The.xxiiii. chapyter

HOwe be yt what thys good pacyfyer though he byleue ryght hym selfe and playnly protesteth the treuth of hys bylyete, yet what he wolde sholde be done eyther with those that agaynst theyr owne wronge wordes he byleueth to byleue tyght in theyre myndes, or wyth those eyther whome he byleueth to byleue wronge in dede, I can not very well gather of his wordes here. For here he saith of them thus: And though some men haue mystaken them selfe in the sayde arty[…]fes / yet dyuerse other haue sayde that yf they had ben well and […]harytably handeled, they myght haue ben reformed, & peraduenture saued in body and in soule.

In these wordes I fynde agayn good readers a playne open declaracyon as in my mynde, that thys man byleueth in these artycles lyke a trewe catholyke man. For he confesseth in these wordes, that all those that haue dyed in the contrary bylyefe, bene perysshed in body and soule. For he sayth that some men saye, that wyth good handelynge they myghte haue bene reformed, and peraduenture saued in body and soule. So that it appereth by these wordes, that neyther hym selfe thynketh, nor […]hath herde so myche as any other men say, but that they be now playnly loste and perysshed for those heresyes. whyche is yet an other good token that he not onely byleueth well hym self, but also talketh not myche nor hath no such conuersacyō wyth heretykes, y• they dare well and playnely put him in full truste. For yf he were / he sholde here them vndowtedly say, that those folke be saued soulys and holy sayntes / as Baynam that was late burned sayde by Bayfelde bothe an heretyke and an apostata, that was burned about a yere before hym.

How be it though they call them saued sowles & saintes / yet wyll they say that they be not in heuyn. For there is no soule they saye / but in some place of rest they lye styll and slepe full soundely / and slepe shall they saye tyll Gabryels trumpe a wake them and call them▪ vppe erely, to ryse and recorde theyr apparence byfore our sauyour at the generall daye of dome.

But in good fayth this one thynge am I sorye to se, that syth hym self semeth to me so faythfull, and that therfore I can not ꝑsuade vnto my self, but that in his owne harte he loueth and fauoreth the clergye / whyche no man can as I thynke hartely hate, but he that hateth also y• fayth: some of these wyly heretyques lyke the angelys of Sathan transfygurynge them selfe into the lykenes of angelys of lyght, sholde so deceyue this good man, and so abuse hys good gentell nature and symplycyte, as to make hym wyth theyre wyly inuented fygure of some say, vnder a pyty pretēded toward those herytikes that are in theyr obstynacy peryshed, set his wordes in such wyse, as though his mynde were to aggreue and brynge in hatered amonge the people, the name and bodye of the clergye / by makynge the people wene that theyr ordynaryes hadde wyth euyll and vncharytable handelyng, ben the occasyon that those heretyques are bothe in soule and bodye destroyed / syth they myght as is here sayde vnder y• fygure of some say, by good and charytable handelyng of the clergy, haue ben better reformed, and peraduenture in soule and body saued.

wold god these same some folke that so haue sayde vnto thys pacyfyer, hadde named hym at the lest wise some one, that was so euyll and so vncharytably handeled, that the lacke of better and more charytable handelynge, hath ben the losse of his bodye & soule. For then myght the clergy declare their demeanure toward that man / and then shold they perceyue by this pacyfyer, in whych parte of theyr delynge good charytable maner […]acked. But veryly whome so euer they sholde haue named / I […]oute not but those y• were the […]rdyna[…]yes in the cause, cou[…]de easely proue that they […] vsed no rygour to hym […] the lawe, nor omytt[…] no charitable meane vnto hym that came to theyr myndes, whyle the man lyued and the mater in theyr handes, nor in prouydyng for good exhortacyon towarde his conuersy on agayn and his saluacyon, euyn tyll the lyfe lefte hys bodye.

But nowe for as myche as some so say by thē concernyng some of theym that are gone / the clergye wolde I wene be yet gladde to here, in what wyse maner of charytable fasshyon this pytuouse pacyfyer wold haue them handle other heretyques hereafter, such as shall be denounced, and ex officio broughte byfore theym.

For all be it y• this pacifyer in a nother place, somwhat semeth to mysse like that order: yet I fere me there wolde as I shall after shew you, many a place in the realme swarme very full, ere euer they were brought byfore the ordynary by the meane of accusacyon.

How be yt let vs putte the sample by some one, that is lykely to be broughte and delyuered vnto the ordynarye, by the meane of the kinges grace and his counsayle. I mean Iohn̄ Fryth. For he is in pryson in y• towre all redy taken by the bishoppes seruauntes, by the ayde of the kynges offycers at commaūdement of his grace and his counsayle, and so by the kynges offycers brought into the towre where he remayneth yet / and therfore he shall I doute not be brought as I sayd, and delyuered vnto the ordynary.

Now then yf the ordynary knew this good pytuouse pacyfyer, and wolde bycause he seeth his good and charitable mynde, desyre hym of hys good aduyse and coūsayle, in what wise he myght beste and moste charitably handle hym for the sauynge of hys soule and body, the lawes of Chrystes chyrch obserued, that the sauynge of hym yf he wolde stycke sty[…]e in his obstynacy, shold not be y• occasion of corruptynge and destroynge the soules of other men / what coū sayle wolde this man geue hym?

Fyrste yf no man wolde professe him self for his accusare, and yet there wold twenty be redy when they were by commaundemēt of the court compelled, not to lette but depose y• trewth, that he hath synnes he came in the towre, wryten a fresshe agaynste purgatory, and a boke that he calleth the Mirrour agaynst rel[…] gyouse, aduysyng euery man to geue none of them nothing though they be of that relygyon that nothing haue of theyr own / and twyse hath he there in lyke wyse wryten agaynste the catholyque fayth of Cryst concernynge the blessed sacrament of the aulter: whyther wolde now this pacifyer, that the ordynarye hauynge good prouys and yet none accuser, sholde procede agaynste hym ex officio, or ellys for lacke of an accuser lette him fayre go. If he wolde he sholde procede ex officio as I thinke he wolde thynke yt reason: what shold he then do, syth all can not be done in a day. whether shold he let hym walke abrode vpō his promise to appere agayn, whyche Fryth were lykely to breke and gete hym ouer see / or ellys take suertyes boūden for hys apparence, as Iohn̄ Purser and some such other were boūden for Iohn̄ Byrt, and force not to forfayt theyr bonde for bretherhed, but let hym slyppe a syde and neuer brynge hym forthe, and kepe hym close amōg the brethern as the tother was kept, tyll y• postle maye make some bysshoppes amonge the new brethern / & after his new Titus & Timothe stablyshed eche in his owne see, then the newe Poule thys apostle Fryth, take shippyng at Sandwych and sayle into Freselande.

wold this pacifyer aduyse the ordynarye thus / or ellys to kepe hym in pryson where he sholde do no hurte, and lette the walles and the lokkes be hys suertyes for hys forthe commynge.

Thus farre yet as I suppose thys pacyfyer wolde aduyse the ordynary to kepe Fryth faste. But now when hys heresyes were layed vnto hys charge, as for to gyue counsayle to the ordynary to exhorte Fryth to leue theym / this pacyfyer I dare say shall not nede, nor to take hym to grace neyther, nor to shewe hym great fauour vpon good tokens of hys repentaunce & amendement. But now yf he were one of thys pacyfyers polytykes, and wold say that he beleued euer the right way in hys owne harte contrarye to the wordes that hys owne hande wrote / but after the maner that this pacifyer speketh he wrote all these heresyes of polycye, bycause that by the bylyefe of purgatory, and of the sacrament of the aulter, & of myracles ī so many places so playnely shewed theron, he saw that offerynge & rychesse came into the clergye, and therfore wolde saye that he muste not be taken for an here[…]yke: but for a man wyse & polytyke: what aduyse wold here thys pacyfyer geue hys ordinary?

what counsayle wolde he geue the ordinary yf Fryth wolde make none excuse by policy, but saye that he w[…]ote agaynste purgatory and all relygyouse orders, and the sacrament of the aulter to, for loue y• he bereth to the trouth / & that those heresyes be very fayth, by which he wyll abyde vnto the deth. what aduyse wyll thys pacyfyer geue the bysshoppe than? what good and cherytable handelynde wyll he deuyse to saue hys body & soule / specyally whan he shall se certayne letters whyche some of the bretherne lette fall of late, and lo[…]t them of lykelyhed as some good kytte leseth her kayes / by whiche letters both Tyndale and George Iay wryte vnto Fryth, and counsayle hym to stycke faste / and Tyndale sheweth hym that all the brethern loke what shall become of hym, and that vppon hys spede hangeth all theyr hope. I can not tell what good and cherytable handelynge thys pacyfyer can deuyse / but I dare say that there is neyther ordynary nor other honeste man spyrytuall nor tēporall, but that he is as sory as thys pacyfyer hym selfe, to se that yonge man or any other, so stobernly set in such heresies, that no man can shewe hym the fauour that euery man […]ayne wolde, wythout the dys pleasure of god and perell of theyr owne sowlys and many other mennys to.