The.vi chapiter

Because ye messenger thynkyth yt he may well mystrust and deny the myracles / bycause reason and nature telle hym that they can not be dō / therfore fyrst y• author sheweth what vnresonablenes wold ensue / if folke wold stand so styffe agaynst all credence to be geuen to any such thyng as reason and nature shuld seme to gayne saye.

ANd fyrst where ye say. Nay quod he where they saye. well quod I soo be it where they saye / For here euer my tonge tryppythe. But now therfore fyrste where they saye yt they neuer sawe any of these myracles theym self / and therfore the myracles be no profe to them whych whyle they neuer sawe them are not boundē to be leue them / they seme eyther very necligent yf they nothyng […]uere whā they mystrust & dout of the trouth in such a wayghty matter / or yf they haue dylygētly made enserche than must it nedꝭ be yt they haue hard of so many tolde & rehersyd by the mou[…]hes & the writing of so good and credyble personis / that the ye seeme vnreasonably suspycyous yf they thynke all to gether lyes that so many tre[…] mē or mē like to be trew so faythfully do report. If these mē were […]uggys fewe maters wold take ēde at theyr hād / or at ye le[…]t y• playntife shuld haue well spede if they wold bileue no thyng but that were proued / nor rekē nothīg proued but yt they se them selfe. Thus may euery man rekē him selfe vnsure of hys owne father if he beleue no mā / or bycause all ye profe therof stā dyth but vpō one woman / And yt vpō her whych though she can tell best / yet yf yt be wrong hath gr[…]test cause to ly. Let ye knowlege of y• father alone ther fore amōg our wy[…]y[…] mysteries / And lett vs se yf we beleue nothynge but y• we se our self. who cā rekē him self sure of hys own mother / for pos[…]ble it were y• he were chaunged in ye cradell / and a […]yche mānis […] bring hō […] h[…]r owne chylde for her masters / & kepe her masters for her own to make her o[…] a gē tylmā good […]h[…]pe. And thys were no grete mastery / whyle ye mother hath of her owne child no […]re marke. Sir q your frend yf I shuld […] & by thes exāples proue thē yt they wer of reasō boūdē to beleue […] […]les as were reportyd bycause many […]dyble mē tell thē / for as mo[…] as […]ys we shuld bileue nothīg but that […] […]e our self / and than were all the […]rld full of cō […]u[…]yon / nor no iudgmēt could be geu[…]/but vppō thyngys […] iudgꝭ […]ight / I shuld I fere me very […]ebly saty[…]y them. For they wolde […] say yt t[…]ē samples be nothynge like y• mater. But as it is reasō yt I shuld beleue honeste mē in all such thyngꝭ as may be trew / & whereī I se no cause why they shuld lye / so were agayn[…] all reasō to bileue mē be they neuer so many / seme they neuer so credible / where as reasō & nature (of whych tw[…]yne euery one ys alone more credyble then they all) sheweth me plainly yt theyre tal[…] is vntrew / as yt muste nedy[…] yf the matter be unpossyble as it is in all […]hes myr[…] cles. And in such case though I can […] seue no ꝓfit yt they cā receyue therby / yet wh[…] I wel se yt it coud not be trew I must well se that it […] not tre[…]. And therby must I nedi[…] […]owe yt y[…] they can take no profyt by lying / they ly not for eny coueryer / but euē ōly for theyr specyall pleasure. Forsoth q I thys is right meryly āswered. & to say the trothe / as far as we be yet gone in the matter of these myracles not my […] amysse / nor very far fro ye poynt. But syth thys thyng ys mych materyal[…] as wheruppō many grete thy[…]ys do depend / we shall no[…] so shortely sha[…]e y[…] of / but we shall cum one […]ep or […] nere to y• matter. And fyr[…] I wy[…] say to thē that it were hard for them & n[…] very sure to beleue yt euery […]ā lyeth / why[…]h tellyth thē a tale for trew ye re[…] & nature semyth to she[…] thē to be fals & īpossible. For ī this w[…]e shall they in many thīgys erre & clerely deceyue th[…] ̄ self. And […]tyme […] they make th[…] ̄ selfe sure […] y• wrōg syde yf they wol[…] […] […] done beleue no man that tell yt them / able yt yt yt be no perell to theyr soule / yet so much haue they knowlege ye les / & vnresonably stande in theyr […]our […]horow the mystrustyng of the trewth. It ys not yet fyfty yeres a goo syns y• furst man as far as mē haue hard / cāe to lōdon that euer parted y• gylt from the syluer consumyng shorte[…]y the syluer into dust with a very fayer water / In so farr forth that whan the fyners and goldsmythes of london hard fy[…]st therof they nothynge wondred therof but laughed thereat as at an impossyble ly / ī which perswasions if they had cōtynued styll […]hey had yet at this day la[…]ed all that connyng. yet wyll I not say nay but that a man may be to lyght in beleue / and be by such ensamples brought into beleue to farr. As […] good fe[…]ow and frend of myne late ī talkyng of this matter of marueylys & miracles entending merely to make me beleue for a trouth a thyng yt could neuer be / fyrst brought in what a force the fyre hath that will make two peces of yron able to be ioyned and cleue to gyther / and wyth the helpe of ye h[…]me[…] […]e made both one which no h[…]meryng could do wythout the fyre / whych thīg because I dayly see I assented. Than sayed he ferther / yt yet was more maruayle that the fyer shall make […]en to […]ōne as syluer or lead doth / & make it take a prynt. whych thyng I told hym I had neuer sene / but byc[…]use he sayed he had sene it I thought it to be trew. Sone after thys / he wold haue me to beleue yt he had sene a pece of syluer of twoo or thre inchys aboute & in lēgth leesse than afote drawē by mānes hād thorowe strayte holes made in a irone tyll it was brought in thyknesse not halfe a inche aboute / & ī lēgth drawē oute I cannot tell how many yardys. And whē I hard hī say yt he sawe thys hī selfe thā I wyst well he was merely dysposed. Mary syr q your frēde it was hye time to gyue him ouer whā he cā to y•. well said I what yf I shuld tell you now yt I had seen ye same / by my faythe q he merely I wold beleue it at leysour whan I had seen the same / and in ye meane whyle I could not let you to say your pleasure ī your own house but I wold thynk that ye were dysposed merely to make me a fole. wel seyd I / what yf there wold besydys me / ten or.xx. good honest men tell you ye same tale / and that they had all seen the thīg done them self. In fayth quod he syth I am sēt hyther to beleue you / I wold in that poynt beleue your self alone / as well as them all. well quod I ye mean ye wold beleue vs all a lyke. But what wold you than say yf one or twayne of them wold say more. Mary q he than wold I beleue them lesse. what yf they wold q I shew you yt they haue seene that the pece of syluer was ouer gylt. & the same pece beyng styll drawen thorow the holes ye gylt not rubbyd of but styll goo forth ī lenght wyth the syluer so that all ye lenght of many yerdꝭ was gylted of the gyltynge of the fyrst pece not a fote longe? Surely syr quod he those twayne yt wold tell me so moche more I wold saye were not so cūnyng in the mayntenāce of a lye as was the pylgrymys companyon whyth whan hys felowe had told at yorke yt he had seene of late at londō / a byrde that keuered all poules chyrch yarde wt hys wyngys: commynge to the same place on the morowe sayd that he sawe not that byrde: but he harde mych speeche therof / but he saw in Powles chyrche yard an egge so greate that.x. menne could scant moue yt wyth leuers / thys felowe could help it forth wyth a proper syde way / But he were no good vnder propper of a lye that wold mynyshe hys credence wyth afyrmyng all the fy[…]st and settyng a lowder lye therto. well sayd I thā I haue espied if.x. shuld tell you so ye wold not beleue thē. No quod he not if.xx. shuld. what yf an hū dred wold quod I that semed good and credable. if they were q he ten thousand they were not of credēce wyth me whan they shuld tell me that they sawe ye thīg that my self knoweth by nature & reasō vnpossyble For whan I know it could not be donne / I knowe well that they lye all / be they neuer so many that say they sawe it done. well quod I syth I se well ye wold not in thys poynt beleue a hole towne / ye haue put me to sylence / that I dare not now be bol[…]e to tell you that I haue seen yt my s[…]lfe. But surely if wytnes wold haue seruede me I wene I myght haue broght you a grete meny good men that wold saye and swere to that they haue sene it thē self. But nowe shall I ꝓuide me to morowe peraduenture a cople of wytnes of whom I wote well ye wyll myst[…]uste neyther nother. who be they quod he for yt were hard to fynde whō I could better trust thē your self / whō what soo euer I haue merely sayed I cold not in good fayth but beleue you in that ye shuld tell me ernestly vppon your owne knowlege. But ye vse my master sayeth to loke so sadly / whā ye meane merely / that many tymes men dowte whether ye speke in sport whā ye mene good erneste. In good fayth quod I / I meane good ernest now / & yet as well as ye dare trust me I shall as I sayed yf ye wyll go wyth me prouyde a couple of wytnesse of whom ye wyll beleue any one better thā twayne of me / for they be your nerre frendys / and ye haue bene better acquaynted wt them / and such as I dare say for them be not often wont to lye. who be they q he I pray you. Mary quod I your owne twoo eyn / for I shall if you wyll brynge you where ye shall se it / no ferther hens than euyn here in london. And as for iron & laten to be so drawē in lēgth ye shall se it dōe in.xx shoppꝭ almost in one strete. Mary syr quod he these wytnes in dede wyll not lye / As the pore man sayed by the preste if I may be so hōly to tell you a mery tale by the waye. A mery tale quod I cummyth neuer a mys to me. The pore mā quod he had found the preste ouer famylyer wyth hys wyffe / and because he spake hy[…] a brode and coulde not proue it the prest sued hym before the bysshoppys offycyall for dy[…]famacyō / where the pore man vppō payne of cursyng was cōmaunded that in hys paryshe chyrch he shuld vpon the sonday at hygh masse tyme / stand vp and saye mou[…]h thou lyest. whereuppon for fulfyllyng of hys penaunce vpp was the pore soule sett in a pew that ye people myght wonder on hym and here what he sayed / And ther all a lowd whan he had rehersyd what he had reportyd by ye prest / than he sett hys handys on his mouth / & sayd mouth mouth thou liest. And by & by theruppon he sett hys hād vpon both hys eyen & sayed / but eyen eyen quod he by the masse ye lye not a whytte And so syr in dede / & ye bryng me those wyttnes they wyll not lye a whyt How be it syr and though thys be trewe / as in good fayth I beleue & am sure that it ys / yet am I neuer the more bounden by reason to beleue thē y• wolde tell me a miracle. For though thys thyng be incredyble to hym that hereth it / and straunge and meruelus to hym that seeth yt / yet is it a thynge that may be done / But he that telleth me a myracle / telleth me a thynge that can not be don. I shewed you quod I thys ensāple to put you in mynd that in beyng ouer hard of byleue of thynges tha[…] by reason and nature seme & apere īpossyble / where they be repottyd by credyble witnes hauing no cause to lye / ther is as moch peryll of errour as where men be to light of credēce / And thus much haue I proued you ōwarde that if ye beleue no man in such thīgꝭ as may not be / than must it folow that ye ought to beleue no man in many thyngys that may be / for all is oone to you / whyther they may be or may not be / yf it seme to you that they may not be. And of truthe ye cānot tell whether they may be or may not be / except they be two such thyngys as imply cōtradiccion / as oone selfe thyng in oone selfe parte to be both whyte & blakke. For ellys many thyngys shall seme to you such as all reson wyll resyste / and nature wyll in no wyse admytte / And yet they shall be done well inoughe / And be in some other place in comen vse & custome. But nowe bycause / all your shyfte standeth ī thys that of a myracle tolde you ye may wyth reason byleue that all men lye bycause reasō and nature beyng more to be beleuyd than all they / telleth you that they say wronge in that the thyng reportyd for a myracle can not be donne / I haue shewed you that nature / and reasō doth shew you yt many thyngys may not be don whych yet in dede be done so ferforth y• when ye se theym done ye may right well accompte thē as miracles for any thyng that reason or nature can shew you by what naturall order and cause yt could be done / but that ye shall styll se reason stand quyte agaynst yt as in the drawynge of the syluer or iron.