The.iiii. chapyter

IN his.iiii. chapyter begynnyng in the.viii. lefe, he fyrst sheweth a diuersyte betwene the sample that I put in ye.94. lefe of myne appologye, of a pacyfyer betwene a man and hys wyfe, and the thyng that I there resemble it vnto / that is to wytte hys owne boke, that maketh a lyke pacifycacyon betwene the temporaltye and spyrytualtye.

But surely the dyfference that he putteth semeth to my pore wyt greatly to a payre his parte. For yf it be as he sayth yt is, that where as the husbande wold be loth to heare any euyl spoken of his wyfe, and therfore wil can suche a pacyfyer no thanke, that wyll tell hym suche tales of her before his neyghbours: the temporaltye wyll be glad to heare harme spoken of the spyrytualtye: then was yt so myche the worse done, to wryte openly to the temporaltye suche thynges of the spyrytualtye, to fede and nuryshe any suche euyll delyte: or openly to the spyritualtye, beynge as he sayde lyke wyse affectyonate, the fautes of the temporaltye eyther.

Howe be yt I can not in good fayth saye, but yf I shold belye hym, that on that syde wyllyngely he greatly passed his boundes / but of ouersyght vnware, he hath in some thynges slaundered ye temporalty to.

Then sheweth he farther wherfore he wrote those thynges in englyshe, though Iohn̄ Gerson wrote theym but in laten / wherin to say the trouth, he layeth a cause suffycyent wherfore that Iohn̄ Gerson wrote them in latyne. But whyther he laye cause suffycyent wherfore hym selfe shold not rather haue let them alone then wryte them in englishe, agaynst the counsayle of Iohn̄ Gerson hym selfe as I touched in myne apology: that I leue your self good reades to cōsyder. For I wil not myche stryue agaynste his excuse. For I greatly shall not nede I thinke, syth al his excuse amounteth to no more, but that he ment that some laye men redynge the prestes fautes in englishe, myght put them in remembraunce to mende them / specially bycause he sayth euen in the same chapiter a litle afore, that the temporaltye so myche delyteth to here of theym.

Thē goth he farther in ye same chapiter / & where as in his boke of the dyuisyon, he wold haue semed betwene the tēporaltye and the spyrytualtie to haue spoken indifferently, & to haue told them theyr fautes on both parti[…] […]gally: here in the second syde of the x. lefe, he telleth vs the cause wherfore he dyd not so, & saith in this wise.

I haue spoken of defautes and abuses in the spyrytualtye, more then of defautes in the temporaltye / bycause the spyrytualte oughte to be the gyders and gyuers of lyghte by theyre doctryne & good exāples to the tēporalty: & if theyr light be derkenes, where shall the temporaltie then fetche theyr lyghter? trewly I wote not where. And I doute that then they both shall walke styl in derkenes. And therfore yt is that Iohn̄ Chrysostome sayth vppon Matthew the xxi. chapyter. That yf prestehode be holle & sound, all the chyrch florysheth: and yf yt be corrupte, the fayth and vertue of the people fadeth also and vanyssheth away. Lette thye therfore as to thys poynt be the fynall conclusyon for thys tyme, that who so euer proueth defautes to be in the temporaltye, he proueth also defautes to reygne in the spyritualty: & therefore the defautes in the temporaltye wyl neuer be auoyded, tyll the defautes in the spyrytualtye be fyrste reformed: and therfore haue I fyrste spoken of some defautes that be in the spyrytualtye.

Surely good readers I like wel these wordes. For they be very good & they proue very well, & very trew yt is / nor I ueuer sayd the contrary, but haue in myne apologye playnely sayd the same, yt euery faute in a spyrituall man (though ye thyng were of it self al one, is yet by ye differēce of ye person, farre worse and more ody[…]ouse both to god and man, then yt ys in a tēporall man. But yet the worse that euery pryuate spyrytuall mānes faute is, so myche is yt ye more harme to dyffame the corps of the spyritualtye openly in the face of the temporaltye, in suche maner as the boke of dyuysyon doth / of whyche I haue proued those that are weyghtye false, and could (yf I wold now lese tyme about yt whyle that that I haue touched ys suffycyent) shewe the substaunce of al the remanaunt to haue lytle substaunce to.

And therfore the wordes of saynt Chrysostome whyche he sayeth for his boke, were in part the very cause that made me wryte agaynste hys boke. For surely as saynte Chrysostome sayth, yf the presthed be corrupt, the fayth and vertue of the people fadeth and vanisheth away / whyche is wythoute any questyon very trouth for though saynt Chrystome had neuer sayde it, our sauyour sayth as myche hym selfe: ye be (sayth he to the clergye) the salte of the erthe, & if the salt waxe ones freshe and we ryshe, wherin shal any thyng be well seasoned? And you be the light of the worlde. And therfore yf the lyghte that ys in the worlde, be darke: howe darke shall then the darkenes be yt selfe?

But now say I syth that ye prestehed beyng corrupted, yt muste nedes folowe that the fayth and vertue of the people fadeth and vanysheth awaye / and vppon Chrystes wordes yt muste folowe that yf the spyritualtye be nought, the temporaltye muste nedes then be worse than they: theruppon I conclude vppon the tother syde agaynste the pacyfyers boke, that syth this realme hath (as god be thanked in dede yt hath) as good & as faithfull temporalty, & (though there be a fewe false brethern in a great multitude of a trew catholike mē) as hath for ye quantite any other coūtrey cristened, it must nedes, I say folow yt the clergy, though it haue some such false noughtye brethern to, is not in suche sore maner corrupted, as the boke of diuysyon goth about to make mē wene / but as good for theyr part as the temporaltie for theyrs.

A therfore in lyke wyse I saye, that vppon the selfe same wordes of saynt Chrysostome and of our sauyour Chryste: the sayde boke of the dyuysyon in dyffamynge the spyrytualtie, diffameth the temporaltye myche more / whyche is the thynge that as I sayde semeth me neyther honorable nor profytable, in opē prented bokes, for any englyshe man to do / nor veryly I thynke the maker wold not haue done, yf he then hadde thought so farre.

But now goth he farther and sayth.

And though mayster More can not denye these fawtes. (I suppose you haue herde me denye suche as were the chyefe and proued them I wene vntrewe) yet all the amēdemētes that he aleyth in hys Apologye is onely in punyshement of heresyes, as ys s[…] byfore: wherunto he specyally moueth the ordynaryes not to be slacke nor the more remysse for fe[…]e […]f enyll wordes and sclaunder of the people. And yf they be therfore the more […]lacke in callynge attachynge a[…]d examynynge, and farther orderynge of heretyques: he sayeth god wyll not fayle to make fall in theyr neckes the double slaunder of that, fro whens they fled. And in a nother place he moueth the temporaltye to ioyn wyth the spyrytualtye eche with other lonyngly to represse and kepe vnder those vngracyouse folke, by whom he meaneth heretykes Vppon whyche mocyon I shall somwhat shewe my mynde, as hereafter foloweth in the nexte chapyter.

Here he complayneth agayn yt I deuyse no remedyes, as though the whole prouysyon for all thynge laye vppon myn hande. I do somewhat for my parte, when I praye god to geue vs al the grace spiritual & tēporall bothe, to kepe well and obserue suche prouysyons as god hathe gyuen good men the grace to make all redye. For yf we kepe theym well: I wene there are me[…]ely many made. And yf we breke the olde: so wil we by likelihed breke these a[…] wel, yt he wold haue me now dyuyse and studye newe. And somewhat I do better for my parte, whyle I labour to haue the good olde prouysyons kepte, than thys pacyfyer dothe for hys, whyle he laboreth to haue them broken, and namely those lawes that are of ye very beste, and made for the fayth agaynste heresyes.

But then laboureth he as me thinketh, to make the bretherne angry with me / and reherseth and inculketh into theyr eares, yt I exhorte both the spyrytualty & the tēporaltye to, those to whome the mater apperteyneth, not to be any thynge the more slacke in repressynge of heresyes, for any fere of infamye.

Surely good readers what so euer I wrote in that behalfe: I will requyre euery man to haue yt euyn here / for wryten and repeted agayn. For when we se yt the wordes of his wrytynge, whych I haue in myne Apologye rehersed you, how well so euer he ment therin (as I truste he mēt but wel) haue yet yt playn open apparaunce in them, yt they were wel lykely to put such as shold se to the repressyng of heresyes, in doute and fere of infamy, & to be had amōg ye peple as folke suspect of missehādeling good folke and of crueltye: I reken yt the parte of euery good man, that any zele hath to the conseruacyon of the catholyque fayth, to encorage them on the tother side, to the doyeng of theyr dutye therin / and not to sette the respecte of theyr estymacyon amonge men (whyche yet they shall also mych the better conserue among all the people saue those few that are nought) byfore the sauynge of theyr soules, and kepynge the fauour of god: namely sythe the kepynge of people from heresyes and puttynge the scabbed heretyques oute of the clene flocke, is one of the specyall thynges that thapostle gaue the bysshoppe warnynge of. Let hym fynde oute any worde of myne, where with I wolde any harme to any man that wolde amende, and then let hym laye yt to me. And who so euer entendeth neuer to be good: I am wel content that the pacyfyer make hym not my frende.