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Now that Tyndale hathe done with his owne spyrituall parte, & hath as ye haue herd holyly declared how hygh spyrytuall wysedome they vse in serchynge the very botome of the cause in euery commaūdement that god geueth / and accordynge to the thynge whych they take for the cause, so order them selfe eyther kepe the commaundement or breke yt: now commeth he to thoter parte / that is to all that are no heretykes, whom he before called naturall and not borne agayne nor renewed with ye spyrtie, all which folke he calleth here the worlde / and sayth that the worlde captyuateth hys wyt, & about the law of god maketh hym wonderfull ymagynacyons / vnto whych he so faste cleaueth that tēne Iohn̄ Baptystes were not able to dyspute them oute of his hed.
Here he meaneth that hym selfe and his felowes spyrytuall heuenly men / be not captyuate vnto the lawe of god, as we pore worldely mē of mydle erth be. For they be no ferther bounden to the law, but as the cause of the law sought out by them selfe, leadeth them to and fro / and therfore they be in an euangelycall and in manner angelycall lybertye to do what they lyste / so yt they geue the lawe some cause that may serue theyr luste, as they haue geuen to the law and cō maundement of vowes / from whych they haue set them self in such a spyrytuall lybertye, that munkes and freres maye lawfully lye wyth nunnes and lyue in lechery, and call yt wedlocke.
And in dede they may call yt wedlocke and they wyll as lollardes dyd of late, that put a pygge in to the water, on good frydaye / and sayd go in pygge and come oute pyke / and so when they had chaunged the name, they toke yt for fyshe and ete yt. And so may these holy new spyrytuall men, when munkes and freres wedde nunnes, they may call yt wedloke & they will. But as the pore plough man sayd vnto the tauerner yt gaue hym water in stede of wyne, god thank you mayster wyner for your good wyne, but in good fayth sauynge for the worshypfull name of wyne iche had as l[…]ue a dronkē water: surely so may we well saye to these new holy spyrytuall maryed munkes and frerys / sauynge for the worshypfull name of wedloke, yt were as good they lyued in lecherye, as in suche byched bychery.
But we sely sowles of the worlde here, be captyuate and bounde he sayth and not in suche an heuynly lybertye / but make our selfe wonderfull ymagynacyons aboute the lawe of god, whyche thynge mych I meruayle of. For the worlde is not often wonte to muse mych vppon the lawes of god, nor greatly to studye vppon them, but let them go by well and easely & thynke lytell on thē / nor nede not Iohn̄ Baptyste to dyspute out of theyr hedys any wonderfull ymagynacyons that they haue studyed aboute the law of god.
But Mary on the other syde, these new spyrytuall men, haue wyth theyr new lybertye made them selfe wonderfull ymagynacyons to which they cleaue so faste, that.xv. Iohn̄ Baptystes can not dyspute them out of theyr hedys. For they haue to the greate wonder of the worlde made them an ymagynacyon, that frerys maye lyue in lecherye wyth nunnes, and neuer nede do penaunce neyther for that nor for any synne ellys, but repente and do so styll and byleue that all is well, & do no penaunce nor take no payne for any synne at all.
Now euery man well woteth that saynt Iohn̄ the Baptyste dyd dyspute agaynst these ymagynacyons of theyrs, bothe wyth hys lyuynge and hys techynge. For agaynste theyr lechery his lyuyng dysputed wyth chastyte / & agaynst theyr heresye of penaunce, he dysputed wyth prechynge penaunce. For he bad them, not euery boye go forth and take hym selfe for an apostle and go preche, but he cryed vppon them to do penaunce / and not onely bad them repente and do penaunce, but also bad them yf they wolde auoyde hell and ye wrath that ellys was to come,1 they shulde do worthy frutes of penaunce. And bycause that they sholde not wene that it was but a worde of offyce, and that it suffysed to byleue well in goddys promyse, and so go theyr way & thynke them selfe saue: he shewed them in hym selfe and hys owne lyuynge, for theyr instytucyon not for the deseruyng of his owne synne, a forme and fashyon of a repentaunt synner in what wyse he sholde do penaunce. And therfore he lyued solytary, sauynge that hys vertues caused hym to be vysyted. He lyued in holy vowed chastyte and neuer […]edded womā in hys dayes, nor neuer wolde haue done though he had lyued twyes as longe as Luther[…] He lyued in pore and paynfull apparell.2 He lyued in watche and prayours, in fastyng and forberynge meate. He dranke no wyne, but was cont[…] wyth water. Thys maner of penaunce doynge dyd saynt Iohn̄ Baptyste teche and dyspute, contrary to ye fa[…]se ymagynacyons agaynst penaunce, and wonderfull deuyses of lewde lecherous lyuynge that these new spyrytuall men haue in theyr fantasye framed / whyche neyther saynt Iohn̄ Baptiste nor such tenne saynt Iohn̄ Baptystes, nor our sauyour Cryste hym selfe can dyspute out of theyr hedys.
Footnotes
Chapter 53 of 95