The.vii. chapyter

The author sheweth what thyngys causyd ye people to fall in to Luthers fond and furyouse secte. And he sheweth also what myschyef the folowers of that secte haue done in Almayne / Lombardy / & Rome.

IT ys quod your frende a wonder to me / that the people beyng before brought vp in the ryght bylyefe / cowlde fynde in theyre hartys to gyue hym audyence in some suche heresyes as these be. Ye must vnderstand and maye perceyue quod I that he dyd not set forth all at onys. But as Tyndale hath bygonne here in englond wyth ye thyng that had a good vysage / though he had corrupted yt and ment nought in dede / puttynge for the fyrst the new te[…]ament in suche wyse handled / that vnlerned folk were lykly to take harm and conceyue dyuers heresyes in theyr hartys / ere they cowlde perceyue hys falshed / and than hath synnys by.ii. other bokys openly shewed hym selfe to lacke nothyng of Luther / but that he hath not yet maryed a nūne / so dyd Luther also put forth in ye begynnyng no more but the mater of pardōs as I told you / and therin nothyng a[…]fermed neyther agaynst the determynacion of ye chyrch / but submytted hym selfe ther to. Nowe wyth thys demeanure was there no man offended. But yet dyd he that tyme entende a ferther myschyef / whych he lytell and lytell pursued and brought to passe. And one specyal thīg wyth whyche he spyced all the poyson / was the lybartye that he so hyghly cō mended vnto the people / brynging thē in byleue that hauīg fayth / they neded nothynge ellys. For as for fastynge / prayer / and suche other thyngys / he taught theym to neglecte and set at nought as vayn and vnfrutefull ceremonyes / techynge theym also that beynge faythfull crystyens / they were so nere cosyns to Cryst / that they be in a full fredome and lybartye dyscharged of all gouernours & all maner lawys spyrytuall or temporall / except the gospell only. And albe yt he sayd that of a specyal ꝑfeccyō yt shold be well done to suffer and bere the rule and authoryte of popys pryncys & other gouernours / whyche rule & authoryte he calleth but onely tyranny / yet he saythe that the people be so fre by fayth / that they be no more bounden therto / then they be bounden to suffre wrong. And this doctryne also techeth Tyndall / as the specyall mater of hys holy boke of dysobedyence. Now was thys doctryne in Almayn of the comen vplandysh peple so pleasauntly herde / that yt blynded theym in the lokynge the remenaunt & could not suffer theym to consyder and se what ende the same wold in conclusyon cū to. The temporall lordys were glad also to here thys gere agaynst the clergye / and the people as glad to here yt agaynst the clergye / and agaynst ye lordis to / and agaynst all theyr gouernours of euery good towne and cytye. And fynally so far went yt forward / that at the last yt bygan to brast owt and fall to open force and vyolence. For entēdīg to bygyn at ye feblest / ther gathered theym together for yt settyng forth of these vngracyouse heresyes / a boystyoꝰ cōpany of that vnhappy sect / and fyrste rebelled agaynst an abbot / & after agaynst a bysshop / wherwyth the temporall lordys had good game and sporte and dyssembled the mater / gapynge after the landys of the spyrytualtye / tyll they had almoost played as Esope telleth of the dogge / whyche to snach at the shadow of the chese in the water / let fall and lost ye chese that he bare in hys mouthe. For so was yt shortly after that those vplandysh lutheranys toke so grete boldnes & so bygā to grow strong / yt they set also vppō the temporall lordys. whych had they not set hand therto yt soner whyle they loked for other mennys landys / had ben lyke shortely to lese theyre owne. But so quyt they themself / yt they slew vppō ye poīt of.lxx. thousād lutheranys in one somer / & subdued the remaūt in that parte of Almayn to a ryght myserable seruytude. How be yt in the meane whyle many myscheuoꝰ dedys they dyd.

And yet in dyuerse other partyes of Almayne and swycherlande / thys vngracyous secte by the neclygence of ye gouernours in grete cytyes / ys so ferforth grown / that fynally the cōmune peple haue compelled the rulers to folow them / whom if they had take hede in tyme / they myght haue ruled & led. And now ys yt to pyteouse a syghte to se the dyspytuous dyspyghtys done there in many placys to god and all good men / wyth yt meruelous chaunge frome all face and fasshyon of crystendom / in to a very tyrannous persecucyon / not onely of all good crysten peple quyck and dede / but also of Cryste hym self. For there shall ye se now the goodly monasteryes destroyed / the placys burned vp / the relygyous peple put out and sent to seke theyr lyuyng / or in many cytyes the placys yet standyng / wyth more dyspyte to god than yf they […] myche ernest bysynes for to haue some money with her. And whyther he gate […]ug he or gate naught by that deuyse / he letted not sone after to putt[…] the father / the mother / the fayre doughter & all the hole howse to new tormentys / to make them tell where eny more money were / were ther eny or none. And some fayled not to take the chylde and bynde yt to a broche / and lay yt to the […]re to ro[…]/the father and mother lokynge on. And th[…]n begyn to comē of […] pryce for the sparynge of the chylde / askynge fyrst an hundred ducatys / thā fyfty / than fourty / than twenty / than ten / than fyue / than tw[…]yn / whā the sely father had not one lefte / but these tyr[…]untys had all byfore. Than wolde they let the chyld roste to dethe. And yet in derysyon as though they py […]yed the chylde they wolde saye to the father & the mother / Ahfy fy for shame what mer[…]ayle ys yt though god sende […] veng[…]ance among you. What vnnaturall people be you that can fynde in your hartys to se your owne chylde rosted afore your face / rather thā ye wold out with one ducate to delyuer yt from deth.

Thus d[…]uysed these cursed wreches so many dyuers fassyons of exquysyt[…] crueltees / y• I wene they haue taught the deuyll new tormentys in hell / that that he neuer knewe byfore / and wyll not fayll to proue hym selfe a good scoler / and surely render theym hys lesson whan they come there / where yt ys to be fered that many of them be by this. For sone after that they had in Rome exc[…]rcysed a whyle thys fyerce & cruell tyrāny / and en[…]red in to the holy chyrchys / spoyled the holy relyques / caste ow[…] the blessyd sacrament / pulled the chalyce frome th[…]u[…]er at mas[…]/slayne prestys in the chyrch / lefte no kynd of cruelte or spyte vndone / but frō howre to howre embruynge theyr handys in blood / & that in such wyse as eny turke or Sarycyne wolde haue pytyed or abhorted / our lord sent sone after suche a postylence amonge theym that he lest not of them the thyrd parte alyue. For thys purpose I reherse you thys theyr[…] h[…]uy mysche[…]ous delyng / that ye may perceyue by theyre dedys / what good cometh of theyr sect. For as our sauyor saythe ye shall knowe the tree by the frute.