The. xiii. chapyter

BUt nowe after thys pleasaunt dyscourse of his into the rehersall of this hepe of heresies that you haue herde, for whyche as for lytell tryfyls hys harte freteth sore, that any heretyke sholde be burned: he goth on agaynst me and sayth.

But let vs returne to our propose. To dyspute of goddes almighty […] powre, what god may do wyth hys body, it is great foly and no lesse presump […] to More, syth the pope whiche is no hole god but halfe a god, by theyr owne decrees hath decreed no man to dyspute of his power. But chrysten […] be thou cōtent to knowe that godes wyll, his wordand his power, be all one, and repugne not. And ney ther wylleth he nor maye not do any thynge includynge […] […] repugnaunce, imperfeccyon, or that shuld derogate mynysshe or hurte hys glory and his name. The glory of hys godhed is, to be present and to fyll all places at onys essencyally, presently wyth his almyghty power, whych glory is denyed to any other creature / hym selfe sayenge by his prophete: I wyll not geue my glory to any other creature. Now therfore syth hys manhed is a creature, it can not haue this glory whiche onely is appropryed to the godhed. To attrybute to his manhed that pro pertye / whyche onely is appropryed to hys godhed / is to confonnde bothe the natures in Chryste. what thynge so euer is euery where after the sayd maner / that muste nedes be infynyte / without begynnynge and ende / it muste be one alone / and almyghty: whithe propertyes onely are appropryed vnto the gloryonse maiesty of the godhed. wherfore Chrysted body may not be in all or in many places at onys. Chryste hymselfe sayenge as concernynge his manhed: He is lesse then the father / but as towchynge his godhed the father and […] be bothe one thynge. And Panle recyfynge the Psal. affyrmeth: Cryste as concernynge his manhed to be lesse then god / or lesse than angellys as some texte hath it. Here is it playne that all thynges that More imagyneth and fayneth / are not possyble to god / for it is not possyble for god to make a creature egall vnto hym selfe / for it includeth repugnaunce and derogateth his glory.

Now haue you so good chrysten readers herde a very specyall piece, wherin mayster masker (as you se) solempnely fyrste rebuketh the foly and ye presumpcyon of me, for that I was so bolde in my letter agaynste his felow father Fryth, to dyspute of goddes almighty absolute power. But now good readers whan you shall se by the mater, yt it was Fryth whyche argued agaynst goddes almyghty power, denyenge that Cryst coulde make his owne body in many places at onys / & that I dyd in effect nothynge ellys but answere hym, & […] and affermed that god was able to do it, and that Fryth was but a fole so to strayte & to limite the power os almyghty god, but yf he could proue repugnaūce (which agaynste goddes owne word playne spoken in his hosy gospel, father Frith coulde neuer do) whan you se this good readers, I dowte not but ye wyll saye, that it is neyther foly nor presūpcyon for the symplest man or woman in a towne, to mayntayne that god maye do this thyng or that (namely the thyng that god hath sayed hym selfe he doth) agaynste hym that is so folyshe as to presume, agaynst the playne worde of god, to determine by his own blind reason the contrary / & specyally syth the thynge is suche in dede, as though god had not spoken therof, yet had he none holde to say that god coulde not do it, for as myche as it implyeth no suche repugnaūce as shold make the thynge impossyble vnto god.

But now se ferther good reders the wysedome and the mekenesse of mayster Masker here. which as sone as he hath scant fynysshed his hygh solempne […] of me; for suche disputyng of godde almighty power, that I sayd he was in dede so mighty that he coulde do the thynge that we dysputed vpō agaynst hym that sayd nay, falleth hym selfe forth with in ye same fawte that he fyndeth / and yet not in the same fawte (for the fawte that he founde was none) but in the fawte that he wolde seme to fynde. For he dysputeth and taketh the part agaynst goddes almyghty power in dede / and argueth as you se that god in dede can not do it.

And this poynt he argueth in such maner fashyon, that in my syfe I neuer sawe so folyshe an argument, so solempnely set vp an hygh. Fyrste he maketh his reasō thus. It is ye glory of the godhed and appopryed onely therunto, to be present and to fyll all places at onys, essencially, presently, with his almyghty power / and is denyed to any creature. But Chrystes […] is a creature. Ergo it can not haue this glory that is appropryed to the godhed.

Here is a wise argument. God hath many gloryes. And his chyefe glory standeth not in beyng presente at onys essencyally in euery place.

And though he wyl not geue his glory from hym, yet of his glory he maketh many creaturs in many greate partes of it, to be partiners with him It is one parte of his glory to lyue & endure in eternall blysse / & though no creature be without begynnynge, yet maketh he many a thowsande possessours of ioy without endynge.

How proueth mayster masker yt to be present at onys in all places, is such a kynde of glory so appropred vnto god, yt god can not geue yt gyfte to any creature. The scrypture semeth to appropre vnto god alone, the knowledge of mānes secrete thought. And yet can I not se but yt god might geue yt knowlege to some creature to and yet abyde god styll hym selfe.