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All this great scoffynge ariseth onely, bycause that chyldern be crystened in latyne. For whyche onely cause he sayth that the baptysme is vtterly frutelesse / ye & by his tale worse then frutelesse to. For he sayth they be now in lyke cause as ar the tother sacramentes, whych he sayth haue no promyse in scrypture, and therfore are (he sayth) supersticyouse. And lo thus fyrst ye se that as longe as euer any chyldern haue in Englande ben crystened in laten / there was neuer chyld[…] the better for the cristendome. And then yf this lye be trew: there is yet neuer a crysten man nor neuer a crysten woman in all England, excepte happely som well latyned Iewes cō uertyd, or ellys suche Englysh chyldern as lerned theyr grā mer in theyr mothers bely.

Howe be yt I wolde euery other thynge were as ethe to mende as this is / for this mater may be sone eased. It may be now vppō this faute foūden, be prouyded vppon Tyndales counsell that all the Englyshe chyldern shall be crystened in englyshe, and then they shall vnderstande all the mater well inough ye wote well, and speke for them selfe to.

But then fyndeth Tyndale twoo great fautes for which he sayth that all the baptisyng of the chylde is fruteles. One he sayth bycause of the false byleue that the plungyng in the water saueth them / a nother for yt the promyse is not taught them.

But there I wolde fayne wyt of Tyndale, syth he sayth that the baptysme is frutelesse for such causes, and syth he muste nedes meane at the tyme of the cristenynge, for yf he shold meane no more but yt the chylde sholde lease ye frute at lenght for lake of suche instruccyon after, then were his wordes false though he sayde therin trewe / for then were not bapaysme vnfrutefull, for yt were very frutefull at the leste wise to a great many that god calleth hens ere euer the lacke of such lernyng can be layed to theyr charge: thus I saye Tyndale must nedys meane therfore, that for these fautes the frute of the baptisme is lost euē at ye fonte, & no grace goten therby / or ellys his tale were false. And ye wote well in no wyse wyll he lye for that were poetrye.

Now syth he sayth thē, that the baptysme is frutelesse at the founte for these causes: I wolde wit of hym whyther it be voyde because these thynges be not at the fount preached to y• godfathers, or because they be not preached there vnto the chyld yt self. If he say yt yt is frutelesse for lakke of prechyng there vnto y• chyld yt self: then I deny not but ye Tyndale sayth ryght well and reasonable, and I shall speke to the persone of our parysshe that he shall preche to the chyld at the fount, and tell hym many good talis in his ere. But surely yf he say that the baptysme is frutelesse at the founte for lakke of such thynges there taught vnto ye godfathers / therin coulde I not agre wyth hym, for they come not to be crystened there them self / and so the lakke of that prechyng there can not hyndre theyr cristēdome. And as for the chyld, if neyther they nor the preste nother well vnderstande theyr dewtye nor well byleued in baptysme neyther / ye & though they were turkes, Iewes, or saracens, or that worse were then all thre very starke heretyques: yet so that in the baptysynge they purpose to make the chyld crysten, & therin do as the chyrch doth / all theyr lakke can not make the baptysme lese his frute. And yf that Tyndale knowe not this he is very porely lerned / and yf he know this, and then saye as he sayth, that for lakke of such teachynge at the founte the baptysme there is frutelese, what is he then say you?

But now is yt good to se somwhat of Tyndales mynde concernynge these twoo thynges, that is to wyt the fayth set on sensyble tokens in the sacrament, and the prechynge of the promyses.

Fyrst for the visyble sygnes, there be twoo thynges to be consydred. Thone that Tyndale beryth vs in hand that the clergye maketh vs byleue that the visible sygnes alone doth all to gether, & therin he saythe false / a nother that hym self byleueth that they do no good at all, and therin he byleueth false.

For the fyrst poynt these be his wordes.