sweetnes against the pure and sincere faith of the Catholik Church And yet wilt thou reprochfully reuile the body and bloud of Christ and depraue like a mad mā the most excellent and highest benifit that euer the goodnes of God bestowed vpon man And yet wilt thou reioyse in thy wickednes and poison many other men with the contagion of this thy most pestilent heresie These thinges M. Haddon thinke them not spoken to you but to your Martyr And now let him stand a side and I wil thus reason with you Could you M. Haddon knowing as you doe verie wel not only the vertue of this wonderful Sacrament whiche is of al other the greatest but also the strength and operation of al other Sacramentes being withall
You say wel if it be so But before I begynne to declare how muche the auncient Fathers dissented from your new maisters I wil tarie a litle to see howe you can proue this goodlie agreement S. Augustine saie you coÌ„platneth in his time that flouddes of ceremonies ouerflowed the Churche in so muche that the Christians were almost in worse case then euer were the Iewes You neuer read that in S. Augustine â–ª that the Ceremonies whiche we now vse are like to the Iewish ceremonies and therfore to be reiected but your maisters haue brought you like an ignorant felowe to beleeue it S. Hierome saie you wissheth that the holie scriptures which your Churche hideth froÌ„ al men might be learned without the booke euen of children and women S. Ierome writing to Paulinus disputeth to the contrarie where he complaineth of the rashnes and boldhardines of men which tooke vppon them without any good witte or vertue to handle the Scriptures with to much libertie and of the vndiscrete chatting of foolish women which taking vppon them to expounde Scriptures defined manie thinges verie vnaduisedly It foloweth Basile imploied his vacant time in the most godlie exercise of reading and teaching diuinitie It was wel don truly for Basil was none of them that take vpon them arrogantly to teache doctrine that they neuer learned Then you adde these wordes If Monkes had leued according to the rules of Basile no man woulde euer haue touched them with so much as his finger As though your quarel had ben against men and not against chastitie it selfe But admit that their manners were loose their behauiour dissolute their life wanton What then was there none emoÌ„gest them al that kept their chastitie There were without doubt And that the loue of cleane and chast life was not vtterly decaied em ngest monkes the end of the holie fathers the Carthusians declared full wel who if thei would haue yeelded their coÌ„sent to the wicked decrees neded neuer to haue suffered other punishmeÌ„t but only to be married It was not therefore the misliking of filthie pleasure that stirred you to such barbarous crueltie but the hatred of chastitie and virginitie And I know wel that not only thei were chast and perfect men but also many other that are now bannished emong vs the which whersoeuer they set their foote they leaue behind them most manifest footsteppes of bashfulnes and honesty But admit that the greater part of them had ben drowned in vice was it therefore good reason by and by to ouerthrow the whol order How much had it ben more for your honesty to haue don as the most puissaunt King Fernandus did sometime in Spaigne and Elizabeth his wife a Princesse coÌ„secrated to euerlasting fame as the most honorable king and renoumed Prince Emanuel as Iohn the third his sonne a King for his religion and godlines worthy of most high coÌ„mendation as Charles the fifth an emperour born to immortal glorie as Euricus the Cardinal sonne of king Emanuel in whom shineth a woÌ„derful light of al vertue and holines finally as all other moste religious Princes did who seing the manners of monkes to tende towardes a nicenesse sent for certaine perfecte religious menne by whose diligence their vnbridled affection and licentiousnes was tied vp their loose manners by streighter discipline restreined and their sleapie mindes styrred vp to the most feruent loue of godlines And so there are now emongest vs most holie and religious Monkes whiche folow Basile Benet and Bernarde and Dominique and Frauncis in the puritie of most chaste religion in most earnest and zealous loue of God in most notable examples of al vertue Whie then would you rather cut of that that might haue ben healed Bicause as I said a litle before it was not anie displeasure toward filthie lust or life but the hatred of perpetual chastitie that stvrred you to deface and vtteâ—lie to ouerthrow the name of Mounkes For as S. Hierome â—aith all Heretiques haue a naturall hatred and grudge against chastitie Wherefore there is no doubt but that if your Mounkes had liued according to the rules of S. Basile the greater their perfection had ben the more displeasure and hatred you wold haue born them Afterward you bring in these wordes We reuerence the Crede of Athanasius as it ought to be neither is there any controuersie betwene them and vs. What great discorde there is betwene your menne and Athanasius I haue partely declared in that my letter whiche you so muche reuile Neither skilleth it muche whether you be agreed in some pointes yea or no. For I neuer saide that your Championsdissented from the opinion of the holie Fathers in al matters But to what end tendeth al this talke what would you prooue For sooth that Luther Bucer Zwinglius Oecolampadius Caluine and other the Ministers of this your gospel are in vertue holines chastitie and religion nothing inferiour to S. Augustine Hierome Basile and Athanasius and other holie Fathers whose writinges seeme to send forth the verie swete sauour of the holie ghost But how do you proue it S Augustine you say coÌ„plaineth that whole flouddes of ceremonies ouerflowed the Church S. Ierome thought it expedient that women and children should learne the scriptures without the booke If Monkes liued according to the rule of S. Basile no man woulde once laie his singer on them and we reuereÌ„ce the Crede of Athanasius What then Can you proue by these propositions that Luther and Bucer and the rest of your Worthies are to be compared with S. Augustine Ierome Basile Athanasius in vertue coÌ„stancie chastitie cleanes of life religion and wisedom A goodlie pregnaÌ„t wit of a yong Logician he shaketh out his argumentes so fearsly that he maketh them fitte to coÌ„clude what so euer him liâ—teth to prooue Let this fourme of reasoning be once receiued and what thing is ther in the worlde so muche contrarie to al reason that maie not easily be prooued â–ª As if we should saie for example Mahumete saieth that God created the worlde S. Basile holdeth the same Basile therefore and Mahumete are moste like in godlie life Arius confessed that Christ shed his bloud for the redemption of mankinde Athanasius affirmeth the same Ergo Arius shined in vertuouse conuersation no lesse then Athanasius Luther disputeth that all good thinges are to be referred to the grace of Christe the verie same doth S â–ª Augustine declare most wisely It followeth therefore that Luther hath deserued no lesse commendation of holines then S. Augustine See you not vnderstande you not consider you not howe childishly you haue concluded howe weakelie you haue defended your newe Maisters Are you wont in skirmish so to put backe the hornes of your ennemies This was the principall and chiefest point of al in the whiche you should haue shewed al the force and strength of your witte to haue brought al the world in admiration of you You saie afterward that I doe taunt and reuile the soule
of mouth How many such things are recited of Cyprian Chrysostom Augustine and the rest of the holie Fathers How much do they reuerence al such holy ordinaunces as were decreed in general CouÌ„cels I do here omitte an infinite nuÌ„ber oftestimonies which do plainly coÌ„uince this madnes of you or rather of your Maisters for so much as not onely the greatest learned men of our age but also the most holy Fathers of other ages haue in these points very learnedly disputed against your opinion For in times past al heretikes in a manner held this opinion that nothing ought to be receiued vnlesse it were written in the holie Scriptures minding withal to wrest and corrupt the holie Scriptures with their owne interpretation But the holie Fathers most earnestly defended the contrary alleaging Argumentes and Examples brought euen from the Apostles time and by the decrees of CouÌ„cels directed they al their doinges Wherfore suche thinges as you report of Christ of his Disciples and of the holie Fathers are al most euidently false You say it is not true that your Doctours should take any thing vppon them aboue the coÌ„mon sort of men Can you ymagine any greater arrogancie in the worlde theÌ„ to presume to reforme the church being somewhat impaired with newe Iawes and statutes whiche neither Athanasius nor Basile nor Cyprian nor any other of the holi Fathers euer thought vpon and to set such wordes and countenance vpon the doctrine of their new Gospell as though they had done althinges by ordre and appointment of Christ him selfe You say that I am not able to shew any fault or dishonestie in the worlde in their life That is true if we must needes stand to your opinion For so much as emongest you neither filthie pleasure of the bodie nor rebellion nor any other disordre or outrage are accompted as faults You find faulte with me for that I cease not to trifle daungerously and to hinder the estimation of most graue personages by whose diligence your Churche hath ben set in a maruelous goodly ordre You could say no lesse for such as you doe commend being your selfe both for vertue and authoritie a very graue sire must needes be verie graue men Then you saie You laie to our charge that the companies of virgins and monkes which were sometimes inclosed in Monasteries to keepe the Diuine seruice of God and to mainteine the chastitie os their bodies were by our men let out to the vncleane pleasure of the flesh and al other licentious liuing that their howses were laied wide open for gaine that lawes were made that no religion shoulde hinder the pleasure of the bodie What you meane by their gaine I vnderstand not For I neuer suspected that they did for their gaine coÌ„mit any vile or filthy acte But you doe in this as you doe commoÌ„ly You can not wel tel neither what you do say nor what you would say Then how impudently is that spoken that foloweth Oâ—t vpon this ouer malepart and licentiouse desire whiche you haue to peruert all thinges We confesse yea and with all our heartes confesse that through the moste holie aduertisement of our menne those downgeous of all wickednes are fallen downe into the whiche the tender young maidens and the seelie boyes were violently thrust in to their so great hinderaunce in good manners as I can not for bashfulnesse well declare Oh what a shamefaste and may denlie fellow is this What is that I praie you that you woulde not for shamefastnes expresse Nothing in the wordle for immediatly after you bring in these woordes Those same shoppes of lewdnes had litle other thing in them but only a certaine pharisaical continuance of praiers in an vnknowen tongue Their other more secrete exercises might wel be likened to the old reuelles of Bacchus in Rome Tel me I praie you most presumptuous and impudent railer could you hane vttered any more spiteful reproche against the poore monasteries of holi virgins if your goodly maidenlines and modestie had not staied you Compare you the greene arbour of Christ the house of chastitie the representation of heaueÌ„ly life with the most horrible and filthy reuels of Bachus whiche were sometime moste sharply pounished by the lawes of the Romaines And yet you say forsooth that your may denlie modestie wil not suffer you to expresse their secrete vices Pleasure you so much in your stinking eloquence Like you so wel to taunt and reuile chastitie to ioyne the defence of your most barbarus and vile acte with the reproche of Christ As though the worlde knewe not that you ouerthrow those holy Monasteries not for any displeasure you beare to naughtines and vice but for the hatred you beare towardes chastitie And of like the greadie desire you had of the goods and possessions with the which the Nonnes and Monkes were mainteined holpe the matter well foreward If you had had no face at al no shame no bashfulnes in the world how could you with more vile and filthie language haue dishonested so holie a trade of life The exercise of Religious and chast life you cal the downgeon of wickednes â–ª that is to say a sincke of al vice a cannel of filthines a standing poole of vnclean pleasures Could any thing be more impudently spoken And yet you content not your selfe with al this stincking sturre of wordes but you say moreouer that the tender young maidens and the seelie boies were violently thrust into the said Monasteries to their greate hinderance in good manners What meane you by this What would you say What geaue you the worlde to vnderstande Is there any vice so heinouse that it may not be wel comprised in this your shamelesse talke After this there foloweth the moste beastlie word of all the rest where you cal the holie discipline of cleane life and continencie a shoppe of naughtines As for the Pharisaical continuance of praier which is but a tricke proceding of Luthers railing sprit I wil let it passe But wherto teÌ„deth the comparison which you make with the most vncleane and detestable rebels of Bacchus Is mans heart able to deuise any thing so abhominable that you may not wel coÌ„prehende it within the compasse of this your moste base and vile language Why then what is that which you can not expresse for bashfulnes Doutlesse nothing wherof it foloweth that you are vtterly void of al shame bash fulnes and honestie For I can not tel how it cometh to passe that the more a man vseth the companie and familiaritie of such men as you commende the more shamelesse is his behauiour But to the intent you may the better see howe heinouse and wicked an offence you haue coÌ„mitted against your owne self I think it good to declare the original of the name and institutioÌ„ of Monkes There are two kind of men within the folde of Christes church The one is of them which liuing a coÌ„mon life coÌ„tent them selues with the commendable exercise
thinke that this word high mai not be born in the dignitie of a bishop why do you not in like maÌ„ner detest the name of highnes in the Maiestie of a king No say you it was very wisely prouided that al the magistrats and Princes in EnglaÌ„d shuld haue one supreme Prince whom they shuld al reuereÌ„ce and by whose power aÌ„d autority they shuld be al restrained for otherwise it cannot be chosen but that there would be stirred vp muche trouble and discord to the great peril of the whole realme I thinke you say truly And therefore I affirme in like manner that in the Churche whiche ought to be alwaies one it is necessarie that there be one supreme power of a high bishop whose authoritie all other Bishops should reuerence For otherwise it must needes be that there arise much debate and manie pestilent sectes to the great ruine and decaie of the Churche and that the Church be brought therby into verie great daunger For if within the space of fourtie yeares sence a great peece of Germanie and afterwardes England fel from the Bishop of Rome so many sâ—ditions haue risen emongest the Princes of your Religion that they caÌ„ not possibly agree neither with other meÌ„ neither yet within them selues what ende thinke you wil ensew in case al Christendome the which God forbid being thereunto procured and moued by your diligence and vnreasonable meanes should rebel with the like outrage and madnes It remaineth therefore that as in England there is one supreme power whiche comprehendâ—th al other Princes vnderneth it so there be also in the Churche one supreme authoritie the whiche al other inferiour powers must willingly and diligently obeie For otherwise it is not possible that the crewel tempestes risen in the Churche should euer be slaked or the flames of discord quenched or the ciuile warres ended Now for so much as Christ is the authour of peace Whosoeuer wil saie that they wil haue but one only bishop which is our Lord Iesus Christe and by the religious preteÌ„ce of this worde wil open a gap to so manie opinions and to so much pestilent dissensioÌ„ thei are lyers No they doe rather fight against Christ and worshippe Satan the authour of debate and discorde But contrarie wise such as honour and reuerence the bishoppe of Rome as the Vicare of Christ for that respect only bicause he is the lieutenant of Christ in the earth they doe in deede acknowledge only Christ to be the high Priest And yet you saie that by this your rebellion and contempte you doe not cut and maÌ„gle the coate of Christ but only geue a touch at the Bishop of Romes cloke And by and by after you bring in these wordes Neither doe we laie open the waie as you saie to sedition but we doe daÌ„me vp the path the â–ª which goeth downe through his licâ—ntious lead to the great decaie of good manners Of this lead and of your notable reproch I haue spokeÌ„ before with as much modestie as the matter would suffer me But of this your base vile and shamelesse boldnes when you say that you haue not rent and torne the coate of Christ but rather that you haue by this your most wicked rebellion made a goodlie prouision that good manners should not decaie I can not wel tel what to say to you Dare you seing euerie where as you doe that there are so many diuisions of pestileÌ„t sectes with so much debate and discord that there is no certaine faith emoÌ„gest you no agreemeÌ„t in ReligioÌ„ that your confessioÌ„s are changed almost euerie day your beleefes and Creedes corrected that the olde places of doctrine are disanulled and new set vp that manifold sectes ariseth daily and the old Church is diuided in many parts how dare you I say report that this your falling from the Church hath not maÌ„gled the coate of Christe When you see with your eyes that pride arrogancie disobedience stubbernes saucie talke slaunderous report fleshlie pleasure naughtines dishonesty tumult and sedition goeth vp and downe freely and vncoÌ„trolled wheresouer your maisters put their foote with what face dare you say that you haue after this rebellion set the manners of men in good and seemelie ordre The thing it selfe speaketh dailie examples declare neither doe the open assises no neither secret parlars hold their peace But let vs now see howe worshipfully you confute that my discourse as touching the Monarchie of the holie Church You say In the best time of the Church there was one God and one faith That is true But now neither is there one God nor one faith emongest the ministers of your gospel For one offereth vp diuine honour to pleasure an other to madnes some to the bealie and some to railing Luther hath one faith Bucer an other Zwinglius hath one and Caluin an other And yet you say Peter had his Prouince Paule had his and Iames his and other had other Prouinces And yet did not this separation of their persons disioine the vnitie of their saith What conclude you then maie it be gathered by these things that you saye that Peter when he was resident in one Prouince had no preeminence ouer the rest of the Apostles That is not wel coÌ„cluded of these things that you haue spoken For now euery Bisshoppe hath his Prouince and the Bisshop of Rome hath his And yet are we all subiect vnto him by the lawe of God It foloweth In processe of time many of the Bishops of Rome were Martyrs and were sacrificed vnto God by prophane and vngodlie Princes but Crownes had they none vnlesse it were the Crownes of Martyrdome This extraordinarie soueraintie of Popedome they knew not Yes M. Haddon it is wel knowen that the most blessed Princes and soueraignes of the Church of Rome them selues to witte Clement and Euaristus and Lucius and Marcellus and Pius the which atteyned the Croune of Martyrdome with very great glory whom neither ambition nor any other vnlauful desire moued to seke for that supreme honoure do beare witnes against you For their writinges declare plainely that their iudgement was that the soueraintie of the vniuersal Churche was euer in the Church of Rome What should I here reherse Ireneus Augustine and al other holy Fathers What shoulde I here vnfolde the memorie of al the antiquitie Of the new writers reade if it please you Eckius the B. of Rochester Cocleus Pighius and such other most excelleÌ„t men both for vertue and learning and you shall see how ignorant you are in this mater of the supremacie They dispute and contend not with reprochful wordes not with lies not with impudeÌ„cy but with testimonies of the holie Scriptures but with the authorities of the holy Fathers but with examples of the vnspotted antiquitie and they presse their aduersaries and proue them to be not onely wicked felowes but also very mad and frantike meÌ„ But how is it possible that you should vnderstand these thinges What time could
And in this place you are so chaused that you laie Sacrilege vnto Princes charges bicause thei wil rule the lawes of the Church â–ª and vnreuerently handle holy thinges Anon after you counsell me like a sage and graue man that I shoulde tempre my choler saying vnto mee O Maister Ierome be not ouer much disquieted Such great choler and wrath is not seemely in a Philosopher In this place M. Waulter if you dally you dally very stalely If you speake in earnest it is nothing true that you saie Neither was it angre whiche is a sodaine rage stirred through the opinion conceiued of dishonestie that could haue moued me to write those my letters for so muche as I was neuer prouoked to displeasure with so much as one rough worde of any English man but it was the loue of most holy Religion and the good wil I beare towards the Quene that moued me to send those letters and to aduertise her to eschew the danger that hanged ouer her and her Realme Neither is there any token of anger to be seene in my talke excepte you will cal a iust and lamentable complaint of the state of our moste vnhappie time angre But that that foloweth howe pretily it was spoken Take breath a little As thoughe you had with this your wonderfull force of talke so disquieted me that I coulde not take my breath Then that other saying of yours what a pleasante grace it hath Come to your selfe againe This is a foule rebuke For it seemeth to M. Haddon a wise man whose iudgement was alwaies simple pure and vncorrupted that I am out of my wittes Or els he would neuer warne me to come to my selfe againe You saie afterwardes You shall see all shal be wel That do I loke for in dedâ— how be it I am sore afraid left you being an eloquence man and wonderfull in perswading â–ª may force me to beleue thinges that are not proued vnto me Yet I looke for your reason by the which you wil proue that it is lawfull for your Quene to meddle in Ecclesiastical matters and to laiâ— suche lawes vpon Churches as her listeth What saie you Sir The Kinges Maiestie saie you maistereth al persones in England What els So doth the French King the French men and the Scottish King the Scottes I commend your briefenes in reasoning For you conclude al in one worde as often as you list and that meruelouse wittily But yet you take such thinges as are neither true neither of force to conclude those thinges that you would proue For first of all the gouernement of a King is not violent neither tyrannical and suche as he hath taken vppon him to mainteine â–ª like a louing Father he doth not maister them like seruauÌ„ts neither doth he imploye his regimente to his owne commoditie but to the safety of his subiectes It is therefore false that he doth maister them except he wold rather be accounted a tyranne then a King Moreouer admit it were true yet doth it not folow that he doth gouerne them in al matters That therefore that you should haue proued you laiâ— for a ground as though it were alredy proued and grauÌ„ted the which is one of the gretest faults that mai be in a disputer Last of al neither doth the french King gouerne the french men in spiritual matters neither the Scotish Kinge the Scottes and if he doe the which is nothiÌ„g true then doth he not his owne office but vsurpeth an other mans Yet you say But the Quene putteth not her hand vnto holie thinges Why so I pray you M Haddon Is it bicause she thinketh it not lawful Or els bicause she wil not If she thinke that it is not lawfull then doth shee speake directely against you If she be occupied with other affairs and therfore committeth holie thinges to men of the basest sort shee doth otherwise then her estate requireth For she thinketh that there is some other thing to be preferred before holie things You say The ciuile affaires are coÌ„mitted to the ciuile magistrates the Church matters to the Bishops What Bishops meane you Are they those Bishops that you haue violeÌ„tly thrust out of their Bishopriks and cast into the iayles or els are they suche as you haue caught vppe in the streates and froÌ„ the alebeÌ„ches and haue placed theÌ„ in the roome of those most holibishops O what an honorable presence of Bishops is that for all subiects to reuerence and al il men to be afraid of But I would faine learne of you what goodly glosse of vertue was that that moued you to place those base felowes in this roome and dignitie Was it their meruelouse and chast life which you can not abide Was it the knowledge of holie Scriptures the which thei had learned in tauernes or in scholes where perhappes they had ben Maisters Was it their wonderful eloquence where with thei were able to withdrawe the coÌ„mon people from licentious liuing to continency which they them selues abhorre For it is to be thought that they that depriued those godlie and learned Bishoppes of al their dignities would not haue done such wrong vnto the vertuous men vnlesse they had meant to set other in their places that did very farre excede them in all godlines learning and eloquence But I wold demauÌ„d one thing of you if they be so holi so lerned and so eloqueÌ„t wherfore did you not coÌ„mit vnto them aboue all other this care and charge to write against me Wherfore would you betray to the worlde your owne ignoaaÌ„ce and babishnâ—sse Was there suche a scarcity of learned Bisshops that you must needes take vpon you a charge that was none of yours no nor seemely for you to medle in For to mainteine Religion apperteineth to a Bishop not to a man that is to urmoiled in the suites and questions of the ciuile Law If they did not excel in such vertues and qualities as are to be required in Bishops what a frowarde malice was that to thrust out the good Bishops and to put such base felowes in their roomes and dignities You politike wise man doe you not see that that common weale is neere to vtter ruine and decaie wherin such honours as are dewe to honestie and vertue are geauen to base varlettes But be it that they had ben promoted to this honour for their excellent qualities for I can not wel gesse the truth of the matter and it maie be that thei were before thei came to that dignitie put to schoole to Bucere or els to your Martyr but sir I demaunde of you by what right or iustice was it done Howbeit as touching iustice you haue already satisfied me when you affirmed that within the coÌ„passe of the Queenes Maiesties authoritie is conteined what so euer concerneth God or man But yet I pray you tell me with what ceremonie with what solemnitie with what Religion was it done Who laied handes on them who coÌ„secrated them I would know what holines and
euil for so much as God hath geauen vs as it is manifestly prooued by many places of the Scripture a free choise of life and death Wherefore we are free and not tied with any fatal necessitie But here again forgetting what you said before you alleage certaine places out of S. Paule by the which as I imagine you intende to take from vs our freedome of will It is God saie you that woorketh in vs both to will and to doe S. Paul in these woordes hath tyed vppe our wil and restreined our power Neither did S. Paul euer thinke it neither did your maisters vnderstande the meaninge of S. Paule Muche lesse is it to be thought that you being farre inferior to them should be able to atteine to the Apostles meaning in this matter We grauÌ„t this to be true that our thoughtes and works such as are wel begon and ended ought to be referred vnto god by whose power thei are don For except God had called me backe when I raÌ„no into all mischiefe excepte he had aduertised me by the instincte of his spirit that I shuld not cast my selfe headloÌ„g into euerlasting thraldome except he had with his wholesome grace and sure aide so strengthened me that I might be able to doe the godly worke which he commaunded me to doe I could neither haue done neither yet haue thought any good thing but what so euer studie or diligence I had emploied either in deuising or els in doing any good worke it had benne all in vaine Yet this much we say that we may not yeald our assent to the inspiration of God that we may not regard his liberalitie that we maie refuse his gentle offer yea and leese thorough synne and wiâ—kednesse the grace that is alreadie goten I saith our Lorde doe stand at the doore and knocke He saith not I doe breake open the doores or I doe pul them out of the hinges or I doe breake in by violence but only I doe knocke â–ª that is to say I doe warne I doe declare the peril that may ensewe I do shew the hope of saluation I doe promise healpe and I doe allure men vnto me by benefites Yet you saie What then Is there no difference betwene vs and a stone He must needes be more vnsensible then a stone that wold gather after that sort As though I had gathered this M. Waulter out of the sobre meaning of S. Paul and not out of the dronken dreming of Luther as it shal appeere hereafter The selfe same S. Paul saie you calleth vs the coadiutours of God and commaundeth vs to woorke our saluation in feare and trembling See you not then by the verie woordes of S. Paul that the freedome of will is buylded vpon his authoritie the whiche Luther goeth about to ouerthrowe For wherefore shoulde he haue saied that we are the coadiutours of God if a man coulde doe nothing towardes the woorke that God woorketh in vs Wherfore should he haue warned vs to woorke our saluation if it were not in our power to doe it But you euen as in that ioyning of faith that woorketh by charitie and of woorkes that are vnprofitable laboured in vaine to glew together by the testimonie of S. Paul such things as can not possibly be ioyned in like manner you would bring to passe by this your singular wit the which we simple idiotes can not reache vnto that freedome and bondage should be knit together with a most fast knot of frindship and that by the sayings and meaning of S. Paul And therfore at one time you alleage certaine places of S. Paul that maketh for freedome at an other time you bring other testimonies the which as you thinke confirmeth bondage But I might proue by this argument alone that you could neuer so muche as suspecte what great wisedome was in S. Paul as in whose heart rested the spirite of Christ bicause you labour to prooue that he spake such thinges as are verie contrarie And yet you saie that I doe abhorre the Gospel In deede I do abhorre Luthers Gospell and when I name Luther I meane Melanchthon also and Bucer and Caluine and the reste of your Bassaes For although they be diuers channels of waters yet came thei al out of one fountaine But whereas you abuse the testimonies of S. Paul to auowch your vngodlines me thinketh it is a thing not to be borne You saie afterward You shall know by three wordes of S. Paul What shall I know I am able to doe al thinges in Christe whiche strengtheneth me And S. Augustine comprised the selfe same sentence in other wordes verie finely God saieth he crowneth his owne woorkes in vs. Verie well But to what purpose bring you these thinges Be we of them thinke you that take parte with Pelagius Did we euer saie that we coulde doe anie good and commendable woorke by our owne strength and diligence No truly And yet you in this place as though you had wonne the field begynne to vaunt your selfe without all modestie and saie What is it See you not how the prouidence of God is fortified by the authoritie of the holy scriptures And yet you vnderstande that it is not the mother of synne but the nourse of all vertue O M. Haddon what agew fitte is this that holdeth you What damned sprites are these that vexe you What plagues of synne are these that folow you vp and downe Where haue you heard or read that I doe denie the prouidence of God or that I doe affirme that out of it there shoulde arise anie euil in the worlde Is this no furie Is this no madnes Is this no impudencie You coulde neuer gather anie suche thing out of my writinges vnlesse you thinke perhaps that the prouidence of God can not stand by anie meanes except the freedome of mans will be taken quite awaie If you thinke so you are worse then mad If you thinke not so and yet wil charge me falsely withall you are past al shame And yet you saie But let vs goe vnto the fountaines them selues out of the which although there flowe most sweete honey yet hath your most corrupted mind sucked out of them verie pestilent poison â–ª O M. Waulter how much it easeth your stomake to vomite out this railing poison with the whiche you are glotted S. Paul writing to the Galathians saied would God they might be cut of that trouble you In like manner doe I praie vnto Christ my God the authour and geauer of vncorrupted and vpright life that all such as come to haÌ„dle the holy scriptures with an vncleane minde with fowle eyes with an vngodlie intent maie at the length repent them selues or els if they wil not that they maie be put to most sharp punishment and horrible death raither then to bring so much mischiefe into the common weale of the Church In this place good Christ what a stirre you keepe how wonderfully you laie about you how you vaunt
your selfe in wordes like a conquerour You doe in your owne conceit not only beate backe the hornes as you saied before but also ouerthrow and discomfite a whole armie You bring diuers places of S. Paule which are nothing necessarie to prooue that there is a prouidence After that you laie out against me with open mowth as though I should coÌ„clude that by the prouidence of God if there were any a man were bereft of his senses The which is in deede a verie shameles lie For you neuer read anie such word in my oratioÌ„ Neither doth it folow that a man should be like a blocke of gods prouidence but of Luthers madnes by the which coÌ„trarie to gods prouideÌ„ce he taketh awaie the freedome of the will But you peradueÌ„ture thinke that the lewdnes of Luther is so ioyned with this prouidence that who so euer speketh ernestly against Luthers madnes he must needes appaire Gods prouidence But I am of a contrarie mind that who so euer foloweth the lewdnes of Luther doth so much as in him lieth ouerthrow the prouideÌ„ce of God But what meaneth this Wherfore declare you not in plaine words what you wold haue wherfore vse you such darke parables wherfore forsake you the name of Babilonical bondage and take vp violeÌ„tli the name of prouideÌ„ce Luther saied that free wil was either a thing of a title only or els a title without a thing He saith that maÌ„ doth suffer and not doe that he is drawen and doth not deliberat that he is onli an instrumeÌ„t the which God turneth as him listeth that God driueth him foreward and pulleth him backeward as his plesure is and that he vseth him as a sawe or a hatchet and that man hath no power or strength in the worlde to doe either good or euyl But he correcteth him selfe afterward in this manner I did il saith he to saie that free wil before grace is a thing of a title only I ought rather to haue saied simply that free wil is a feined deuise in thinges or els a title without a thing For so much as it is in no maÌ„s power once to thinke anie good or euil as it is in the article of Wicleffe condemned at ConstaÌ„ce but all thinges doe come to passe of a mere and absolute necessitie He amplifieth these things afterwardes with manie wordes and streineth him selfe verie sore to prooue that the mind is alwaies tied the wil bownd the power to doe taken awaie yea in suche sort that we can not possibly not only doe but also not so much as thinke vpon anie thing good or bad These thinges taught Melanchthon also and so did Caluine with great copie of woordes and other whome I here omit To be short the somme of this doctrine was that ther is no difference betwene vs and anie other woorking toole These are the thinges whiche your Doctours teach openly But I faie and al good men al holy men all men endewed with godlines and vertue auowch my saying to be true that to teach this your doctrine is a heinouse offence a desperat boldnes a detestable owtrage a coursed acte For graunt me this doctrine to be true and I saie that lawes are taken quite awaie counsells put to silence honest craftes ouerthrowen learning defaced ciuile gouernement disordered the determination of right and wrong confounded I saie moreouer for it foloweth of necessitie that man is bereft of his senses spoiled of couÌ„sel depriued of reson and brought to that passe that there is no difference betwene him and a stone cast out of the hand I saie also that the warninges of the lawe of God the commaundementes counsells exhortations and threâ—tninges the rewardes assigned vnto vertue and the punishmentes appointed for sinne and wickednes were to no purpose enregestred in the holie scriptures for the perpetuall remembraunce of them All these inconueniences folow vpoÌ„ the doctrine of Luther necessarily There foloweth also an other incoÌ„uenience the which to conceiue it only in heart is the most horrible blasphemie that euer could be spoken or ymagined that God the most holy and vpright iudge in whom no iniquitie can possibly rest doth vniusli punish that offence of the which him selfe was as Luther saieth a perswader a forcible mouer yea the doer For eueÌ„ as when a murder is coÌ„mitted not the sweard but he that committed the murder with the swerd is arained so right and reason would that not I which was forced to doe a mischiefe by a certaine fatal violence the which I could not withstand but he that vsed suche forcible meanes towardes me shuld beare the blame of it I saie therfore that this point out of the whiche foloweth so many and suche horrible moÌ„sters is so heinouse and wicked that if al the rest were gathered together in coÌ„parison of this they might seeme to be very light For it doth both ouerthrow quite the societie and good order emongest men and it doth falsly charge that our most holie Lord and bowntiful father with the crime of vniustice and creweltie This therfore do I saie iudge define determine taught by infinite testimonies of the holy scripture moued theruÌ„to bi the monumeÌ„ts of al holy meÌ„ that euer wrote either of old time or in our daies instructed by many disputatioÌ„s of the most excelleÌ„t philosophers endewed also with vpright reason the whiche was wont to be called the lawe of nature and God that this absolute or fatale necessitie with the which Luther tied vp all the doinges and thoughtes of men without exception can neither stand nor enter into the mind of anie reasonable man and that who so euer deuised it first was of al men that euer liued vpon the earth most vile and wicked This is that which I saied This I would haue you to confute and to declare either that Luther neuer spake it or els if he did to prooue that he did it vpon good coÌ„sideration The which thing of like you doe not peradueÌ„ture for feare of enuie and therefore you shifte your selfe into a disputation of Gods election and you goe about to prooue by the testimonie of S. Paul that there is a prouidence as though I had disputed against the prouidence of God and not against the madnes of Luther Can anie man in the worlde deuise a more fond or foolish order of disputation and coÌ„futation then this is You are ouer bold and rash to abuse the epistle of S. Paul to the Romaines being as you are altogether ignorant in it And yet as though you had with this your leadden sweard killed God haue mercie on his sowle when you had brought in that example out of S. Paul of the children that were yet vnborne you ranne vpon me like a mad man This is the language that you vsed What saie you good sir Behold the election once againe and that according to the pourpose of God Behold the time of the election which was before the children were borne What shall we then saie that
learned and prudeÌ„t eares of the Quenes Maiestie whose sharpe witte and iudgement you woulde haue ben afraid of if you had wel weighed with your selfe how much pitthinesse there is in her O right excellent Syr Waulter you appeare nowe in your owne likenes Tel me I pray you doe you not see that excessiue praysingâ— doth not aduaunce the dignity of Princes but rather vtterlie peruerte their minde and iudgement oftentimes Do you not know that the most fine and sharp wit loueth truth and abhorreth excedingly all lying and flatterie For what other thing is it to praise Princes excessiuely but to set them out to the world as mocking stocks Truly if your Quene be so witty as I may wel think shee is not by your talke but by the reporte of other men she will tourne you out of her courte and companie as an open and detected flatterer and wil not suffer her selfe to be most impudently mocked of you If you set out her wit if you commende her knowledge in the Latine â—nd Greeke tongue if you praise her courtlie grace and comlines of speach iâ— is well donne But when you make her no meane Diuine when you aduaunce her witte so muche as though I ought to be terriblie afraid of it you assault her Maiestie by verie wilie and craftie meanes Is this your loialtie Is this the part of a kind hert mindefull of the benefites bestowed vppon you Is this well done that a most noble Quene a Princesse endued with most excellent wit and singular qualities should be gibed and scorned of you M. Haddon who haue as you saie your selfe ben fostred and brought vp by her Maiesty Did you so little esteeme her iudgemente that you thought her meete to make your laughing stocke To pull her downe from the setled staye of her minde by your clawing and flatterie To deceiue her for your gaine and lukers sake If when you sette for this bootie you had made your entrie more couertlye your fowle flatterie needed not to haue benne repelled with so greate inforcemente For a manne mighte haue thoughte that you had misdowbted the sharpenesse of the Queenes witte and therfore hadde deuised to vndermine secretelie that you might the better haue scaled the forte whiche you haue desired to take But now wheras you mock so opeÌ„ly ascribiÌ„g vnto her maiesty such coÌ„men dable qualities as can not possibly staÌ„d neither with her age neither with her nature as being a woman neither with her tender and delicate bodie neither yet with her estate which is otherwise employed to weightie and carefull affaires is it not manifeste that you make lighte of her witte Doe you so recoÌ„pence the benefits which you haue receiued of her bowntifulnesse If shee be so wise as you make her to be if shee haue so many excellente vertues as I desire her Maiestie to be alwayes decked and bewtified withall the moderate praises whiche I geaue her shee wil accepte with good hearte but that immoderate flatterie of yours shee will refuse and reiecte neyther will shee suffer her selfe to be mocked of suche presumptuouse felowes to the greate abatemente of her estimation and honour As towchinge the quietnesse of thinges whiche you talke of at large I saie this muche It is the parte of a madde man yea of one that is ignoraunte of the common frailtie of man to trust to much in prosperitie and not to cast long time before by causes passed such aduersities as peraduenturâ— hange ouer his heade Moreouer there canne be no quietnosse where the faithe of the holie Churche is shut out For the minde is troubled yea and oftentimes shaken quite out of the hengies by the remorse of synne the which the most presumptuous and bolde felowes in the worlde are not able to suppresse although many are able to dissemble it As for the comparison of your Church with the Primitiue Churche which you saie may be confirmed by the Histories I saie that either you haue not read the Histories or els you are past all shame You shoulde haue brought some example or testimonie out of the Histories with the whiche you might ouercharge vs. But you can neuer doe it forsomuch as all the antiquitie maketh against you Whereas you saie that your nobilitie is verie well agreed would God it were so but it is otherwise reported commonlye I passe ouer manie thinges of purpose partly bicause they are nothing to the purpose and partly because they are alreadie confuted before But wheras you saie these words Ah be not disquieted gentle Syr I acknowledge your pleasaunt manner of speach As for your heauenly kindred of the whiche you saie you are verie desirouse you doe well in it But I woulde you had some other menne of this stocke and kinred more skilful interpretours of the law of God Then how wittilie was that spoken of you Wherefore saie you that menne haue benne caried awaie by vs from that most aunciente and holie Religion whiche was grownded vppon the bloude of Iesus Christe and hathe continewed alwayes one euen vntill our daies and that they haue benne trained in an other Religion which is moste cursed and detestable Then you adde Doe you beleeue these thinges as you haue spoken them No trnely doe you not These thinges were very merrily spoken of you M. Haddon Doubtlesse your pleasant gyrdes procede of ameruelous wit especially when yon thinke your self to be cocke sure For then as though your discourse had escaped the rockes you pleasure very much to sport and dalie But whereas you saie that I doe not beleeue those thinges whiche I haue saied you are fowly deceiued For I doe bothe beleeue and confesse them neither shal the outrage and vnbrideled wilfulnesse of a sort of rascall varlets euer bring me from the coÌ„stant confession of my faith What argumentes of yours thinke you to be of such force that thei might cause a maÌ„ which is in his right wittes not to beleue that that is confirmed by the testimonie of holie Scriptures by authoritie of the holie Fathers by the recordes of al the antiquitie You saie afterward For in the olde and beste time of the Church neither was their any Popedom neither leaden redemption for synne neither the marte of Purgatorie neither woorsshippinge of Images neither runninge vppe and downe to visite Sainctes neither offering in the Masses for the liue and for the dead with other like These shamefull pointes whiche dooe disshonest Relligion at what times they crope in and by whome they were deuised you are not ignoraunie But you dissemble it to serue the eares of your companie Belke out M. Haddon streine your selfe as muche as you can ridde your stomake of this surfeicte of most barbarouse furie and rage cast vppe your poison spewe out your venime and then shall you openly triumph emongest your compagnions with this peeuish and vaine talke When you haue said nothing prooued nothing alleaged no true testimonie of the antiquiquitie when you haue broughte nothing elles
shamefull language when he had vttered most horrible and diuelish blasphemie when he had wasted spoiled and burned all holie thinges when he had committed all these outrages and villanies then was he thought a meete man to be taken into gods pricuie counsell and a persone woorthie to whome God besides all other secretes shoulde mercifully reuele that mysterie also of the deuising of purgatorie Then did this great wise man vnderstand at the length that S. Augustine which held that we should praie vnto God in our Sacrifices for the dead that S. Cyprian which laied this most grieuous punishment vpon such as appointed Priestes in their testamēt to be tutours or gouernours to their children that there should no sacrifice be offred vp for them in the churches that S. Chrysostome whiche referred this ordinaunce to the tradition of the Apostles that S. Denise to passe ouer a numbre of others which wrote very diligently of the care that is to be had for the departed in the faith and of praiers that are to be made vnto God for their deliueraunce Luther I saie vnderstood from heauen that al these men had ben in great errour and folie Trulie the capitaine of this your faction had a great commoditie of his naughtines and folie if after the reising of such broiles and troubles in the worlde he was deliuered by the benefite of God from that errour in the which those holie Fathers most Godlie and wise men excellently wel learned in the Scriptures linked vnto Christe with a most streight band of heauenlie loue were quite drowned If no man can thus perswade him selfe vnlesse he be peeuish frantike and starke mad void not only of al godlie religion but also of common sense who doth not see that this opinion of Luther is wicked ād detestable taught and set out by none other then by the enemie the diuell But this saie you is not witten in the scripture What then The thing which the Apostles taught by word of mowth which their schollers deliuered to the posteritie whiche hath ben most constantly holden and beleeued from the primitiue Churche till our times whiche hath ben approued by the beleefe and full agreement of the whole Church for so manie hnndred yeares shall Luther a seditious mad selowe after so manie ages garishly auowch it to be a feined matter Shall men whiche take vpon them to be both Godlie and religious folow him as a God of heauen that attempteth most desperatly to assault heauen For he maketh warre against heauē which taketh vp armour against the faith of the Church No no saie you you would not thinke what manner of man he was For he I tel you woulde allowe nothing vnlesse he fownde it written in the holie scriptures Well sir I will not nowe handle that matter whiche is by the holy Fathers discussed long a goe howe the gospell consisteth not only in thinges written but also in customes and ordinaunces receiued without any writing deliuered vnto the Churche by worde of mowth and order of the Apostles how much the sure and groūded authoritie of the Church which is the piller and staie of truth is to be esteemed of howe great value and importaunce the agreement of all holy men in one minde without anie varietie ought to be all these thinges I will nowe omit and aske you one question how Luther when he saied there was a purgatorie to prooue it alleaged the testimonies of the holie scripture if there were no testimonie in the scripture that proued that there was a purgatorie Then againe when he saied that there was no Purgatorie by what testimonie of the Scripture thought he that Purgatorie might be vtterly disprooued Brought he anie one place by the whiche he might conuince that there is no Purgatorie Dowbtlesse not one Such therefore was his presumption that what so euer came into his head that woulde he constantly affirme and againe the selfe same thing if it misliked him would he vtterly denie And yet his disciples for sooth find no fault at all neither with his inconstancie neither yet with his lewd fasshions but what so euer the drowsie blowbol draueled out ouer his pottes that toke they vp so griedily as though it had ben good gospell But lest you should saie that it can not be shewed by the testimonie of the scripture that there is a purgatory although it be not necessarie yet besides those places whiche are wont to be alleaged for the proofe thereof I thinke it good to bring a fewe of the whiche that is one of S. Marke where our Lorde when he had saied that hel into the which al such shalbe throwen downe as esteeme more their bodilie pleasure then their dewtie towardes God shoulde haue this propertie that the worme of them that shall be tombled down headlong into it should neuer die and their fyer neuer be quenched he brought in foorthwith these wordes for euerie man shalbe seasoned in fyer and euery sacrifice shalbe seasoned in salt In this place there are two thinges to be noted One is that there is a worme that is to saie a vexation or torment of cōscience gnawing and molesting the minde the whiche shal haue an ende and that there is a torment of fyer also the whiche in like manner shall haue and end in some men For otherwise our Lorde woulde neuer haue brought that place out of Esaie their worme dieth not and their fyer is not quenched By the whiche place we are taught that there is one torment euerlasting and an other that lasteth but for a time For so muche therefore as this worme and fyer is a torment or vexation of minde and of tormentes there is one whiche is appointed by the iudgement of God to last but a time and the other to continew for euermore is it not euidently prooued that there is a purgatorie for so is the place of punishment called in the whiche by the sentence of God the sowles are purged within a certaine time of suche spottes of venial offences as they had gathered in this life An other thing worthy to be noted is this that no synne shal escape vnpunished For euen as in the old lawe it was not lawful to offre vp any Sacrifice without salt so is it not lawful for our soules to approch vnto the throne of Gods maiestie vnlesse their vncleanes be before clensed by salt and fyer that is to say by the rigour of Goddes iudgement and by dewe punishment that when al the spottes of vncleane affection be put out and quite consumed the faithful sowles may come to haue such a puritie and cleerenes that thei may be able to receiue the brightnes of God in them selues and be likened and confourmed to the glory of God For although by the mercy of God synne is taken quite away in such as stay them selues vppon a liuelie saith yet are they for the most parte so bounde with some knot of the law that they must needes satisfie
forbid me being not only a bishoppe and Prieste and long tyme exercised in the holy Scriptures with some profitte but also a man as you report your selfe both wittie and eloquent to followe this most godlie trade of learning Then by what equitie by what power by what autoritie doe you this shal it be lawful for you being a man of lawe to geaue ouer the statutes made for walles lights and eues gutters to despise and cast a side your obligations bargaines and couenantes to lay away the drawing of writes and suites in lawe and to take vppon you in Diuinitie as bold as blind baiard â–ª and to me to whom it aâ—perteyneth by office to instructe the Church committed vnto me in the holy Scriptures wil you not geue leaue to bestome much tyme and diligence in the studie of them You are iniurious two waies For you doe both violently intrude your selfe into other mens possessions and wroÌ„gfully thrust me out of myne owne by your vniust iniunctions Now those threates of yours howe weighty and graue are they What a great terrour doe they put into me You say thus If so be that you mind to vaunt your selfe to certaine men and so to assault vs any more I warne you now before that you come with farre better furniture then you haue done at this tyme. You tel me moreouer that in case you be dead before yet there shal not lacke such as shal breake the dint of my stroke Whereby I see that you could neuer so much as gesse what my meaning is I knowe that there are in that Iland many excelleÌ„t men both for wit learning and godlines which wil neuer molest me for so much as they agree with me in religion meruelously wel although you thinke it a matter not to be borne Then if any man doe write against me in case he wil coÌ„tend with reason argumeÌ„tes and examples I wil not refuse to dispute with him But if he fal to railing and reprochfull wordes I can not possibly be persuaded to make him answere For neither am I moued with any reproch neither can I looke that that victorie should tourne me to honestie where the maner of fight is so vnhonest If I shal see that there is any hope to win you and suche as you are to God I will not doubt to trie both by letters and prayers what good I am able to do Otherwise I wil not suffer my tyme wherof I haue litle to spare to be soâ—l bestowed For so doth S Paule teach vs that after one or two warnings wee should shonne the companie of suche menne as are obstinatly bent in erroneouse and wicked opinions for so much as they are condemned by their owne iudgement Wherefore I geaue you leaue to bende your selfe moste fiercely against me with tauÌ„tes and reproches Rore as much as you list crie out as lowd as you can For neither is it conuenient for my person neither yet comely for the office I beare to be moued with railing wordes or elles to make answere to euerie slaunder I neuer reuiled you whome I knewe not As for my epistle which you rend and teare with spitefull languague it hath not one reprochful word in it vnlesse perhaps you wil cal the most iust bewailing and most true declaration of errours and wicked vices a reproche And yet like a wilde bore thrust thorough with a venemous dart you raÌ„ne vpoÌ„ me as though you had ben wood But I was not only nothing disquieted with your reprochfull words but also moued to laugh at your fond talke I take my God to witnesse that if the loue which I beare to true Religion and godlines had not earnestly moued me I had neuer put pen to the paper to write against your booke But if you knew how much I pity your case and what a hartie desire I haue of your saluation for I would with all my hart as the dewty of a Christian man requireth yeald my selfe to die for the saluation of you and your countrei men you would surely be at one with me For I was not moued by anie euyl wil I beare you but it was verie charitie that prouoked me instantly to write I praie Christ our most bowntifull and almightie Lord I humbly besech him by his precious bloud shead for the saluation of al men by his woundes and most bitter passion by his death by the which he ouercame death by his victorie whiche he atchieued ouer the kingdome of Satan to deliuer that kingdom in the which hath ben sometime a dwelling place of vertue religion grauitie and iustice and is now disordered thorough the lewdnes of desperate felowes from errours and heresie to make the brightnes of his light to shine ouer them to bring them againe to the faith and vnitie of most true ReligioÌ„ to carie them backe vnto the fold of the catholike Churche to gouerne and mainteine them by the assistance of his holy spirite that al we which are now sundered in opinions maie at length agree in the vnitie of faith and loue of true Religion and so come to that euerlasting glorie to the great reioysing of al the holie companie in heauen Liber iste lectus est approbatus à viris sacrae Theologiae et Anglicani idiomatis peritissimis quibus tutò credendum esse existimo maximè cùm tantùm translatus sit ex Latino legitimè approbato Cunerus Petri Pastor Sancti Petri Louanis 3. septemb Anno. 1568. The Monarchie of the Church Mat. 16. c. Luc. 22. d. Caut 2. d. 2. Thessal 2. b. The rebellion in Fraunce Math. 7. â— The vviâ— lines of heretikes Heretiks enemies to chastitie Popular vvhat it is Clavvâ— backes of the court Heresse cause of ciuile vvarreâ— aÌ„d bloudâ— shead Heresie ouer â–ª throvve of Kings and king domes Prou. 3. d. Luthers death Mat. 7. 6 VnvvriteÌ„ truthes Mat. 5. d 10. 3. a 10. 4. c. Galat. 5. a 1. Cor. 11. â— Act. 15. e. The originall and institutioÌ„ of moÌ„kes Hâ—b 13. a. Exod. 19. c 1. Cor. 7. a Mat. 19. b Psal 72. d 1. Cor. 6. d 1. Tim. 3. b 1. Cor. 7. g 1. Tim. 5. b. 1. Cor. 7. g. 1. Cor. 7. b 1. Tim. 5. b â— Cor. 7. g Math. 1â— b. True libertie â–ª Imageâ— â—xod 25. b. Numer 2â— b. 4. Reg. 18. a. The Image of the Crosse â— Confession Num. 5. a Math. 3. b Act. 19. d. Iacob 5. d The profit of coÌ„fession Humilitie The effectes of coÌ„fession Satisfaction Math. 3. â— Esai 1â— b. The Sacrament of the Aulter Rom. 8. f. 1. Cor. 1â— 4. 1. Co. â—1 f. 1. Co. 11. g. Mat. 26. e Mar. 14. c Luc. 22. b. â— Co. 11. c. Synaxis Eucharistia The effectes of the SacrameÌ„t of the Aulter 2. IoaÌ„ 1. c. Praier in the vulgar tongue Discretiâ— in preaching Thinges requisite in a preacher â— Tim. 1. b Not necessarie tâ— haue the scriptureâ— in the vulgar tongue â— Cor. 12. b. 1. Cor. 1â— a. 1. Cor. 12. a. 1. Cor. 14. f. 1. Cor. 14. f. ConuenieÌ„ter disâ—idere are M. Haddons vvords in Latine Flatterie 1. Pet. â— c. Ro. 13. a. Rom. 13. a. 1. Tim. 2. a 1. Pet. 2. c. Laie men plagued of God for taking vpoÌ„ them the office of Priests Num. 16. a 2. Re. 6 â–ª a. 2. Paral â–ª 26. d. Daniel 5 â–ª g. Rom 8. a. Ro. 3. d Galat. 5. a Onlie faith iustifieth not Rom. 2. b. Luthers most daÌ„nable doctrine touching Workes Rom. 2. b. Mat. 7. 6. A sound and catholike doctrine touching vvorkes Gala. 5. a. Hebr. 7. c. Hebr. 9. 6. Works of the lavve do not iustifie Rom. 8. a. Gal. 5. c. Psal 61. d. Ro. 2. b. 2. Cor. 5. b Ro. 14. d. Mat. 25. d Ro. 10. c. The faith of the chuâ—che is fruâ—ful Io â–ª 15. b. Mat. 7. 6. Luthers faith fruitles Predestination Free Wil. Phil. 2. b. Apoâ— 3. d. Philip. 4. c Gala. 5. b. Rom. 9. c. 2. Tim. 2. c A learned expositioÌ„ of S. Pauls Wordes Rom. 9. b â–ª Rom. 11. c. Rom. 9. c â–ª Gen. 18. b. â—sounde and Cathâ— like conclusion Rom. 9. c. Election 1. Tim. 2. a Rom. 9. c. Rom. 9. c. Exod. 9. d. Rom. 9. â— Ibidem Rom. 9. d. Rom. 9. â— Esai 50. d Rom. 9. c. Prou. 1. a. Protag and Diag thought there vvas no God ProuideÌ„ce ProtestaÌ„ts denie Gods prouidence Vertue euer assaulted and yet preuaileth The state and belefe of the Catholike Churche Rom. 13. a Mar. 9. f. Crosses Images oâ— Saintes Gal. 2. d. The Catho like faith Heb. 5. c. Workes Free vvill Ceremonies Penance ConfessioÌ„ Mat. 10. d. Luc. 10. c. Io. 13. c. Our Lords Supper The office of bishops The times of the yere Aduent Christmas Nevvyeres daie Tvvelse daie Câ—delmas Lent The holy Weeke Easter Ascension Witsontide The feasts of Saincts The feasts of our Ladie Deut. 18. d. A mark to discerne a false Prophete by Ier. 20. a. Purgatory proued by Luther Matt. 12. c. â— Macab â—2 g. 1. Tim. 3. c. Purgatorie Marc. 9 â–ª g Esaie 66. a 2. Reg. 12. d. 1. Pet. 4. d 1. Pet. 3. d Ibideâ— â–ª 1. Cor. 15. d. Luc. 22. â— Mat. 2â— â— 1. Cor. 15. d. 2. Tim. 4. â— Often chaunging of lavves daungerous The firste founding of the protestantes Churche Gen. 7. â— Gen. 19. â— Damasipâ—us had no â—hing of a 〈…〉 but â—…ely a â—ard The â—â—ber â—…erfore â—â—ing 〈…〉 rd 〈◊〉 avvai â— Philophie Tit. 3. c.
trust no more to fraude deceit and lying For it is like that hauiÌ„g receiued the brightnes of heauenly light ye dispised foorth with al worldly thinges and were inflamed with the desire of heauenlie life yea and that more is of the diuine nature it selfe Who caÌ„ deny if this be so but that so wonderful an alteration of life doth most manifestly declare the verie presence of Christ him selfe But I would faine learne this of you whether you alone in al England doe enioye these so great benefites or whether thei be common to al suche as haue receiued the brightnes of your new gospel If you alone haue the fruitioÌ„ of this light with so great fruict of the heaueÌ„lâ— vertue the glittering of this newe gospel hath brought no great commoditie to your couÌ„trei for it should haue furdered not any one particular maÌ„ but the whole coÌ„mon weale Oh say you euerie one for as the sonne rising driueth awaie the darkenes from the eyes of al men euen so the brightnes of this gospel putteth awaie the myste that was cast ouer all mens heartes Al thinges are now laid open al thinges are come to light Ther are no faultes in the worlde no wicked offences no heinouse crimes no none at al. Ther is great good cause if this tale be true whie we should forsake our owne countrei and come to dwel in EnglaÌ„d that we might be partakers of this your felicitie with you For what could a man desire more of God then alwaies to behold suche a countrei where for the greater part neither coueteousnes norsensualitie nor hatred nor pride nor contention nor rashnes nor any other spot of vncleane life may take place But Sir I praie you What was the let whie you vsed no iustice or godlines before this new sonne beames shone vpon you Horrible superstition you saie for we beleeued that through the vertue of a peece of lead and the mumbling of a few praiers whiche we vnderstoode not al our offences were forgeauen vs what soeuer we had done in this worlde What saie you is it to be thought you were al so mad that you wolde thinke a sinne conceiued in the hart to be forgeauen through the vertue of a peece of lead or by the pronouncing of praiers the mind being otherwise occupied What a great dulnes of witte was that what a straunge folie who had put that errour into your hartes Were there no men emongest you learned in the holie scriptures to teach you that al the hope of saluation consisteth in the grace and mercie of Christ Trulie I hold vp my handes most humbly vnto the immortal God as you pretend to doe yeelding him most hartie thaÌ„kes that it was my chaunce to be borne and brought vp in Spaigne where no man if he be a Christian was euer so foolish as to thinke that there is any other waie to pourge synne but only by the grace and goodnes of Christ The which to atteine the necessarie and onely meane is according to the doctrine of Christ him selfe to detest and forsake vice to confesse our sinnes coÌ„mitted with bashfulnes and sorow to withdraw our selues froÌ„ sensualitie to coÌ„tinencie froÌ„ vice to honestie froÌ„ malice to charitie to enter into a new trade of life and to exercise our selues in holy workes Now sir of you trusted so much to lead that ye thought it of force to blot out sinne you were not wel in your wit If you saie that al England was in the like blindnes you bring a great slaunder of madnes vpon your countrie that hath brought you vp and placed you in so great worship No say you I saie not so But I meane by the name of lead in the whiche we saw the name and image of the bishop of Rome engraued the authoritie and iurisdiction of the Pope him selâ—e the which manie hundred yeres agoe was holden and esteemed as a thing verie holie of our Fathers and afterward of vs. This authoritie which we sometime reuerenced being now instructed by the most cleere doctrine of this gospel I doe neglecte despise contemne and thinke it to be esteemed as a thing of naught of all wise men Whie then M. Haddon what needed you the name of lead to signifie this authoritie Did you it to make it more odiouse Or rather thought you by iesting at the woord to gette the greater applause of your compagnions For I knowe that pleasaunt sporters as you be are muche delighted with iesting and like to contend not so much with argumentes and sentences as with scoâ—fing and as it seemeth to me with an vnsauerie kind of pratling In suche like scoffes and tauntes Martine Luther your youthlie Patriarke and olde wanton was a great doer And I dowbt not but some of your clawebackes when he came to this place tooke vp a great laughter and bound it with an oth that it was meruelous pleasauntly spoken and excellently wel handled For al thinges are so farre out of course and dew order that it is a verie easie matter for a sawcie reprochful scoffer to get the name of a merie felowe and pleasaunt compagnion But as concerning this matter although the Bishop of Angra hath disputed verie learnedly of the authoritie of the Bishop of Rome yet wil I reason with you as with a seculare man and ciuilian of the said matter in few wordes First of al let this be a grounde worke or foundation The Church of Christ is one and not manie Then let this be agreed vppon It is not ynough for a Prince whiche maketh lawes to establish a common weale to set them out except he also appoint gouernours and inferiour magistrates Let this also be the third ground for so much as you like wel myne opinion as touching the order of a Monarchie that it is most expedient for a common Weale well appointed with customes and lawes to be vnder the rule of one Prince For many doe teare and dismembre a coÌ„mon weale but one by supreme authoritie vniteth and as it were with glew ioineth together the heartes of the people It was therfore most agreable to the best maner of gouernement when the Prince of al Princes vnder whose euerlasting Empire are subiected both heauen and earth intended to set vp a heauenlie coÌ„mon weale in earth that he should first make Lawes and then creat Princes and Magistrates which might according to the prescribed order of Lawes and equitie rule this common weale Suche were the Apostles and the rest of the Disciples of Christe Last of al lest the band of this societie might be dissolued and the peace of the Citie distourbed he appointed a Monarchie and gaue the supreme gouernement thereof vnto Peter Are not these thinges commonly knowen of all men Ymagine you to obscure and darken thinges most clearely spoken Trust you so muche to your malice that you thinke your selfe able to wrest the wordes of the Gospell from the true meaning to serue the filthie appetite and lust of
you and your companions I pray you what can be spoken more plainely and cleerelie then those woordes Thou arte Peter saith Christ and vpon this rocke I wil build my Churche And what so euer thou shalt bind vpoÌ„ the earth it shalbe bouÌ„d in heauen And againe I haue prayed for thee that thy faith faile not and thou being turned confirme thy brethren And many other places of like effect which do manifestly proue that Peter had a Prerogatiue aboue the rest of the Apostles But you wil saie for al this that these testimonies of the holy scriptures which we haue alleged are expouÌ„ded farre otherwise of the new Apostles I wil set against the authoritie of your Apostles the authoritie of S. Ambrose Augustine Hierome Basile and all other holie men that haue with their writings geuen light to the Church of Christ But now your Doctours wil answere that although it be true that the supreme authoritie was graunted to Peter yet foloweth it not that it was geuen to his successours also Why then I aske you an other question Did Christe set vp a Church to continue but for one mans life Or els minded he to establish it for euer If he appointed that his Church should stande so little time he didde not so great a thing as was to be looked for of his infinite bountie and wisedome for so muche as he bestowed so much labour and diligence yea and shedde so muche bloud about a coÌ„mon weale whose coÌ„tinuance was limited within the bounds of so short time If he minded that his church should coÌ„tinue for euer then doubtlesse he set it in such order as should in al chaunges and alterations of times be mainteined and kept If it be then euident as it is most euident and plaine that Peter had a Superioritie ouer the rest of the Apostles it must needes folowe that the same preeminence or principalitie of right apperteineth to al suche as haue succeded in Peters roome and charge Or els in the Church of Christ which is one it might seeme there was ordeined not the order of the heaueÌ„ly Monarchie but the gouernement of manie And then what knot or band of concord were there in the Churche By whose authoritie shoulde the tempestes risen in it be asswaged By whome should seditious opinions and sects be rooted out By whom should pride and stubbornes be restreined and kept vnder if there had ben no man appointed in the Church from the beginning by whose authoritie all men should be kept in order No we for so much as the church of Christ is simple and one and one it can not be vnlesse there be in it one only Prince furthermore being euidente and plaine that Christ ordeined one onely ruler in his Church whom al men should acknowledge and obeie finally being out of al doubt that this preeminence apperteineth to the Successours of Peter and that none of al the auÌ„cient Fathers endewed with the spirit and grace of God euer doubted but that the bishops of Rome were the successours of Peter as bothe their writinges and the common agreement of the vniuersall Church declareth with what sprite were your newe Apostles moued to bring in this new Gospellish doctrine to distourbe the order appointed by Christe to breake the bande of vnitie and concord to shake the very Rocke and staie of the Churche But lest some man shuld thinke that these thinges were wrought of them without any cause in the world I wil briefly declare what their deuise or rather what the fetch of SataÌ„ was in this enterprise It was vnpossible that euer the pestileÌ„t sects should gather any streÌ„gth except the authoritie of the Bishop of Rome had ben first weakned For how could the mischieuous weede haue growen any long time whereas it was a very easy matter with the authoritie of the Bishop of Rome â–ª forthwith to cut it doune so soone as it appeared aboue the grouÌ„d Take vs saith the spouse of Christ the litle foxes that destroy the Vineyardes This request of the spouse who shalbe able to fulfil if noman haue authoritie to suppresse the malice and lewdnes of heretikes before it waxe great For it is manifest that by the foxes are vnderstode heretikes And therfore S. Paul in his second epistle to the ThessaloniaÌ„s saith that Antichrist shal not come before he great reuoltiÌ„g or departure froÌ„ the catholike Church of Christ It is therefor necessari for these yong Antichrists which as S. Iohnsaieth do in figure and significatioÌ„ represent the great Antichriste to come before they can bring their purpoâ—ed mischief to passe not only to depart them selues froÌ„ the Church and from the supreme ruler of it but also to solicite and procure to the like departure all such as they mind to carie away and make their disciples and this is the cause that al heretikes whose chiefe endeuour and principal intent is to ouerthrowe the catholike Church do first of al assaile this fortresse do here plant their ordinaunce doo here make their battery do here vndermine to ouerrhrow the forte For they see that if this fortresse were once ouerthrowen and wonne they may frely sow the seades of al naughtines and to the ruine and decaie of manie flee vppe and downe through the worlde whether so euer thei list without any coÌ„trol or checke And to passe ouer the olde Heretikes this was the cause whie Husâ—e endeuoured to ouerthrow the authority of the Bishop of Rome This was also the meaning of Hierome of Prage when he went about to weaken the authority of the said bishop This was the way by the which FrierLuther thought vtterly to destroy the Catholike church This was the traine by the whiche in EnglaÌ„d a gap was vnaduisedly opened to al suche errours as sence that time haue followed Nowe the railes and barres being after this manner broken downe and the gates laid wide open it was a very casie matter for al vile and desperate felowes to rush in to mangle and teare in peeoes the vnitie of the Churche to bring in so many wicked errours suche horrible sectes suche a rable of pestilent opinions one directly against an other â–ª The Zwinglians fight against the LutheraÌ„s The Anabaptists kepe continual warre with the Zwinglians What should I here reherse the heretikes called heauenly Prophetes the Interimnists and such other names of sectaries What should I saie of the hatred malice brawling and discorde within them selues What shoulde I speake of their variety and incoÌ„stancy in opinioÌ„s Yea and such as are of one sect are not al nor alwaies of one opinion Many points of their Doctrine they correct they alter and chaunge theâ— turne in and out they blot out the old they make newe nowe they pull downe and now they set vp they can not wel agree neither with other men nor yet with them selues What saye you to this Sir Are not these thinges true Can you saie that al such as are sproÌ„g of Martine
Luther are throughly agreed that there is emōgest them no debate no discorde no diuersitie of opinions but contrarily moste perfect agreement in matters of faith and religion O M. Haddon how muche better had it benne to reuerence that peece of lead whiche you so muche scorne at ▪ then to open a way to so many yea and those so pestilent errours But let vs returne to your Oration These are your wordes But the authority of the holy Scriptures hath thundred in our eares and hath made vs so affraid that casting awaie the deuises of men we runne onely to the free mercie of God What is this Do you so requite Luther to whome you are bound for this singular benefite For it was he that draue all feare out of your hartes What terrour is this that you speake of What feare What carefulnesse of minde Suche is the faith that Luther deuised as being once well planted in your hearte no feare in the worlde shall euer be able to shake the quietnes and securitie of your conscience And me thinketh that it is not to be borne that you saie you doe despise the deuises of men For you are not so farre forewarde in the waie of heauenly life but that you make good accompte of some men For the diuises of Luther Zwinglius Bucer Caluin and such other as were the founders of this your new cōmon weal you haue learned them you haue greedily snatched them vppe yea you haue with heart and minde embraced them striuinge within your selues who shoulde be foremoste in them finallie you haue decreed to frame the order of your life after their direction Whereby we gather you looke not so steddilie to heauenwarde but that sometimes you looke downe vppon menne And well donne too surelie For righte and reason requireth that you shoulde alwaies haue bothe in your eyes and heartes suche men as they were so chaste so holie and so religious But yeat this muche I tel you by the waie your minde was not so feruently inflamed with the loue of heauenly thinges but that you did highly esteeme some men withal Admitte that Frier Luther had ben a holie man euen as holie as you list to make him that Melanchon had ben void of al earthlie affection that Zuinglius for the meruelouse reporte of sincere and chaste life had ben admitted to be one of Gods owne priuie coūsel that Bucer had excelled al men in cleane honest and chast conuersation that Caluine had passed in vertue and holines Bernarde Anselme Augustine Ierome Basile and al other holy men that haue lead an angelike life here vpon the earth yea adde vnto these if it please you euen your owne Martyr whose rare vertue you commend so highly Admitte I saie that these men had ben most excellently furnished with al the highest vertues yea and most chaste withal yet were they men and it is not impossible but that they might haue ben in some errours And yet doo you esteeme their lawes decrees and ordinances as a discipline of moste high wisedome and as a most holie rule of mans life With what face then saie you that you despised and reiected the deuises of men whereas you doo ascribe vnto those menne that I haue here named almoste a diuine perfection But now let vs consider the ende of your oration Soone after you bring in this clause Hauing in like manner regarde vnto the saying of the Prophete where he commaundeth vs that wee should confourme the innocencie of our life vnto holinesse and iustice In this place I merueiled excedingly not at you M. Haddon for it is not credible that so graue a man as you be should lie so impudently but at the slaūderous report of men which with feined tales and forged cōplaintes abusing vs being straungers and ignorāt as you say of your affaires haue made vs beleeue that you conforme you selues not vnto holines of life by the law of God but vnto licentious lewdnes through vnbridled luste and bolde presumption And the doctrine of that mad felowe Martine Luther made it seeme the more probable the whiche cōdemning wickedly al good workes and burning at a sermō the Canōs and holie ordinaunces of the Church and teaching for a sownd doctrin this presumptuous affiaunce vnto the which alone he ascribeth saluation calling it rashly and impudently by the name of faithe and putting quitte out of mens hartes al feare of lawes bothe of God and man setteth out sensualitie in her ful strength and force geaueth fleshlie lust free scope and libertie pretendeth hoope of impunitie boldeneth men to al synne and wickednes Wherefore I thought it impossible that a man obseruing his preceptes should withal geue his mind to iustice vertue and religiō or take great care how to keepe him selfe chast and honest For it is the part of a wise man when he seeth the cause to doubte nothing of the euent And it is commonly seene that naughtie begynninges haue the like ending What should I then do Seing iust cause of infamie hearing it most commonly yea and sadly reported that you are in farre worse case then you pretende to be weying withal the constant fame which is that such as folowe this new religion are not only subiect to fleshly and vncleane liuing but also much increased in al wicked and heinouse vices should I not beleeue it Should I stande against moste credible personnes reporting it Should I without any groūd without witnesses vainely contend seing the cōmon agreement of al men confirming this opinion I could not doe it Wherfore if that be false whiche was constantly and not without inward sorow of al good men reported you must pardon me and lay the fault vnto the lightnes and impudēcie of certaine men bearing you no good wil whiche were the deuisers of this false report But if it be true that is reported then are you a very madde man if you thinke by lying and facing to wash out the spot of true infamie Here you muse againe what I meāt to aduertise your Queene to beware of suche as are infected with these heresies And here I tel you againe that when I come to that place I wil doo my endeuour so to handle it that you shal no more muse at it You declare vnto me the felicitie of your Quene that she aboundeth in riches that she liueth in prosperitie that she feareth no treason neither of her owne subiectes neither of forenners I am right glad of it and I pray God graunt her alwaies a good prosperous and flourishing reigne Yet is it the part of a wise Prince in calme weather to thinke of a storme and to consider long time before not when the mariners them selues begynne to tremble and quake ▪ howe to saue her selfe and seing with what tempestes the maiestie of other Princes hath ben ruffled in diuers and sundrie realmes to mistrust that her maiestie also maie experience the like fortune Of the tempest in Fraunce the which you say is asswaged I
For if they be verie gentle as you saie they are then although I shall reuile them they will neuer be moued â–ª withall but wil meruelously well keepe their pacience and constancie But if they wil fearcely sette vppon me with villanous and reprochfull language then are they not so gentle as you make them to be I knowe verie wel that vnder the couert of a sheepes skynne as Christe saieth lieth hidden the râ—ugh and crewell nature of wolues It is also by experience well tried that there is nothing in the worlde more shamelesse then these fellowes are For when anie reason is brought against them thei endeuour theÌ„ selues to answerâ— it not by reason but by multiplying of woordes And therefore when they are prâ—ssed with argumentes then beginne they to chafe and sweat to feare and fainte to raile and raue and in the ende fall to plaine scolding vntil thei haue founde for their impudent assertion some shameles shifte But beleeue me I feare no mans slaunderous tongue For I haue committed myne honestie and estimation to the keeping of Iesus Christ and therefore no man shal euer be able to thrust me out of my place by the violence of his tongue And as for your reprochful woordes they moue me no more then the rauing of one that were frantike or out of his witte Were it not that the loue of godlines had moued me had I euer written so much as one letter against you No not one I tooke vpon me this charge of writing not minding thereby to mainteine myâ—â— owne good fame or â—stimation but to â—onfute your wicked and vngodlie talke Wherefore be bolde and spare not to taunt me at your pleasure to perce my good name with fowl words to tourmoile it with villanie to rente and teare it with al dishonestie and I geue good leaue and licence not onely to you but also to all your Bucers and Martyrs most gentle and softe creatures as you cal them to bende them selues as fiercely against me as thei can deuise Wherefore there is no cause why you shuld goe about to make me affraied of them for so muche as vnto their tauntes for the which I care not I wil neuer answere and their reasons are very peuish and alreadi coÌ„futed by the bookes of many learned men and I my self am at this point that I fear nothing in the worlde but only Christe As touching their persons if there be any sense of humanitie in you you see how il you haue defended theÌ„ You say aferwarde that it is nothing true that you shuld stand to the holy Scriptures only for so muche as you do receiue many sentences of the holy Fathers withal What a doubling and incoÌ„stancie is this Now you reiect many thinges for this reason only bicause they are as you say the deuises of men â–ª and by and by you receiue what you list and say that you haue not reiected al the traditions of menne You are so doubteful so diuers and so slipperie that you can not wel tel your selues what you thinke and what you mind to stand to And yet when you spake those wordes you commended them that acknowledge nothing elles but the holy Scriptures and refuse al holy traditions and ordinaunces These are your wordes Truely if it were so then folowed they the example of our Lorde Iesus Christe then folowed they the custome of the Apostles and of the auncient Fathers in the primitiue Church How many things you laie out at a venture It is like forsooth that Christ the mind and wisedome of God the Father by whose power and dispeÌ„sation the law it selfe was made by whom the Prophetes declared thinges to come of whom al holie men of old time receiued their light was content to abyde that lawe him selfe that he would not be so hardie as to speake one woorde which he founde not registred in the holy Scriptures I besech you Sir wher read he in the Scriptures that a man for being angry only although he vttered not one reprochful word shuld incur the daÌ„ger of Gods iudgemeÌ„t wher found he it written that a man for casting his eye alitle aside waÌ„tonly shuld be accounted as an adulterer By what wordes in the Law was a man forbidden to geue a bil of diuorse to his wife In what place was it euer writen that a man minding the perfect obseruatioÌ„ of the Lawe should sell all his goodes and bestowe the money made thereof to the vse of the poore reseruing to him selfe nothing Haue you euer read either in the law or in the Psalmes or in the Prophets that the way to saluatioÌ„ is a narrowe waie or that you ought when a man hath striken one cheeke to holde him vppe the other or that you ought to pray vnto God for their life that speake il of you and woorke your destruction But nowe to come to other pointes of the birth and proceding of God of the regeneration of men in heauenlie life the whiche Nicodemus a man exactlie seene in the doctrine of the lawe vnderstood not of the time in the whiche God would be woorshipped neither at Hierusalem nor in the mountaine of Samaria of the bread of heauen whiche is the foode and sustenaunce of our life of al these thinges what woorde haue you expressely written in any place of the olde Testamente But when Christ spake these wordes there was no Gospell yet written neyther did any writen monumente confirme the sayinges of Christ but looke what he ordeined by woordes was afterward put in writing to the ende that men should not forgette it I doe here let passe many thinges minding not to prosecute al that might be saied for so muche as I haue alreadie spoken sufficientlie to the intent you might vnderstand howe vnaduisedly you haue saied that our Lorde Iesus Christ did also obserue such a rule in his doinges What shall I saie of the Apostles Where had S. Paule read that such as kepte the circumcision of the Lawe were to be separated from the communion of Christe In whiche of all the holie Writers found he that it is vnseemely for a woman to worshippe God bare headed or for a man to couer his head when he praieth to God What shoulde I rehearse vnto you howe he commendeth suche men as were mindful of his Doctrine deliuered vnto them either by writing or by worde What should I speake of that that the Apostles say in their Councel It hath seemed good to the holy Ghost and vs They saie not It is writen in the holie Scripture but It hath seemed good to the holie Ghost and vs. Nowe as touching the holie Fathers which peraduenture you neuer read how durst you affirme of them that they neuer brought in any thing for the gouernement of the Churche but what thei had found writen in the holie Scriptures How many things reherseth S. Basile and disputeth that thei were deliuered from the Apostles vnto the Churche onely by woorde
sheweth plainly the power and cuÌ„ning of that most excellent workeman in whose handes the liuing creature was made and fashioned Neither dothe the multitude of liuing thinges minish the estimation of Gods worke but rather augment and increase it For the benefites of almightie God the more they are in number and the better they are knowen the better is the greatnes of his power and mercy sene although the reason of his workes be not vnderstood What shal I here speake of those thinges that are for the excellency of their nature farre aboue the sense and vnderstanding of man Who wil beleue that there is an infinite multitude of heauenly spirites whiche being of vnderstanding moste cleere of holines most pure of vertue and power very excellent of comelines and bewty most like vnto God are alwaies occupied in the Seruice of God euermore singing and praising his Maiestie continually burning with the flame of the loue of God What Can you conceiue by reason how the only sonne of God the veri expresse Image of the Father the brightnes of ouerlasting light being equal with the Father in nature power kingdome and maiestie toke vpon him the shape of man suffered in his mortal bodie labour misery punishment for vs redemed with his bloud our soules which were fouly spotted in sinne If these thinges are to be weyed by mans reason onely they are nothing like to be true but if we will consider them according to the faith which we haue of the bowntiful goodnes of God there is nothing more credible For passing great benefits are to be required and loked for of passing great bountie He that spared not saith S. Paul his owne sonne but gaue him vp for vs al How gaue he not vnto vs al things with him Wherfore to such as beleue vprightly I thinke ther is nothing els nedeful to be considered but how the thing that they are willed to beleue standeth with the bountie of God the which doing it is not possible that any man should doubt of any mysterie of our saluation These thinges being thus determined I will now talke not with you M. Haddon of whome as you saie the Sacramentes of the Churche are kepte butte I will take soome one of them to talke withall that rayleth with blasphemouse mouth against the blessed Sacramente of the Aulter And bicause I wil seeke no further let it be your golden Martyr whom you commend so highlie Ymagine therefore that I talke with him after this sorte O moste vile and naughtie felowe what came into thy minde to go about to deface to violate and to depraue that moste holy Mysterie the monumente of the loue of God towardes vs the comforte of our bannishment the staie of the frailtie of manne the bankette of heauen ordeyned for vs in that last Supper by the handes of Our Lord him selfe Was there none in so many hundred yeres but thou and thy Maisters that durst attempt so heinouse vile and barbarouse an acte Was there none that vnderstoode the sense of the holie Scripture the meaning of the Gospell the order of the blessed Sacramentes but you Were so many holy Martyrs so many Religious persons so many great wise men in whome shone the beames of the brightnes of God ignorant in matters of so great importance It is like forsooth that the light of the holie Ghost shewed it selfe first vnto suche saucie desperate rash and presumptuous varlettes as you are and suffered so many thousandes of holie and vertuous men to lye in darkenes and ignorance Tel me I pray thee what great thing had Christ done for vs if at what time he determined to leaue to his Disciples a speciall pleadge of his loue towardes theÌ„ he had left them nothing els but a bare remembrance of his death in the consecration of that bread It had ben a signe only meet to be nuÌ„bred emâ—gest those that you defaced and ouerthrew and nothing worthie to be celebrated with so great reuereÌ„ce of that moste holie and euerlasting Prieste Moreouer I wold faine learne of thee whether it be a wicked offence to call to remembrance the death of Christe so long as a man is in sinne No truly but coÌ„trariwise we can deuise no better medicine then that is to driue awai sinne and to recouer our health by the grace of Christ What moued S. Paul then if there be nothing elles in this sacrament but only a bare remembraÌ„ce of that death that Christ suffred vpon the Crosse to threaten so grieuous and horrible paines to suche as woulde receiue this heaueÌ„ly bread vnworthily Who so euer shall eate saieth he the bread and drinke the cup of our Lord vnworthylie shal be giltie What Is it such a greiuous offence when I am sicke to thinke vpon the medicine with the which only I may be healed What other thing did I when I receiued that bread if there be nothing els in it but a remeÌ„brance of those wouÌ„ds by the which only my wounds may be healed but cal to remeÌ„braunce the only remedy of life Wilt thou blame me when I am sicke bicause I seeke the remedie of my disease and humblie call for succour Thou canst not do it And yet â–ª if I receiue that bread vnworthily that is to say as thou expoundest it if I remember being in synne that Christ suffered death and crewel tormentes for me S. Paule maketh me terribly afraid by charging me with a crime But with what a crime I pray thee Some light or coÌ„mon crime peradueÌ„ture the which offendeth not verie much No such a crime as is of al other most heinouse and wicked He shalbe giltle saieth he of the bodie and bloude of our Lorde that is to say he shalbe gyltie of no lesse crime then if he had crucified Christ For what cause Bicause as the wicked souldiers pricked forewarde with vnbeleefe put to death the Lord and maker of al thinges so do they that presume to touch with vncleane mindes that moste excellent cleanes seeme to bring vpon them selues the selfe same plague for the likenes of their heinouse offence For bothe of them do alike despise Christe and vnreuerently abuse his holines and maiesty For otherwise what harme were it to synful men to receiue that bread None at al. The Apostle therfore bicause he sawe how grieuouse a faulte it was to touch the bodie of our Lord with an vncleane soule denouÌ„ced the punishment to fray al men from doing such a prâ—sumptuous acte And therefore he saith anon after Let a manne first trie him selfe and so eate of that breade and drinke of that cuppe And what can be more plaine then the wordes of our Lord This is saith he my bodie and doe this in remembrance of me How then Wilt thou presume to take the wordes of Christ being nothing doubtful but plaine and euident and expouÌ„d them maliciusly Wilt thou set the meaning of S. Paul at naught which expouÌ„deth the myste rie exceeding plainly and
of that opinion that to despise the Sacramentes is a moste heinouse trespasse when you vnderstoode that there was a man in the worlde so lewde and wicked that he woulde goe aboute to take awaie and abolish this most worthie pleadge of the loue of God this most sure staie of all Christian Religion conteming in it all the graces and benefittes of God could you I saie speake familiarly vnto him could you salute him gentelly could you shewe him anie token of loue Haue you neuer reade in S. Iohn that he that saieth good morrowe to wicked menne is become partaker of their wickednesse But you haue not onely spoken familiarly to this Martyr but also commended him aboue the skies and you haue saied that that same golden couple of olde men were brought into your Iland by the prouidence of God to shine ouer you which had alreadie the goodly brightnesse of the newe sonne risen emongest you with a muche cleeter light Are you so sottish M Haddon that you vnderstande not howe muche you haue disteined your estimation by that countenaunce and shewe of gentlenesse towardes him For what can be more infamous then to be familiare with a fraÌ„tike and naughtie felowe But if you like his Doctrine also then is it plaine that you keepe not the Sacramentes at al for so much as you haue vppon an vnsetled pange without al order wisedome or discretion taken awaie the greatest Sacrament and that that is of al other most wonderfull Whie then say you that you wonder if there be any kind of professours in diuinitie in the worlde that despiseth and setteth at naught the Sacramentes But let vs now consider the description of your Church the which you set before our eyes to behold that we may vnderstand by it that you haue had none other maister in Religion but only the holy Ghost You say thus First of all bicause faith is by hearing we sende downe into all partes of our realme teachers of the holie Scriptures to instructe the people in all pointes of godlines and to infourme them in the true woorshipping of God Out of what fountaine sprang these Doctours If they came out of the schoole of Luther Bucer or Caluin they can teach the people no godlines being them selues open enemies to all godlinesse It were therefore muche more tolerable to haue no doctours at all then to be infected with the most corrupt Doctrine of wicked menne If they sprang out of any other heade then is it manifest that there is not emongest you any one and simple Doctrine but diuerse opinions fondly iarring within them selues It followeth Then haue we a common order of praier out of the holie Scriptures confirmed by the authoritie of a Parlament for so doe they terme the consent of the estates of our Realme from the which we suffer no man to depart By what order lawe or authoritie is this done that a Councel or as you cal it a Parlament should so impudently vsurpe the office of the Catholike Churche to make orders for praiers prescribe how religion ought to be vsed and not suffer any man to depart from the order which it hath decreed For in holie thinges it is not lawfull for these menne to geaue lawes but to take lawes For otherwise they shall disturbe the common weale if they wil not content them selues with their owne vocation but will thrust them selues into other mens doinges and they shal marre Religion if they will in matters apperteyninge to them onely that susteine the personne of the Churche take vppon them to meddle and transpose the dignitie of Priestes to them selues You say afterwarde Prouiding both in the one and in the other so muche as we coulde that the commaundement of the holie ghost be obeied the whiche willeth that such as speake in the Churche should vse the word of God and that there should be one common and agreable Doctrine emongest them all You doe verie wel vndowbtedly But wherehence riseth this so great debate and hourlie bourly for Religion in your Churches Wherefore are the confessions and Credes so often chopped and chaunged in places where Luther hath had a great name And we prouide saie you that the Sacramentes be ministred verie neere vnto the prescribed order of the holy scriptures and according to the example of the old Church in the whiche our Lorde Iesus Christ first ordeined them himselfe with his Apostles O valiant men worthie to be commended aboue the heauens O glorious attempte O liuelie courage of lustie blouddes the which thought yt not ynoughe to approche neere vnto the holines of the olde Church but they would presse euen at the verie hard heales of them It followeth All these thinges are set out in our owne mother tongue bicause it is a great madnes for a man to babble out before God he can not tell what and it is directely againste the most wholesome doctrine of S. Paule and all the auncient examples of the Apostolike Churches It is not you only that teache such as vnderstand not the Latine to praie in their owne tongue For we also doe not suffer such as are ignorant in the Latine speach to serue God but only in their own mother tongue and there are manie bookes of praiers and holy scriptures writen not by Parlament as you call it but by holie Priestes the whiche being firste examined by the prelates of the church are sent abroad euerie where and by them are children women and simple folkestrained in the knowledge of their dewtie towardes God And the thinges that are thus written they are not taken out of euerie mans fantasie but out of the holie Scriptures and out of the writinges and examples of holie men So that there lacketh not omongest vs anie discipline of manners nor example of vertue nor good bringing vp in true religion to al such as coulde not imploie them selues to the studie of learning We haue also manie sermoÌ„s by the whiche men are stirred vp to the loue of godlines and religion But in preaching we vse much discretion and warines that none of those questions be opened emongest women and ignorant folkes which are not verie necessarie vnto saluation and yet maie quickely intangle their mindes with verie troublesome dowbtes and scruples For as S. Gregorie of Nazianzene saieth verie wisely it is not conuenient to reason and dispute of God neither to al men neither in the presence of all men neither at all times neither of all matters neither without good discretioÌ„ For there is required to the doing of this thinge a meruâ—lous cleanes of sowl and body a veri calme and wel setled mind good time coÌ„uenient oportunitie earnest zeale much fearfulnes and exceding great moderarion For ther is no man so simple that he can not vnderstand the difficultie of euery question but there are few so witty that they caÌ„rid theÌ„ selues out of the briers when they are once fallen in And this is the cause whie
manie men are confounded in questions but few escape out of their snares Moreouer such is the arrogancie and pride of certaine ignoraÌ„t felowes that they become intolerable if they can atteine neuer so litle knowledge in any thing which they knew not before specially if it be in expownding the holy scriptures For they wil iudge so presumpteously of the highest pointes of Diuinitie the which they vnderstand not as though they were called to be of Gods priuie counsaile the which rashnes hath bred manie wicked and troublesome errours and caused much dissension But the end of the law saieth S. Paul is not the vaunting of learning but charity from a pure hart and good conscience and faith vnfained He therfore that can bring to passe that al men maie be linked the one to the other in charitie fournished with vertues established in true faith although he beate not into the heads of the vnlearned people a hundred questions towching predestination yet shal he shew him to be a very good preacher Therfore for so much as this ought to be our only intent how to plant charitie innocencie and faith in the hartes of men and that maie very well be taught without this translation of the holy scriptures what neded it to take the thinges that were coÌ„teined in the latine tongue without perill and to translate them into the English tongue with great daunger Mary sir say you it is against the most wholesome doctrine of S. Paul How so I praie you If you marke well the meaning of S. Paul you shal see that his wordes are nothing contrarie to our pourpose But first of all it is to be knowen that in S. Paules time al Christian men in a manner were endewed with such vertues and qualities as fewe men in our daies can atteine vnto by studie and faith Then it is also to be considered that there were in those daies diuers giftes and graces of the holy ghost geauen vnto such men as were inflamed with the loue of Christe Howbeit although they were taught and schooled of the holy Ghost yea and wel instructed to be humble and modest yet were they in no small dauÌ„ger of pride The which is not to be wondered at for so muche as S. Paul him selfe the maister of heaueÌ„lie wisedom the perfecte example of humilitie and modestie affirmeth that the pricke of the fleshe was a thing necessarie for him lest the knowledge of the secrets of God might puffe vp his mind Now as manie were puffed vp with those gyftes so were such as had the gyfte of tongues somewhat more insolent then other men and they would praise God in diuers tongues whiche other men vnderstoode not without any interpretour There was also an other great inconuenience which was that he that spake with vnknoweÌ„ tonges would not tarie till an other man had made an end of speaking but at one time a great many together woulde praise God in straunge tongues And these three discoÌ„modities were caused in their assembles for lacke of discretioÌ„ in those good men The first was the arrogant setting out of the gyftes of God the secoÌ„d was the disquieting of such as would teach the third was the breaking of order which of all thinges becometh the Church of Christe best But S. Paule very wisely remoueth al these thinges For to place humility he putteth al men in mind of that most wretched state in the which they had liued before when through the mocioÌ„ of the ennemie the diuell they went suppliantly afterydols that they might the more easily gather by that that those gyftes ought to be referred not to their desertes but to the infinite mercie of God He teacheth them also that other meÌ„ were not to be dispised the which although they had not receiued those gyftes yet were they not vtterly void of the gyftes of God for so much as no man can confesse our Lord Iesus from his heart but by the benefite of the holie Ghost After that he declareth how that the gyfte which euerie man hath receiued he hath receiued it not for him selfe only but for all other and that it ought therfore to be imploied to the profit of the vniuersal Church Then he sheweth how emongest al the gyftes of God charitie hath the highest roome and dignitie that they might thereby vnderstand that it skilleth not much how manie tongues a man knew or ells how great miracles he was able to worke but with how great zeale and diligence he furthered the Churche Last of al making a comparison betwene the gyfte of tongues and prophecie he despiseth not tongues but perferreth prophecying far before the tongues And these are the places by the which the Apostle brought the meÌ„ of that time froÌ„ a certaine kind of lightnes to the loue of grauity aÌ„d modesty But that disorder of talking together and hindering one an other in suche sort that the profitte of teaching was thereby lost S. Paule tooke it a waie when he saied But if any man speake with tongue let it be done by two or at the most by three and let one expounde For you maie prophecie by one and one and you maie speake by one and one And lest anie man might saie that he was violently moued by the spirite in such sorte that he could not refraine him selfe from speaking the Apostle saith that the spirit of prophetes is subiecte vnto the Prophâ—tes Wherin he teacheth them that it laie in them whiche were moued by the holy Ghost to moderate the gyfte of the holy Ghost Finally he setteth an order of the whiche he had saied much before by these wordes Endeuour your selues to prophecie and forbid no man to speke with tongues But let al things be done honestly and orderly The Apostle forbiddeth not to vse straunge tongues but yet he preferreth before tongues the gyfte of prophecie that is to saie the declaration of the wil of God and the edifying of the Church and he coÌ„mauÌ„deth that al thinges be done with verie good order Now there are two pointes to be coÌ„sidered in this place the one is that emongest many things which maie be done at one time at our pleasure indifferently looke what thinges maie be omitted without offence are to be omitted when any daunger that maie thervpon ensewe and the time so requireth And therfore although in S. Pauls time al mysteries might be communicated to al men it foloweth not that they shold in our daies when ther is no like capacity in al meÌ„ to coÌ„ceiue them be coÌ„mitted to al men indiffereÌ„tly without any respecte of personnes The other point is that the meaning of S. Paul in al that disputation was to keepe downe pride to set vp charitie and to coÌ„maund that order should be kept He therfore that geueth occasioÌ„ of pride that slaketh loue and charity that distourbeth good order although he seeme to folowe the wordes of S. Paule yet goeth he directely against the meaning of S. Paul
These thinges being thus determined I wil aske you a question what came into your braines to be so desirous to take al the volumes of the holy Scripture and without anie necessity ye with no smal daÌ„ger of the vnlerned people to coÌ„mit them to euerie iackestraw to expounde did you it to restreyne the pride of such as are base No you haue rather puffed vp their hartes incredibly causing them to coÌ„ceiue a false opinion of wisedome in them selues Was it done to cause a more feruent charitie emongest them No you haue rather forced the weake mindes to fall out within them selues through your diuers yea and contrary expositions of the law of God Was it done to set all thinges in good order No you haue rather ouerthrowen all good and auncieÌ„t order For now euery man is a prophete euerie man is a shepeheard euery maÌ„ is a doctour euerie man will prate in euerie place very vnsemely of matters of diuinitie euery maÌ„ wil babble what him listeth of the highest Mysteries the lowest pointe whereof is farre aboue his capacitie This is by like your prouidence wherby you haue taken quite awaie that silence which was vsed of olde time in the churches that bashfulnes whiche became honest matroues meruelously wel that modesty which kept the simple people verie wel in their dewtie And so it is come to passe that wheras you pretend to folow the wordes of S. Paul you bend your selues ernestly against his meaning What lacked there I praie you in the olde time that was necessarie to keepe honest heartes in a sobre discicipline Were there not lerned Priests the which were able to choose out of the holie mysteries so muche as was needful to saluation and so muche as they might declare vnto the ignorant people without daâ—nger Were there none to supplie the place of the vnlerned man and to answere Amen Was the sownd and wordes of the Latine tongue so straunge that no man vnderstoode it in all your Churches Needed there the authoritie of the Apostle to breake vp that disordered confusion of many tongues together when there was heard in the commoÌ„ praiers of the churches but one kind of speach only and that by long custome verie well knowen and commonly vsed If the vse of one common tongue ioyneth the mindes of men in one then was there nothing more agreable to the rule of Christ then that the seruice of God should be openly saied in one only tongue the which was in all churches of the west part of the world learned in scholes and practised in the dailie affaires and nothing lesse conuenient then that the seruice is now saied in so manie tongues as there are nations emongest whome men without learning without witte without religion take vpon them the office of expounding the holie Scriptures Wherfore neither was our simplicity so vnprofitable as you wise men thought it was neither is your prouident warines so wholesome as your maisters imagined it would haue ben For out of it are risen errours and disorders and a false opiuioÌ„ of wisedome whiche is the greatest madnes in the worlde with manie other discommodities Then you goe forewarde in the declaration of the doctrine of your Church saying We vse at the laying on of handes the celebration of mariage the churching of women after child bearing the visiting of the sicke and the burying of the dead solemne and publike seruice set out according to the truth of the ghospell Al the rest you comprehend verie briefely in one sentence perswading your selfe that it is sufficiently declared that you are not destitute neither of Sacramentes neither of anie other thinges apperteyning to religion You confesse plainely after that that you haue shaken of from you the yoke of the high Bishop or Pope bicause it was heauier then that either you or your fathers could beare it Your fathers and auncetours I know did beare it verie well and with great commeÌ„dation but youâ— graunt were not able to beare it For how had it ben lawful for you to breake violently into the monasteries to disanull the rules of monkes to deflower the holy and chast Virgins to deface like vngodlie and furious men al orders of religion to laie your greedy and violent handes vpon the Churche goods appointed to holie vses to pul â—owne all monumentes of vertue and godlines to ouerthrow the auncient Churche and to botch vp an other at your plesure if this yoke had not ben first taken of from your neckes You bring in a litle after Neither doe we acknowledge anie Bisshop but onlie our Lord Iesus Christe to whom the holy scriptures appoint this peculiar honour O worthie saying full of wonderful godlines and conteyning in it a most euideÌ„t proufe of heauenlie life What shal we doe to these meÌ„ which are so holie so vtterly void of al care of this present life that for the desire and loue of the presence of Christ him selfe they can not abide to see any Vicare of Christ vpoÌ„ the earth But lette vs see a litle This name of Christ doth it import the dignitie and office of a bishop only or elles doth it comprehende also the authoritie and maiestie of a King Surely it can not be denied that by the worde and meaning of Christ in this name of Christ is conteined the power both of a bishop and of a King Whie then doe you acknowledge any other king beside our Lord Iesus Christ Whie are you not so free and earnest to shake of this yoke that remaineth Whie suffer you this freedome of your gospell to be hindered through the power and authoritie of a King Whie doe you not as it hath ben already attempted in other places whiche are infected with the selfe same religioÌ„ bend your selues earnestly to make away the maiestie of a King for as you acknwolege one only high bishop so is it necessarie to obei one only King If you thinke it mete to haue an other king in th' earth as Vicare of that high and almightie king what is the câ—use whie you wold not haue an other bishop as Vicare of that most high and holy bishoppe But you wil say We haue bishops but we wil haue no high bishop Whie then it is not the name of a bishop but of a high bishoppe that offendeth you Wherefore thinke you then that the authoritie of a Kinges power whiche dowbtles is the highest is to be borne in England Are there not magistrates emongest you Is there not a publike counsel Haue you not Princes and Lordes Then take awaie the controuersie of the name and ther are in England a great many as there are also emoÌ„gest vs the which haue the authority of kinges although thei be not called by the name of Kinges Ymaginâ— therfore that they were certaine litle kinges What needed it then being so many kinges emongest you that there shuld be any one high or supreme king to restraine by his authority the other inferiour kings For if you
puritie you vsed in the doing of it For it is like that such fine and deintie felowes as you are were offended with our ceremonies the which peradueÌ„ture might seeme vnto you very stale and old and therefore you deuised other much trimmer then oures the whyche you haue brought not neere but as you terme it exceding neere to the very paterne of the gospel You say afterward that the Church matters are ordered by the bishops but when there iâ— ought to be decreed the diuines do determine it It is euident that you cal theÌ„ diuines who were brought vp vnder Bucer or Caluin Why then haue you diminished the right of bisshops for it perteineth to the bishops to determine the diuines haue no more to doe but only to assist the bishoppes with their aduise But you in geauing ouer the right of the bishops to the diuines declare that your bishops are no diuines Your bishops therfore are as the common report is not only poore scrapers and base felowes but also vtterly ignorant in the holie Scriptures And menne say that the principall cause whie they are chosen is that they muste content them selues with some scantling of their reuenewes and leaue the rest to be rifled of you vnder pretence of the Queenes escheker If this be not true you muste not blame me a man as you say your selfe vnacqueinted in the affaires of EnglaÌ„d but the false report of your il willers Yet this I warne you that you and such as you are doe susteine the great dint of this infamie For when you choose suche Bishops you make menne suspecte that you are greedie and coueteous You conclude at the length that both the administratioÌ„ of the bishops and decrees of the diuines are authorised by the confirmation of the Quenes Maiestie Whie then if there shalbe anie thing done by the bishops or els determined by the diuines that is not for the Queenes profitte that shal not be ratified Here you speake darkely I can not tel what of the Kinges of Israel as though the Priestes in olde time had done al thinges that concerned religion after the prescribed ordre of kinges the which is false You say afterward Then the gospel succeding and diuiding these powers in the first place it setteth the authoritie of Kinges and vnder it other powers by the authoritie of Peter and Paule whose names you abuse to set vp the kingdom of the sea of Rome O what a plague and destruction of common weales what a whirle wind and tempest to your most flourishing IlaÌ„d what an vtter ruine and decaie of al kingdomes and peoples is this that is comprised vnder the naughtines audacitie crueltie and coueteousnes of flatterers What wild beast can anie man deuise in the worlde more horrible and crewel then it is For what so euer the pleasure of Kinges standeth vnto be it neuer so wicked heinouse and vngodly be it not only hurtful to the common weale but also coÌ„trarie to al good and godly ordre it is made forthwith by those clawbackes whome thei cal to their counsel to be dewtiful iust commeÌ„dable religious most wholesome to the coÌ„mon weale and most acceptable to God The which thing is wel knowen to haue chaunced vnto king Henry who was vntil that time both for his vertue wit and deedes a moste noble and renowmed Prince For when as the king had coÌ„ceiued an earnest loue and also an earnest displeasure and was desirous both to satisfie his loue and also to reueÌ„ge the displeasure taken of the Pope who forbad the new mariage he was brought by the persuasion and authoritie of a certaine wicked man to beleeue that he was suprem head of al the Churches that are within the realme of England This thing was the vndoing of the bishop of Rochester and More and of other holie meÌ„ that abid extreme punishments if a most honorable death constantly suffred for the glory of Christ and establishing of religion may be called an vndoing From hence as out of a flouâ—dgate issued so many pestilent opinioÌ„s such a broile of sectes and heresies suche outrages of lewd felowes into the state of the Church of EnglaÌ„d to the great decay of the auncient custome But what was the place the which that most vile corrupter would abuse to proue it Submit your selues saith S. Peter to euery wordly wight for gods sake whether it be to the King as to the more excelleÌ„t personage or els to the rulers as sent froÌ„ God for the punishment of malefactours and coÌ„mendation of good men â–ª what other thing doth S. Peter in these words but only cut of al occasion of disordre and outrage for he would not that by the pretensed name of the libertie of the gospel the coÌ„mon weale should be disordered or the society of men by ciuil policie gathered together be dissolued And therfore doth he bind al ChristiaÌ„ men to the lawes and ordinaunces of menne so that they be not against the lawe of God He commaundeth seruantes to obey their maisters be they neuer so crewel womeÌ„ to obey their husbandes husbandes to honour their wiues children to obei their parentes â–ª parentes to loue their children and to prouide for their bringing vppe and mayntenaunce Finally the holie Apostle commaundeth that ordre both in commaunding and obeying be kept whether it be publike or priuat without any grudging or pretending of excessiue libertie The which ordre was to be kept of Christian men with so much the more diligence as it was coÌ„uenient that their vertue should shine more then the vertue of other menne The selfe same thing doth S. Paule when he warneth vs to submitte our selues to the magistrates and to obey the lawful coÌ„maundementes of Princes He teacheth maisters and seruantes parents and childreÌ„ housbands and wiues the very same lessons I demaund now of you what goodly pregnant wit is this of yours or rather of them that brought you into so great an errour that they would picke such a meaning as you speake of out of these words of S. Peter Did this word More excellent moue you to doe â–ª it Surely that were a manifest token of a verie great folie and extreme madnes For so do we saie in common spâ—ach that that man doth excell in nobilitie or is More excellent whiche is in deede verie noble although he be not of all other moste noble So doe we saie also that a man excelleth or is More excellent then other in vertue or learning or authoritie the which passeth other in these qualities although he passe not al the worlde in them The selfe same signification and meaning hath the Greeke word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and such is the vse of it Moreouer when we saie that anâ—â— man excelleth in some one thing we doe not by and by in so saying yeald that he doth excel in al thinges but in that thing only whereof we spake If mention were made of the ciuile law and we would saie that M.
Waulter Haddon did excel in the knowledge of the ciuile law â–ª we did not in so saying geaue him authoritie to expounde the holie Scriptures wherein he is altogether ignorant I woulde now demaunde of you what matter was S. Peter about when he said that the king was the more excellent personage Was he about the gouernment of Churches or thinges apperteining to religioÌ„ No doubtles but abowte ciuile gouernement the which he would not haue to be disordered by anie sedition What goeth S. Paul about when he commaundeth vs to submit our selues to all powers The selfe same thing that S. Peter doth And to confirme that he sheweth that all power is ordeined and appointed by God And to teache vs that this is our bownden dewtie by the law of God he saieth Geaue therfore to al men their dewe Tribute to whome you owne tribute custume to whom you owe custume feare to whome feare is dewe and honour to whom honour apperteineth It liketh not the Apostles to haue anie sedition or broile in the coÌ„mon weale or anie thing that maie distourbe the peace and good order And therfore although Princes were at that time verie ill affected towardes the moste holie ordinauÌ„ces of Christ yet in matters apperteining to the ciuile gouernment they coÌ„maund al Christian men not only to obey their Princes but also to make their huÌ„ble praiers vnto God for their good estate S. Peter therfore gaue not vnto the king in calling him more excellent the supreme authoritie in the Church neither did anie man euer dreame of â–ª that besides you but he graunted vnto him the supreme power in the ciuile gouernment Tel me I praie you who helde the kingdome at that time when S. Peter wrote these thinges either it was Caius or Claudius or Nero. For Tiberius which was also a naughtie and vniust man as we maie coniecture was dead before Is this your iudgement then M. Haddon that Peter and Paul did commaunde that the President of the Churche shoulde doe nothing but by order of Caius or Claudius or Nero that he should reteine such Priestes onlie as they wuld haue and put away the rest if it liked the emperour that he should if there chaunced any difficultie or hard question in the Church referre it to Cesar or that to be short he should minister all the ceremonies and sacramentes of our religion according to Nero his pleasure If these thinges be voied of al wit and reason then is that your opinion whervpon these thinges doe necessaliy folowe suche that if you would studie for it you can not deuise anie thing more foolish and vnreasonable But you will saie that this sentence of S. Peter perteineth not to suche Princes as are enemies to the faith of Christ but only to Christian Princes If you saie so then are you of this mind that S. Peter gaue this coÌ„maundement to the Christians that so long as such men reigned as were not well affected towardes the name of Christ they shoulde not acknowledge their authority they should not regard their officers and magistrates they shoulde despise their lawes they shoulde like rebelles disorder the peace and tranquillitie of the common weale The which it were a verie great madnes to speake For then to what pourpose should S. Peter bring in this sentence afterward That you maie saieth he by well doing â–ª put the ignorance of foolish men to sileÌ„ce Doutlesse if they had not obeied vngodlie Princes no man would haue ben put to silence by them but euerie man would haue set vpon them and that for their desert as vpon peace breakers and enemies to al good order If then neither the signification of the word requireth it neither wil reason beare it neither the comely diuision of the orders ecclesiasticall and temporal by anie meanes in the world suffer it that kinges should beare anie swaie in the Church what a straunge kind of flatterie was this in you to yeld vnto kinges a full power and supreme authoritie in Churches But what a shameles part is that in you to affirme by the authoritie of S. Peter and Paul that the authoritie of kinges is aboue al other authorities I graunt you that kinges are by the authoritie of S. Peter set ouer al rulers and gouerners in the ciuile gouernemeÌ„t but not ouer things apperteining to religioÌ„ not ouer the holi ordinaÌ„ces of the church not ouer the sacramentes and seruice made to appease the wrath of God And whereas you saie that we doe abuse th' authority of S. Peter and Paul to set vp the kingdome of the sea of Rome it is false For we leane to the wordes of Christ when we defend the authoritie of the bishop of Rome and who so euer doth violently wrest the most plaine woordes of Christe we iudge him to be a presumptuous felow we take him for an vnreasonable naughtie and wicked persone But before I procede vnto other matters I thinke it expedient briefely to signifie these thinges vnto you Dathan and Abiron for vsing violence towardes the Priestes of God were with a terrible noise and sodeine earthquake deuowred with all the coÌ„panie of their wicked complices Core in like manner with the rest of his conspiracie for taking vpoÌ„ them impudeÌ„tly and wickedly the office of Priestes were coÌ„sumed with sodeine fier Oza by cause he presumed a litle to staie vp with his haÌ„d the Ark of promise being like to fall was sodeinly stryken dead Ozias the king by cause he wold haue vsurped the office of a Priest was dissigured with the lepry Balsesar the king of BabiloÌ„ bicause he tooke the vessels that were appointed to holie vses and did vse them to riot aÌ„d baÌ„ket in lost in one night his kingdome his riches and his life But you neither doe you feare the euerlasting goulfe of hell neither doe you tremble at the thunder and fier of Gods wrath neither are you afraied of any punishment dewe vnto your rash presumpteousnes neither do you regard the leprie of perpetual infamie neither doe you take anie care lest ye be robbed and spoiled of the riches of the euerlasting kingdome together with the losse of your wordlie dignitie and temporal life But all these thinges not withstanding you leaue not to raile at the Popes dignitie What a mischiefe hatred is this towardes the Pope so crewell and so bitter that you repete one thing so often You say thus But you contend not only for the Popes scâ—ptre but also for his holy ordinaunces and Decrees â–ª as you esteeme them by the decaie whereof you thinke that all feare is vanished awaie out of mens heartes This is true For being once agreed that the authoritie of the Pope is good and godly it foloweth that we must obey his ordinaunces and lawes For as Kinges to whome God hath coÌ„mitted the ciuile gouernement in the common weale not contenting them selues with the holie scriptures suche as concerne the state of the coÌ„mon weale for
so much as al things that maie happen in diuers kindes of cōmon weales could not be comprised in them haue made other statutes and lawes the which all men are bownd to obey by the law of God so the Bishops of Rome to whome is committed the rule and gouernement of the vniuersal Church although you swel and burst at it doe make decrees not only by word but also in writing as the times require the which all we that beare the name of Christian men are bownd to obserue and keepe As for the feare the whiche I saied was taken quite awaie by you I doe impute it not only to the decaie of the Canon lawe but muche more to the neclecting and despising of the lawe of God For I saie that thrugh the decrees of Luther the fear of Goddes iudgement and euerlasting damnation is vtterly quenched I haue heard saie you that verie manie men haue ben by the Canons excedingly enritched but I haue not heard that manie haue ben instructed in the feare of God What M. Haddon Such as folow the studie of the ciuile lawe are they al instructed in the feare of God No truly And yet you woulde not haue the whole ciuile lawe to be burned for that For the ordinaunces of Princes are not to be disanulled for the malice and crafte of the interpretours but the lewdnes of such as turne all lawes to their owne gaine and aduantage were most seuerely to be restreined And yet you saie that you doe obserue the decrees of Popes bicause they are not a litle profitable The whiche thing truly I meruaile muche at for two cawses First bicause in this pointe you dissent from the most holie father Luther who as you saie was sent from heauen For he burned all the Popes decrees in suche sorte that he left not one of them Then bicause all your trade so dependeth of heauen that you esteeme all wordlie thinges no better woorth but to be cast awaie Whereas you saie that I doe accuse your Doctours bicause they haue cawsed a certaine vnrestreined libertie in suche as they teache I graunt I am yet of that opinion and howe true it is I will declare hereafter You complaine afterward that I mocke those your holie men Your woordes are these I woulde haue you to remembre what your great Maister of eloquēce wrote sometime verie wisely that it is an vngodlie costume to daly against the Gods whether it be done in earnest or in sport You are to superstitious M. Haddon and I see now that Luther is a holie God with you and that you praie that Bucer wil be mercifull vnto you and that you thinke that you must appease with sacrifice the maiestie of your Martyr also For these men do you esteeme as Goddes and therefore I looke when you will erecte aulters vnto them For els what other Goddes did I euer iest at Then by like these are the Goddes of whose displeasure you warne me to beware But whereas you saie that I do vse iesting wordes againste Christe in that point you folow your maisters which are in the mysterie of lying very handsome craftesmen You chalenge me to dispute a thing ful vnseemelie for your persone For you vnderstād not the scriptures no Luther him selfe could not being as he was altogether blinded in vice and wickednes discerne what great light was in them And this is the cause why he is caried to and fro so diuersly so dowbtfully and so vncertanly that to this daie no man in the world is able to saie for certaine this was his opinion For at one time he affirmeth that all standeth in only faith and he bringeth me in such a faith as if it be once receued al good works are put to flight At an other time being ouercome by the very force of truth it selfe and aduertised by his frindes to auoid the enuie of men he seeketh out the good works againe I would you wold read ouer my bookes of Iustification and I iudge you should not neede to be to seeke in anie point concerning this matter which you now speake of We beleeue saie you the gospel You do wel But the deuils beleeue also and quake for feare But what saieth the gospel That there is no dāger saie you of damnation to them that are grassed in Christ that liue not according to the flesh but according to the spirit For I wil not goe farre from the verie woordes of the holie scriptures lest I maie seeme in some point to deale not vprightly That seemeth in deede M. Haddon to be the propertie of a perfect lawier to mainteine the writen word of the law and to goe sometimes directely against the meaning of the lawe But I praie you what words are those the which you might in no wise leaue out S. Paul say you after a long and earnest disputation concludeth that he thought that we are iustified by faith without the woorkes of the law What S. Paul hath concluded I know very wel but what you wold conclude I doe not yet perfectely vnderstand We must needes yeld saie you we are not able to discredite the gospell But yet we must take that withal out of the selfe same S. Paul faith that worketh by charitie If we doe keepe these thinges ioyned together you maie not separate them and so reason againste an errour whiche hath none other author besides your owne selfe By these your wordes I doe coniecture M. Haddon that your opiniō is wheras S. Paul saieth that no man is iustified by workes and againe that we must kepe that faith that worketh by charity although these things maie seeme to disagree the one with the other yet that we maie not in anie wise depart from the verie wordes of the gospel And how so euer the ioyning together of these thinges maie seeme to be a hard matter yet for so much as S. Paul is the authour of it it were a presumpteous acte to go about to separate what S. Paul hath ioyned But I am of a cōtrary opiniō that this only argumēt is sufficient to proue that S. Paul neuer spake these thīgs bicause they hāg not together For what thing standeth better together and is more agreable then the reasoning and doctrine of S. Paul And nothing is lesse agreable then this that iustice is not geauen without that faith that woorketh by charitie and that no man can be iustified by works Not the hearers of the law saieth S. Paul but the doers of the law they shal be iustified They therfore that doe the thing that is cōmaunded in the law by the authoritie of S. Paul are iust before God If that be true what is more cōtrary to the meaning of S. Paul then to saie that no mā is made iust by workes You therfore knit those things together that cānot be ioyned But I would stand in it and proue by this reason only if I had none other that S. Paul wold neuer speak it
whiche refused the goodnes of God Vpon this the Apostle bringeth in these wordes Wherefore he taketh mercie on whome he wil and hardeneth whom he wil. The which is not so to be taken as though the thing that God willeth he willeth it without great good reason For the wil of his euerlasting wisedome can not be sundered from vnderstanding reason and aduisement And his will is to rewarde the faith of the chosen not as of dewtie but according to grace His wil is also to withdraw his helpe and aide from such as refuse it aÌ„d to suffer them to be of a corrupt iudgement Hereuppon S. Paule sayeth Then you wil say vnto me Wherefore doth he yet complaine For who shal withstand his wil In these wordes S. Paule bringeth in the person of a presumpteous man the which iudged rashly of the counsel of God and vnderstandeth this sentence of the scripture naughtily and he maketh him to speake very vngodly that he may the better stop the mowth of vngodlines it selfe If this be true saith euery wicked person that God taketh mercy on whom he wil and whoÌ„ him listeth he refuseth him and hardneth his hart and no man can resist his wil then he that synneth sinneth of necessity If he do syn of necessity wherfore doth God so often coÌ„plaine of the hardenes and crueltie of wicked men This synful and presumpteous talke S. Paule coÌ„futeth two waies First of al he sheweth that it is a presumpteous act to iudge of the iugemeÌ„t of god For euen for this cause only that a thing is don bi god although we vnderstaÌ„d not the reason of it yet must we assuredly thinke that it was done not without great reason Then he declareth the counsel of God by the which he hardneth that is to saie beareth long time with the wicked and at the length leaueth them destitute of his aide and healpe that he may suffer them to perish to the profite of manier O man saieth the Apostle who art thou that reasonest with God Doth the thing which is fourmed saie vnto him that fourmed it why hast thou made me so May not the potter make of one lump of claie one vessel to honour and an other to dishonour In which place you may coÌ„sidre by the name of a pot that it is not a worke which is determined without reason but such a thinge as is done by workemaÌ„ship Wherin he geueth you to vnderstand this much If the potter as a potter doth what so euer he doth by art much more doth God al things by art reson and couÌ„sel S. Paul therfore speaketh after this sort O man wilt thou not loke circuÌ„spectly about thee wilt thou not acknowlege the frailtie of thy nature wilt thou not coÌ„sidre the wisdom and power of god Wilt thou not dreade his Maiestie If there were any sense in earthen vessels surely suche vessels were not to be borne withall as woulde dispute with the potter whiche made them of the workemanship wherwith they were made Much lesse is the presumpteousnes of a seelie man to be borne â–ª the which improueth the iudgemente of that most excellent gouernour and in an endlesse and incomprehensible wisedom findeth lacke of cunning and skill Art thou at that point in deede The thing the cause and reason wherof thou art not able to atteine vnto by wit wilt thou by and by stand vnto it that it is void of al reason The potter maketh by arte one vessel for honour an other for dishonour and loke what is made by arte no man may wel finde fault withal And wilt thou saie that the thing which is made of that most high and perfecte wisedome in the which neither rashnesse neither vniustice may rest is made vndiscretely and vniustly By these wordes S. Paul intendâ—th only to put vs to vnderstaÌ„d that it is a very grieuouse offence to trie the iudgements of God by the balance of mans reason and to doubt of his iustice He doth therefore onely keepe downe vnreasonable presumpteousnes and fraieth rash and prowde ' menne by denouncing vnto them the iudgement of god After that he declareth what is to be holden as touching this question These are his words If so be that God willing to shew his wtath and to make his power knowen hath suffered the vessels of wrath with much patience which were shaped to destructioÌ„ that he might shew the ritches of his glory towardes the vessels of mercie the which he hath prepared to glorie It is an vnperfecte speach the whiche manner of speaking S. Paule vseth ofteÌ„ tymes There lacketh either this or some other thing like to this And yet wilt thou reprooue the wise and iust counsel of god Now in these wordes first of al it is to be noted that God framed not the vessels of wrath Truth it is that God made nature vnto the vessels but not synne not vngodlines not the rest of vices which deserueth to be punished most sharply by the seueritie of Gods iudgement whiche the holie Scripture calleth wrath For it cometh to passe by the wil of euery wicked man that he is made the vessel of wrath which would not be made the vessel of mercie The whiche thing S. Paule meaniÌ„g to set forth more plainly saith He suffered And being not satisfied with that word he saith moreouer He suffred in much patience the vessels of wrath What is this What griefe is that so great What torment is that so crewel that to the bearing of it God neded patieÌ„ce yea and that no meaâ—â— but exceding great patience Doubtles it is that which is if God were subiect to any griefe of al griefes that may be deuised the greatest to wit it is vicious liuing wickednes and an obstinate wil to coÌ„tinue in synne For there is nothing els that disagreeth with his vertue goodnes and wisedome there is nothing els that is directely against his most holy ordinaunces and lawes to be shorte there is nothing elles that God doth moste extremely hate and derest So that it is no wonder if a verie great patience were to speake of God as of a man needefull to beare such a bitter torment God therefore caused not this hardnesse of heart in Pharao but he suffred with a certaine great patience the wilfull stubbornes of that most wicked man whiche grieued his heart The which thing to expresse the beter S. Paule saith Vessels made to destruction He saith not The vessels which God him selfe hath made to destruction as he saieth a litle after of the vessels of mercie the whiche God him selfe hath prepared to glorie that you may vnderstande that Godlie menne are appointed vnto glorie by the wil and mercie of God and that wicked men are thrust out violeÌ„tly into euerlasting tormentes through euerie mans owne wilful synne as Esaie saith Goe into the fier whiche you haue kendled for your owne selues But to what ende I praie you did that most high Lord suffer so long time and
beleâ—ueth that there was nothing apointed and ordeined of God from before the begynning of the worlde without verie great counsell iustice and reason And contrarie wise thei that saie that God hath sorted out of the common lumpe of mankind such as he woulde directe vnto euerlasting glorie and such as he would apoint vnto euerlasting daÌ„nation vpoÌ„ none other reason or coÌ„sideration but bicause him listed so to doe how so euer they maintaine the prouidence of God in word they denie it in deede For he that taketh awaie the meaning and reason taketh awaie prouidence But will you see how like a babler you prosecut the rest of your matters Your woordes are these At the length when you haue scholded your fill you begynne to conclude somewhat making a totall somme of all suche thinges as you complaine haue ben ouerthrowen by our men and you aske what thing hath succeded in their roome O M. Haddon I haue iust cause to complaine For I see none other thing set vp in the steede of them but only that woorshipfull acte of yours in the which you glorie so muche and therfore you repete it verie often For the superstitious ydleâ—es of lurking hypocrites saie you we haue set vp the necessarie busines of Christian profession for wandering pleasures most honourable marriage for the dreames of mens inuentions the holie Scriptures of God the Father and of our Lorde Iesus Christ The wast and hauoke of holie thinges I see but what you haue restored in their roome I see nothing as I told you before except it be for most godlie quietnes most wicked stirring for the loue of chast life filthie and incesteouse ribaudrie for the puritie of most holie doctrine most pestilent errours of desperate felowes Would God saie you ye had here broken of your most reprochful epistle Of like you are not ashamed of your tauntes which you haue gathered together without anie cawse in the world I assure you I am wearie of the rehersal of them To what purpose is it to repeate so often without argumeÌ„t without comely grace without any likely hod of truth those your so shameles and vnreasonable errours in the eares of the Quenes maiestie yea in the eares of al Christ endume How staÌ„deth this geare together M. Haddon Saied you not before that I was an excellent framer of wordes and sentences Confessed you not that you liked wel my kind of vtteraunce Haue you not called me often times in this your booke Cicero his scholer Wherfore then saie you now that my epistle was written without anie argument as for the comelie and pleasaunt grace I wil saie nothing By like when you commended mine eloquence you spake not in earnest and as you thought You dalied with me Sir pleasaunce you dalied and the ladie Venus in the honour of whome you haue prophaned and vnhalowed the teÌ„ples of chastitie hath besprinkled you with her comelie and pleasaunt graces Howbeit I thinke this very much to be misliked in this your pleasauntnes that it can not be well perceiued when you speake in earnest and when you sport But peraduenture you thinke it a coÌ„mendation of a sharpe witte to speake darkly and therefore you vse it in disputation also But howe often you caste me in the teeth with the name of Cicero As though I shoulde be ashamed of hym or els thought my selfe hable to expresse in my writinges anie parte of his witte vehemencie and copie as though I had studied Cicero only and had not spent verie muche time in other â–ª the highest pointes of learning But you like a foxie lawier and wilie proctour haue made a verie good prouiso that no man maie wel laie the name of Cicero to your charge For you speake nothing in cleane speach nothing plainly nothing distinctely nothing orderly nothing grauely nothing eloquently What so euer liketh you you put it in and then you prooue it not by argument and reason but by railing and shameles talke At the length as though you had wonne the field you pricke me with the bristles of your reprocheful tongue you presse me with a numbre of apish questions â–ª you triumph like a noddie before the victorie Whervpon you saie thus What saie you good sir And then S. Paul detesteth it Ierome Osorius is not afraied to auouch it As though I affirmed that thing whiche you there denied or els meaned to dispute with S. Paul and not with Luther And again What saieth Ierome Osorius And again Doe I make anie thing Doe I chaunge anie thing And with these woordes for sooth you would haue seemed to be a vehement speaker 〈◊〉 this of the M. Haddon if you can bicause your 〈◊〉 lucke was to chaunce vpon such a maister which brought you vp so foolishly and so ignoraÌ„tly that these questions are then both graâ—e and vehement in deede when the aduersarie iâ— coÌ„uinced by some firme and sure argument For otherwise they are verie â—olish and to be laughed at for so much is they haue no vehemeÌ„cie or strength in the worlde but only a declaration of a certaine pitifull pang or heat of the stomake So God healpe me as I could not sometime although your talke seemed vnto me verie much to be pitied hold my selfe froÌ„ laughing And so I am fully discharged of my promise whiche I made you that in case you could driue me either by grownded reasons or els by true exaÌ„ples to geaue my assent vnto you I would not refuse it For neither haue you brought anie argument neither alleaged any example that was to the pourpose and yâ—t as though you had borne your self like a pretie man you rage and reuel in wordes and keepe a meruâ—lous pitifull and frantique stirre I can not deuise what wicked sprite it should be that put you in mind to take this charge of writing vpon you Yet I meane not but that you maie doe as you thinke good neither wil I limite you in suche sorte that you maie not in writing shew your selfe to be as foolish as you list And to put you in good comfort take this of my worde that no man which is of anie iudgement wil find fault with you for being to much a Ciceronian THE THIRD BOOKE IT foloweth now that we make answere vnto your other complaint in the whiche you seme to take that part of myne epistle very grieuously wherin I reckened vp the impudencie the robberies poysoninges conspiracies and other detestable vices so manie that my maister Cicero as you faie neuer heaped vp moe against Verres with the whiche I shoulde saie that England was atteinted Wherin you shew verie plainly that you read those my letters with litle heede For it was neuer my meaning to condemne all Englande of suche vices For I knowe there are in that Iland verie manie godlie and religious men which neuer fel from the holy church but would gladly yeald their liues for the glorie of Christ if neede so required Yea manie haue alreadie
it was assaulted the greater and goodlier increase it yealded of godlie fruict But your doctours whiche were sent as you say from heauen into the worlde hauing the aide of great Princes being garded by the common people yealded no fruicte of honestie chastitie or meekenesse to such as folowed them I speake not of your aduersaries by whom you wil complanie peraduenture that your brethren haue benne wrongfully withstoode euen as the Martyrs were some tyme by the Decies but I speake euen of them that loue Luther Bucer Zwinglius and your Martyr that praise and reuerâ—ce them yea that esteeme them as gods I say that they them selues whiche procured to haue these wise men to be their schoolemaisters prooued neuer a whit the better whereby it is concluded that their doctrine was nothing wholesome euen to suche as did not only not disalowe it but also esteemed it very highly Now whereas you demaund of me of our Church for so you speke whether it be voide of al synne I haue alreadie lamented the synful life of our men very oft There raigneth I grauÌ„t you euen at this day emongest vs both coueteousnes and ambition in manie neither is volupteousnes grubbed vp by the rootes Why then say you the argument which I vsed may easily be tourned against our own selues How so I pray you If there should arise some great prophet emoÌ„gst vs which would take so great a charge vpon him as to purge and fine the gospel to restore the auncieÌ„t discipline to proppe vp the Churche which tendeth to ruine with heauenly doctrine to bring his disciples to liue like Apostles if we should folow hi and yet that notwithstaÌ„ding liue in vice as we did before then were this a good argument both against our prophete as also against our owne selues But the brightnesse of this so cleere light hath not yet shined vppon vs wherefore it is no wonder if we continue stil in our accustomed synnes But to you whome the sprite hath replenished with a certaine new light which might very easily haue ben instructed in heauenly thinges by suche men as were sent froÌ„ heauen for your saluation whiche are by the goodnes of God already deliuered from superstition and hypocrisie which despise al wordly thinges and wil suffer nothing to be mingled with the puritie of your Doctrine vnlesse it be drawen out of heauen to you I say it were nothing seemely to haue any daungerouse disease or cracke of vncleane vice For if you haue your doctours whome you commende aboue the skies you shame them for euer and their Doctrine you declare by your doinges to be not only vnprofitable but also hurtfull and pestilent But for so much as you desire to vnderstande the state of our Churche I will declare it vnto to you so briefly as is possible Firste of all we doe moste constantly hold and mainteyne the Gospol not of Luther Melanchthon Carolostadius Zwinglius Caluine or Bucer but of Matthew Marke Luke and Iohn and we keepe one faith not this newly deuised faith whiche is ioyned with a rash and vayne presumption but that faith which was taught by the Apostles and is not corrupted through the naughtines of outragious and mad men In lyke manner we are inclosed within one Churche whiche was sownded by Christ instructed by the Apostles fortified by the aide of the Martyrs sette out by the Doctrine of holie menne defended and kepte alwaies inuincible by the power of the holy Ghoste in spite of the maliciouse and violent attemptes of all Horeâ—iques and without this Churche we beleeue assuredlyâ— that there is no hope of saluation This Church we acknwolege to be so linked in one meaning in one spirite in the agreeable confession of one faith yea to be fast glewed together with such agreemeÌ„t in religioÌ„ that no man can possibly by deuising new opinions such as may concerne the principal points of religion rend and teare it into a numbre of sectes iarring and squaring the one with the other without al reason and ordre And bicause we know by the gospel by the testimonie of Martyrs by the faithful and agreable report of holie menne by reason and common experience of thinges that it is not possible that the Churche should be one excepte it haue one supreme Gouernour the Vicar of Christe â–ª whiche may by his inuâ—olable authoritie ioyne together thinges separated knitte vppo thinges looseâ— and keepe all meâ—ne in one faith and vnifourme order we do most willinglie obeie the Bishop of Rome which as Christes deputy exerciseth this so great office in the earth and what so euer is coÌ„maunded vs by him we do it without any refusal And the very experience of thinges maketh vs to do it the more willinglie bicause we see that where so euer this authoritie is taken awaye there breaketh out by and by many pestilent and troublesome sects That this power is builded not vppon any decree of man but vpon the ordinaunce of Christe him selfe it is moste euidently proued not only by the authoritie of the holie Scripture but also by the testimonie of all the antiquitie wherein we are not ignorant We refuse not the authoritie of any lawfull power For we beleeue as S. Paul teacheth vs that al lawful power is ondeined by God so that who so euer resisteth a lawfull power is to be taken as though he didde resistâ— not men but God him selfe For this cause we beleue that not only the decrees of Popes but also the ordinances of Kings such as are not coÌ„trary to the law of God are most diligently to be obserued and kept Emongest the ordinances of meÌ„ this choise we make Al such as cause a slackenes in the keping of the law of God we reiect as the deuises of men but al such as prouoke vs to be more earnest in the obseruation thereof we iudge to haue ben ordeined not without the instinct of the holy Ghost For Christ saied He that is not against you is for you For this cause we thinke that the rules of Basile the great of Benet Bernard Brunus Frauncis Dominike and other the like singular good and holie men suche as tende to the perfection of a Christian lyfe are not to be sette at naughte For they are all written to this ende that suche as binde them selues vnto them may the more willingly keepe the chastitie of body and cleanes of heart â–ª the which two things are conteined in the counselles of the Gospell and may with a great deale more freedome and cheerelinesse sing and prayse God daie and night and so with the more facilitie folow the lyfe of Angels here in earth If we see any decaie in their manners through loosenes or negligence we thinke it expedient to prouide out of hand that it may be streightly bouÌ„d vp by the rigour of the olde discipline and not to ouerthrow the place where men may liue so godly and so wonderfull a life And bicause we can not be
greate hinderaunce of the Church do preach ofteÌ„times Such as are not able to discharge it themselues appoint certain religious and wise persons men wel learned not in the rules of Bucer or your Martyr but in the holy scripture and in the bokes of the holy Fathers to instruct the people with chast pure and religious doctrine And as we see it come to passe especially in such as are bleare eyed that if they be either put into an extreme dark place or els loke ouer steddily vpoÌ„ the sonne beames thei leese their sight euen so if meÌ„ either be altogether turned away froÌ„ the light of God or els wil looke to intentiuely vppon it before the blearednes of their minde be healed they are striken stone blinde Wherefore it is very wisely and warily prouided of vs that we neither suffer the common people to lacke the light of Gods word any time neither do we dasel their eies so muche with the brightnesse thereof which they are not able to abide that they may be therewithall miserablie blinded We bring therfore none other thing in our sermons but that which we iudge effectual to bring men to the loue of godlines and folowing of charitie to the hatred of sinne and forsaking of vncleanes of lyfe And for this cause doe we set before their eyes oftentimes the crowne of euerlastinge glorie and the paine of the euerlasting torment But the daungerous questions of darke and secret matters we do for good consideration leaue vntowched in such sermons as are made vnto the people The authoritie of Bishops is great in so much that it is not very hard for them to restreine the vnbrideled lust of disordered persons and to remoue them that be obstinate in sin from the Communion of the Church Neither are such menne chosen to be Bishops as may be either for basenesse despised or for folishnes set at naught or for notoriouse vices reprehended and so do much hurt by their example The times of the yeare are so consecrated and diuided with ordinarie and solemne ceremonies that at all tymes there is somewhat done in the Church which may renew in vs the remembrance of Gods graces and benefites And to beginne at the Moneth of Decembre we are then styrred vp to remembre that time in the which the holy Fathers of the olde time loked for the coming of the Sonne of God into the earth and besought him with continuall prayers to hasten it and had a most earnest desire to see it that we might the better vnderstande howe muche we are bound and endebted to God which hath graunted vs the ioyfull fruition of that moste excellent fruit which the old Fathers very holy men and of God intierly beloued so griedily lusted and longed after When the daie of Christes birth is come we keepe watches and singe hymnes and Psalmes by note our organs also and others instruments sound euery where to the honour and praise of God euery thing doth then stirre vs vp to beholde the Sonne of almightie God the most excelleÌ„t Lord and maker of al the world lying naked and crying in a mangier in the weake fourme of a sucking babe We heare then with the eares of our heartes the voices of Angels bringers of that glad tydinges and we endeuour by faith to doe our homage with the sheapeâ—erdes vnto the King that is borne vnto vs and fixing our selues in the conteÌ„plation of him wee receiue the fruicte of incredible ioye The first day of Ianuarie the Churche putteth vs in minde to beholde the wound which our Sauiour receiued that daie and the Mysterie of circumcision and the moste dreadefull name of Ihesus which is the pleadge of our saluation and the lesson which was then geuen vs of that most perfect obedience and so by the strength and signification of this moste holie name we labour muche more cheerefully to atteine to the saluation which is promised vs. What should I here saie of the most bright starre which appeared to the Gentiles in the furthermost partes of the East How might I expresse the incredible ioy and pleasure of the holie man Simeon when he bare the child in his armes What should I here rehearse the exceeding gladnesse and cumfort the which Anna the widowe conceiued or els the godli prophecies which shee pronounced when shee beholde the Child All these thinges hath the Churche set before our eyes with solemne pompe and procession and candels burning to the intent they should sincke the deeper into our heartes Now when the time of fasting draweth nero we behold how Christ was baptised by Iohn in the floud Iordane we here the voice of the Father we consider the fast wherwith the sonne of God punished his owne bodie we record the tentations and wilie practises of Satan against him we endeuour our selues as muche as we can to set out the victorie of Christ we call to minde the homage of Angels which brought him meate and serued him By this exaÌ„ple of Christ we are taught that we ought to kepe ftil that puritie and cleanes whiche we receiued in the holie fount of Baptisme that we should receiue the voice of the father commaunding vs to obeye him with heart and minde that we should subdewe the body with fasting and encounter with our old enemie the dinel to the end that â–ª at the length the battaile being fought and the victorie by the mightie protection of God atchieued we might be refreshed with heauenly foode and comforted by the ministerie of Angels When the time approcheth in the which we mind to celebrate the supper of our Lord â–ª to do so holy a worke with the greater deuotion we prepare our selues much more diligently then at other tymes and we doe it with gladnes and feare together Then doe we consecrate the holy Oiles by the which are fignified diuers gyftes and graces of the holy Ghost according as S. Denyse and other holy Father write and we minister the body of our Lord to al such as are readie to receyue it and we wash the feete of poore men not only with water but also with many teares sometimes and by this example we cause suche as looke on to powre out teares abondantly But when we behold attentiuely Christ hanging on the Crosse when we consider how he was scorned reuiled tormented and put to death when we pray for the saluation of all menns when we come bare-footed to worship Christ in his Image when we bring in God him selfe complaining of our misliuing when we craue pardon for our synnes in moste humble and lowly wise what man thinke you is then in the Churche which is not foorth with stirred vp to forsake synne and to folow a better ordre of life But when Easter day is come we vse suche honour and pompe we sing suche Hymnes and Psalmes to aduaunce the victorie and triumph of Christ raised from death to set out the sacke and spoile of
but railinge for argument madnesse for reason impudencie for true exaumples you keepe such a raginge stirre as though you hadde alreadi◠wonne the fielde with greate honour But we on the other side are wont to declare by authoritie of the holie Scriptures by testimonies of the holy Fathers by fetching the Monumentes and Recordes of al the Antiquitie finally by reason by vse by experience by a number of examples that thys kinde of gouernement hath allwaies bene in the Churche and that who so euer goeth about to appaire it is a breaker of peace an ouerthrower of Religion a woorker of sedition a puller downe of the Churche whiche is one and a fettor vp of diuers and sundrie churches diuersly sundered and diuided within them selues a bringer in of infinite most filthie vices and trowblesome errours As for the mart of Purgatorie which you speake of we answere you that there is no such thing If at any time in so many hundred yeares ther hath ben any bying and selling of holie thinges vsed the holie Churche alloweth it not but banisheth it out of the bounds of the Christian common weale as a most pestilent and pernicious abuse Likewise of Images we say that al we that liue in the holy catholik faith are able to prooue both by reasons argumentes and examples that euen frō the primitiue church especially after it might be done for tyrannes there hath ben Images set vp in churches to the euerlasting remembraunce of vertue to moue men to godlines and religion to the glorie and honour of Christe the whiche is seene in the wonderfull vertue of holie men We saie moreouer that the errour of those men that threw downe Images was condemned by manie authorities of the holy Fathers by diuers decrees of generall councels the whiche thing your maisters be they neuer so shameles can not denie vnlesse they wil first burne al the writinges of holie fathers al histories and records all the decrees of general Councels What shoulde I here reason of the reuerence and honour which was of old time geauen vnto sainctes Could you neuer spare a litle time from the fine woorkes of Accursius to bestow in the reading of Gregorie Nazianzene Basile the Greate Hierome and Ambrose If you coulde doe it you shoulde see it in their bookes howe many times godlie personnes came together in the olde time what resortes and assemblies there were made what eloquent Orations were pronounced in the commendation of Sainctes how greate multitude of the common people pressed thither to heare them But nowe if I woulde shewe you with what feruente zeale and deuotion verie many men were wont to continue all night at the Tombes of Martyrs it were a hard matter to expresse it None of al the holy Bishops in those daies did once put backe the common people from hearing the cōmendation of Martyrs no man disswaded them from that moste earnest deuotion towardes the Saintes no they did rather exhort al such as were present to visit their Monumentes to praise and honour them to obserue and keepe such woorshippe as was dew vnto them For they sawe in those assemblies when the name of Martyrs was sette out with heauenlie prayses that not the nature of the bodie but the grace of God and the almightie power of Christe him selfe was dewlie honoured in them For if the Christian menne in those daies kept the signes of the holie Crosse and the Images of Sainctes whiche were of deuotion sette vppe in Churches with such reuerence if they were oftentimes put in minde by those signes to plucke vppe their heartes and to remember the vertue whiche those domme Images did represente was it not muche more conuenient that the liuely Images of Christe shoulde be honoured with greater feruencie and that all suche as serued God truely and heartilie to doe this honour the better should visite the Tombes of Martyrs and Churches builded in the honoure of them And is it not euidently sene that the Sainctes are by the operation of the holy Ghost shapen to the likenes of God and that they beare a very true and expresse Image of Christ As touching your pastime that you make with Purgatorie for you must needes haue a snatche at euery thing can there be broughte any grauer testimonie against you then that which the manne that was sent as you saie from heauen hath geuen openlie Who is that saye you It is that Luther whome you honoure and reuerence whome you make a God whome you affirme to haue ben borne for youre saluation Hee sayed more then once or twise and abidde by it that there was a Purgatorie and that he did not weene thinke or beleue it but certainely knowe it to be so For proufe whereof he constantlie alleaged that place of S. Mathew where Christe said that the synne of suche as did wilfully resist the testimonie of the holie Ghoste shoulde neuer be forgeauen neither in this worlde neither yet in the worlde to come by the which wordes it is signified that some hope of forgeuenes is mercifully shewed by God vnto many men euen in the worlde to come He alleged also that place out of the Machabees where Iudas made oblations for the synnes of such as were departed With these and other the like argumēts and allegatiōs he was earnest to proue that there was a Purgatorie How then If Luther saied there was a Purgatorie and you will warrant it that Luther was sent from God and if he were sent from God so long as he was in that embassage he coulde not lie it is manifestly prooued by his authoritie the whiche you maie not gainsaie that there is a purgatorie If there be no purgatorie Luther lied If Luther lied he was not sent from God but from him that is the father of lying Choose therefore whether you like better For either the authoritie of Luther shal cōfirme that there is a purgatorie or els the feined tale of purgatorie as you terme it shall conuince Luther of vanitie and madnes But he afterward denied purgatorie That is no wonder For not only he but all his ofspring saie nowe one thing and now an other they correct and alter manie thinges neither can they staie them selues in anie one degree but rather when they haue once begonne an errour they heape and increase it with a numbre of other errours But I would faine learne of you M. Haddon whether of these two opinions whiche are mainteined both by Luther think you to be the truer The later saie you Well then the former he receiued not of God Then was he not as yet sent from God But after he had disteined him selfe with incestuous wedlocke after he had allured his contrei men to rebellion after he had defied chastitie and all holines after he had stirred vp such broile and sedition in the common weale that he coulde not appeace it him selfe afterward when he had railed against the state of the church with most reprochfull and
not while you haue time lest you doe increase through this your presumption the plague that hangeth ouer you As for the hope which I conceiued as you saie of your Quene and therfore wrote those my letters vnto her it repenteth me not as yet of my doinges If I haue donne any good it will appeare at the lengthe If I haue donne none yet the signification of my good heart towardes her can not be but wel taken of her if shee wil continue in her accustomed courtesie and gentlenes You saie I shall not bring her to be of myne opinion no althoughe I should write sixe hundred millions of Philippicall Orations I would faine knowe how you are able to auouche that Thinke you that she is of nature so barbarous and sauage that although I doe detecte the craftie dealinge and priuie practises of naughtie felowes and prooue them vnto her by Argumentes inuincible by reasons more cleere then the sonneshine at noone-tide if I set before her eyes the filthines and lewdnes of this counterfeict religion which they haue most wickedlie and heinously deuised if I declare vnto her in plaine words how childish your reasons are wherwith you goe abouâ—â— to mainteine their cause and how il fauoredly thei hang together think you I sai that she wil notwithstaÌ„ding althis rather imbrace your most detestable opinion to her certaine and vtter vndoing then cal to mind againe the true Religion which hath ben forgotteÌ„ for a time through the default and naughtines of such as should haue put her in remembrance of it to her most assured saluation and glory euerlasting If reason shal ouercome heâ— if the authoritie of holie Fathers shall cause her to yealde if the Lawe of God shall put it into her heart that shee wil desire to forsake and detest this your secte yet haue you so good affiaunce in your owne force and so little estimation of the sharpenesse of her witte and iudgemente that you dare warrant that vnlesse you geaue her leaue shee shall neuer retourne doe what shee can vnto that godly order of Religion whiche her moste noble Progenitours obserued and kepte very honourably to their great profit and immortal glorie Shall you Syr haue her at your commaundement and becke shal you take order with her shal you prescribe her what shee shal beleue in such sort that for feare of falling into your displeasure she shal not regard her owne life and dignitie but shal rather suffer her selfe to be carried awaie into euerlasting tormentes and damnation then to gainsaie your opinion be it neuer so vngodlie heinouse and wicked yea and mainteined with neuer so fond and peeuish kinde of talke But be it Admitte she be so much an vnderling vnto you that shee dare not for her life once dissente from you in any thing What if shee shalbe moued by the instinct of the holy Ghost What if Christ him selfe shal stirre her heart to consider and enioye his graciouse giftes What if God wil set vp such a light before her heart that shee may see how certaine wicked persons woorke priuie treason against herlyfe and persone And that I may say nothing els what if she shall receiue but onely such a smal quantitie of the light of God that shee may see that Luther with his disciples and folowers were neuer moued by the holy Ghoste but pricked foreward by the fendes of hel and that they came not to instructe men with wholsome doctrine but to infecte them with moste pestilente errours What Wil you this notwithstandinge holde her backe will you shackle her in such sorte that she shall not possibly geue eare to the holy warninges and counsels of God To continue in a wicked opinion being once conuinced as erroneouse is the parte of a dul and blunt wit to be afraid of the vniust displeasure of her own subiects is a token of a base and cowardlie heart but to refuse the gift of Gods mercy to reiect his gratious aid when it is offred is an argumteÌ„ of an vngodli aÌ„d naughty mid So shal it com to passe that you while you desire to put the worlde to vnderstand what a perilous felowe you are shal falsely charge that Princesse whome you reporte to be moste excellentlie fournished with all vertues passingly well adourned with many singular qualities with dulnes of wit with feintnes of heart and with the crime of impietie Truely M. Haddon she is very much beholdinge vnto you for your goodly seruice if you haue by your diligence so besette her on euery side that although she see her self tombled doune headlong into euerlasting death and damnatioÌ„ yet she may not be so hardy in her hert if you saie nay to it as once to which or step aside to auoide the daunger that hangeth ouer her lest in so doing shee might trouble your patience more grieuouslie perhappes then a man would thinke And yet am I moued to refreine to write vnto her â—ny more of the same matter for verie iust and good causes For I think I haue very wel discharged my duety both in my letters which I sent vnto her as also in this answer which I write against your booke if it happe to come to her hands Either therfore the things that I haue already written shall haue sufficiente force and strength to make her heart to yelde or els I shal not be able to doe it although I write againe And in deede I haue not so much vacante time that I may spend it without any fruict or profite Let vs now come to your good couÌ„sel wherin you aduertise me that I should not once haÌ„dle the holi scriptures you coÌ„mend my wit and my eloqueÌ„ce you do not mislike But you say that I am to be reckoned emongest the Oratours and Philosophers and not emongest the Diuines My bokes of nobility for it is like you neuer read any otheâ— bookes of myne you sale you like very wel I am right glad that my wrâ—tinges are commended by a manne so finely learned and so trymly nourtered and your friendly counsell I take it in good worth And therfore it liketh me to speake vnto you Syr newe Diuine with the selfe same verses as Horatius feineth him selfe to haue vsed to Damasippus a new Stoike Syr Waulter for your counsel true a barber maie you haue Sent from the Gods and Goddesse eke your worthie heard to shaue But howe came you to be so well acquainted with me Who tolde you that I haue not bestowed a great deale more studie in Diuinitie then in Cicero Demosthenes Aristotle and Plato You coÌ„mend my wit what then think you that the study of Diuinitie is mete for dul heads onely and drawlatohes â–ª You like my eloqueÌ„ce 〈◊〉 you therefore that the holy Scriptures would be handled of rudesbies only and homly felowes Wheras you geue authoritie to women to tinkers and tapsters to the rifferaffe of al occupations to iangle and prate at rouers in Scripture matters wil you