The fourth reason
Tyndale. And Poule sayeth Ro. 13. let euery soule obay the hygher powers, that are ordayned to punysshe synne. The pope wyll nat nor let any of his.
More. Touchynge fyrste the pope hym selfe, Tyndale telleth vs here a wyse tale. For settynge a syde the questyon whether the pope eyther be or rightfully ought to be, chefe gouernoure ouer the chrysten flocke / and if he be or ought to be, howe farre than and to what thynges his authorytie stretcheth or ought to stretche: This thynge at the leastewyse Tyndale very well knoweth hym selfe, that neyther in spirituall thynges nor in temporall, there is no man at Rome in his owne see, that claymeth any power or iurisdiccyon vpon hym. And as for the clergye besydes, Tyndale here as farre as I se, falsely belyeth the pope. For he letteth none of his to obay their higher powers / but by the canon lawes of the churche, commaundeth euery of them to obay theyr hygher powers, and to kepe and obserue the lawes of the princes and countreys that they lyue in.
But the thynge that greueth Tyndale is this / that any preest shulde in honoure of the sacramente of preesthode, haue any maner of preuiledge more than a lay man. For his heresye rekeneth euery woman a preest, and as able to say masse as euer was saynt Peter. And in good faythe as for suche masses as he wold haue sayd, without the canon, without the secretes, without oblacyon, without sacrifyce, without the body or blode of Christ, with bare sygnes and tokens in stede of the blessed sacrament: I wene a woman were in dede a more mete preest than saynt Peter.
And all be it that neyther woman may be preest, nor any man is preest or hath power to say masse, but yf he be by the sacrament of holy orders taken and cōsecrated into that offyce: yet syth the tyme that Tyndale hath begonne his heresyes,1 and sent his […]rronyous bokes about, callyng euery chrysten woman a preest: there is nat nowe in some places of Englande the symplest woman in the parysshe, but that she dothe, & that nat in corners secretely but loke on who so woll, in open face of the worlde in her owne parysshe churche / I say nat here, but say her owne selfe and (lefte you shulde loke for some ridle) openly reuested at the hyghe aulter, she sayeth I say her selfe and syngeth to, if it be trewe that I here reported, as many masses in some one weke, as Tyndale hym selfe eyther sayeth or hereth in two whole yere to gether / but if it be whan he swereth by it, or hereth some other swere.
All holy consecracyons Tyndale calleth folysshe ceremonyes / forgettyng that in the olde lawe dyuers tymes it is honorably rehersed and layde for a cause of the […]euerent vsynge of the prestes person, bycause that the holy oyle is vpon hym.
And he lyste nat to remembre that the holy Prophete Dauid, dyd so moche esteme that holy oyntemente with whiche kynge Saule was consecrated, that all be it he was reiected agayne of god, and hym selfe receyued and anoynted kynge in his place, and was also persecuted by hym / he nat onely put the man to dethe that sayd he hadde slayne hym for touchinge of goddes anoynted / but also for all that he spared hym and sauyd his lyfe, and beynge his dedely enemye, dyd hym yet no bodely harme. He repented and forthought that he hadde so moche done to hym,2 as secretely to cutte his garment.
These thynges and many suche other lyke whereof the scrypture is full, Tyndale in euery place diffymuleth / and wolde haue all consecracyons sette at nought and taken in dirisyon / aud wolde that no man shulde haue neyther prynce nor preest in any maner reuerence, the rather of one rysshe for theyr holy consecracyon. But as he wolde haue euery woman to take her selfe for a preest / so wolde he that euery man shulde wene hym selfe a kynge. For surely the wordes of saynt Peter with whiche these heretykes proue the tone, proue euyn the tother a lyke / that is to say falsely and folysshely taken, proue bothe the tone and the tother / but wysely taken and truely,3 proue neyther the tone nor the tother.
Footnotes
Chapter 11 of 15