The.xiiii. chapyter

The author sū what sheweth that the clergye doth no wrong in leuyng heretyques to secular hand / though theyr deth folowe theron. And he sheweth also tha[…]t yt ys lawfull to resyste the […] and […] other infydelys / and that pryncys b[…] […]den therto.

MAry quod your frend bu[…] […] m[…] thyn[…]eth the byshoppe doth […] moch as though he kylle[…] hym / wh[…]n he leueth hym to ye secular hand in such ty[…]e & plac[…]/as he w[…]eth w[…]l he sh[…]l s[…]n[…] be burned.

I wyll not here enter in to the […]e […]yon quod I whyther a preste myg[…] for eny cause / and yf for eny / whyt[…] th[…] for heresye wythout blame of y[…] re[…]la[…]yte put or cōmaunde eny man to dethe / eyther by expresse wordys or vnder the generall name of ryght and i[…]yce. In whych mater I coulde no[…] […]ack bothe reason authoryte and exempl[…] of holy men. But in this mater that we h[…]ue in hand / yt ys suffycyent that the bysshop neyther dothe yt nor com […]deth yt. For I thynke there wyll n[…] […]eason bere yt / that whan the heretique yf he went abrode wold wyth ye spredynge of hys erroure infecte other folk / the bysshop shold haue such pytye vppon hym / that he shold rather th[…]n other men shold punysh hys body / suf […] hym to kyll other mennys sowlys. In dede quod I there be some as ye say that eyther of hygh pretended pytye or of a fayned obseruaunce of the counsayle of Cryst / wold that no man shold punyshe eny heretyque or infydele eyther / not though they inuaded vs and dyd v[…] all ye harme they possyble could. And in thys opynyon ys Luther and […] folowers / whyche amonge theyr other heresyes holde for a playn concl[…] syon / yt yt ys not lyefull to eny crysten m[…]n to fyght agaynst the Turke / or to make agaīst hym […]ny resystēce / though he come in to crystendom wyth a great […] to de[…]roy all. For th[…]y say that all crystē men are bounden to the coūsayles of Cryst / by whyche they say that we be forboden to defende our self / and that saynt peter was as ye rehersed reproued of our sauyour whā he strake of M[…]lchus ere / albe it yt he dyd yt in the defence of hys own mayster / and the moost innocent man that euer was. And vnto this they lay as ye sayd in y• begynnyng / that syth the tyme y• crysten men fyrst fell to fyghtynge / yt hath ne[…]r encreaced but alwaye mynysshed and decayed. So that at thys day the Turke hath estrayted vs very nere / & brought yt in wythin a ryghte narrow compare / & narrower shall do say they / as longe as we go aboute to defend crystendō by the sworde. whych they say sholde be as yt was in the begynnynge encreaced / so be contynued and preserued only by pacyence & martyrdom. Thus holyly speke these godly fathers of Luthers secte / labourynge to procu[…]e y• no man sholde wyth[…]tand y• Turke / but let hym wynne all. And whā yf shold come to y•/thā wold they as yt […] wyn all agay[…] by theyr pacyēte / hygh […]/and […]/by whyche now they can not suffer to besy[…] […]yr b[…]e[…]y voluptu[…]nesse / but bro[…] theyr bowes / & take thē har […]ttys vnder the name of wy[…]ys. And where they may not fyght agayn[…] the Turke […]yse vp ī great plā […] to […]yghe agaynst theyr euē crystē. It ys I trow no grete maystry to perceyue whō they labou[…] to please y• haue y• […]. And yf y• Turke happē to […] dout whose […] they wyll […] and y• crysten people […]elyke […] none so […] to ryse vp in rowtys & fyght agai[…]t cr[…]stē mē / & destroy as y• sect hath done many a good relygyous house / spoyled / meyhemed / & slayne many a good vertuous mā / robbed / polluted / & pulled downe many a goodly chyrch of Cryst.

And now wher they lay for a profe / y• god were not cōtēted wt batayl made agaīst infydelꝭ / y• losse & mynyshmēt of crystēdō synnꝭ ye guyse bygā / they fare as dyd onys an olde sage father fole in Kent at such tyme as dyuers mē of worshyp assēbled old folk of ye cūtre to commune & deuyse about the amēdemēt of Sādwich hauē. At which time as they bygā fyrst to ēserche by reasō & by ye report of old mē there about / what thing h[…]d bē thoccasyō yt so good an hauē was in so few yerys so sore decayed / & suche sandꝭ rysen / & such shalow […]a[…]tꝭ made therewt / yt ryght smal vess[…]ls had now mych worke to come in at dyuers tydꝭ / where grete shyps were wtin few yeris passed accustumed to ryde wtout dyffycultie / And som layng ye fawt to Goodwyn sandꝭ / sū to ye landis Inned by dyuers owners in ye Ile of Tenate out[…] of ye ch[…]nell / in which these was won[…] to cūp[…]ce the Isle & brynge the vessels r[…]und about yt / whose course at ye ebbe was wont to scoure the h[…]u[…]n / whych n[…]w th[…] see excluded thense / for lack[…] of such course and scouryng ys chouked […] wyth s[…]nde / as they thus alledged dyuers men dyuers causes / there st[…]rte […] o[…] good old father & sayd / ye maysters say euery man what he wyll / cha marked this mater as wel as sū other. & […] I wote how it waxed nought w[…]ll ynoughe. For I knew yt good / & […] marked so chaue whā it bygan to wax wors. And what hath hurt it good […] these g[…]ntylmen[…] By my fayth maysters q he yonder same ten […]erden stepell & nothyng ellys / that by y• masse shold[…] twere a fayre fyshepole. why hath ye stepell hurt yt hauen good father q they? Nay byr lady maysters q he ych can not tell you wel why / but chote well yt hath. For by god I knew yt a good hauen tyll ye steple was bylded. And by ye Mary masse cha marked yt well yt neuer thr[…]ue synnys. And thus wysely sp[…]ke these holy Luthera […]ys / which sowing scysmes & sedycyōs among crysten people / lay the los[…]e ther o[…] to the wythstandyng of the Turkes inuasyon / & the resystynge of hys malyce / where they sholde rather yf they had eny reason in theyr heddys / lay yt to the contrary. For whan crystē pryncys dyd theyr deuoyre agaīst myscreast […]is and infydelys / there be storyes and monumentys ynoughe that wytnes[…]e the manyfest ayde and helpe of god in grete vyctoryes gyuen to good crysten pryncis by his almyghty hand. But on the tother syde synnys that thambiciō o[…] crysten rulers desyryng eche others d[…]mynyon / haue set theym at […]/and dedly dyssenssyon amonge thē self / wherby whyle eche hathe aspyred to then[…]neynge of hys own / they haue […]ytell forced what came of the comen corps of crystendome / god for the r[…] ̄ gynge of theyr inordynate appet[…]/hath wythdrawen hys helpe and shewed that he careth as lytell / su[…]ynge whyle eche of them laboreth to […] other / the Turke to prosper and so ferforth to procede / that yf theyr blynde […] lo[…]e not therto the […]/he shall not fayle (whyche oure lor[…] forbede (wythin shorte proce[…]e to swalowe thē all.

[…]nd […]lbe yt Cry[…] forb[…]de saynt Peter beyng a preste / and vnder hymself prynce of hys prestys to fyght wyth ye temporall sworde / towarde thempechement and resystence of hys fruteful passyon / wheruppō depēded ye saluacyō of mankynde / whych affeccyon our sauyour had byfore that tyme so sore reproued and rebuked in hym / that he called hym therfore Sathā / yet ys yt nothyng to ye purpose to alledge / y• by y• ensāple tēperall pryncꝭ shold wtout the let of suche spyrytuall profyte & the suffraūce of mych spyrytuall harme suffer theyr people to be inuaded and oppressed by infydelys / to theyr vtter vndoynge not onely temporall but also of a grete part ꝑpetuall / whych were lyke of theyr frayletye for fere of wordely grefe & incōmodyte / to fall frō ye fayth & renye theyr baptysme. In whyche p[…] rell syth our lorde wold not y• […]ny man shold wylfully put hym self / & for y• cause aduysed his dyscyples y• yf they were pursued in one cytye / they shold not cū forth & f[…]leh[…]rdely put thē self in parel of renyeng Cryst by imp[…]cyēs of som intollerable […]mētꝭ / but […]ther […] thens in to som other place wher they myght serue hym in quyete / tyll he shold suffer thē to fall in suche poynt y• th[…]r[…] were no way to escape / & th[…] wold he haue thē abyde by theyr takelīg lyke myghty champyons / wherein they shall not in suche case fayle of hys helpe[…] Now all be yt so that Cryste and hys holy app[…]stles / exhorte euery man to pacyent[…] and sufferaunce / wythoute requytynge of an euyll dede or makynge eny defen[…]/but vsynge ferther sufferaūce / & […] also good for euyll / yet […] doth this coūsayll […] mā y• he shall of […] y• comen n[…] ture / suffer a nother man caws[…]les[…]e to kyll hym / nor letteth not eny man frō ye defence of a nother / whō he seeth innocēt and inuaded and oppressed by malyce. In whyche case both nature / reson / & goddys byheste byndeth / fyrst ye pryncys to ye saufegarde of hys peple with ye parell of hym self / as he taught Moyses to know hym self bounden to kyll ye Egypcyans in ye defence of Hebrew / & after he byndeth euery mā to ye helpe & defence of hys good & harmles neyghbour[…]agaīst ye malyce & crueltye of ye wrōg doer. For as ye holy scrypture sayth / vnicui que dedit deꝰ curā de prorimo suo / god hath gyuē euery mā charge of his neyghbour to kepe hī frō harme of body and soule / as mych as may lye in hys power. And by thys reson ys not only excusable but also cōmēdable / y• comē warre which euery peple ta[…]eth in ye defēce of theyr cūtre agaīst […]myes yt wold īuade it / syth yt euery mā fyghteth not for ye defēce of hym self of a puate affectiō to hym self / but of a crystē charyte / for ye saufgarde & […] of all other. which reason as it ha[…] place in all batayle of defēce / so hath it mo[…] especyally in ye batayle by which we defend ye crystē c[…] ̄trees agaīst ye […]/in yt we defend ech other […] ye mo[…] pa[…]ell and lo[…]/both of […] substaunce / bodyly hurte / and […]dycyon of mennys soules. And […] lyefull and enioyned also […] pryuate person / how mych […] yt to pryncis and […]ler[…]/[…] yf th[…]y may not […] les wyttyngly suffer […] whome they […] in […] my one to […] away a […] may they […] captyue thē all? And yf they be boundē to ye defence and may not do yt alone / what madnes were yt to saye that the people may not helpe theym.