The second chapyter

Here sūmaryly is declared what order the Author intendyth to trete of the matters purposyd vnto hym. wherof because the fyrst was an oppynyon conceyued in some mennys heddes that a certayn parsōlate abiured of heresy for preching against pilgrymagys & ymagis and prayers made to sayntꝭ was therin greately wronged / ye author breuely declareth hys mynde concernyng the confutacyon of those perylouse and pernycyouse opy[…]yons.

ON y• morow whan he was cū men agayne sumwhat before vii. of the clocke (for so I appoynted hym) takyng hym wyth me in to my stody / and my saruantys warned that yf any other shulde happen to desyre to speke wyth me / certayne excepte of whome I gaue theym knowlege / they shulde dy[…]erre theym tyll a nother leysor / I sett hym downe wyth me at a litle table. And then I shewed vnto hym that where he had purposed on your byhalf in short wordys many long thyngꝭ wherof the rehersall were losse of tyme to hym that so well knew theym all redy / I wolde all suꝑ[…]iuous recapytulacyon sett aparte / as brefely as I conuenyently coulde / shew hym my mynde in theym all. And fyrst bygyn where he bygan at the abiuracyon of the man he spake. Secūdly wold I touche the condempnacyon and burnyng of ye new testament traunslated by Tyndale. Thyrdly sumwhat wold I speke of Luther & hys secte in generall. Forthly and fynally ye thyng that he touched laste that is to wytt y• wart and fyghtyng agaynst infydelys wyth the condemnacyō of heretyques vnto deth / whych twoo poynty[…] hym selfe had combyned and knytte to gether. And fyrst as touchyng the mater of the mannes ab[…]racyon where it is reported that the spyrytualtye dyd hym wrong. And for to make that seme lykly there is layed in theym displeasure / malice & […]y toward hym […]or peech[…]ng as ye say quod I agaynst theyer vycyouse lyuyng / And in hym is on the tother syde alegyd myche connyng vertue and goodnes. I wyll neyther enter in to the prayse of theym nor in to the dyspreyse of hym / wherein standyth nothyng theffecte of thys mater / For if the[…]e dyd / I wold not passe ouer sū parte therof so shortely.

But now for thys mater all though the hole spyrytualtye / wherin no man dowtith to be […] […]any a ryght vertuous and godly man / were in theyre lyuyng farr wors than deuyllꝭ / yet yf they did that mā no wrong / there hath for this matter no man agaynst them eny caus to cōplayn. And ouer thys yf that man were in all hys other lyuynge as innocent as a saynt / yet yf he were infected & fautye in these herysyes / he had than in thys matter no wrong. And yet besyde all thys yf he not onely were in all other thyngꝭ very vertuous / but also were of all thoese heresyes whereof he was detected vtterly clene and fautles / yet yf it were by suffycyent wytnes / were they neuer so fals in dede / seming honest and lykely to say trew / prouyd in opyn courte that he was fauty ther in / albeyt in suche case hys wytnessys had wronged hym / yet had hys iudges done hym but ryght. And therfore letting passe as I say y• praysse or dysprayse of either hys iudgꝭ or him / as thyngys impertinent to y• point / I will shew you yt they not onely dyd hym no wrong / but also shewed hym / in my mynd the gretest fauour / And vsed toward hym the most charytable […]rcy yt euer I wy[…] vsyd to eny man in […]uch case. And fyrst as for any wron[…] yt hys iudgi[…] did hy[…]/I mer[…]ell me […] wher in they that report yt could assygn[…] it. for yf […]ny were done him[…]it must n[…]ꝭ haue ben in one of the twoo thyngys / eyther in that he was vntruly iudgyd to haue pchyd such artycles as he was detectyd of where he pchyd none such in dede / or ellys in that sum such artycles as he prechyd were iudeged & condemned for heresyes where they were none in dede. Excepte that any man wolde say that though he were proued and conuyctyd of heresye yet he shuld haue bene put to no penaunce at all or ellys to no such as he was. And of that poynt if eny mā so thynk / I shall speke in y• fourth parte where we shall towch in generall the ordre that the chyrche takyth in the condemnacyon of herytyques. But as for the tother poyntys fyrst if eny preest wrote owte of londō in to your cuntraye that eny such artycle of hys prechyng was by hys iudeges declared for herysy as were in dede good & not ageynst the fayth of crystys chyrch / lett hym name what artycle / And eyther ye shall fynde that he shall name you such as y• man was not charged wyth all / or ellys shall ye fynde yt such as he shall name you were such in dede as your selfe shall pceyue for heresyes at your ere / For y• artycles where wyth he was chargede were yt we shuld do no worshyppe to eny ymages / nor pray to enyseyntys / or go on pylgrymagys / whyth thyngys I suppose euery good crystyn man wyll agre for heresyes. And therfore we shall lett that poynt passe and so resort to the secund […]o se why[…]her it were well prouy[…] that he preched them or no. Syr quod your […]end I wold for my parte well agree theym for […]rysys / but yet haue I ha[…] some or thy[…] that wold not d[…] so[…] And therfore w[…]an we […]all they[…] herysye[…] it were well […] to tell why / […]ythse[…] men wold (I we[…]e yf they myghte […] hard) […]tyffly say nay / whych now hold theyre pease & bere theym selfe full coldely that wold take ye mater more hote saue for burnīg of theyr lyppys. Now forsoth quod I who so euer wyll say yt these be no heresyes / he shall not haue me to dispute it which haue no cūning in such maters / but as it best becūmyth a ley man to do in all thyngys / lene & cleue to the comem fayth / and byleue of crystꝭ chyrch. And therby do I plaī ly know it for an herysye / if an herysye be a secte and a syde way takyn by any part of such as bene bap[…]ysyd and bete the name of crystyn men frō the comē fayth and byleefe of the hole chyrch besyde. For thys am I very sure and perceyue it well not only by experyens of myne one tyme & the placys were my selfe hath bene wyth commen report of other honest mē from all other placys of crystyndome / but by bokys also & rememberauncys lefte of long tyme wyth wrytyng of the olde holy fathers and now sayntys in heuyn / that from thappostles tyme hytherto this maner hath ben vsyd / taught & allowed / and the contrary comōly condenyd throgh ye hole flok of all good crysten people. And as touchyng such textꝭ as thes[…] heretykys allege agaynst the worshyppyng of ymagys / prayeng to sayntys / and goyng ō pylgrymages / as they ley the law geuen to the Iewes. Non facies tibi s[…]u[…]p[…]e / […]how shalt carue the none ymag[…]. And the psalme. In e[…]i[…]u Israell[…] de egipto / And s[…]l[…] deo honor et gloria / only to god be honor & glory. And ma[…] dictus […]ui cōfidit in homine. Accursed is he that putteth hys truste in man wyth many suche other lyke / whych herytyques haue of old euer ha[…] ked agaynst chrystys catholyk chyrch / very su[…]e am I yt saynt Austen / saynt[…] hierome / saint basyle / saint gregory wt so many a godly cunnyng mā as hath ben in crystis church from ye begynyng hytherto / vnderstod those textꝭ as wel as dyd those heretyques / Namely hauyng as good wittꝭ / beyng farr better lernid / vsing in stody more diligence / beyng an hepe to an handfull / & which most ys of all hauyng / as god by many myracles beryth wytnes / besyde theyr lernyng the lyght and clerenes of hys especyall grace / by whych they were inwardly taught of hys only spyryt to ꝑceyue that the word is spokyn in the old law to the iewys people prone to Idolatry / and yet not to all theym nether / For the preestys than had the ymagis of thangell cherubin in the secret place of the temple / shulde haue no place to forbyd imagis among his crysten flok / where hys pleasure wold be to haue ye ymage of hys blessed body hāgyng on hys holy crosse / had in honour and reuerent remembraunce. where […] wold vouchsaufe to send vnto the kyng abiagarus the ymage of hys owne face / where he lykyd to leue the holy vernacle thexpresse ymage also of hys blessid vysage as a token to remayn ī honour amōg such as louyd hym from ye tyme of hys bytter passyon hytherto. whych as it was by the myracle of hys blessid holy hād expressed and lefte ī y• sudari / so hath yt bene by lyke myracle in that thyn corruptyble cloth kepte and preseruyd vncorrupted thys.xv.C. yere freshe and well perceyued to ye īwarde cumfort / spyrytuall reioysyng & grete encreace of feruoure and deuocyon in the hartꝭ of good crysten people. Crist also taught hys holy euangelyst saynt luke to haue an nother maner mynde toward ymagis than haue these heretyques / whan he put in hys mynde to counterfete and expresse in a table the louely vysage of oure blessed lady hys mother. He taught also saynt amphibalus the mayster and techer of the holy fyrst martyr of englond saynt albane to bere about and worshyppe y• crucyfyx. who shewed also saynt albane him self in a vysyon ye ymage of ye crucyfyx but god: whych thyng wrought ī that holy man so strongly / that he with few wordꝭ of saynt amphybalus at y• sight of that blessed ymage whych our lorde had before shewid hym ī hys slepe was clene turned to chrystendome / And in the worshyping of y• same ymage was taken and brought forth to iudgemēt & afterward to marterdome.

And there ys no man but yf he loue a nother he delitith ī his ymage or enythyng of hys. And these heretyques yt be so sore agaynst the ymagis of god & hys holy sayntis wold be yet ryght angry with[…]n yt wold dishonestly handle an ymage made in remembraunce of hī self / where y• wrethis forbere not vilanously to handle and to cast dyrte in dispyte vppon the holy crucyfyx anymage made in remembraunce of our sauiour hym selfe / and not only of his most blessyd ꝑson but also of hys most bytter passion.

Now as touching prayer made vnto the sayntis and worshyp done vnto theym / mich meruayle is it what cause of malice these heretykꝭ haue to them. we se yt commen in the wreched cōdycyon of thys world that one man of a pride in him self hath enuy at a nother or for displasure done / beryth to some other malyce and euyll wyll. But this must nedꝭ be a deuelish hatred to hate him whom thou neuer knewist / which neuer did the harme / which if he could now do yt no good where he is / yet eyther wyth hys good ensample gone before the / or hys good doctryne lefte byhynde hym / doth the / but if thou be very nought of thy self / gret good ī this worlde for thy iorney toward heuyn. And thys muste nedys be an enuy cū myng of an hye deuelyshe pryde and far passyng thenuye of the deuyll hymself / for he neuer enuyed but such as he saw & was conuersaunt wyth / as whā he saw man and the glory of god. But these herytyques enuye theym whome they neuer saw nor neuer shall se but whan they shalbe sory and ashamed in theym self of yt gloryouse syght / For where they pretend the zele of goddys honour hī […]elf / as though god to whō only all honour and glory is to be geuen / were dyshonored in that sum honour is done to hys holy sayntys / they be not so mad nor so chyldyshe as they make theim self. For if all honour were so to be geuen only to god yt we shulde gyue none to no creature / where were than goddys precepte of honour to be geuyn to our father & mother / to pryncys / gouernours & rulers here in erthe / And as saynt Poule sayth euery man to other And well they wote that the chyrch worshyppeth not saītys as god but as goddis good saruauntis / & therfore the honour that is done to theym redoundeth pryncypally to ye honour of theyr mayster / lyke as in comē custū of people we do reuerence sumtyme & make great chere to sum men for theyr maysters sakes whome ellys we wold not happely byd ones good morow. And surely if eny benefite or almes done to one of crystꝭ pore folke for hys sake / be by hys hygh goodnes reputed and accepted as done vnto hym self / And that who so receyuyth one of hys aposteles or dyscyples receyuyth hym selfe / euery wyse man may well cōsyder that in lyke wyse who so doth honour hys holy sayntis for his sake doth honour hym self / Excepte these herytyques wene yt god were as enuyouse as they be theym selfe / And yt he wolde be wroth to haue eny honour done to eny other though it therby redounded vnto hymselfe. whereof our sauyoure cryste well declareth the contrary / for he sheweth hym self so well cōtent, that hys holy sayntys shalbe pertyners of hys honoure / that he promysyth his aposteles / that at ye dredfull dome whā he shall cum in hys hygh maiestye they shall haue theyr honourable seetis and sytte wyth hym selfe vppon the iudegement of the worlde Cryste also ꝓmised that saynt mary magdalene shulde be worshyped thorow the worlde and haue here an honorable remembraūce for that she bestowed yt precyouse oyntement vppon hys holy hed. whych thyng whan I consyder it makyth me meruayle of the madnes of these heretiques that barke agaynst the old aūcient customes of crystys chyrch / mockyng the settyng vppe of cādellys and wyth folyshe facecyes & blasphemous mockery demaunde whyther god and hys sayntys lak lyght or whyther yt be nyght wyth theym that they can not see wythoute candle. They myght as well aske what good dyd that oyntemēt to christꝭ hed. But the heretyques gruge at the coste now / as theyre brother Iudas dyd than / And say it were better spent in almys vppon pore folk And thys say many of theym whyche can neyther fynde in theyre harte to spēd vppon y• one nor the tother. And sum spend sometyme vppon the tone for none other entent but to thēd that they may the more boldely rebuke and rayle agaynste the tother. But let thē all by that ensample of ye holy woman and by those wordys of our sauyour / lerne yt god delyteth to se ye feruēt hete of y[…] hartꝭ deuociō boyl out by ye body / And to do hī seruyse wt all such goodꝭ of fortūe as god hath geuī mā what ryches deuysed our lord god hym selfe in the making & garnishyng of y• tēple & in the ornamentes of ye auter and the prestes apparayle / what was him selfe the better for all thys? what for ye bestꝭ yt hym self cōmaūded to be offred hym in sacryfyce? what for ye swete odours and frankensence? why do these heretiques more mocke at ye maner of crystꝭ chyrche than they do at ye maner of ye iewes synagoge but yf they be beter iewes thā crysten mē? If mē wyll say that the mony were better spent amōg poore folke by whō he more setteth / beyng the quycke temples of ye holy goste made by hys owne hand / than by the temples of stone made by the hand of man / Thys wold be percase very trew if there were so lytle to do yt wyth that we shuld be dreuyn of necessyte to leue ye tone vndōe. But god geuyth inough for both / And geuyth dyuerse men dyuers kyndys of deuocyō and all to hys pleasure. In which as thapostle Poule sayth let euery mā for hys parte aboū de & be plentuouse in yt kynde of vertu yt the spyryte of god guydeth hym to. & not to be of the folyshe mynde y• luther is / which wisheth in a sermō of his yt he had in hys hād all the perys of the holy crosse / And saith yt yf he so had he wold throw them there as neuer sonne shuld shyne on thē. And for what worshup full reasō wold ye wreche do such velany to ye crosse of chryst? by cause as he sayth that there is so mych golde now bestowed aboute ye garneshyng of the pyecys of the crosse that there is none lefte for pore folke. Is not thys ā high reason? as though all ye golde yt is now bestowed aboute the pecys of the holy crosse wolde not haue faylede to haue bē geuen to pore mē if they had not bē bestowed abowte the garneshīg of the crosse / And as though ther were nothīg lost but yt is bestowd about cristꝭ cros Take all ye gold yt is spent about all ye pecys of chrystꝭ crosse thorow christendome / albe it many a good chrystē prince and other godly people hath honourably garnyshed many peces therof / yet yf all yt golde were gathered together / yt wold appere a pore porcyon in comparison of ye gold yt is bestowed vppon cuppys / what speke we of cuppys? in whych ye gold albeit yt it be not geuen to pore men yet ys it saued and may be geuen in almouse whan men wyll whych they neuer wyll / how smal a porcyon wene we were ye gold about all ye pecys of chrystys crosse yf yt were compared with ye gold yt is quyte cast a way about ye giltīg of kniuis / swordꝭ / sporys / arrace / & paynted clothes: and as though these thyngis could not cō sume gold fast inough y• gyltīg of postys & hole rofes / not only in the palacꝭ of princys and great prelatis / but also many ryght mene mēnes housis. And yet amōg all these thingis coud luther spy no gold yt greuously glyterid ī his bleryd eyes but onely aboute ye cros of chryst. yt gold yf yt were thēs the wyse man wenyth yt wold de streyght geuē to pore mē. and yt where he dayly seeth yt such as haue theyr purs full of golde geue to ye pore not one pece therof but yf they gyue ought they ransake the botome among all ye gold to seke out here an half peny or in his countrey a braspeny wherof four make a ferthing / such goodly causes fīd they yt ptend holines for ye colour of theyr cloked heresyes.