The.xviii. chapyter

The author sheweth yt in ye cōdemnacyō of herety[…]es / ye clergye might lawfully do mich more sharpely thā they do / & yt ī dede ye clergy doth now no more agaīst heretykes / thē yt ap[…]stel cōsaileth / & ye old holy doctors did

FOr as for ye clergye whō they la […]our to bryng ī hatred vnder ye fals accusacyō of trueltye / do no more therin thā saīt Austyn / saīt Hierom & other holy fathers haue bē wo[…] to do byfore / nor no fe[…]ther thā thapostle aduyseth hym self. For they do no more but whā one heretyque after warnīg wyll not […] […]t wa[…]eth wors / eschew hī thā & auoyd hī out of Cristꝭ […]. which is ye very thīg yt saīt Poule coūsay[…]eth wher he wryteth to Cy[…]us / here[…]cū h[…] mi[…]ē post primā & sc[…]a I correptionē deuit[…]. And this is mych lesse yt ye clergye doth to heretykꝭ / thā saīt peter dyd vnto Ananias & Saphyra for a far smal[…] ler mater / yt is to wit for theyr vntrew sayng & kepīg asyde a portion of theyr own money / whā they made sēblaūce as though they broght to thapostle all togeder. For though they were not kylled by his own hād / yet appe[…]eth it wel ye god aylled thē both twayn by saīt Peter his meanꝭ as gouernour of his chirche / to y• […]erful ex̄aple of al such as wold after y• breke their ꝓmyse & vow to god wyllīgly made of thē self or theyr own good. which thīg luther & tyndal wold haue al mē do now. Dyd not saīt poule wryte vnto ye corynthyes / yt the[…] shold delyuer to ye deuyll hym yt had defoyl[…]d his fathers wyfe / to ye punyshemēt of hys body that ye spirite myght be saued in the day of iudgement? what say we of Hymynius and Alexāder / of whom […] to the coryn[…]yes also […]yneum & Alexandrum tradid[…] sath[…]/vt discant nō blasphemare. I haue quod he bytaken Hymyne[…] and Alexander to the deuyll / to […]eche them to leue theyr blasphemy. In whyche wordys we may well lerne / that saint Poule as apostle & spyrytuall gouernouce in that cuntre fyndyng theym […]wayn fallen from the fayth of chryst in to the blasphemy of that they were bounden to worshyppe / dyd cause the deuyll to turment and punyshe theyr bodyes / whyche euery man may well wyt was no small payne / and peraduē ture noth wythout deth also. For we fynd no thyng of theyr amendement. And this bodyly punyshemēt dyd saint Poule as yt appereth vppō heretiques / so that yf the clergye dyd vn to myche more blasphemouse heretyques than I weene they twayne were / myche more sorow than saynt Poule dyd to theym / they shold neyther do yt wtout good cause nor wtout great authoryte / and euydent example of chrystꝭ blyssed apostles. And surely whā our sauyour hīselfe calleth such heretiques woluys […]lo[…]ed in shepys skynnys / and wold yt his shepeherdys the gouernours of his […]lokke shold in such wyse auoyde them as very shepeherd is wold auoyde very woluys / ther ys lytell dowte but as an honorable prelate of this realme in his most erudyte boke answerith vnto Luther / the prelatꝭ chrystꝭ chyrch rather ought tēporally to destroy those ra[…] […]ouse wolues / thā suffer thē to wyr[…]te and deuou[…]e euerlastyngly the […]okke that Cryste hath cōmyt[…]ed vn to theyr cur[…]/and the […]lokke that hym self dyed for to saue yt from the woluys mouthe. But now though yt well appere as me thynketh yt doth that ye clergye myght in thys case ryght sore procure agaynst […] ther than the olde holy fathers dyd in theyr […] and the blessed apostle coū sayleth them to do. But all the sore punyshement of heretyques wherwyth such folke as fauoure them wold fayne dy[…]ame the clergye / ys and hath be[…] for the great vtrages and temporall harmes that such heretiques haue bene alway […]nt to do / and sedycyous commocyons yt they be wont to make / vpsyde the far passyng spyrytuall hurty[…] yt they do to mēnys sowlys / deuysed & executed agaīst thē of necessyte by good crysten pryncys & polytyque rulers of ye temporaltie / for as mych as theyr wysdomes well perceyued yt ye people shold not fayle to fal in to many sore & intollerable troubles / yf such sedi[…]i[…]us sectꝭ of heretyques were not by greuous punyshment repressed in the begynny[…]g / & ye sparkle well quenched […]re yt were suffred to grow to ouer grete a fyre.

Forsoth quod your frend yt appereth well yt the clergye is not in thys mater to be blamed as many men reken. For yt semeth that the sore punyshment of heretyques ys deuysed not by the clergye / but by temporall pryncys & good lay peple / and not without grete cause Wel quod I & to thentēt yt ye shal ꝑceyue […] mych ye better / & ouer ye byleue your […] […]yen & not my wordys in many thingꝭ yt ye haue herd of my mouth[…] we wyll not parte thys nyghte but I shall delyuer in to your handꝭ here m[…] bokys thā ye wyll rede ouer tyll to mo […]ow. But for that ye shal neyther nede to rede all / nor lese tyme in sekyng for that ye shold se / I haue layd you y• placys redy wyth ryshes bytwene the le […]ys / & notes marked in the mergentꝭ / where the mater ys towched. So […]used I to be borne in to his chamber a boke of […]/and […]ertayn workys […] and some other holy d[…]ct[…] […]herwith all a worke or twayne of Luther and as many of Tyndall. And in thys wyse went we to souper / and […]n the morowe forbare I to speke wt hym tyl nere dyner tyme. At whyche […]ure metynge / he shewed me yt in the […] where the ry[…]his lay / namely in caus[…] xxii. questione quint[…]/& dy[…] […]her of the questyons c[…]nsequētly […]/he had sene at full that ye clergye d[…]the at thys day no ferther for the p[…]nyshment of heretyques / than dyd the old fathers and holy doctours & sayntis in tyme passed[…] as by theyr own wordys there alledged doth open and pl[…]yn[…] pere. And that as well the clergye in ye persecuciō of heretyques lawfully may do / as the temporall pryncys in warre ag[…]ynst infydelys be depely […] to do / mych more than th[…]y […] do / or of longe tyme haue done / or yet as it semeth go about to d[…]. And […]uer this he sayd yt he had sene of Luthers owne wordys worse than he had euer h[…]rd rehersed / & in Tyndall worse yet in many thyngys thā he saw in Luther hym self. And in Tyndals boke of obedyēs he sayd yt he had sounden what thynge Tyndall sayth agaynst myracles and agaynst the prayenge to sayntys.

Mary q I & these two maters made vs two mych bysynes byfore your […] yng to ye vniuersyte. I wold it h[…]d happed you & me to haue red ouer that boke of hys byfore. how be yt in good fayth if ye wel / we shal yet peruse […]r hi[…] r[…] sons in those poyntys / & cōsyder what weyght is in thē. Nay by my tr[…]uth quod your frend we shall nede now to lose no tyme therin. For as […]r myracles / he sayth nothing in effect but that whych I layd agaynst them byfore / yt the myracles were the […] of the deuyll. […] I sayde yt yt myght peraduenture be sayde so h[…] s[…]yth that in d[…]de yt ys so / aproueth y[…] yet lesse thē I dyd. And therfore as for that […] of hys without better profe ys of lytell weyght. Forsoth quod I Tyndals word alone ascrybyng al the myracles to the deuyll / o[…]ght not to wey mych among […] agaīst the wrytynge of holy saynt Austeyn / saynt […]i[…]m[…]/saynt Ambrose / saynt Chrysosto[…]e / saynt Gregory / and many […]n other holy dyctour / wrytyng many a grete myracle don at holy pylgrym[…]gys and sayntys relyques / done in wo[…] ̄ presē […]e of many substauncyal folk / and dyuers done in theyr owne syght. All whyche myracles all those blessyd sayntys do ascrybe vnto the worke of god / & to ye h[…]nour of those holy sainti[…] th[…]t w[…]re worshypped at those pylgrym[…]gis. Agaynst all whom when Tynd[…]ll ascryb[…]th theym all to the d[…]uyll / he playnly sheweth hym self as faythfull as he wolde seme / very nere syh[…] to t[…]infydelyte of those Iewes yt ascrybed Crystꝭ myracles to the deuyll / s[…] yng yt he dyd caste out deuyls by the […] wer of Bealsabu[…] prynee of deuylys. Surely quod your frend and as for that he reasoneth agaynst praynge to sayntys is very bare. It must nedys q I be bare / excepte he well auoyde ye myracles. Wherto whē he hath nothīg to say but to ascrybe goddys workꝭ to ye deuyll / he sheweth hym self dreuyn to a n[…]row strayte. For he & his felowes […] as touchynge myracles / neyther haue god wyllyng / nor ye deuyll able / to shew eny for ye profe of theyr part / no[…] I truste in god neuer they shall.

In fayth quod your frend as for res[…]ing the mater of prayng to sayntꝭ / he y[…] not worth the redyng[…] now. For all the substaunce in […] yt ys […]

That is quod I no meruayle for he hath not herd it. In fayth q[…]d your […]end & of hys owne makyng he layeth argumētꝭ for yt such as he ly[…] […] he layeth forth fay[…]ly / and thā doth answere them so slenderly / and all hys […]le mater in those poyntys and other so playnely con[…]utyd by the olde holy fathers / yt yt I had sene so myche byfore / yt had ben lykely to haue shorted myche parte of our long cōmunicacion. For by my trouth q he whā I consyder both ye partys well / & rede Luthers wu[…]dꝭ & Tyndals in some pla[…]es wher y[…] layed me the ryshes / I can not but wōder yt either eny almayne could I ly[…]e […]e tone / or […]y englyshe man ye tother. I can not myche meruayle quod I […]ough many lyke them well. For sych there ys no […] where in there […] […]eth plētye of such as be nought / what wonder ys yf that vycyouse folke […]all to the fauoure of theyr lyke? And then as for such whē theyr hartys are onys fyxed vppon theyre blynde a[…]eccyons / a man may wyth as myche frute prech to a poste / as reason wyth theym to the contrary. For they no thynge po[…]der what ys resonably spoken to them […]u[…] wherto theyr […]cyō inclyn[…] that thynge they […] to and the other byleue / or at the le[…]e wyse ye way they walke & […]y they byl[…]e yt. For in good fayth that they so byleue in d[…]de / theyr […]aters be so madde yt I byleue yt not. And yet make thei sēblauns as though they byleued that no man were able to confu[…]e Luther or Tyndall / where me thynketh for these mathers of theyre heresyes that they so set forth yf the […]dyenes were indyfferent / there were not in this world a man more mete to […] Colyns alone / yf […] la[…]th owte scryptu[…]e […]o […]deleem […] faste as they both[…] And in good fayt […]e they both expow[…]e yt as maddely as he. And so helpe me god as me thīketh yt man ys as madde as eny of all th[…]/whych when he seeth the ryghte fayth of Cryste […]nty[…]ued in his […]tholy[…]ue chyrche so many hundred y[…]s and on that syde so many gloryouse martyrs / so many blessed confessours / so many godly vyrgynes / and in all that tyme vertue had in honour / fasting / prayer / and […] had in pryce / god and his sayntys worshypped / hys sacrament is had in reuerence / chrystē soul ys tenderly […] for / holy vowes kept & obserued / vyrgynyte preched & praysed / pylgrim[…]gꝭ deuoutly vysyted / euery kynd of good workes cōmended / And seeth now […] start vppe […] new secte settyng for the […]ne ye contrary / destroyng […]hrystes holy sacramentys / pullynge downe chrystꝭ crosse / blasphemyng his blessed sayntys / destroyng[…] […] deuocyō / […] to pray for theyr fathers […] fastyng dayes / settyng […] thought the holy […]yes / pullynge downe the chyrchys / […]aylynge agaynst the masse / vylanousely demeny[…]gth[…] blessed sacrement of ye awter the sacred body of our sauyour Chryst / […] And seeth the tone syde and the contynuaūce therof so clerely ꝓued by many a thowsande myracle / so clerely testyfyed by ye vertuouse and erudyte bookꝭ of all the […] de holy doctours frome the appostles tyme to our dayes / and seeth on the […]othe[…]syde a fond frere and his felowes wythout wytte or grace […]ere vs in hand that all those holy fathers neuer vnderstode ye scrypture / but onely these be[…]ys that teche vs vice as fast as euer the tother taughte vs vertue / & ye seeth on the tone syde saīt Cypryane / Syn[…] Hyerome / saynt Ambrose / saynt […] may be party[…]ers of ye heuenly blesse / whych the blood of goddys own sonne hath bought vs vnto. And this prayer q I seruynge vs for grace / let vs now […]yt dow[…] to diner. Whiche we dyd. And after dyner depar[…]ed he home[…] toward you / and I to the courte.