The.xi. chapyter

HIs.xi. chapyter begynneth in the xxxvi. lefe / wherin fyrst he sheweth yt I reherse ryght, and constre amysse thys worde of his. And therfore.

You shall fynde my wordes good readers vppon these whole wordes that he reherseth here, in the.xxxiiii. and.xxxv. chapyter of myne apologye / of whyche to tone begyyneth fo. 183 / & the tother begynneth fo. 184.

Here this man declareth that the worde of his boke, whyche here also he well & trewly reherseth, do not importe that hym selfe sayeth ye thyng whych I by those wordes, and amōg other by thys worde therfore / afferme there that he sayth as of hym selfe / But he sayeth that the wordes proue playne, that he sayeth yt, but onely of the reporte of mych other folkes thynkynge, and not as of hys owne sayenge.

Surely neyther nowe, nor in any place of myne apologye, I neyther haue done nor intende to charge thys man, that his mynde & purpose was suche in his intent, as the great lykelyhed of his wordes, wold geue men occasyon to thynke. But vn the tother syde, that the wordes haue geuyn me good occasyon and suffycyent, to saye as I there haue sayde: who so rede the sayd two chapyters of myne apologye, shal by the whole cyrcumstaūce of the mater very wel I suppose perceyue. And you shall ouer that, yf after those two chapyters redde, you retourne to his owne declaracyon here in hys.xi. chapyter, wel perceyue also that to kouer slyly that ouersyghte of his (for surely I thynke yt was none other) he leueth oute properly in one place this worde therfore wheruppon a good pyece of all the mater hangeth. For in the ende of the.xxvi. lefe so, thus he handeleth wylyly the mater.

And in that he sayth, that I saye playnely those worde[…] my seflfe / he sayth playnely agaynste the […]etter of the sayde treatyse / whyche ye that they haue punished many persō […], which mych peple haue iudged them to do vppon wyll / and not that I sayd so my selfe.

Now good readers in this rehersall of hys own worde, he reherseth his own wordes wrong. For here he leueth oute as I told you the worde that maketh the mater. Whyche he rehersed hym self in the whole context before. For his wordis were not, that they haue punished many persons, whych mych peple haue iuged them to do vpon wyl, but that therfore they haue punyshed many persons / whyche mych people haue iudged them to do vppon wyl &c. Nowe when he sayth hym selfe that they haue punyshed many therfore, that is to wyt for the same cause, and hathe before also shewed a cause of his owne dyuynacyon to, & hath vsed the same word therfore in ye same fasshyon before / and this worde therfore which sygnifyeth for the same cause, hath here in his laste clause nonecessarye place to the complement of the sentence folowyng: it appereth that he sayth therin two thynges, bothe that they therfore, that is to say for ye same cause next before spokē of, the cause yt him self ther imagineth, haue punished many / and also that (as he sayth yt so) myche people iudged the same.

And this shall you the more clerely marke, yf you tourne these wordes. And therfore they haue punyshed many whyche myche people &c. in to these wordꝭ (wherof the sentence is allone) And for that cause they haue punyshed many whyche myche people &c.

And therfore, that is to saye for that cause whych I before told you, that is to wyt that you shold not perceyue thys poynte, this man in hys laste rehershall as you haue herde, bryngynge the thynge to the tryall, lefte his therfore oute. But reade my sayd two chapyters / & than as for the sentence of his open wordes, I trust you shall byleue me. As for the secrete meanyng of his mynde, I pray you byleue hym. For so that you byleue not the shrewd wordes of hys boke, I wolde to chose you sholde byleue well of the good man hym selfe.

Now where he saith in ye.xxxvii. lefe, that he thynketh I chaunge his mater, bycause I wolde be lothe to haue yt reported, that myche people take yt so: veryly I chaunge not his mater. But trouth yt is yt I am loth to haue that thyng so reported about. For trewly ye report abrode is nought all though yt were not vntrew.

And were as for the farther maintenaunce of hys mater, he sayth that yf I make serche therin to knowe the trouthe, I shall fynde that myche people take yt so, that many whyche haue ben punyshed for heresye, the spyrytualtye haue done yt of no loue but of wyll, for such euyll mynde as in the booke ys there ymagyned of them: he hath of lykelyhed hym selfe made serche to fynde yt so. For as for me though I go not aboute to serche that poynte of purpose: yet I haue talked wyth many one in this meane whyle, & yet I thāke god it is not my fortune to fynde out that same mych people that take yt so. And yf there were myche people that so dyd, yt were theyre owne faute / wherin I can not deuyse what the spyrytualty myght do to chaunge theym, but onely praye god to mende theym.

And as for me, yf there were myche people that so toke yt, as I truste in god veryly there is not: I wolde as my dutye were be surely very sorye for theym / but in thys cause of trouth, trewely I wolde not flater theym. For though that sorte of people were neuer so myche in dede: yet is the trouth in that poynt so clere agaynste theym, that yf theyre myndes were suche, yt were bothe great shame for theym to saye yt, and also great synne to thynke yt.

And surely that theyre sayenge ys false and noughte in hys owne secrete iudgement: you maye se good reders by this yt he laboureth so sore to put yt from hym selfe, and wolde be so lothe to haue yt taken for hys owne. And therfore whyle hym selfe thought theyre sayeng so false, he sholde not haue told yt after them. Nor nowe sholde he not sende me to serche and seke theym, but to saue hys owne honesty / leste men myght thynke he fayned, he sholde seke out & brynge forthe some of those shrewd sayers hym selfe.

A nother thynge thys man toucheth in the same chapyter, concernynge that seconde sorte of people whome I saye in some places of myne Apologye, that thys man calleth polytyques. And here he declareth that he doth not so / and proueth yt by lyke wordes spoken of a good mannys mouthe by an hypocryte, of whome a man maye say: Thys man vseth hym self as he were a vertuouse man / and yet cal hym not vertuouse. And so myght this man saye yt they spake heresyes as of polycye, and yet call theym not polytyque.

But here must he now consyder, yt who so speke suche wordes in such fashyon by an hyprycryte, sayth yt in hys desprayse and in detestacyon of suche hypocrysye / and therfore he that so sayeth, sheweth y• by such wordes he taketh not ye hypocrite for vertuouse. And therfore reade good readers this mannys whole processe of hys thre sortes of people to gether, whych you shall fynde in the.xxi. chapyter of myne apologye fo. 123 / and then yf you fynd his wordes of theyr spekyng[…] suche heresyes as of polycye, in lyke maner spoken by hym in dysprayse of heretyques, as he putteth here his sample of those wordes spoken by a good man in dysprayse of hypocrites / & not spoken by a way of geuynge theym by that worde as of polycye a colourable excuse for defence of sewynge theyre heresye: than am I contente, that euery man take yt that I mysse reporte hym shamefully. And ellys I truste loke in all the places in whyche I speke therof, and you shal soon iudge, that vpppon hys wordes vsed to suche purpose as he there vseth theym: I may wel vse the wordꝭ of hys polytykes in suche wyse[…]as I vse yt.

And as for the tynkar and the tyler, that he speketh of in the ende of the chapyter / and sayth god forbede but that they[…] were dysmyssed and wente home aboute theyr besynesse, yf they can by any reasonable and trewe allegeaunce, so order theym selfe, that yt maye appere that they oughte to be dysmyssed of iustyce: therin holde I well wyth hym and god forbede ellys to / for els myghte they lese betwene theym, the tone the […] […] pryce of hys trewell, and the tother of his clouted ketyll. But loke good readers in myne Apology the.xlviii. chapyter, whych begynneth fo. 272 / and that done, I doute not but you shall fynde for the tylare and the tynkare / for heresy there called in of offyce, this good word so spoken here, but a very vayne worde of offyce / and that the tynkare wolde haue tynked oute of hys pannes botome, a reason that wolde at the leste wyse rynge a lytle better then thys.