The.xvii. chapyter

The author sheweth y• som which be Lutheranys & seme to lyue holyly / and therfore be byleued & had in estymacyon / entende a ferther purpose them they pretend / whych they wyll well shewe yf they may onys fynde theyr tyme.

ANd as for theyre lyuynge / the good apparence wherof ys the thyng that most blyndeth vs / as mych suretye as we haue of the godly lyfe of our olde holy fathers / wherof y• world hath wryten / and god h[…]th borne wytnes by many grete myracles shewed for theyr sakes / as vncertayn be we of these men / wyth whom we neyther he alway pre[…]ent / and […] also can tell what abomynacyōs they may do to sū of thē secretely. Nor yet cā know theyr entēt & purpose that they appoynt vpō and ye cause for whyche they be for the whyle cōtent to take all the payne.

Uery certayne ys yt ye pryde ys one cause wherfore they take the payn. For p[…]yde ys as saynt Austeyn sayth / ye very mother of all heresyes. For of an hygh mynd to be in ye lykīg of ye peple / […] hath cūmyn in to many men so mad a mynde & so frantyque / yt they haue not rought what payn they toke wtout eny other recōpence or rewarde / but only ye fond plesure & delyte yt thē self cōceyue in theyr harte / whā they thynke what worshyp ye peple talketh of them. And they be ye deuyls martyrs / takīg myche payn for his pleasure / & his very a pys / whō he maketh to tūble thorow ye hope of ye holynes yt putteth thē to payne wt out fruyte. And yet oftētymes maketh thē mys[…]e of ye vayn prayse wherof only they be so prowde. For whyle they delyte to thynke how they be take for holy / they be many tymys wel perceyued and taken for ypocrytys as they be.

But suche ys thys cursed affeccyō of pryde / and so depe setteth in ye clawys where yt catcheth / ye hard yt ys to pull thē out. This pryde hath ere this made sū lerned mē to deuyse newe fantysyes in our fayth / bycause they wold be syn […]ular among the people / as dyd Irrius Faustus Pelagyan & dyuers other old heretyques whose false opynyōs haue […]en long tyme passed opēly cōdempned by many holy synodes & generall coū sayles / […] now god be thanked not only theyr opynyons quenched / but also all theyr bokꝭ clene gone & vanyshed quye away / ere euer eny law was made for such bokys burnīg. So yt yt well appereth to haue bē ye only worke of god yt hath destroyed those workys / whyc[…]e wrought in theyr tymys myche harme in hys chyrch. Thys affeccyō of pryde hath not only made som lerned men to bryng forth new fātasyes / but maketh also many men of mich lesse thā meane lernīg so sore to long to seme far better lerned thā they be / yt to make the peple haue thē in authoryte / they de[…]yse new sectys & scysmys to the pleasure of new fangle folk / sparyng no payne for the whyle to set forth theyre sect wythall / rewardynge theyr labour wyth onely delyte of beholdyng what pleasure the people haue in theyr prechyng.

And albeyt yt thys frātyque pleasure wyth wyche ye deuyll inwardly fedeth thē / be y• onely thyng yt satysfyed & cō tēteth som / yet many are ther of those y• euyl techeth & appere holy / whych are bothe secretely more lose & voluptuou[…] then they seme. And some also whyche warely kepe thē selfe for ye whyle / entend towarde more lyberall lewdnesse at length. Wyll ye se ensample therof? loke on Tyndall yt translated ye newe testament / whyche was in dede (as ye sayd in ye begynnīg) byfore hys goyng ouer / takē for a man of sober & honeste lyuing / & loked & preched holyly / sauīg yt yet somtyme it sauored so shrewdly / yt he was onys or twyse examyned therof. But yet bycause he glosed then hys wordys wyth a better sente / & sayde […] sware yt he mēt none harme / folk were glad to take all to the beste. But yet ys se yt though he dys[…]embled hym selfe to to be a Lutherane or to bete eny fauor to hys secte whyle he was here / yet as sone as he gate hym hēse / he gate hym to Luther straygh[…]. And where as in ye trāssacyon of the newe testament he […] […] […] theyr […] is not yet […] to ye poynt so be[…]/whyche they surely trust to brynge aboute & to […] thys realme after yt fassyō of Swycherland or Saxony & som other ꝑtes of Germany / where theyr secte hath all redy fordone yt fayth / pulled down ye chyrches / polluted ye tēples / put out & spoyled all good relygyoꝰ folk / ioyned fr[…]ys & nū nys together in lechery / despyted all sayntys / blasphemed our blessed lady / […]ast down Cry[…]ꝭ crosse / throwē […]ut the blessyd sacramēt / refused al good lawꝭ abhorredal good gouernaūce / reb[…]lled agaīst all rulers / fall to fyght among thē self / & so many thousandꝭ slayn / yt ye land lyeth in many placꝭ in ma[…] desert & desolate / & fynally ye most abomynable is of all / of all theyr own vngcacyoꝰ dedꝭ lay ye fant in god / takīg away ye lybertye of mānys wyl / & scrybīg all oure dedis to destenye / wyth all rewarde or punyshment pursuynge vppon all our doyngys. wherby they take away all dylygēce & good endeauour to […]ertue / all wtstādyng & stry[…]īg agaīst vyce / all care of heuen / all fere of hell / al cause of prayer / al desyre of deuociō / all exhortaciō to good / al dehortaciō frō euil / all prayse of weldoyng / al rebuke of […]yn / all ye lawꝭ of ye world / all resō amōg mē / set al wrechednes abroche / no mā at lybertie / & yet euery mā do what he wyl / callīg it not his wyl but […] desteny / layng theyr syn to goddys o[…]ynaūce / & theyr punyshmēt to goddꝭ […] citye / & fynally turnyng the nature of mā in to wors thā a beste / & ye goodnes of god in to wors thā ye deuyll. And al this good frute wold a few mysch[…]uoꝰ ꝑsons / […]ū for desyre of a large lybertye to an vnbrydeled lewdnes / & sū of an hye deuylysh pry[…]ecloked vnder ptexe […] la[…]s & y• good faythfull peple dyd no[…] in ye begynīg mete wt theyr malyce.