The.xxi. chapyter

The author sheweth that yf yt so were in dede as the messenger sayd / that is to wytt that chryste cōtynued wyth hys chyrch none other wise but only by the leuynge of hys holye scrypture to theym / and that all the fayth also were ōly therin / thā shuld it yet folow that as far as ye necessyte of our saluacyon requyreth / god geueth the chyrch ye ryght vnde[…]stā dyng therof. And theruppon foloweth […]arther that the chyrche can not err in the tyght fayth. whereuppon is inferred e[…]te sone / all yt the messē ger wold haue fled fro byfore. And ther[…]n also specially followeth / that […]ll th[…] tex[…]ꝭ of holy scripture whych herytyques alledge agaynst ymagꝭ or eny poynt of the comen byleue of Chrystys catholique church / can no thyng serue theyre purpose.

BUt now wold I wytte / syth ye reken hym none other wyse present thē in holy scrypture / whether thē doth he gyue hys churche the ryght vnderstandyng of holy scrypture or not? what yf he do not quod he. Mary quod I then your selfe seeth well / that they were as well wythowte. And so shulde the scrypture stand them in as goode stede / as a payre of spectacles shulde stande a blynde freer. That ys very truthe quod he. But therefore hath hys wysdom and goodnes prouyded yt so to be wreten / that yt may be well vnderstāden by the collacyō and consyderacyon of one texte wyth a nothere. May yt not also be q I that sum of them whych do rede it dilygently / and dylygently compare and consyder euery texte how yt may stand with othe[…] may yet for all that mistake and mysunderstande yt? yes quod he yt may be so. For elles had there not ben so many herytykes as ther hathe ben. Uery truthe quod I. But now yf all the fayth be in holy scrypture / and no parte therof any where elles / but that yt must be therin all to gether lernyd / were yt then suffycyent to vnderstand sum parte aryght and sum other parte wronge in the necessary poyntꝭ of our fayth / or must we as farforth as cōcernith ye necessyte therof mysunderstand no parte? we must q he mystake no parte as farre as necessaryly cōcernith our faythe. But we muste haue so the ryght vnderstanding of all to gether / that we conceyue no damnable errour well sayd quod I. Then yf we must we maye. For yf we may not we muste not. For our lord byndyth no mā to ā īpossybylyte. we way q he. If we may q I / thē may we ether by good hap fall in the ryght vnderstandyng / or els by naturall reson cū to it / or els by suꝑnaturall grace be ledd into it. That is tr[…]th q he nedꝭ must it be one of these way[…]. well q I we wyll not yet ēserch whych. But I wold furst wyt whether Cryst haue a chyrch in the world cōtynually / & so shall haue to ye worldꝭ ēd / or els hath one sumtyme & sūtyme nōe at all. As we might thynk yt he had on[…] whyle he was here hym self & ꝑaduenture a whyle after / & hapely none at all neuer sythȳs / nor shall not agayne we wot nere when. Nay q he yt can not be in no wyse / but yt he muste nedys haue hys church cōtynew styll sū where. for els how coud he be wt them cōtynually to ye worldys end in scrypture or other wyse / yf they wt whō he promisyd to b[…] & contynew to the worldys end / shulde not contynually so longe endure? Or how could those wordꝭ of cryst be trew Lo I am wt you all ye days to the worldys end / yf before ye worldꝭ end he wer away sum days / as he wer in dede fro ye church sum days / if in sū days he had no church. well quod I yet wold I wit one thyng more. Can he haue a church wtout faythe. Nay quod he that were ī possyble. Forsoth quod I so were it. for hys church is a congregacyō of people gatheryd into hys fayth And fayth is the furst substācyall dyfference dyscernyng crysten men from hethen / as reason is the diff[…]rence deuydyng mā frō all the kyndys of brute be[…]ys. Now then if hys churche be and euer shalbe contynuall wythoute any tymes betwene / in whyche there shall be none / and wythoute fayth yt may neuer bee / and no parte of the fayth is as ye saye ellys where had but in holy scrypture and all yt must be had / and also as we were agreyd a […]ytyll whyle afore / there must be non errour adioynid therto / & therfore as far as toucheth the necessyte of feyth no part of scrypture may be misse taken / but all must be vnderstanden ryght / and may be ryght vnderstā den eyther by happe reason our helpe of grace / yt necessaryly folowethe that by one or other of these ways / ye chyrch of Cryste hath alway & neuer faylethe the ryght vnderstādyng of scrypture / as fare as longethe for oure necessyte. That foloweth in dede q he. well quod I / let passe for the whyle. what foloueth further? And […]yth the church so hath / let vs fyrste aggree by whyche of these.iii. wayes the church hath it. why there by happe / reason / or grace. By happe quod he were a poore hauyng. For so myghte yt hap to haue and hap to fayle. Then quod I sythe yt hathe yt euer / it can not be by hap. what thī […] you then of reasone? As lytell quod he as any man thynkethe. For I take that for playne enmye to faythe. ye take paraduēture wrong quod I. But thereof shall we se further aftere. But now syth ye so thynk / ye leue but the thirde way / whych is the help of grace. No surly quod he. Ueryly quod I where reson may betwene dyuers textys stand in greate doute whych way to lene / I thynk that god wyth hys holy spyryt ledeth hys church into the cō sent of the trouthe / As hym selfe sayd / that the holy goste whō he wold send / shulde lede theym ī to all trouth. And thus by the helpe off hys grace as yee graūt / ye ryght vnderstandīg of scrypture is euer preserued ī hys church frō all suche mystakyng / wherof myght folow any damnable errour concernyng the fayth. And therof doth ther fyrst folow / that besyde the scrypture self ther is an other present assystence & speciall cure of god / perpetuall with his church to kepe yt ī the right fayth / that it erre not by mysse vnderstandynge of holy scrypture / contrary to thoppyniō that ye purposyd / when ye sayde yt Chrystys beyng wyth hys churche was only the leuyng of hys holy scrypture to vs. And ouer thys yf god were no nother wyse present then ye speke of / yet syth yt ys proued that hys church for all yt / euer hath the ryght vnderstandyng of scrypture / we be cōmen to y• same poīt agayne that ye wold so fayne flyt frō. For yf the scrypture and nothyng but ye scrypture doth contayn all thīg yt we be bounden to byleue and to do and to forbere / and yt god also therfore prouydeth for hys church the ryght vnde[…] standyng therof / cōcernyng euery thīg necessary for vs that is cōteynid ī scripture / thē must there nedes folow theruppon the thyng yt ye feryd / lest ye had wronge and vnaduysydly grauntyd / that ys to wyt / that god alway kepyth the ryght fayth in his church. And theruppō foloweth further the remanant of all that ys in questyon bytwene vs / that the faythe of the chyrche in ye worshyp that yt beleuyth to be well geuyn vnto sayntys / relyques and ymagys / ys not erronyous but ryght. And ther uppon foloweth also that the myracles done at such places ben none illusyōs of dampned sprytys / but the myghtye hande of god / to shew hys pleasure in the corroboracyon thereof / and in the excytacyon of oure deu[…]cyon therto. In dede quod he we be cū bakk here wyth goyng forwarde / as men walke in a mase. ye haue not yet quod I lost all that labour. For thogh ye haue half a chek in thys poynte / yet haue ye yf ye perceyue yt matyd me in a nother poynte / by one thyng that ys aggreed bytwene vs now. what is that quod he / Thys quod I yt I haue aggreed aswell as you that god hath geuyn his churche the ryght vnderstandynge of scrypture in as farforthe as longeth to the necessyte of saluacyon. In what poynte quod he hath that matyd you? why quod I se you not yt? Nay then wyll I not tell you but yf ye hyre me / or yf I tell you yet shall ye not wynne the game therby. For syth ye se yt not your selfe / yt ys but a blynde mate. Lett me knowe yt yet quod he / and I am aggreyd to take none aduauntage therof. On that bargeyn be yt quod I. ye wote well quod I that ageynst the worshyppyng of ymagys & prayng to sayntys / ye layd certeyn textys of scrypture to proue it forboden & reputed of god for y[…]olatrye. For answer wherof when I leyd the sentence that the churche and holy doctors / ther of gyue to those textys / ye sayed they were but mennys false gloses agaynst goddes trew textys. And now syth ye graunt and I also that the churche can not mysunderstand the scrypture to ye hynderaunce of ye ryght fayth ī thyngꝭ of necessite / and that ye also knowlege thys matter to be suche / that yt muste eyther be the ryght bileue and acceptable seruyce to god / or ellys a wronge and erronyous oppynyon and playne ydolatry / yt foloweth of necessyte that the churche doth not mys vnderstan[…]e those textys that ye or any other can allege and bryng forth for that purpose / But that all these textys be so to be taken and vnderstandē / as they nothing make agaynst ye church / but all against your own oppynyō ī thys mater. And this haue ye sodenly answerd your self to all those textys owt of hand / wyth a glose of your own as trew as any text in the byble / and whyche all the worlde wyll neuer aduoyde excepte they wold make the scrypture serue the church of naught / or rather to theyr hīderaunce then fortheraunce in the faythe. Fo[…] […] were yt yf yt myght be / yt god geueth them not the good vnderstādyng therof / but suffreth thē to be deceyuyd and deluded in errors / by the misse takyng of the letter. Mary quod he thys is a blynde mate in dede. Suerly quod I these.ii. thyngys seme to me two as trewe poyntys & as playne to a chrystē man as any petycyon of Euclidis geometry ys to a reasonable man. For as trewe as yt ys that euery hole thynge ys more then hys owne halfe / as trew is yt in dede / and to euery chrystē man fayth makyth yt as certeyne / Fyrst ye Chrystys churche can not erre in any such artycle as god vppō payn of losse of heuyne wyll that wee byleue. And thereuppon necessaryly folowyth / that there is no texte of scrypture well vnderstanden / by whyche crystyn people arn cōmaūdyd to do the thyng whych the church beleuyth yt they may lefully leue vndone / nor any text wherby we be forbodē any thyng / whych ye church beleueth that they may laufully do.