The.xvi. chapyter

Of symple vnlerned folke yt are deceyuyd by the great good opynyō that they haue per[…]as in the lerning and lyuyng of some that teche them errours.

FOrsothe quod youre frende yet wold there me thinketh […]e mich pytye vsed in those maters among. For many a man vnlerned when he hereth one that he taketh for cunnyng / & freth such a man as he taketh for vertuous / cōmend Luthers way / he ys of symplenes and good mynde moued to folowe ye same. Surely quod I therin I say not nay but that these thyngys beyng such / grete pytye yt ys to se many good symple sowlys deceyued and led out of the tyght way by the authoryte of such as they reken for good men and c[…]nnyng / whom they haue eyther by open sermons or secrete cōmunycacyon perceyued […] fauourers of that vngracyous se[…]/thynkyng that men of such c[…]nnyng and knowlege in […]/beyng therwyth of […] be[…]hauour as they […] to that waye / but yf they knew[…] yt fo[…] good. And surely wher it so happeneth that eny symple sowle ys by the good opynyon that he hathe in hys mayster led out of the ryght bylyef of ye fayth / wenynyg yt w[…]re ye very fayth whych he seeth hys mayster whō he rekeneth good & cūnynge folow and lene vnto / yt ys a very pyttous thynge. And as ye person ys lesse in blame & more easely cured / so ys that mayster double dampned / as the cause both of hys owne syn & hys ye foloweth hym / and very hard ys he to mend. How be yt somtyme we deserue wyth our synne that god for ye punyshmēt therof / suffreth vs to haue lewd leders and euyll techers. And surely for the more part such as be ledde out of ye ryght way / do rather fall ther to of a lewd lyghtenesse of theyr owne mynde / then for eny grete thynge that moueth theym in theyre mayster that techeth theym. For we se theym as redy to byleue a purser a glouer or a weuer that nothynge can do but scantely rede englysh / as well as they wold byleue the wysest and the best lerned doctour in a realme. How be yt be a man neuer so wel lerned / and seme he neuer so vertuouse / yet can we wyth no reason excuse our selfe / yf we leue ye ryght byleue for ye trust that we ha[…]e in eny man erthely. For our byleue ys taught vs by god surely planted in the chyrch of Cryst / & thartycles therof not newe byg[…]/but now contynued many an hundred y[…]e in the grete congregacyō of crysten peple / as thyngys certayne / sure / & stable / and out of all questyon / […] n[…]ne heretyque doth or can denye / and in the hartys of thys congregacyon […] th[…]y wryten by ye holy hand […] […]s he that thorow hys trust put in eny man / byleueueth the contrary of eny poynt yt the chyrche of Cryst ys taught to byleue by god.

Thys fayth was taught by Cryste / preched by hys apostles / of thys wrote hys euangely[…]es / & many mo thynge were taught thā are wryten. And thys fayth sholde haue ben taught and fermely standen / all though nothyng had ben wryten. And the artycles of thys fayth had in mēnis hartys / be the iust & sure rulys of construccyon by whyche we constre & vnderstand the holy scrypture yt ys wrytē. For very sure are we yt who so wold constre eny text of holy scrypture / in suche wyse as he wolde make yt seme contrary to eny poynt of thys catholyke fayth whych god hath taught hys chyrch / he gyueth the scrypture a wrong sentēce / & therby techeth a wrong byleue. And as saynt Poule sayth cursed be he and though he were an aungell of heuen. And therfore be we not excusable yf we byleue eny mā to the cōtrary of ye fayth / how good or how cūning so euer he seme / whyle we se yt he techeth vs a wrong way whych we may sone know yf we be good crystē and know the bylyef all redy.

And we maye haue also a grete gesse therat / yf he teche vs secretely as a pryuy mystery / the doctryne that he wold not were vtteryd and shewed openly. For suche thyngys be they comonly yt these herety[…]u[…]s teche in […]uc[…]er mur […]er / agaynst ye fayth yt al the chyrch byleueth. Now […] I gyue thys counsayle to euery vnlerned man / whā eny man so techeth the whom thou […]a[…] in grete […]im[…]ciō for vertue or cunning / th[…] ̄ cōsyder ī thy self yt he neyther hath more […]/thā had saynt Austayn / saynt Hierome / saynt Ambrose / saīt Gregory / saīt Cypryan / saynt Chrisosteme / wyth many old fathers and holy doctours whyche byleued all theyr dayes & dyed in ye bylyefe that thou byleuest all redy / wherof he techeth the contrary. And so say boldely to hym than yf he wold begyle the. And say yt those holy doctours byleued not as thou dost / but as he sayth bryng hym to ye rekenynge byfore some other good and wel lerned men. And I dare be bold to warraunt yt thou shalt fynde hym dowble false. For neyther shalte thou fynd it true yt he told the / & bysydꝭ yt he shall not let to bylye the / sayng & swerīg to yt thou sayest wrong on hym / and that he neuer told the so.

Mary syr q your frēd he wyll haply say yt he were peraduēture in ye poynte to be pa[…]doned / bycawse of ye ieopardy yt he might fall in to by ye mayntenaūce of his […]pynyō. Pardō hym yf yt wyl q I. But yet ys he not than so good as were those good fathers. For eyther ys hys way nought / & thā doth he nought to teche yt / or yf he be good / than is he nought / that for eny fere forsaketh yt. For he yt forsaketh eny trouth of Crystꝭ fayth / forsaketh Cryst. And thā sayth our s[…]uyour that who so doth / shall be forsaken of hym. And he that so dothe ys not to be byleued lyke those holy fathers / which haue taught vs fat ye […]rrary. For they did abyde by ye right faith that they taught / which is as by theyr bokys appereth / the selfe same fayth yt thou byleuest. And so ferforth abydde they therby / that dyuers of them susteyned grete persecucyon therfore / & some of theym deth & martyrdome. So that we were more th[…] madde yf we had […] send our sowlys to ye sowlys of those holy fathers / of whose cūnyng vertue / and saluacyon / we be sure / thā to caste theym away wyth these folke / whych how holy so euer they seme / yet shew thē self nought / in yt they teche ye contrary of suche thyngis as those vndowted holy doctours taught.

I meruayle thē quod your frend why they lyue so vertuously / fastynge & gyuynge theyre good in almoyse / wyth other vertuouse exercyse / both in forberynge the pleasure of the worlde / and also takynge payne in theyre bodyes. To thys mater quod I our fauyoure hym self answereth where he sayth in the gospell of Mathew / Attendite a falsis prophetis qui veniunt ad vos in vestimentis ouium / intrinsecus a[…]tem sunt lupi rapaces. Beware of the false prophetys that come to you in the clothynge of shepe / and yet wythinforth ben rauenouse wolues. For syth yt they by false doctryne labour to deuour and destroye mē soulys / we be sure ynough that wolues they be in dede / how […]hepyshely so euer they loke. And ypocrytys must they nedys be / syth they be so denounced by goddys owne mouthe. And well may we perceyue that he meneth not well / whā he techeth euyll. And that euyll he techeth we may wel wyt / whā we se hym teche ye cōtrary of ye whych god hath all redy taught hys hole chyrch. In which hath bē so many holy fathers so many cūning doctours and so many blessyd martyrs / yt so haue byddē by ye faythe to y• dethe / y• yt were a […]enesye / yf we wold n[…]w agaynst so many such byleue eny false heretyque & faynynge ypocryte / techynge vs the cōtrary. Of those holy fathers of our fayth whom theyre bokys sheweth to haue byleued vs we byleue / we haue sene and knowen theyr vertuouse lyfe well proued by theyre blyssed ende / in whych our lorde hath testyfyed by many a myracle / yt theyr fayth & theyr lyuys hath lyked him. But now haue we yet sene eny such thyng by eny of these heretyques. Nor yet so myche as eny const[…]unce in theyr doctryne / but & yf they were onys found out and examyned / we se theym alwaye fyrst redy to lye and forswere thē self yf ye wyl serue And whā that wyl not helpe but theyr falsed and periury proued in theyre facys / than redy be they to abiure & forsake it / as long as that may saue theyr lyuys. Nor neuer yet foūd I eny one / but he wold onys abiure though he neuer entended to k[…]pe his othe. So holy wold he be and so wyse therwith / that he wolde wyth periury kyll hys sowle for euer / to saue hys body for a whyle[…] For comenly sone after suche as so do / shewe theym selfe agayne / god of hys ryghtuousnes not suffryng y• theyr fals forswering shold stand thē lōg in stede.