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Useth Tyndale and his spyrytuall mayster thys manes of loue, this forberynge, and this maner of pacyēs to warde the pope and the clergye, and towarde prynces and other tēporall rulers? we se perde thorow all theyr bokes in what lowly louynge fashion they serue and suffer them, and how fayre they speke, and how plesauntly they flater all holy catholyque crysten people sauyng onely theyr own secte, with as venemouse wordes and as poysen speche as the dyuell can dyuyse them, wyth all the meanes they may to sow dyuysyon and dyssencyon and set the people in sedycyon / & vnder colour of true fayth to brynge them in heresyes and destroye both bodye and soule.

But Tyndale wold now yt we shold for the whyle forget all that he and his mayster wryteth ellys where, and hym selfe in many placys after in this same boke / and that we sholde onely marke these holy louyng wordes that he wryteth here in his present prologe / in whych he sayth that they whych be spirytuall do neuer smyte theyr yonger brotherē, that ys to saye, suche as be not in fayth and vertue growen vp as they be, nor wyll not wyth them come forwarde therin, but be euyll and wyll be no better / but the spyritualles as theyr elder brotherē doth flater them and promyse fayre and gyue them gay thynges, and so draweth them forward in grace / and fynally yf that wyll not helpe them, then the spirytuall elder brother referreth theyr punyshement to the father and the mother, that is as he meaneth to all myghty god, for yf he ment vnto theyr rulers so yt is all redy / for none other hath authoryte to correcte and punysse. And hys mynde he hath declared in that byhalfe in sundry placys / that non man shold in any wyse pursue and punysh any mā specyally for any heresye / for he that pursueth any man is no spyrytuall man. I let passe here that after this waye the worlde, all be yt that yt be badde ynough all redye, wold yet wax then mich worse / and I passe ouer also that as well all wyse men as all good men, and holy scripture also yt selfe, is open and playne to the contrarye.

And I wyll for the whyle no more but aske of Tyndale whether he accompte the pope & the clergy and ye temporall prynces for menne borne agayne and renewed with the spyryte of god, and therby spyrytuall or not. If he reken them for suche: thē by hys owne rule they can and do very well iudge all thynge, and so sholde he then thynke that the thynges that they do be well done / for he sayth hym selfe that the spirytualles do serche the botome of goddes commaundementes and fulfyll them gladly.

Now yf he say that they be not the spyrytualles, but such as Luther is and frere Huskyn and hym selfe, & suche other as so serche the causes that they care not as Tyndale sayth after, whyther the preste saye masse in hys gowne or in hys cope, and wyll as sone gape for sande as holy salte, and had as lyefe be smered with vnhalowed butter as enoynted wyth charmed oyle, excepte men can tell them the causes whyche they saye that no man can, and therfore they mocke and ieste therat / nowe yf thys theyr sorte be as Tyndale sayth the spyrytuall and therby ye elder brothern: then wyll we say to Tyndale and aske hym why do not you Tyndale and your spyrytuall felowes accordynge to your owne wordes here, loue out of your hartes the pope, the cardynals, the clergye, the prynces, the people, and so forth, beynge as your younger brothern not yet borne agayne / and why do you not forbere them wyth all loue and pacyence & so forth,¹ and wayte on them and serue them and suffer them and so forth / and when they wyll not wyth you come forth, why do you not then speke them fayre and flater them and promyse them fayre and so forth, and so drawe them forth and so forth. And yf that for a[…]l thys they wyll not come forth: why do you not then referre the punysshement to the father and mother and smyte them not / but contrary to your owne wordes vse at your yōger brothern to laughe thē to skorne, to mocke, to ieste, to checke, to chyde, to brawle, & rybaldously to rayle / callynge them apyshe, peuysshe, popysshe, iuglers, theues, murderers, bloodsupers, tormentours, and traytours, Pylatys, Cayphaas, Herodys, Annaas, & Antecrystes, Iudaas, hypochrytes, mokenmongers, pryapystes, idolatres, horemaysters, and sodomytes, abomynable, shameles, stark madde, and faythlesse bestes, hangemen, martyr quellers, and Cryste kyllers, serpentes, scorpyons, dremers, and very dyuels / & fynally wyth such venemouse wordes and other malyciouse wayes the wurste that the dyuell and you deuyse to gether, bysely put forth youre payne to sow debate, dyssencion, scysmes, stryfe, and sedycion / and cause your spyrytuall people yt ys to wyt the elder brothern borne agayne of the spirite, to ryse and rebell agaynst your yonger brothern, but naturall yet and not borne agayne / and the tone parte to smyte & kyll the tother by thousandys on a daye, as ye haue done in Almayne / prouidynge alway that your selfs the chyeff captayns and authours of such sedycion and rebelliouse bloodshed, gate vp vppon some hyll in the meane whyle, and stonde and loke vppon sure & safe a syde halfe out of all gonshot[…] and com not at hand strokes in no wise, but serue for trompetours with ye blaste of youre wordes and vngracyous wrytynges to kynd[…]e them & call vppon and set them all a worke / and yf yt walke on youre syde then to gaude and glory, and yf yt go agaynste you & your parte go to wrake, then slynk awaye fro the felde and make as ye cam not there nor neuer entēded harme nor mēt any such mater / or as your mayster dyd in Almayne to put your selfe out of suspycyon, crye to the cōtrary parte to kyll them downe hande smothe, whom your owne wordes raysed vp and synfully set a worke.

And lo thus hath Tyndale cōnyngly declared the grete commaundement of loue, and by hym selfe and his felowes as ye se so louyngly put in vre, that they wolde helpe the tother parte to all the myschyefe they myghte / and wolde that on the tother syde what so euer they do them self be it neuer so myscheuouse, no man sholde ones chyde them nor gyue fowle wordes / but in theyr deuylyshe dedys forbere styll & suffer them, and take them then […]s younger brothern lytell babys vntaught, and gyue them fayre wordes and pretye proper gere, ratylles & cokbelles and gay goldē shone / and yf the wantons wyll not lerne yet, but byte & scratche theyr felowes / bete not the babys yet in no wyse, but go and tell theyr mother and so forth.

And when Tyndale hath thus connyngly declared the greate commaūdement of loue, and hath so spyrytually set it out to the shew: then concludeth he well & worshypfully that by thys commaundement of loue in suche a wyse waye vnderstanden, his spyrytuall sorte iudgeth all the lawes of god, and vnderstande the true vse of them / and by the same in lykewyse vnderstande they all the lawes of man which are ryght and whych tyranny. For by thys then vnderstande that for the loue that they bere to theyr own wyll / euery glose that they gyue them selfe is the ryght meanyng of the worde of god, and all that all other holy men haue wryten is but fantasyes and false. And in mennis law to let them bete other men for saynge trueth, were well ordeyned and ryghte / but any man to chyde onys any of theym for a hondred heresyes, that were vtter wronge and no lawfull law but playne tyrannye.

Footnotes

1. Tyndale taketh gre[…] […]easu[…]e in often bryngynge in the[…]e wordes, And so forth. ↩