The preface

Hyt ys ā olde sayd saw / that one bysynes bygettyth and bryngeth forthe a nother. whych prouerbe as hit happeth I fynde very trew by my selfe / whych haue bene fayne by occasyō first of one busygnes a[…]er to take the second / and vppō the seconde now to take y• thyrd. For where as a ryght worshyp[…]ull frēd of myne sent […]ny vnto me a secret sure frende of hys wyth certayne credence to be declared vnto me / towchyng many such maters as beyng in dede very certayne and owte of doute / be nethelesse of late by lewd peple put in questy on / the specyaltees whereof doo so ferforth in the furst chapyter of thys boke appere / that we shall here nede no rehersall therof / I thought yt fyrst Inough to tell ye messēger my mynd by mouth / accōptyng yt af[…]er our cōmunycacyon ended / I shuld neuer nede ferther busynes therin. But after that the messenger was departed / & I felte my stomake well eased / in yt I rekened all my laboure done / by thynkyng my selfe a lytle whyle theron / my busynes that I toke for fynyshed I fo[…]nd very farre fro that poynt and lytle more than bygonne. For whan I consydred what y• matters were / and how many greate thingys had bene treated bytwene the messenger and me / and in what maner fashyone / albe it I mystrustyd not his good wyll / and very well trustede hys wyt / his lernyng / well seruyng hym to the perseuyng and reportyng of our cōmunycacyon / yet fyndyng oure treatye so dyuerse and so long / and sumetyme such wyse intrycate that my self could not wythout labour call it orderly to mind / me thought I had not well done wythout wrytynge to trust hys onely memory / namely sith sum partꝭ of the mater be such of theym selfe as rather nede to be attentely redde & aduysed / thā houerly hard and passyd ouer. And ouer this I cōsidred yt thogh I nothynge suspecte the messenger / as in good faythe I do not / and to saye ye trouthe am of my self so lytle mystrustyng / that he were […]ke very pl[…]ynly to shew hym selfe nought whom I shulde take for badde / yet sith no man cā loke in to a nothers breste / as yt ys therfore well done to deme the beste / so were yt not mich amysse in sych wyse to ꝓuyde for the worste / as (yf a man happe to be worse thā we take him for) our good opynyon turne vs to none harme. For thys cause me thought that for ye more suertye my parte were to sende our cō munycacyon to my sayd frende in wrytynge. wherby yf yt had happed yt hys messenger had for eny synyster fauou[…] borne toward the wronge side purposely mangled ye matter / his mayster shuld not ōly know the treuth / but also haue occacyon the better be ware of hys messēger / which ellys myght hape to hurte whyle he were mystakē for good. Now whan I had vppon thys delyberacyon taken wyth my self / wryttē all ye mater and sente hyt to my frende / than had I me thought all done and my mynd full sett at reste. But that reste rested not long. For sone after was yt shewed me that of my wrytynge were wrytten dyuerse copies / And one also caried ouer ye se. where whan I remembred what a shrewd sorte of our apostatas are assē blede / parte rōne owte of religyon / and all rōne owte of the ryghte faythe / me thought grete parell myght aryse yf sū of that cumpany whych are confedered & cōspyred to gether in the sow[…]ynge & settynge forth of Luthers pestylent he resyes in thys realme / shuld maliciously chaunge my wordys to ye worse / and so put in prent my booke framed after theyre fantesye. whych whan I wolde afterward reproue & shew ye differēce / I myght peraduenture seme for the coloure of my cause to haue amendede myne own vppon the syght of theyrs. For eschewyng whereof I ānow dreuen as I say to thys thyrde busynes of publyshyng and puttynge my boke in prynt my self. whereby theyr ētrepryse yf they shuld eny such intend / shall I trust be preuented and frustrate. And thys haue I done not all of myne own hed / but after the coūsayle of other mo thā one. whose aduyce and counsayle for theyr wysdome & lernyng I asked in that byhalf / and whych haue at my requeste vouchesaufed to rede ouer ye boke ere I dyd put yt forth. For albeit that I dare be sūwhat bold to cōmen in famylyer maner wt such as for theyr fantesye lyke to aske me of such maters eny questyon accordyng to ye counceyle of saynt Poule / byddynge vs be redy to gyue a rekenyng and to shew a reasonable cause to euery man of ye faythe and hope that we haue / yet to make & put forth eny boke wherin were tretyd eny such thyngys as to wch our fayth / wolde I not presume but yf better lerned than my selfe shulde thynke yt eyther profytable or at the lestwyse harmlese. To whose examinacion and iudgment I dyd the more studyously submyte thys worke for two thyngꝭ in specyall amonge dyuerse other. The one for the lyberall allegacyons of the messenger for the wrong parte so layd out at large / that of my selfe I stode halfe in a dowt whyther yt were cōuenyent to reherse the wordys of eny mā so hō ly and in maner sumtyme vnreuerently spoken agaynst goddis holy halows and theyre reuerente memoryes. The tother was certayne taly[…] & mery wordꝭ whych he mynglid wyth his mater / & sū such on myne owne parte amonge as occasyon […]ell in cōmunycacyon. In whych albe yt I saw none harme / yet sumwhat dowted I lest they shuld vnto sadd men seme ouer lyght & wāton for the wayght and grauyte of such an erenest matter. wherfore in these two poyntys though I hade all redy seene some ēsāples of ryght holy mē / whych in theyre bokys answeryng to thobieccions of heretiques in theyr tyme haue nott letted to reherse the very formall wordys of theym whose wrytīgis they made answere to / beyng sometyme of such maner & sorte as a good mā wold not well bere / and haue not also letted to wryte a mery word in a ryght ernest worke / of whych two thyngs I could owte of godly mennys bokis and holy sayntys workys gether a good sorte / yet in mine owne work I determyned that I wold nothyng allow nor defend that the iudgement of other vertuouse and cunnynge men wolde in eny wyse mysse lyke. And therefore after yt such had red hyt and seuerally sayde theyre aduyce / I found as hyt often happith / that sum thynge whyche one wyse and well lernyd manne wolde haue owte / twayne of lyke wysdome and lernyng specyally wolde haue in / neyther syde lackyng good and probable reasōe for theyre parte. wherfore syth hyt bycame not me to be iudge ouer the iudgment of theym whome I toke and chose for my iudges / beyng such of them self as hard were yt for eny man to say which of theym byfore the other he coulde in erudyc[…]on wytt or prudence eny thing preferr / I could no ferther goo but lene to the more parte. whych I so ferforth haue folowed / that lyke wyse as I dyuerse thyngys put owte or chaūged by theyr good aduyce & counsell / so let I nothyng stād in this boke / but such as twayne aduysyd me specyally to lette stand / agaynst eny one that eny dowt mouyd me to the contrary. And thus mych haue I thought necessary for my declaracyon and excuse to aduertyse you all that shall happen to rede thys rude symple work / prayeng you of pacyence and pardon / whom god of hys especyall grace graunte as mych profyte in ye redyng / as my pore hart hath mente you and ētendede in ye making.