The.xiiii. chapyter

The author answereth the dou[…]e moued before in the.xi. chapyter / cō cernynge the constytucyon prouyncyall / and that the clergye is therin […] fro the f[…]t that is imputed to […]eym […]n that poynte / shewyng also […]at the clergye hathe not forboden […] byble to be made and redde in […].

[…] vertuouse and well lerned men translated in to thenglysh tonge / and by good and godly people wyth deuocyon and sobernes wel and reuerently red / toke vppon hym of a malycyouse purpose to translate yt of new. In whych translacyon he purposely corrupted that holy texte / malycyously plātyng therin such wordys / as myghte in the reders erys serue to the profe of suche heresyes as he went about to sowe / whyche he not onely set forth wyth hys owne translacyon of ye byble / but also wyth certayn prologes and glosys whyche he made thervppō. And these thyngys he so handeled (whych was no grete maystrye) wy[…]h reasons probable and lykely to lay people & vnlerned / yt he corrupted in hys tyme many folke in this reame. And by other yll bokys which he made in laten beynge after borne in to Boheme & there taughte by Iohn̄ Husse & other / he was thoccasyon of the vtter subuersyon of that hole reame bothe in fayth and good lyuyng / wyth the losse also of many a thousand lyuys. And as he began agayn ye old heresyes of those auncyent heretyques whom & whose errours the chyrch of Cryst had cōdempned and subdued many dyuers agys afore / so doth Luther agayne begynne to set vp hys. For all that he hath in effecte / he hathe of hym. Sauynge that leste he sholde seme to say nothynge of hys own / he added som thyngꝭ of hym selfe of suche maner sort / as there was neuer heretyque before hys dayes / neyther so wycked that he wold for synne / nor so folish yt he durst for shame write / say / or I trow thynk ye lyke. I longe quod he to bere som of theym / for y• mā is takē for wyser thā to mean so madly as men bere hym in hand. Wel quod I that shall we se sone whan we come therto. Bu for our present purpose / after that yt was perceyued what harme y• people toke by the translacyon / prologys and glosys of Wyclyff[…]/and also of some other that after hym holpe to set forth hys secte / thā for ye cause / and for as myche as yt ys daungerouse to translate the texte of scrypture oute of one tonge in to a nother as holy saynt Hierom testyfyeth / for as myche as in trāslaciō it is hard alwai to kepe ye same sentence hole[…]yt was I saye for these causys at a counsayle holden at Oxenford / prouyded vppon grete payn that no mā shold frō thense forth translate in to th[…]nglysh tōge or eny other langage of hys own authoryte[…]by waye of boke / lybell / or tretyce / nor no man openly or secretly eny such boke / lybel / or tretyce rede newly made in the tyme of the sayde Iohan wyclyffe or synnys / or yt sholde be made eny tyme after / tyll the same translacyō were by the dyocesane / or yf nede sholde so requyre by a prouyncyall counsayl approued. And thys ys the law yt so many so long haue spokē of / & so few haue in al ye whyle rought to seke whyther they say trouth or no. For I trow yt in thys law ye se no thīg vnreasonable. For yt neyther forbedeth ye trāslaciōs to be red yt were all redy well done of old byfore Wyclyffys dayes / nor dāpneth hys bycause yt was new / but bycause yt was noughte / nor prohybyteth new to be made / but prouydeth yt they shall not be redde yf they be mysse made / tyll they be by good examinaciō amēded / excepte they be such trāslaciōs as wyclyf made & Tīdal / yt ye malicyoꝰ mynd of ye trāslator had in such wyse hādled it as it were labor lost to go about to mēd thē I longe by my trouth quod he & euen syt on thornes / tyll I se that constytucyō. For not my self only but euery mā ellys hath euer takē yt far otherwyse / that euer I haue herd spokē therof tyll now. But surely I wyll se yt my selfe ere I slepe. Ye shall be soner eased q I. For I can not suffer to se you syt so longe on thornes. And therfore ye shal se yt by and by.

And therwyth I fet hym forthe the constytucyons prouyncyall wyth lynwood thervppon / and tornyd hym to the place in ye tytle de magistris. which whan hym selfe had redde / he sayde he maruayled mich how it happened that in so playne a mater men be […]o far abused / to reporte yt so farre wronge. Thys groweth quod I partely by malyce / partely by slouthe and neglygence / in ye folke be more glad to byleue and tell forth a thynge that maye sowne to the dysprayse of the clergye / thā to serche and be sure whyther they say trewe or no.