The.xxiii. chapyter

The messenger obiectyth agaynst the councell of the author / in that he wold yt the studēt of scrypture shuld lene to the cōmentours & vnto naturall reson / whych he callyth enmy to fayth. And theruppon thanswere of thauthor to those obiectyons / specyally prouyng y• reason is seruant to fayth & not enmy / & must with fayth & interpretacyon of scrypture nedys be concurraunt.

SIr quod he I wyll not say naye but thys way will do well. Howbeyt I fere me yt we were lykly to byld vp many errors / if we square our tymber & stonys by these.iii. rulys / mēnys glosys / reason / and fayth not that we fynde in scrypture / but that we brynge wyth vs to scrypture. For furste as for the cōmentours that y[…] speke of / ether theyr commentys tell vs the same tale that the texte doth / or els a nother. If they tell me the same / I beleeue theym onely because the texte sayth the same. & yf they tell me a nother / than beleue I them not at all nor nought I shulde / except I shuld beleue men better than god. And for as for reson / what greter enmy can ye fynde to fayth thā reason is / whych counterpledyth fayth in euery poynt. And wolde ye then send thē twayn forth to scole to gether that can neuer agree to gether / but bee redy to fyght to gether & eyther scratch out others eyes by the waye? It semyth also sumwhat strange / that when god hath left vs in hys holy scrypture well and suffycyently hys doctryne / wherby he wold we shuld h[…]ue warnīg of all such thyng as he wold we shuld beleue and go or leue vndone / and hath left vs the scrypture for none other cause but for yt yt shuld stād vnto vs for the wytnes of hys wyll declared vs by wrytyng / yt we shuld not say nay but we wer warned / & nōe other cause why ye scrypture shuld be gyuē vs but to tell vs hys plesure & styr vs to fulfull it / we shal now not shape our fayth after ye scrypture / but furst frame vs a f[…]yth our selfe / ād thē shape the scrypture of god therby / and make yt agree therto. Thys wer ī dede a good easy waye for a slouthfull mason that wer an euyll work man to make him a squyer and a ruler of lede / that when he lyste not to take ye lobour to he we the stone to the squyer he may bende the squyer to the stone / and soo shall he yet brynge them to geder at ye leste wayes. As for the olde cōmentours quod I they tell you ye same tale that the texte doth / but they tell yt you more playne as we shall more talke of after. But surly ye begyld me now in that ye set reason so shorte. for veryly I wold neuer haue went that ye wold in scrypture lyke worse a wyse mā thē an vnresonable reder. Nor I cā not se why ye shuld reken reasō for an enemy to faythe / excepte ye reken euery man for your enemye that is youre better & hurteth you not. Thus wer ōe of your.v. wytys enemy to a nother. And our feling shuld abhorre our sight / because we may se further by.iiii. myle thē we may fele. How can reasō (but yf reason be vnresonable) haue more dysdayne to here ye trouth of eny poynt of fayth / then to se the profe of many thyngꝭ naturall / wherof reasō cā no more attayn to the cause / then it can in the Artycle of the fayth. But styll for eny power ye reason hath to perceyue the cause / she shall iuge it impossible after she proue it trew / but if she byleue her eye better then her wytt. when ye se ye adamant stone drawe iren to it / it greueth not reason to loke theron / but reason hath a pleasure to beholde the thing that passeth her power to perceyue. For it is as playne agaynst the rule of reason that an heuy body shulde moue alone any other mocyon then dounward / or that any bodely thyng shuld drawe a nother wythoute touchyng / as ys any artycle of the fayth. Nor neuer was there yet cause by reason assigned that mē may perseyue for probable / but only that it ys a secret properte of the stone / which is as moch to say as I wot nere what. And yet as I saye reason can byleue[…] yt thing well ynoughe / and be not angry therwyth nor stryue agaynste yt. And yet all the rulys yt euer she lernyd tell her styll that it may not be / […] ye quod he but a mannys own eyen tell hym yt yt may be. & that must nedys contente hym. May a man then better truste hys eyes quod I thē hys wyt? ye mary q he / what may he better trust then his eyē? Hys eyen may q I be deceyuyd & wene they se yt they se not if resō gyue ouer hys holde / excepte ye thynk the iugler blow hys gallys through the goblettys bottom / or cut your gerdell afore your face in.xx. pecys and make it hole agayn / and put a knyfe into his eye and se neuer the worse / And turne a plum into a doggꝭ tord into a boyes mouth. Now happenyd yt madly yt euyn wyth thys worde cam one of my folke and askede whethere they shulde make redy for dyner. Abyde quod I let vs haue better meate furste. And therwyth your frende and I began to laugh. well quod I make none haste yet for a lytle whyle. And so wente hee hys waye halfe owte of countenaunce / wenyng that he had done or sayd sum what lyke a fole / as he was one yt was not very wyse in dede and wont soo to doo. And then sayd I to your frende. Now ye se that reason ys not so proud a dame as ye take her for. She seeth done in dede by nature that she cānot perseyue how / and ys well contentyde therewyth. She seeth a fonde felowe deceyue her syght and her wytt therwt / and takyth yt well and meryly and ys not angry yt ye iougeler wyll not teche euery man hys craft. And wene ye thē that she wyll take yt so hyely that god hym self her master and maker shulde do what hym lyst / & than tell her what & tell her not how? I pray you quod I that oure lord was borne of a vyrgyn how know you? Mary q he by scrypture. How know you quod I that ye shuld beleue ye scripture? Mary q he by fayth. why q I what doth faythe tell you therin? Faith quod he tellith mee that holy scrypture ys thyngys of trouth wryten by the secret techyng of god. And wherby know you quod I that ye shuld beleue god? wherby q he? thys ys a strange questyon. Euery m[…]n q he may well wete that. That is troth quod I. But is there any hors or any asse that wottyth that? None quod he that I wot of / but yf Dalams asse any thyng vnderstode therof. For he spake lyke a good reasonable asse. If no br[…]te best can wytt that quod I / & euery man may / what is the cause why that man may & other bestys may not? Mary quod he for mā hath resō & al they haue none. A well thē quod I reason must he nedys haue then that shall parceyue what he shulde beleue. And so must reson not resy[…] fayth but walk wyth her / & as her handmayd so wayt vppō her / that as contrary as ye take her / yet of a trouth fayth goth neuer wythout her. But lykewyse as if a mayd be suffred to ronne on the brydle or be cup shoten or wax to proude / she wyll then wax copious and chop logyk wyth her mastres / & fare sometyme as she were frātyk / so if reason be suffred to ren out at ryot & wax ouer hye hartyd & proude / she wyll not fayle to fall in rebellyō toward her mastres fayth. But on ye other syde if she be well brought vp & well gydyd and kept ī good temper / she shall neuer disobey faythe beyng in her right mīde. And therfore let resō be well gyded / for surely fayth goth neuer wythout her.

Now in the study of scrypture / ī deuysyng vppon the sentence / in consyderyng what ye rede / in ponderyng ye purpose of dyuers cōmentys / in cōparyng to gether dyuers textꝭ that seme cōtrary and be not / albeyt I deny not but that grace & goddys especyall help ys the grete thyng theryn / yet vsyth he for an instrument mannys reson therto. God helpyth vs to ete also / but yet not wythout our mouth. Now as the hand ys the more nymble by the vse of sum featys / & the leggys and fete more swyft and sure by the custum of going and rennyng / & the hole body the more wyeldy & lusty by some kynde of excercyse / so ys yt no doute but that reason ys by study / labour & excercyse of Logyk / Phylosophy & other lyberall artꝭ corroborate and quykkenyd / and the iugemēt both in them and also in oratours / laws & storys mych rypyd. And albeyt poettys ben wyth many men taken but for payntyd wordys / yett doo they moch help the iugement & make a mā amōg other thīgis well furnyshed of one specyall thyng / wtout whych all lernyng ys half lame. what is that q he? Mary q I a good mother wytt. And therfore ar ī myne oppynyō these Lutheranys in a mad mynde / yt wold now haue all lernynge saue scrypture onely clene cast aw[…]y. whych thyngys (yf the tyme wyll serue) be as me thynketh to be taken and had / & with reson brought as I sayd before into the seruyce of dyuynyte. And as holy seynte Iherom sayth / The Ebrues welle dyspoyle the Egipcyens / when crystys lernyd men take out of the pagame wryters the ryches and lerning & wysdom that god gaue vnto them / & employe ye same in the seruyse of diuynyte about the profyte of goddys chosyn chyldern of Israel the chyrch of Cryst / whych he hath of the harde stony paynims made the chylderne of Abraham.