COnsyderyng oh well beloued reder, that so many noble au­thours / as well of science in­comparable as of wytte most clere and excellēt, haue in dy­uers and sondry workes so lyuely and ex­presly depaynted and set forthe, as a ly­uyng ymage before a mans eyen, the vse, fruyte or cōmodytees of hystories / so that nothyng more, as concernyng the cōmen­dacyon of them can be well desyred / I thought it therfore a thyng lytell requy­syte, as at this tyme agayne of any suche thyngꝭ to make declaracion. And though I had attempted so to do, yet I do not stande (thāked be god) so hyghly in myne owne conceyte, but whan I had done the best I coulde, and sought all the corners of my wytte / I thynke not the contrary, but there myght haue appered as great difference of eloquence & beautye of ora­cyon, [Page] bytwyxt my encomye or cōmenda­cyon and theirs, as bytwyxt y^e clerenesse of the sonne and the leest sterre in the fyr­mament. Therfore the premysses pon­dred, I haue determyned to leaue that, and to procede to my purpose & shewe the cause of my labours. ¶ There is a fonde folysshe fantasye ragynge in many mens heedes nowe a dayes (that wolde to god they were so wyse as they be many in multytude that be troubled with it) and that is this. The pope saye they can not That the pope can not erre the trā ­slatou [...]e en­tenoeth to disprou [...]. erre. Truthe it is that if he be in a fayre hyghway without any turnynges, and wel hedged on bothe sydes, vpon his mu­les backe, I thinke he can not moche erre excepte he wolde cause his mule to take the hedge. But that lyghtly he can not, for a mule (men say) may abyde y^e spurre very well. This fantastycall blyndnesse was neuer endued by any man of littera­ture, but by some pekysshe pedler or clou­tyng colyer, it is so grosse of it selfe. well, be it neuer so grosse, yet was I ones grossed therin my selfe: For colyers be not [Page] grosse alone. Than chaunsed to come to my hande the lyfe of Gregory y^e seuenth, otherwyse named Hyldebrande (herafter folowyng) wherin whan I had redde a lytell way, as a man wolde say, one leafe and one syde in the latyne tonge, & se the abhomynacion that there was written, I begon some thyng to be moued, & bote the lyppe, scratched my heed, and wexed excedynge wery: yet forthe I went. But whan I came to thende, and remembred the detestacyon, execracion, and myschefe that I had there met withall by chaūce / and agayne howe shamfully, myserably, and pytously the poore symple soules of Christes churche had ben seduced & moc­ked / not onely my selfe and one or twayne mo, but hundredes, thousandes / ye al the hole worlde with this pestylent persua­syon, that the pope can not erre / and dyd se before myne eyen the playne contrary, so clere y^t it can not be denyed / me thought I was bounde in conscience, no lesse than vpon the saluacion of my soule, to declare vnto other the truthe y^t I had foūde, and [Page] the darknesse out of the whiche, by the redyng of this forsayd boke I was delyue­red. Of this conscyence, zeale, & occasyon I toke vpon me to translate this hystory mencyoned / whiche although it be not so exquisytely done, nor with suche eloquēce of englysshe as some man wolde loke for in an hystory / yet shall I desyre all men, whose chaūce shall be to rede it, to admyt my good wyll & endeuoyre. And bycause no man (in the worlde that nowe is) can meane, saye, or do any thynge so well or with so clere conscience, but that the poy­soned pestylēt tonges of false detractours shall peruerte it to the worste: therfore I The ꝓte­staryon of the trāsla­tour. protest here before god, or I procede any further, that I entende no derogacyon to holy churche, holy popes, holy bysshops, holy fathers, holy doctours, holy man, holy woman, or any other holy thynge / but onely the disclosynge & vtteraunce of them that be naught, and yet notwith­standyng wyll be taken as holy, & wolde haue men byleue that what so euer they do is well, and that they can not erre / [Page] [...]d wyll if a man saye the contrary call hym heretyke, and be redy to burne hym, for other defence they haue none. But truthe it is that a galde horse wyll kycke wh [...]n he is rubbed vpon the gall: and no man wyll make a prouder bragge, souer than [...] starke thefe / as Iudas said whan our sauyour Christ shewed his apostels, that one of them had betrayed hym: Not I good lorde quod he. Here coulde I re­cyte many goodly ensamples of them that wolde be estymed good, & yet in very dede be starke naught, were not for dyuers causes: but amonge so many let vs be cō ­tent with one. In the tyme of kyng Hen­ry Cardynall Iohan. the first, kyng of Englande, there came in to this realme a cardynall of Rome, whose name was Iohn̄: this cardynall made a greuous exclamacyon agaynste preestes concubynes / and sayde that it was a shamfull thynge & abhomynable in the syght of god, a preest to ryse from a strompettes syde, to sacre the holy body of Chryst / whiche notwithstandyng the same daye, after that he had songe masse [Page] in the mornyng, was taken with an har­lot hym selfe at nyght, lyke a good eua [...] ­gelycall father. This thyng was so op [...]n ly knowen that it myght not be forsaken nor hyd. If any man be discontent with the productyon of this ensample, I [...]hall desyre hym to holde me excused / fyrste bycause I do it of no malyce, god to re­corde / secondaryly for that, that no man entendyng to disclose the maners of them that be naught, & yet wyll be otherwyse taken, can do any other but saye y^e truthe as he knoweth. And in so doyng he must nedes call a thefe, by this name thefe / a knaue, by this name knaue, and so forth / wherwith no good man ought to be of­fended. Nowe (leest we be to tedyous) it is mete we aproche to our mater.

GRegory the seuenth, or Hyldebrāde [...]ergius the secōde of that name / before he was crea­ted pope of Rome / was surnamed / os [...]r [...]i in latyn / in englysshe / swines mouth hogges nose / or pygges snowte / whe­ther ye wyll. whiche Ser­gius bycause he was a sha­med of so foule a name / & vnmete for suche a dig­nytye (as he thought) dyd chaunge his name / & cal­led hymselfe Sergius. So that euer synce all popes haue vsed the same / as ye se here in expe­riēce by Gre­gorie the. v [...]. whose sur­name before was Hylde­brande. of whom we spake before, besyde that that he was a damnable heretike of the secte of Arriane, as it is very euydent to be sene in his lyfe / was also so cruell a tyraunt & so leude of maners otherwyse, [Page] as neuer god put life in a worse. And euen here without any more busynesse (as an olde rotten house, blowen ouer with the wynde) cometh downe in a myschefe our olde rotten raynebeaten opinyon, that the pope can not erre. For that ones admyt­ted that he was an Arriane, as truthe is (if any credēce is to be gyuen to a worldly story) than no doute but he was an here­tyke condempned by the moste famous counsayle of Nece. If the popes warry­ours wyll fyght agayne thystory, and say it is of none authorite and credence: I an­swere that they must approue it nedes, if they wyll at leest approue hym y^t is euen next cosyne germayne to our holy father. For he that wrote the booke in the latyne tonge, was one Beno cardynall at y^t same tyme / whiche I suppose was a very good man, ye and coulde erre very lytell, if the pope can not erre at all. Neyther is it best for y^e sauyng of this opinyon, that ye de­nye the truthe of this story, leest in your moste nede other men serue you of y^e same sauce, in the thynges wherin ye wolde [Page] best be byleued, as in suche thyngꝭ wher­of ye haue nothyng to shewe but stories / and than ye be at a prety poynte.

Peraduenture it wyll be answered, that lykewyse as y^e aperyng of one swal­lowe proueth not the springe of the yere, no more dothe the errour of one man, no not of four or fyue conclude that an other or all haue erred in dede. Mary that is truthe / who gothe aboute to proue that? Our argument is no more but vpon pos­sybylite, as thus. Gregory y^e seuenth dyd erre and was an heretyke / ergo an other Fyue po­pes starke heretikes. may so do. Or thus: Gregory the seuenth was an heretyke. Ʋrbane y^e seconde was an heretyke. Liberius was an heretyke. Nouatus was an heretyke. Anastasius the seconde was an heretike / and it is not vnpossyble but the rest myght be herety­kes: ergo all myght be heretykes. Ye, I dare be bolde to saye, that if men wolde make so fatte heretykes as be made now a dayes, they were no better all for the moste parte. Some man wolde say per­chaūce that myne argument is naught. [Page] And than I saye agayne (sauynge my charyte) he vnderstandeth naught. For though there were no waye to fortyfye myne argument but the cōmen maner of speakynge, yet coulde I do it. As for an ensample: whan men say a dagger is but dethe / it is as moche to say to al men that haue any wytte, as all daggers be dethe. And whan they saye: I wolde not truste my father, if his hoode and his cote were sowed togyder, or if he dyd weare a shorne crowne: some wyse man wolde take it so, that none suche were to be trusted / and than me thynke they be but euen a ryght bare sorte. Semblably (to choke them with their owne princyple) whan they say, the pope can not erre, their meanyng is that no pope can erre: and than muste the contrary nedes be trewe, that whan men saye the pope maye erre, it signy­fyeth so moche as all popes maye erre. And nowe I truste to god our argument standeth.

Here haue ye proued y^t the pope may erre, with the experyence of fyue proued [Page] herctikes, condempned by the testymony of the churche & good autentyke stories, whiche for the confutacion of this fonde princyple might suffyse after my mynde. But bycause fyue make but a lytle shewe in a felde, let vs passe forthe and se if we can espye the hole armye of these blyssed bretherne.

For the more manyfest truthe wherof ye shall vnderstande that from the yere of our lorde god. CC .xliij. vnto. M. CCCC .xxxiij. there hath ben .xxiij. scismes in the xxiii. scismes in the chur­che. churche, amonge the popes them selues. Of the whiche the .xij. scysme endured xvij. yeres. The .xxij. scysme .xl. yeres, and the thre & twenteth .xvi. yeres.

¶ The .xxij. scysme aforesayde, was so darke & doutfull, that the cronyclers can not tell (all the whyle it endured beynge the space of .xl. yeres) who was the right pope / no nor the best lerned men and most of conscyence y^t than were. And yet there was euer more choyce of popes ynough: for all that same tyme there were neuer lesse than two or thre at ones. So that in [Page] my conceyte if the pope can not erre, me thynkes one of them myght haue tryed the mater who was the true pope. Ney­ther do I doute but euery man sayde for hym selfe, I am the trewe pope. But for as moche as none of them in so sayeng were alowed of thother, it can not be de­nyed but y^t euery one iudged of an other, that he lyed and erred bothe / and was for the defendyng of his errour an antypope or ydole. yet the moste wondre of all is, that it coulde not be discerned who was the trewe pope, by the best lerned & moste of good conscyence that than were as the cronyclers saye. Ʋpon this it foloweth that there was neuer a true of them all, or els y^t the clergye or churche was very symple and coulde not discerne it / and consequētly had not Christ amongest them, to enstruct them by his spiryte of all tru­thes: and than they were not the churche of god. For Christe hath promysed to be with his churche to y^e ende of the worlde, to enfourme it in all vertue. Or if they lyke not that, than must they saye their [Page] cronycles be false (wherwith hytherto they haue founde no faute) & condempne them / and than we haue made a fayre brewynge. Consyderynge than that the popes wolde not at those dayes (whan they were two or thre at ones, ye and at other tymes whan they were fyue or .vj. at ones) alowe one an other / but iudged eche other to lye, erre, & to be antypopes / what nede we any better proues y^t they may erre, than their owne mouthes?

In the tyme that these .xxiij. scysmes endured, we fynde that there were to the nombre of halfe an hundred popes, starke errant scismatykes, anty popes, or ydols / whose names be these.

GRegory the syxt aforesayd was so Gregorye the .vi. rude and so vnlerned, that nedes he must chose an other felowe to execute the offyce with hym, wherwith bycause many men were discontented, they electe the thyrde to put the matter out of stryfe / for the other twayne were fallen by the eares togyther.

Nouatus the pope denyed that there Nouatus. was any forgyuenesse of synnes to them [Page] that had ones offended, but without re­medy to be dampned for euer. If any mā can denye that this man erred, lette hym saye nowe, for this is the last tyme of as­kyng. It were to longe to recyte all their errours / and therfore let vs se how some of this halfe hundred vsed them selues, as concernynge a parte of some of their lyues / for to reherce the hole storye wolde aske to longe a volume.

Fyrst to begyn withall, Bonyface the Bonyface. viij. a man of yll name and fame, by his falshode and trecherye, disceyued his pre­decessour good Celestyne the fyfth, & cau­sed hym by a false pollecy to put him selfe downe. Bonyface perceyuyng that Ce­lestyne was a very goddes creature, and easy to make a foole of, thought surely to shewe hym a poynte of sophestry / and for the same purpose made as many frendes as he coulde. But amongest all, he had made a specyall synguler good frende of one of the popes cubiculers / whom at the last he entysed (for money) to take a great holowe rede / and therin to speake these [Page] wordes that folowe to the pope, in the deed tyme of the nyght. Nowe a man to speake in a rede, maketh a very straunge noyse, as ye knowe. The wordes were these. Celestyne, yf thou wylt be saued, renounce the papacie & pompe of y^e worlde, Celestyne [...] delude [...]. and serue me as thou dyddest before (the pope before ledde the lyfe of an anker) and this was done thre nyghtes togider. The good poore soule the pope supposyng this voyce to descende from heuen, dyd as the voyce cōmaūded hym. But whan he vn­derstode the gyle, knowyng how falsly he was deluded, than he prophecied thus of Bonyface: as a foxe thou came vp, as a lyon thou shalt reygne, and as a dog thou shalt dye. Bonyface was of suche pryde & arrogancye, that he was not abasshed to wryte hym selfe, the lorde of all y^e worlde, as well in tempora [...]tyes as in spūaltyes. And he instytute the pardone and indul­gence The Iu­bili [...]. of the Iubilie.

Benedict the .xij. was of suche disdeyn and skornefulnes, that he thought skorne Benedi [...] the. x [...]. of his owne kynrede / in so moche, y^t whan [Page] any of them came to seke hym for ayde & succour, he answered that a pope had no kynrede at all.

Iohn̄ the .xij. was so hawte, proude, Iohn̄ the xij. & gloryous in all that euer he dyd, & so yll of lyuyng / y^t he was iudged, not to be sa­ued, but rather to be damned / in so moche that good & religyous fathers in theyr de­uout peticions & prayers made vnto god, desyred to knowe y^e state wherin he stode. Nowe yf he had made any good ende, or lyke to a chrysten man, what nede them put any doubte?

Wherto sholde I recyte the moost ab­homynable pryde that euer was herde of Celestyne the thyrde, whiche lyke an hore of the stewes past all shame, crowned the Emperour Henry the fyfth, holdynge the crowne bytwene his fete: and whan he had so put it on, he smote it with his fote agayne, nothynge ashamed to saye, that he had power to make and depose Empe­roures at his pleasure. whan notwith­standyng Chryst sayd that his kyngdome was not of this worlde.

[Page] Calixtus the seconde, toke and impry­soned Calixt the seconde. one Benedict a Spanyarde, pro­moted to the papacye by themperour / but fyrst set hym vpon a mule, with his face towarde the tayle / & caused hym to holde the tayle in his hande, in stede of a brydle / and to ryde through the cite with moche shame before hym. Some wryters saye, that it was vpon a camell / and in dede it is moost lyke to be trewe / to thentent he myght syt a lofte lyke an Emperour in a playe / and be sene the better / to encrease his shame. Lo what charite is amonge these holy fathers? But yf he had cōstray­ned hym to take the tayle in his mouth, and playe on it with his fyngers, in the stede of a bagge pype / than a man myght well haue praysed the pagent, without any blame.

I do warne the here good reder of one thyng / & that is this. I haue left out here the names of y^e wryters, where I toke y^e substaunce of this prologue, as touchyng what so euer thou shalt fynde therin con­cernyng the popes, & Emperours, except [Page] Gregorye the .vij. and themperour Henry the fourth / & wyttyngly & of this po­licie, to proue wheder any man be so well sene, to denye the leest iote or title vntrue, and that it can not be fortifyed by authors hytherto alowed.

Of these .viij. popes that folowe / that is Bonyface the sixth / Stephan the sixth Romane the fyrst / Theodore the seconde / Iohn̄ the .ix. Benedict the .iiij. Leo the .v. and Christofer y^e fyrst / I fynde no maner of goodnesse / but that they be all togyder sclaunderous, debatefull, & myscheuous, with suche contencyon as hathe not ben herde of at any tymé.

And fyrst of all Stephan, confermyng Stephan the .vi. thactes of Iohn̄ the .viij. in that the sayd Iohn̄ degraded Formosus whan he was cardynal, to the state of a lay man / & enforsed hym to forswere bothe y^e cite & y^e seate: condempned also in his tyme y^e same For­mosus Pope For­mosus. / with all thactes done of hym in the tyme of his papacye / and toke vp his body after it was buryed / and smote of one of his handes / and dyd the hande to [Page] be cast in the ryuer of Tyber / two of the fyngers fyrst smytten of.

Than cōmeth Theodore the seconde / & Theodore the seconde. he condemneth Stephan & his actes / and approueth pope Formosus & his actes / & so dyd Iohn̄ the .ix. in the coūsel holden at Rauenna before .lxxiiij. bysshops.

Than cōmeth Sergius / and dassheth Sergius. all that was done of Theodore / and con­demneth bothe Theodore / Iohn̄ the .ix. & also Formosus / cōmaundyng Formosus body to be taken out of the graue ones a­gayne / and to be appareyled lyke a preest / and his heed to be smytten of in the seate apostolyque / and the body to be cast in the ryuer of Tyber.

Leo the fyfth was imprisoned of Christofer Leo the fyfthe. / and had the papacye withdrawen from hym by maystrye and violence: but Sergius the fourth thrust out Christofer and that ryght shortly / accordynge to the olde ꝓuerbe. Quade do / quade haue. Here is a turmoylyng I trowe.

Iohn̄ the .x. was sone to Sergius the Iohn̄ the tenthe. fourth / bothe in flesshe and spirite / & than [Page] ye may be bolde he was no lytell honest Marke the lyfe of these that folow / by thende / for it is an olde prouerbe. If the ende be good / all is good. man. Iohn̄ came by the papacye as moo of his felowes dyd / by vsurpacyon & vio­lence / I wyll vse no worse termes / and at the last, accordyng to his lyfe dyed my­serably in pryson, his breth stopped with a quysshyon.

Iohn̄ the .xvij. came vp by symonye / Iohn̄ the xvii. by the helpe of Crescentius consull of Ro­me / and afterwardes (for no goodnesse) had his eyes bored out of his heed / and the rest of his membres al to cutte, hewed and mangled.

Damasus the second entred the pope­ryche Damasus the second by power and violence / and by all possibilitie lyued well / for he dyed sodeyn­ly, without howsell or shryfte.

Iohn̄ the .xxj. was not vnlerned / but Iohn̄ the xxi. a very foole in maners / and dyed as fo­lysshly. Ʋpon a tyme (belyke whan the cuppes were full / for than be men moost wysest) he prophecyed that he sholde lyue many yeres / but it was not longe after, ere he dyed wretchedly, slayne w^t a cham­ber fallynge on his necke, whiche was [Page] but euen newe buylded. And here ye may se how true prophetes they ben.

Wherto sholde I recyte the greuouse Innocēt the fourth. and intollerable exactions, taskes, & pay­mentes, wherewith pope Innocent the fourth, bothe cruelly, wrongfully, and vncharitably, pylled and vexed the Realme of Englande / for y^e whiche he was sharp­ly rebuked of Grostheed, bysshop of Lyn­colne Bysshop Grostheed. at those dayes, in a lettre sente hym from the same Grostheed / for the whiche lettre, and for bycause the bysshop wolde not admyt a neuewe of the same Inuo­centes, beynge but a boye, to a Canonrye than voyde in Lyncolne, he was accyted to Rome / and ther vpon accursed / and the bysshop appeled to the Throne of the Trinitie. After the bysshop was deed, there appered to the pope in the nyght, one in a bysshoppes rayment / and smote the pope vpon the lyfte syde, sayinge. Aryse vp wretche, & cōme to thy dome. The pope was founde deed in the mornynge / & his bedde all swymmyng with blode.

Bonyface the .viij. of whome we spa­ke Bonyface the. vii [...]. [Page] before, dyed thus. As he withstode the frensshe kynge / and enforced with all his myght and power to haue deposed hym, Guyllyam de Longaret, a wyse man and farre castynge / and other of Guyllyams frendes, made theym stronge / and toke pope Bonyface, whome after longe py­nynge in pryson, they set vpon a wylde horse, without any brydell, turnynge his face towarde the tayle / and makyng hym ronne, and prycke so aboute, tyll at the last he lost his wynde / and so was siayne: but euen in a maner (as I sayd) deed be­fore with hunger / agreable vnto the pro­phecye of Celestyne / as a foxe thou en­tred / as a lyon thou shalte reygne / and as a dogge thou shalte dye.

Iohan the .xij. by all lykely hode came Iohn̄ the xi [...]. of gentyll blode / for he loued well dogges and huntynge. And as for women, he kepte them but euen openly. At the last as he was takyng a lytell pastyme with a mannes wyfe, for the recreacyon of his spirytes / the deuyll kylled hym sodeynly, euen in the doynge of thacte.

[Page] Constantyne the seconde entred vngracyously Constātyne the seconde. & lyued vngraciously, to the great infamye and slaunder of all holy churche, and was at the last vngraciously serued / bothe his eyen put out, & deposed by the charyte (as writers say) of good christen people for his vngracyous lyfe.

¶ I fynde it a trewe sayeng, oh good re­der, that who so regardeth his worke di­lygently hath lytell mynde of other thyn­ges. In good faythe I was so besy with these popes, that I had almost forgotten my selfe / and haue nye hande made halfe a worke in stede of a prologue: but I pray the of thy curtesye to pardon my forget­fulnesse, and than I wyll speake a worde or twayne of the deposycion of the empe­rour Henry the fourth, with two or thremo, and so make an ende.

Fyrste to remembre the moste cruell, Henry the fourth / Em­perour. tyrannous, and pityfull handlyng of the excedynge good & vertuous prince Henry the fourth, emperour of Rome and of Al­mayne, whose lyfe and hystorye I haue hereafter translated: alas it wolde make [Page] any mannes herte in the worlde to melte. Oh good lorde what man is that lyuyng, were he neuer so cruell or vnnaturall, whose eyen wolde not braste out in we­pynge / to se so excellent a prince, so valy­aunt, and so vertuous to be so villay­nously entreated, mocked, dryuen from place to place, cast in prison, deposed, ba­nysshed / and that euen of his naturall sonne, lordes, and subiectes? The cause and doyng wherof was onely & all togy­der Hyldebrande, otherwyse named pope Gregorye the seuenth / as but to playne (if it pleased god otherwyse) hereafter it shalbe sene in both their lyues folowyng / and therfore I let it passe.

Than go to Innocent the thyrde / and Otho. se how by the authorite of Quodcu (que) li­gaueris, he setteth vp & putteth downe, and maketh hauoke. And fyrste of all he enhaunseth Otho the fourth, and crow­neth hym Emperoure: but it was not longe or great varyaūce fell bytwene the pope and the emperoure. Than marke [Page] howe that as sone as Otho ones displea­seth Otho is de­posed. Innosent / by and by he is accursed, and thervpon deposed / and Frederyke the fourth is sette vp in his stede. But not longe after cometh Innocent the fourth, and he deposeth Frederyke / bycause he Frederyke is deposed. began to withstande the pope, and wolde haue taken no wronge at his handes as other had doone. This Frederyke was slayne of his owne sonne / by whose enco­ragynge it is easy to coniecture.

was not the emperoure Lewes the Lewes the mylde de­posed. mylde caste in prisone also and deposed of his owne sonnes, by the coūsayle of Gre­gory the fourth?

Dyd not pope zacharias at the re­quest Hylderyke deposed. of Pypyn, ruler of the frenche kyn­ges house, depose Hylderyke the frenche kynge at those dayes / and made hym a monke? It is a wonder they made hym not a monkas, or some other monster.

Suppose ye also but that kyng Iohn̄ Kyng Iohn̄ of England handled ly­ke a warde. of Englande was handled metely lyke a warde? whiche was fayne to yelde vp [Page] his crowne to the pope, & make so shame­full an othe of allegyaunce, to holde his crowne of hym / after y^t maner as I by­leue verily no trewe herted subiecte may abyde to here of, moche lesse than to re­porte it. Ye, and what was the cause of the cruell handlynge of this good kynge? Forsothe none other but for that, that he right gentilly demaūded a certayne sōme of money of the whyte monkes, to ayde hym in his warres and nede agaynst the yrisshe men / whiche monkes answered ryght obstynately (but clokynge their ob­stynate pride with the colour of obedyēce towarde their religyon) that they durste not so do, without the consent and lycence of the generall and heed visytour of their religyon, thabbot of Cisteaux in Fraūce. The kyng notwithstandyng whan he re­tourned from Irelande, compelled them as right was, for their proude & disdayn­full stubburnnesse, to paye moche more than he demaūded before the settyng for­wardes of his voyage towarde Irelāde.

An other cause was, for that that the [Page] kynge wolde not admytte one Stephan Langton (a man of no small pride & fewe good vertues, as it apereth right well by the cronycles) to the archbysshoprike of Caunterbury, whome the priour and co­uent of the same had electe and chosen a­gaynste the kynges wyll, and sent their election to the pope / whiche the pope con­fyrmed, and sacred hym at a cytie called Ʋiterbi. If these be reasonable causes (oh good christen reder) to enterdyte and accurse this noble realme of Englande, the kyng and his counsayle, with all the dukes, erles, barons, lordes, & other his subiectes that fauoured hym, I reporte me vnto the? If these be reasonable and iust causes to pyll & poll this moste hono­rable realme of Englande euer sens that yerely of a thousande marke to be payde to the courte of Rome as a trybute, as the bysshop of Rome pretendeth / with other incouenyentes expressed in the cronycle of Fabyane, the seuenth parte & .xvj. leafe / Rede Fa­byane and the crony­cles of En­glande. and in y^e cronycles of Englāde the. lxxxiiij leafe and the .lxxxv. leafe, I reporte me to [Page] the and to all the worlde. without que­styon kynge Iohn̄ was a good man, and a moste vertuous kynge / but vngoodly handled and falsly dyffamed by a maly­cyous sorte of traytours of y^e clergy after his dethe / and his lyfe and hystory sham­fully enterlased with most abhomynable lyes: wherfore I cōntende it synguler­ly vnto thy goodnesse to rede it with dis­crecyon and iudgement. Here (good and fauourable reder) I appeale vnto thy ve­ry conscyence, and adiure y^e in the behalfe of god, and as thou wylt answere / for as moche as thou seest here depaynted and set forthe before thyne eyen, the maners and fassyons of the proude bysshoppes of Rome (whiche be suche that it mere able to make any cleane & christened, and good englysshe herte in the worlde to abhorre at them) that thou from hence forthe be not so superstycious, so insolent & folysshe to thynke it well done, and alowed of god what so euer the rauenyng bysshoppe of Rome shall do, without or besyde y^e worde of god. Ye, & I adiure the also in the same [Page] name and vertue that I dyd before, that thou suffre not thyselfe to be led in blynd­nesse, & dampned in hell with them that helde with the bysshop of Rome, than na­med pope Innocent the thyrde / agaynst their liege lorde & souerayne kyng Iohn̄: but y^t thou endeuoyre thy selfe to knowe thy dutye vnto thy souerayne and lyege lorde / and to resorte vnto suche sermons and bookes as shall teache the the same: vnto whom thou owest suche obedyence, as to shede thy herte bloode in his cause and cōmaundement / ye agaynst an hole armye of bysshops and popes of Rome, if the case shulde so requyre / as well as a­gayne an armye of infydels and turkes. I meane where the bysshoppe of Rome wyll take in hande to play the tyraūt, as he dyd with good kynge Iohan / there I saye thou art bounde vnder the payne of dampnacion to stryke. ye I affyrme bold­ly that who so euer ones fauoured cursed Innocentes parte at y^t tyme, was damp­ned for euer in hell / onlesse he repēted and were sory therfore or he dyed. That pro­ueth [Page] the electe vessell of god saynt Paul [...], the .xiij. chapiter to y^e romaynes, sayeng: who so euer resysteth the power (mea­nynge y^e temperall power onely) resysteth the ordynaunce of god. Nowe is it playne that who so euer resysteth the ordynaūce of god, cōmytteth dampnable synne / and shall receyue dampnacyon for his labour as saynt Paule saythe / onelesse he repent and be sory therfore. And that y^e aydours fautours, fauourers, and cōsenters vnto synne be as well worthy of euerlastynge dampnacyon as the very doers of y^e fact, is proued by thauthorite of saynt Paule, in the last ende of the fyrst chapiter of the epystle to the romayns, by these wordes. The whiche (saythe saynt Paule, mea­nyng of the heathen gentyles in generall) all be it they knewe the lawe naturall of god, that all they whiche cōmytte suche synnes / as be adnombred in the same chapyter before) be worthy of dampnacyon / yet not onely they do y^e same, but also con­sent vnto those y^t do them: as who shulde say, not onely y^e doer but also the cōsenter [Page] vnto synne, is worthy of euerlasting damnacyon. Neyther can any man pretende ignoraūce before god / for it wyl not serue, as wytnesseth Chryst hym selfe in the gospell / saying. If the blynde lede the blynde Math .xv. bothe shall fall in the dyche. He sayth not, that the one of them shall fall in the dyche but bothe. ¶ Wherfore ones agayne I warne, aduyse, beseche hertely, & adiure all myne owne hertye & welbeloued coun­treymen of Englande, that they ꝑmyt not themselues to be blynded with affection, with hypocrysye, or with superstycyon. Blyndnes wyll not helpe / & therfore let it passe. Yf thou wylte knowe the bysshops power of Rome / otherwyse called y^e popes power / as it is cōuenyent & syttynge that thou do / resorte vnto the glasse of truthe, & to the booke named the determinacions of the vniuersities / where it is ryght ex­celle [...]tly and passynge well declared & de­bated what the power of the pope is / how farre it extendeth / and what he may do. And to tell the my mynde shortly. Our metropolytane of Caunterburye, within [Page] the realme of Englande, is a farre better man than he / both by thautorite of scrip­ture, the doctours of the churche, and the authorite of counsayles generall. And as for the bysshop of Rome, otherwyse called the pope that nowe is, all the worlde kno­weth well ynough what he is: a bastarde a symonyake, an heretyke, & a false vsur­per of his dignyte. wherfore I can not meruayle to moche why my coutrey men of Englāde, whiche had wont euer more to be cyrcumspecte and haue wysdome in all thyngꝭ, and fyerse of corage to defende their kyng and realme manfully / shulde, seynge no cause why, but many and vr­gent causes to the contrary / depende and leane to the vsurped authorite of suche a naughty and leude person. what sayd I, authorite? ye tyrannye: whiche bycause our moste gracyous and souerayne lyege lorde the kyng, wyll permytte and suffre hym no lenger haue his vsurped iurys­dyction within this realme, and to carye awaye, exhauste, and deuoure the golde, syluer, & treasure of his poore subiectes [Page] and cōmens, to molest and trouble them in his courte at Rome / & dyuers wayes to oppresse and vse his tyrāny ouer them by hym selfe and his, as he many yeres heretofore hath ben neglygently suffred to do. For this our cause (I say) it is y^t he beareth so moche malyce vnto our moste benygne protectour & defendour our sayd souereygne lorde y^e kyng, our vndouted capitall heed vnder god / & enforseth therfore as moche as lyeth in his frowarde & vn­gracyous pollicy and power, to bring his hyghnesse and his realme to his vsurped obedyence / whiche moste manfully lyke a most vyctorious & christen kyng he dothe defende, not onely for hym selfe, but for the tender loue and pytie that he beareth to the weale of this his honorable realme and louyng subiectes, & the delyueraunce of the same from seruage and thraldome. Here me thynkes I se euen the hertes of al true englysshmen leape in their bodyes for y^e loue that they beare vnto their most gracious liege lord, thus shamfully & cruelly handled for their sakes, & speke vnto [Page] them selues after this maner. Shall we suffre our kynges moste gracyous hygh­nesse thus malyciously, cruelly, and fro­wardly to be entreated and hādled, moc­ked and deluded of a bastarde, of a symo­nyake, of a false vsurper, and of an here­tyke / and all for the loue and fauour that he beareth vnto vs his poore subiectes / and for bycause his grace onely myndeth and tendreth our cōmodite, weale, & pro­fyte? No forsothe, we wyll not suffre his grace to receyue such iniuryes & wronges in any wyse, so farforthe as it shall lye in our power to the cōtrary / but we wyll a­gayue like true & louyng subiectes, whan so euer his noble grace shall so cōmaunde vs, ye but euen wynke vpon vs (to testify our true hertes & myndes / that his moste noble grace dothe not loue vs in vayne, and suffre so moch iniuryes for our sakes onely for naught) drawe out our swordes lyke englissh men & trewe subiectes / and manfully fyght in his graces quarell, to spende the best bloode in our hertꝭ to be reuenged of such a false bloodsupper & An­tychrist. [Page] Let vs well remembre, note, and pōder what benefytes we haue receyued of y^e kynges most gracyous highnesse, by the space of .xxv. yeres / & what experyēce we haue had of his procedynges, & howe we haue ben defended from all outwarde enemyes, & what glorious & moste victo­rious actes our sayd souerayne hath op­teyned in y^e said .xxv. yeres whyle he hath ben our king, & in what welthe we haue lyued vnder hym / besydes the thyng y^t he now gothe aboute, as to defende vs from the theft, robbery, oppressyon and tyrāny of the bysshop of Rome, that moste mys­cheuous tyrant. Hath not his grace euer ben our protectour and defendoure, our shelde and buckler bothe in towne and in felde, agaynst y^e theftes and robberyes of stronge theues & murderers? who coulde passe out of his dores / ye who coulde a­byde at home in his owne house vnrob­bed or slayne, were not for the feare of the sworde wherwith his hyghnesse moste myghtyly hath euer defended vs? whose wyfe coulde be saued from ra [...]ysshynge? [Page] whose doughter and mayde from deflo­risshyng? who shuld defende vs from the incursyons of outwarde enemyes, as of alyens? who shulde se vs haue any right in the lawe? who shulde defende y^e poore wydowe, the innocent, the fatherlesse and the motherlesse? Fynally if we had not a gracyous prince (as lauded be god, no re­alme hath none such) it were moche more pleasure for vs to be out of y^e worlde than to be in it, to be beestes that to be men / cō ­syderynge the mysery wherin we shulde lyue, if the sayd bysshop of Rome and his myght optayne that he and his moste de­syre. The premysses therfore well consy­dred, why shulde we not loue hym, fa­uour hym, and defende hym with our ly­ues and goodes to the vttermoste of our powers / as our lyege lorde & souerayne, as our protectour and defendour / ye as a very father vnto vs, as he is without questyon? And contrary, why shulde we in any wyse loue, fauour, enclyne, or de­pende any thynge to that tyrannouse An­tychrist of Rome, whiche wolde with all [Page] his herte se his grace, his realme, & sub­iectes also vtterly not onely ruyned, but also brought in perpetuall captyuyte and bondage / to thende that he with his cly­entes myght haue his dyuellysshe desyre and luste accomplysshed? and all this is for our sakes onely. what profyte haue we by that foule romysshe ratten, but pyllyng, pollyng, pykyng, robbyng, stealyng oppressyon, bloodshedyng, & tyrāny dayly exercysed vpon vs by hym & his? Dothe he not enforce to distroy and extynct vs as moche as lyeth hym? why shulde we be thus blynde? why shulde we be thus insensyble? Alas for pytie, let vs ones be wyse & serue god truly and our kyng / and god shall loue vs, fauour vs, defende vs, and be w^t vs / & than who shall be agaynst vs? Remembre good reder what I haue sayd I beseche the hertyly in goddes be­halfe, and as thou art a trewe subiecte / and away with Antychrist of Rome.

Here (moste gentyll reder) all be it I instauntly requyred the a lytell before as thou woldest answer before god to resorte [Page] vnto suche bookes as maye perfytely in­structe the in the knowlege of the power of the romysshe popet or bysshop, yet for bycause the mater is nowe in our hand­lynge also / and for as moche as I desyre nothynge more than that thou & all other my coūtrey men, may clerely se y^e playne truthe, as consernynge what his power is in dede / and by that to stycke & abyde: I say & boldly affyrme at fewe wordes, The bys­shoppe of Romes power. that the bysshoppe of Rome hath no more authorite than hath any other bysshop in christendome gyuen hym by y^e scrypture. To proue that, it shall be necessary to re­cyte y^e place of Mathewe the .xvj. wher­in all his hope and trust is. But first thou shalte vnderstande y^t our sauyour Christe putteth a certayne questyon vnto his dis­cyples, and demaundeth of them what the fame and reporte of the people was of hym, and howe they estymed hym & toke hym in companye there as the apostels came / not for bycause that he was igno­raunt of the peoples talkynge: for howe can any thynge be vnknowen to god? but [Page] to the ende & purpose that he wolde after, that demaunde of them their owne fayth and byleue / & haue it knowen to all men, as it was before knowen vnto hym selfe / to signyfye that his seruauntes, frendes, and louers whiche be taught inwardly by y^e spyrit of his father, haue an hygher knowlege, vnderstandyng, and a sure by­leue and trust / where as they that be not instructe in their soules by the same spy­ryte, haue but a waueryng mynde & opi­nyon, shaken with euery wynde & puffe of doctryne. The wordes of the scripture ben these. whome (sayd Christe) do men talke that I am, that same sonne of man? And they answered: Some say that thou art Iohn̄ Baptyst / other saye that thou art Helyas / other that thou art Ieremy, or one of the nombre of the prophetes. He sayd vnto them. But what saye you that I am? Than Symon Petre answeryng sayd: Thou art Christ that same sonne of the lyuynge god. Here thou must vnder­stāde good reder, that lykewyse as Christ proponed his question not onely vnto Pe­ter, [Page] but vnto all his apostels / euen so they all and not onely Peter, answered vnto Christes questyon / all be it at the fyrste syght a man wolde thynke the contrary by the wordes of the scrypture: but that answere of all them was made in Peter, and by Peter, in the name of them all / as in worldly besynesse y^e foreman of a quest answereth and gyueth the verdyte for all his felowes. This affyrmeth saynt Au­gustyne vpon this same place, by these wordes. Ʋnus respondit ꝓmultis: Oue Augustyne. answereth (saythe he) for many. Item the holy man Bede, our owne countrey Bede. man: Petrus respondit vnus pro omni­bus. Peter answereth (saythe he) one for all. Item Lyra: Peter (saythe Lyra) as Lyra. though he had ben principall of all, gaue answere for hym selfe and for the other. And the glose also called, Glosa interlini­aris, saythe the same / and so dothe the or­dinary glose. And the noble clerke Chriso­stome Chrisostom. in his .lv. homely, vpon this same place of Mathewe / and vpon the last cha­piter of Iohn̄ in his .lxxxvij. homilie, cal­leth [Page] Peter the mouthe of thapostels / for that y^t all they answered in hym, & by his mouth, as by their forman & spokesman, as men call it. And that he was so it ape­reth well in the syxth chapyter of Iohn̄, where after a longe sermon y^t Christ had made vnto y^e people, wherwith they were so sore offended y^t they went murmuring away & forsoke his audyēce / he sayd vnto all his apostels atones: wyll ye go also? Than answered Symon Peter. Syr, to whom shulde we go? Thou hast y^e wordꝭ of eternall lyfe / and we byleue & knowe that thou arte Christ y^e same sonne of the lyuynge god. Marke here that he saythe not, I byleue and knowe / but we byleue and knowe, as beynge the mouthe and forman for them all. Of this it is many­fest bothe by scypture and doctours, that Peter answered for all his felowes, and they all in hym / and y^t his cofessyon was their cōfessyon. Forget not this good gētle reder, for y^u shalte receyue no small fruyte therby & lyght, as touching y^e truthe of y^t that I affirme y^e bisshop of Rome to haue [Page] no more authorite than an other bysshop. For this ones graūted (as it can not iust­ly be denyed, and as we haue suffyciently proued) that all y^e apostels made answere vnto Christes demaunde, and confessed hym to be the sonne of the lyuynge god by the mouthe of Peter / than must it ne­des folowe of congruence, that what so euer answere and promesse for that con­fessyon so made, semeth onely at the fyrst lokynge to be yelded vnto Peter as retry­bucion & rewarde of his christyan cōfes­syon / must of necessite also be yelded vnto the rest of his felowes. For the cause (as sayth saynt Augustyn) why Peter recey­ued suche a promesse of Christ as he dyd, was his trewe and faythfull confessyon. Nowe the same cause of promesse and re­warde beynge in them all, that was in Peter / why shulde they not all than enioy and optayne y^e same gyfte, authorite, and promesse that Peter enioyed and optay­ned? specially before so rightwyse a iudge whiche had called them al to one offyce of apostleshyp? Ye, that our reason is bothe [Page] good and problable / and that all the apo­stels had lyke & egall promesse made vnto them all / ye euen the very same selfe pro­messe y^t Peter had made vnto hym, and all at one tyme & place / we shall confyrme and stablysshe by thautorite of doctours, and reason corroborate by scripture. Our fyrst doctour is the holy and worshypfull man Bede, whiche confyrmeth our fore­sayd reason thus. Lykewyse (sayth this holy man) as the apostels generally de­maunded of their byleue, Peter answe­reth one for all / euen so that answere that Christ made vnto Peter, he made to them al in Peter. This geare is playne ynough me thynketh. But let vs se what Lyra sayth. And I say vnto the (sayth Christ) that thou art Peter, and so forthe. where Lyra vpon these wordes of Christ: And I say vnto the (putteth to this glose) for the & thy felowes. The same affyrmeth Ludolphus in his boke intytled, De vita Christi, euen by the same wordes: and so dothe the foresayd glose interliniar or by­twene the lynes, sayeng thus. Christ an­swereth [Page] them all in Peter. And the ordy­narye glose sayth thus. The answere is made to one for all, to signyfye that vnitie ought to be obserued amonge them all. Nowe this ones proued, as we se it is / and as it can not be denyed / but that what so euer promesse of power was here made vnto Peter, was equally and at one tyme and place made vnto all the rest of thapo­stles? How can the bysshop of Rome, that vsurper, tyraunt, and bloode supper, for shame (yf he were not paste all shame) ones mouthe it, that he sholde haue any authoritie aboue an other bysshop, consy­dering al thapostles had as moche power promysed vnto them as had Peter, and all at one tyme, as I sayd but euen now? Yea that there was no superioritie amongest the apostles, appereth in the .xv. cha­pytre of the actes of the apostles, where whan Peter by the waye of sentence and iudgement, wolde haue rydde the gen­tyles, that were conuerted vnto Chryste, from the bondage of Moyses lawe, and from all the partes therof, Iames toke [Page] vpon hym to correcte Peters sentēce, and adiudged that for the weakenesse of the iewes, to thende that dissencyon & stryfe sholde haue an ende bytwene the gentyles and them, adiudged (I saye) that that gentyles sholde abstayne from eatynge of meates off [...]ed vnto ydolles, from forny­cacyon, strangled, and bloode / ye and dis­cerned that so it sholde be, sayinge. My sentence is (that is to saye, I iudge and ordeyne) that we trouble not them of the gentyles, whiche be conuerted to god &c. And this ordynaunce stode, and was a playne correccyon to Peters sentence / so that all men may se playnly, that Iames knowledged no superiorite in Peter, whi­che he must haue done, yf there had ben any in Peter. Yea yf there sholde be any prymateshyp or superyorytye in any of Chrystes discyples, me thynketh it shol­de be in Iudas and Silas, whiche in the same chapytre folowynge be called heed men or superyours among the bretherne, whiche yet can not be vnderstande, as [Page] cōcernyng any power that they had more than their felowes, but for some other syngler gyft wherin they passed the rest. And yet in all scrypture is there no place that speaketh so moche for Peter. That Peter also had no more authorite than a­ny other of thapostels is easy to se in the xviij. of Mathewe, where they receyued all as moche, as hygh, & as great power as Peter had promysed vnto hym in the sayd .xvj. chapiter, al though the wordes myght be referred to Peter alone / as we haue iustly fortyfyed before y^t they were not. The wordes of the .xviij. chapytre ben these. Trewly I say vnto you (sayth Christ to his apostels) that what so euer ye shall bynde vpon erthe, shall be bounde in heuen / and what so euer ye shall lose vpon erthe, shall be losed in heuen. who seeth not here in these wordes as moche power conteyned as is in the .xvj. of Ma­thew, where he sayth. what so euer thou byndest vpon erthe, shall be bounde in he­uen / and what so euer thou losest vpon erthe, shall be losed in heuen. And yet in [Page] this .xvj. chapitre of Mathew, the power is but onely promysed. Wherevnto some of the papystes, obiecte well and wysely, that goddes promesse is his dede and per­formaūce, meanyng that as soone as the promesse was made, which is wryten in the .xvj. of Mathewe, it was performed euen by and by. I wyll make you a lyke argument. Chryste was promysed vnto Aoam, that he sholde cōme & redeme hym and all his posteritie from thraldom. ergo by these wyse papystes reasons, Chryste was borne euen by and by. And it was promysed in scripture, that a pure virgyn and mayde, sholde be the sauyour of y^e worlde. ergo yf god alwayes fulfyll his promesse immedyatly, Chryst was conceyued and borne vpon our lady before she was borne her selfe, thousandes of yeres, long before the aungell saluted her, and went aboute inuysybly to teche the papistes suche sub­tyll argumentes. No doubte but our pa­pystes ben euer the best lerned, and best reasoned men / where there be no mo [...] [Page] they. But let vs ymagyn that the power contayned in the .xvj. of Mathewe was promysed than to Peter only / yet maketh it not for al that, that he had any superio­ryte or primatshyp ouer his felowes / in so moche as the contrary apereth in the xviij. of y^e same euangelyst, as it is before declared. Suche arguyng is moche lyke as though y^e kynges grace (god saue his hyghnesse) hauynge twelue gentylmen standynge before hym, and promysynge one of them by name hereafter to make hym knyght of the Bathe, but appoyn­tynge no certayne day / shulde happen af­terwardes, accordynge to his promesse, to doubbe hym knyght of the hathe / but with the other .xj. of his felowes, all at one season and tyme. Nowe if this gen­tylman thus by the kynges grace promoted, wolde take vpon hym to be lorde and mayster ouer his felowes, bycause the diguyte was fyrste promysed vnto hym / I suppose verily y^t the rest wolde thynke hygh scorne therof / and compte hym not very wyse, nor yet take hym so in d [...]e. [Page] For all be it that the promsse were made vnto hym fyrst / yet they came vnto it as sone as he / and had the same dignite & as moche gyuen vnto them as had he / and all at one tyme. And so lykewyse it fareth by the power & keys supposed of the pa­pystes to be promysed vnto Peter onely, and before al other / although it be as true as y^t the see burneth. But admyt that it were of a truthe / yet dothe it not folowe immediatly y^t he had any superiorite ouer them / for as moche as euery one of them receyued the same selfe authoryte in the xviij. of Mathew / by these wordꝭ. Truly I say vnto you (saythe Christ) y^t what so euer ye shall bynde in erth shalbe boūde in heuen / & what so euer ye shal lose in erthe shall be losed in heuen. So that the moste which they might proue if their supposy­cion were true, as it is not / were y^t Peter receyued tha [...]orite of byndyng & losyng first, & or any of thother receyued it: whi­che natwitstādyng is vntrue. And agayn that there was no superiorite among the apostels, doth y^e holy apostle Paule proue [Page] the seconde chapytre to the Galathy [...]s, where he saith thus. As sone as Iames, Cephas, & Iohn̄, whiche semed to be the pyllers, perceyued the grace whiche was gyuen vnto me, they gaue vnto me & Bar nabas theyr handes / and so forth. All the worlde may se by these wordes of Paule that Iames and Peter, whiche he calleth Cephas, and Iohn̄, were not in dede pyl­lers and heedes of the rest of thapostles, but semed so to be, and that to some men / for the vehemencye & diligence peraduen­ture that they shewed aboue their felowes in settyng forth the worde of god. Marke here also how he sayth not that onely Pe­ter semed to be y^e pyller alone, but Iames and Iohn̄ semed to be pyllers as well as he, and were taken for as greate men as Peter was, whiche coude not haue ben, if his power had excelled theirs. Neyther dothe he saye, that Iames, Peter & Iohn̄ were of any power, or pyllers in dede a­boue y^e rest / but onely that they semed to be the pyllers. Wherfore it is playne that they were not so, but contrarye, of egall [Page] power and dignitie with the other .ix. Y [...] le here furthermore by the authoritie of Paule, that Iames and Iohn̄ were as hyghly estemed as Peter, but neuer man yet sayd that Iames and Iohn̄ had any more authoritie, than Andrew, Mathew, Thomas, and the rest, wherfore it concludeth that Peter had no more authoritie than all other of thapostles. And so it fo­loweth, that the pope hath no more authoritie than an other bysshop. Whiche graū ted, it argueth of necessitie, that he hathe no further to do, than within his owne diocese, whiche ought to extende no fur­ther than to the next bysshops diocese ad­ioynyng to his. It argueth agayne, that he can reserue no cases from an other bys­shop, that he can not sende any īterdiction in to another bysshops diocese / that he can make no maryages / or gyue any dispen­sacyons in another bysshops diocese. &c. Finally it argueth that he can do nothing in an other mannes diocese, for that that he hath not the worde of god to bere forth his acte, oneles the bysshop of the same, [Page] for a more aduauntage, wyll consent vn­to his [...]surped power / and wynke ther at. Of this it is playne, that what so euer power the bysshop of Rome hathe put in execucion within this realme of Englāde synce the tyme that he fyrst crepte in to it / is and hath ben nothynge els but stronge illusyon, vsurpacyon, and tyra [...]ye / and euery peny that he hathe had, playne ex­torcyon, thefte and robberye. To this I adde, that all be it the wordes of autho­rytye gyuen vnto all the apostles / and so consequently vnto Peter, seme very large and to enclude alle maner of power in them, where Chryste sayd. What so euer Mathewe xviii. ye shall bynde in erthe / shall be bounde in heuen. &c. Yet I saye that other places of scripture declare / that it ought to be vnderstande of the spirytuall power one­ly of byndynge and losynge of synne, by prechynge the worde of god, and myny­strynge the sacramentes. That the fore­sayd wordes include no power ouer tem­poraltyes, or temporall rule / is euydent by the .xviij. chapytre of Iohan, where [Page] Chryst sayd vnto Pylate. My kyngdome is not of this worlde / which is as moche to saye to any wyse man: As I am no worldly kynge, prynce, or ruler, nor haue any thynge to do in suche busynesse, as concernynge my manhode, and the my­nystracyon of my fathers worde. Here wolde I fayne lerne how the bysshop of Rome came by his temporall power to de­pose kynges and Emperours, seyng that Chryste denyed suche power before good wytnesse. I am sure that the bysshop of Rome hathe not more authorytye than Chryst had. If Chryst had no temporall kyngdom, rule, nor power in this worlde / than dare I be bolde to saye, that the po­pet of Rome hath none. And for as moche as there be but two maner of condycyons or states in this worlde / that is to wyte / eyther the condicyon and state of a kynge or of a subiecte / it must nedes folowe that the bysshop of Rome, who wolde fayne be called pope, is, nor can be of any other state and condicion than a subiecte / for as [Page] [...]he as he can be of no hygher estate that was Christe / whiche knowledged hym selfe to be but a subiecte before Py­late, sayeng. If my kyngdome were of [...] .xviii. this worlde (that is to saye, if I were a kynge in this worlde as I am but a sub­iecte) than wolde my mynysters surely lyght, that I shulde not be delyuered vn­to y^e iewes / but nowe is not my kyngdom from hence / as who shulde say, y^e contra­ry is trewe that I am but a subiecte, and therfore I may not fight & resyst y^e power and ordynaunce of god, but be obedyent thervnto as my father hath cōmaunded. Ye & to signify y^t as concernyng his man­hode & the admynistracion of his fathers worde, he & his mynisters what name so euer they beare, must nedes be subiectes vnto y^e kynges power / in the .xvij. of Ma­thew he payeth tribute for hym and Pe­ter, ye & in Peter for all other thapostels and mynisters of y^e clergye / whom Peter represented and fygured, to teche, declare and be an ensample to al that euer shulde succede him and his apostels of their due [Page] obedyēce towarde their princes. And this he dyd couertly, signifyeng y^t there shulde come in the latter dayes suche false pro­phetes and Antychristes as wolde teache the contrary, and withdrawe their dutye from their souereygnes. Here is it euy­dent (oh good reder) that the bysshoppe of Rome can be but a subiect, nor is: but vn­to whom? Forsoth to themperour. Than note my mynde in one thyng. Euery man knoweth that what so euer subiecte ma­keth insurrectyon agaynst his liege lorde and souerayne, must nedes be a traytour vnto him & to god also. The fals [...] [...]ysshop of Rome y^t nowe is, otherwyse called the pope, hath done ye & daily doth the same / ergo he is a traytour to god and thempe­rour: ye if thou enserche thystories with good dylygence, thou shalte fynde y^t there haue ben very fewe other this .vij. hun­dred yeres. If y^e bysshop of Rome be but the emperours subiecte / by what autho­ryte may he thinkest thou take vpon him to do that thyng that his owne liege lorde and souereygne themperour may not do, [Page] at the le [...]st by good authorite and iustyce, as to depose and sette vp this kynge and that kynge at his pleasure / whiche his lyege lorde and souereygne the emperour hym selfe can not do. And than he beyng but a subiecte, howe the dyuell cometh it to passe that he may do it? were it a mete thynge that the archbysshoppe of Yorke shulde depose themperour, or the kyng of Hungary? Nowe seyng y^t euery bysshop hath as moche authorite one as an other by y^e lawe of god, as we haue proued be­fore / why shulde not the archbysshop of yorke depose y^e kyng of Hungary or suche another man, as well as the byshoppe of Rome that somtyme was, named Iuno­cent the thyrde, in a maner deposed the moste vertuous prince kynge Iohan of Englande / and brought hym to that ex­tremyte, that he must nedes to saue his lyfe & crowne, and his realme from fur­ther inconuenyentes, beyng a kyng knele downe before a knaue called Pandulph, the bysshoppe of Romes legate, and yel­ded vp his crowne to the sayde Pan­dulphe, [Page] as in to the handes of that foule monstre and hoore of Babylone Inno­cent beforesayd / whiche crowne the sayd Pandulph receyued and kept fyue dayes in his handes.

My stomacke abhorreth to declare any further of y^e mater, therfore I beseche the what so euer thou art good reder, and the kynges trewe subiectes, to seke the rest thy selfe. In my conscyence if that same mater were well pondred and regarded with a trewe iudgement and a true sub­iectes herte, of all them that maye and do rede it / with other moste shamfull abho­mynacions that haue ben sythe that pra­ctysed by that babylonycall strompet of Rome and hers / as well in all partyes beyonde the sees, as in our natyfe coun­trey and realme of Englande: I doubte not that if all trewe englysshmen knewe them perfytely, and pondred theym as they shulde do, but y^t they wolde, ye and therto myght with ryght good cōseyence detest, defye, bespytte, and abhorre that same foule tode of Rome, as they wolde [Page] and myght the graunde dyuell and capy­tayne of hell Lucifer prince of darknesse.

Nowe to make an ende of this mater, I haue proued that the bysshop of Rome called pope by vsurpacyon, hath no more authorite than an other bysshop, and that by scrypture, doctours, and the papystes owne gloses. And that furthermore the power that he hath, with all other bys­shoppes is more spyrituall / and hym selfe but a subiecte with all his to the kynge and his lawes, bothe morall & iudyciall. And that haue I dene by the authorite of Christes own wordes vnto Pylate in the xviij. chapyter of Iohan, where Christe saith. Mykingdom is not of this worlde, as who shulde say / I am no kynge or ru­ler of the worlde / and than must he nedes be a subiecte. Seyng than y^t Christ was but a subiecte in this worlde, as concer­nyng his manhode / howe can it be auoy­ded but the bysshop of Rome must nedes be a subiecte? If he be but a subiect, how can he depose a straunge and alyen kyng, as the frenche kyng or suche another the [Page] whiche thyng to do his liege lorde and so­uereygne hath none authorite? Ye what maner of subiecte call ye that, that com­pelleth his owne souereygne to kysse his fete, and wyll set the crowne vpon his so­uereygnes heed with his fete and dasshe it of agayne whan he hath done / ye and depose hym therto whan so euer he lyst? Howe agreeth this with saynte Paules doctryne in the .xiij. to the Romaynes, whiche sayth thus. Let euery soule sub­mytte hym selfe vnto the authorite of the hygher powers. By the hygher powers he vnderstandeth onely the temperall po­wer, as the processe of the text manyfest­ly declareth / and excepteth neyther bys­shop of Rome, bysshop of Lōdon, nor bys­shop of Durham / neyther monkes of the charterhouse, nor freres of Grenewyche / neyther father pye, nor father crowe / ney­ther father goose, nor father gander / nor yet any suche lyke. But he saythe let eue­ry soule submyt hym selfe, or be subiecte vnto thautoryte of the hygher powers: where note that in sayeng euery soule, he [Page] except [...]. And thoughe as I sayde before he [...]th hymselfe afterwar­des co [...] the authorit [...] of the kynge onely; say [...]ng [...] [...]e beareth not the sworde for [...]aught yet the ap [...]stle Peter setteth out Paules meanynge moche clerely i [...] his fyrst [...] epystle and seconde chapytre, say [...]ng. S [...]ytte your selues vnto all [...]ane [...] ordynaunce of [...]an, for the lordes sa [...] / whether it be vnto the kynge as [...] to the chefe he [...]d / eyther vnto rulers, as vnto them that are [...]ente of hym, for the punysshment of y [...] doers / but for th [...] la [...]d [...] o [...] the [...] that d [...]well▪ For so is the wyll of god [...]ye, and marke what hyghe [...]ayse is gyuen th [...] kynge in scrypture. For he is the [...]ynister of god, sayth saynt Paule in the .xiij. chapytre to the romay­nes. And Salomon also in the viij. cha­pytre of his prouerbes / speakynge in [...]h [...] person of goddes wysdome saythe thus: [...]y [...]e kynges do reygne. S [...] y [...] not here howe Salomon extolleth the [...] of a kynge / affyrmynge that realmes and kyngdomes be [...] gouerned, vpholden [Page] and defended by the wysdome of god? and that their power, offyces, lawes, and ordynaunces, ben the very diuyne power and ordynaunces of god? And in the seconde booke and twenteth chapyter of the Paralipo [...]e [...]on, it is written thus of worldly princes and rulers. Ye do not exercyse the iudgement and lawe of man / but of god. For as moche than as the of­fyce and dignyte of kyngꝭ and suche heed rulers, ben ordeyned by the hyghe wys­dome and prouydence of god / and for as moche also as his iudgement and lawe, is not onely mans lawe and iudgement, but euen the very iudgement and lawe of god / it foloweth very well accordyng to the sayenge of saynt Paule: that who so euer resysteth the kynge and his or­dynaunce / Paule sayth who so euer / [...]e [...]cepteth no man. resysteth the power, ordy­naunce, lawe and iudgement of god / and shall therfore (accordyng to the mynde of the same saynte Paule) receyue eternall dampnacyon for his rewarde without amendement.

Here (gentyll and indyfferent red [...]) [Page] euen as I [...]ntende not to collect and adde in this one lytell corner, all the places of scrypture whiche make, stablysshe, and confyrme the diuyne authorite & power of kinges, ye rather of god hymselfe / euen so my mynde was not vtterly to [...]aue it all bare, naked, vntouched, & blynde vnto the / but to shewe y^t some lyght knowlege and vnderstandyng, in the obedyence due vnto thy prince / and gyue the occasyon to enserche and seke further for a more clerer perceyuaunce of the same. And thus I leaue speakyng of the kynges power, ad­dynge a reason or twayne that we haue no nede of the bysshoppe of Rome to be a generall heed of the churche of god / and that I proue thus. If we haue any nede of hym eyther we muste haue nede vnto his lawes & correctyon, whiche is false / for as moche as the kyng is bothe suffy­cyent and able with his counsayle to pu­nysshe all maner of synne: or els we haue nede vnto his personall prechyng, whiche is false also & can not be. Or els we haue nede to byleue as he byleueth, whiche is [Page] false & vntrue also / for than we had nede to be heretykes & traytours / as cōmunly he is hym selfe. Or elles we haue nede of his myghty power / whiche is as true as that the mone hathe calued / whan hym selfe hathe no more power than hathe an other bysshop / as we haue made clere be­fore. Now yf we nede hym ī none of these poyntes / than it is easye to coniecture & to argue for a truthe, that he was neuer or­deyned of god, to be generall & heed vicare of the churche / but hathe purchased that authoritie onely by the swerde / and dothe falsly vsurpe it by tyrannye. For god and nature createth nothynge in vayne. One thyng I know, that he hath had moche of our money, wherof whether he had any nede or none, let euery man iudge. Yes say the papystes / it is mete that there be one that dare boldly tell Emperours, kynges and prynces theyr faultes / as who sholde saye / that no man sauynge the puppet of Rome durst purely and syncerely preche, teche, and wryte the holy worde of god, wherein as in a moost true myrrour and [Page] glasse, bothe kyngꝭ, Emperours, & other, may beholde & se y^e spottes of their soules. But your meanynge is (oh my fayre pa­pystes) that it is mete & conuenyent, that there be suche a tyraunt & deuyll, as may be able to lay a fayre swerde in the neckes of prynces, whiche they and theyr heyres and successours shall neuer be able to recouer, whan so euer they shall do any thyng cōtrary to your appetites. But we taught by good experyence, are compelled to tell you agayne, that it is bothe necessarye and nedefull that there be none suche, and that we reporte vs to good kynge Iohn̄, with other bothe kynges, Emperours, & dukes, whome your almyghty god & fa­ther the puppet of Rome, hath full lyke a false traytour & tyraūt deposed. ¶ Here I leaue your lorde y^e puppet as I foūde him for this ones, spekyng a worde or twayne of some of his clientes, whiche cleuyng to the clyfte of his lordshyps clensyng place, defende his godheed from the hyghest to the lowest, with the worde of god vnwry­ten / so they call it.

[Page] Truthe it is, that the worde of god vn­wryten Of the wor­de of god vn­written. is of as great strength & efficacite as y^e worde of god wryten, I meane yf it be the very worde of god in dede. And therfore whan so euer any man wyll vsurpe vpon the (oh good reder) and fortyfye any mater, as in y^e name & authorite of y^e wor­de of god vnwryten, do no more but denye the vnwryten worde y^t he allegeth, to be y^e worde of god, & put hym to the ꝓses of it / and this be sure of, y^t neither he, nor any of his shall euer be able to proue it. It may fortune he wyll enforce to proue it thus. There be many thyngꝭ necessary to be by­leued, y^t be not wryten in scripture / & this is one of them. ergo this must be byleued of necessite. To y^e maior or the first part I answere thus, that as concernyng the ne­cessite The fyrst ar­gument that the worde o [...] of god writ­ten is suf [...] ­ [...]yent. of our saluacyon, it is false y^t there lacketh any thyng in scripture writen / for it is wryten Iohn̄. ʒ. Sic enim deus dilexit mundū, vt filiū suū vnigenitū daret, vt ois qui credit ī eū nō pereat, sed habeat vitā aeternā. God loued y^e worlde so intyerly, y^t he gaue his onely sone, to thende that who so eue [...] [Page] byleueth in hym, sholde not peryshe / but haue lyfe euerlastyng: and in y^e same cha­pytre. Qui credit filio, habet vitā aeternam. He that byleueth the sone, hath lyfe euer­lastyng. And Iohn̄ the sixth. Qui confidit mihi, habet vitā aeternā. He that trusteth in me, hath euerlastyng lyfe: & so forth in .vj. hondreth places mo. Now ben all articles necessary to our byleue in Chryst, in y^e scripture wryten, & they do saue vs, as is be­fore proued (bycause that who so byleueth in Chryst, byleueth in y^e father, & so in the hole trinite) ergo y^e scripture writen dothe saue vs, & is suffycyent to our saluacyon. And so is the maior / that is to wyte, that there be any thynges necessary to y^e saluacyon of our soules vnwryten in scripture, proued false. Mary otherwyse to speke of necessary thyngꝭ, truthe it is that there be many thynges necessary to be byleued of cōgruence and good reason, that be not in scripture / as to byleue y^t false harlottes & shrewes wyll neuer be true. And y^t poules steple can not ryde .xl. myles vpō a day, no though Lyncolne mynstre were y^e horse.

[Page] The maior or fyrst parte of their argu­ment aforsayd is proued vntrewe also, by thautorite of saint Augustyn: Ad fratres Saynt Augustyn in the boke wryten to the chrysten bretherne / lyuyng in wyl­dernesse. in heremo, sermone .xxviij. Satis enim nouit charitas vestra, quod tota perfectio nostre vite, et edificationis, ex euangelio accipitur. Your charyte (sayth saynt Au­gustyne) knoweth perfytly that all y^e per­fectyon of our lyfe & edifycacion, is taken out of the gospell. Nowe myne olde po­pysshe papystes, where is become your worde of god vnwriten necessary to be by­leued to y^e saluacyon of our soules. Saynt Augustyne saythe that all the perfectyon of our lyfe and edifycacion, is taken out of the gospell. If all be taken out of the gos­pell, howe is any thynge vnwritten? Ye, and he sayth not only all / but addeth ther vnto perfectyon & edifycacion, whervpon it foloweth y^t your worde of god vnwrit­ten is of no perfection nor edificacion / and thā it is not necessary to be byleued to the saluacion of our soules. But pe [...]aduēture ye wyll vse your olde shamlesse fassyons, and saye that he includeth in this worde [Page] gospell, the gospell of god vnwritten. Non sic impij, noc sic. Not so ye wicked, not so / for he expoūdeth himselfe of what gospell he meaneth, in his .xxxviij. sermon to the christen bretherne lyuing in wyldernesse. Legite sacram scripturam (inquit ille) in qua quid tenendum et quid fugiendum sit, plene inuenietis. Rede ye holy scryp­ture (sayth saynt Augustyne in y^e whiche ye shall fynde at full, what is to be helde and what to be auoyded. How say ye now, dothe not saynt Augustyne cōmaunde vs to rede holy scripture? but who can rede that that is not written / wherfore ye se that he speketh of the worde of god writ­ten / and he addeth therto, that we shall fynde in it at full, that is to saye to euery wyse man, suffyciently ynough what is to be holden, & what to be auoyded. Howe lyke ye this worde at full, whiche before he called all the perfectyon and edifyca­cyon of our lyfe? And yet we fynde not in scripture your worde of god vnwritten. wherfore I conclude that it is not to be admytted and helde, for as moche as all [Page] thynges that are to be holden, ben (as saynte Angustyne saythe) comprehended in the worde of god written at full. And a lytell after. Et quid tenendum, et quid vitandum est apertissime demonstrauit. And it hath shewed vs (saith he, menyng of holy scripture) moste clerely & openly, what is to be helde, & what to be refused. Howe say ye to these termes, most clerely & openly? More ouer to come to holy scripture agayn / saynt Luke in y^e fyrst chap. of thactes, aproueth saint Augustynes wordes thus. Superiore quidē volumine diximus de omnibꝰ Theophlie, que cepit Ie­sus The seconde argument. tum facere, tū docere. &c. In our first volume or boke (saith Luke) we haue writen of al thingꝭ o Theophilus, which Ie­sus both practised & taught. &c. Howe say ye now to theuāgelist Luke, he excepteth nothīg y^t Christ dyd or taught, wherof he hath not writen: wherfore if ye wyll be so good not to be discontent y^t Christ dyd and taught al thīgꝭ necessary to our saluaciō / than must ye nedꝭ cōfesse y^t they be expres­sed & writē of Luke (though my new olde [Page] maysters haue not y^e wytte to espy them out) and than I put no doute but in the hole bodye of the scrypture written they be sette forthe at full and at large / and so as for your worde of god vnwritten, ye may laye it vp to an other yere that there come some derthe of y^e worde of god writ­ten. But what name shuld I haue better for these noble diuynes, than to call them doctours dreamers, or gospellers ymagi­natyfe doctores imaginatiui. /for all y^t they proue is by dreames ymagynacions, & scyence ymagynatyue.

Paule the fyrst chapiter to the romay­nes, The thyrbe argument. saythe thus. Non enim me pudet euangelij Christi. Siquidem potentia est dei ad salutem omni credenti. I am not asshamed of the gospell of Christ (saythe Paule) For it is the power of god to saue al that byleue, trust, or stycke surely ther­vnto. I meruayle sore howe our ymagy­nary fe doctours or gospellers can auoyde me this place of Paule. Paule reputeth the gospell of god to be of suche power and suffyciency, to saue all that byleue it: and than is the scrypture written suffy­cyent [Page] to our saluacyon / and nothyng vn­written pertaynyng to the same. Do we lacke any of the gospell thynke you? than lacke we a pece of our saluacyon. Fynal­ly if our ymaginatyue euangelystes by­leue that we lacke any parte of it, for by­cause they can not tell howe moche that parte is, nor how lytle, but be vncertayne therof / it foloweth that they be vncer­tayne of their saluacyon / and wolde for that entent haue vs parte takers of their sorowes: for it is a pleasure to wretches to haue some companyons of their wre­chydnesse. Solatium est miseris, sotios habuisse malorum.

Dyd not god also by y^e mouthe of Moy­ses The fourth. Non addeti [...] ad vbū / quod loquor [...]obis net auferetis ab eo. Deute. iui. ec .xvii. cōmaunde the chyldren of Israell as foloweth? Thou shalt not adde any thyng to this worde, nor take any thynge from it. I beseche you my wyse vnwritten gos­pellers, for what entent was that / but bycause their worde written was suffy­cient? Be we than in worse case than they were / or dothe not this cōmaundement stāde yet in effecte? Is it eyther iudiciall [Page] lawe or ceremoniall / if it be neyther, than it apertayneth to vs as well as to them / and than go playe you w^t your vnnedefull vnwritten worde. Howe say ye now? hath not Iohn̄ y^e same sentēce in y^e last chaptre of thapocalypse? wyll ye neuer be wyse.

Answere to this: why dyd the apostels The fyfth. set their pennes to y^e booke to write? was it not bycause the gospell of Christ shulde not be forgoten? And why than dyd they (as ye saye) leaue it vnsuffycient? Maye not the rest that ye saye is vnwritten be forgotten? Yes: and is so moche forgotten all redy, that ye can not tell what it is, nor howe moche. By your tale a man myght well accuse as well all as one of the apo­stels / bothe of vncharytablenesse, as of wylfull neglygence and murdre of mens soules, in leauynge that vnwritten we­tyngly and for the nones, that is of neces­syte requysyte to the saluacion of our sou­les / seyng it may be forgoten. And yet the cōtrary is knowen to well, that they were bothe to good, charytable, and dylygent / and loued the cōmaundement of Christe [Page] to well, to be taken tardye in any suche fautes / wherfore all your bablyng is not worthe a button.

But what nede vs go aboute to proue The [...]yet [...]. the negatyfe, whan it is suffycyent for our parte, to denye there is any thyng ne­cessary to our saluacyon vnwritten in the scriptures: therfore (oh good reder which art not lerned) whan so euer thou hast a­ny suche reason made vnto the, demaūde of hym that reasoneth with the, what he meaneth by that same worde, necessary. If he answere, necessary to saluacyon: denye thou that any suche thynges lacke in scrypture written. If he meane of o­ther necessaries, be not afrayde to graūte it hym. As thoughe it be not written in scripture, that if our fantastycal doctours were vpon the spaynysshe sees in a shyp w^tout bottome, they must nedes be drow­ned / yet must thou by necessyte of reason byleue it. Onlesse their faythe were bet­ter than was Peters, whan he wente vpon the see / or that god wolde shewe a a hygher myracle than was done vpon [Page] the holy mayde of Kent. And thus moche The holy mayde of Kent. for the cōfutacyon of theyr maior. Now to the minor or second parte of their reason.

Whan they can not auowe the maior or fyrst parte of theyr argumēt, than it is vnpossyble to make good the minor or se­conde parte / as whan it can not be ꝓued, that there is any thyng vnwryten in scri­pture, necessary to our saluacyon / how is it possyble than to assygne or appoynt any certayne thynge, (as the fastynge of lent, or any other thynge) and saye this is one of them? for I must fyrst proue that there be some suche thynges vnwryten, ere I can say, this or that is one of them. As in example. Yf a man wolde ꝓue that there be some good and honest vnwriten gospel­lers, & coude not make it good, yf he were put to his probacyon / how the deuyl than were it possyble for hym, to assygne and poynt out some certayn man of that secte, and saye, suche a man is one of those ho­nest and good men? And by my truthe I thynke it were as great maystry to proue that there be any good & vertuous people [Page] of that secte, as to proue that Chryst was borne before our lady, I take no mo to be of that secte, but suche as defende this ar­ronyous opynyon in the pulpet, or by wrytynge, or obstynate disputacyon.

Now whan neyther the maior nor the minor can be ꝓued, where shall we fynde the conclusyon? God knoweth, for I can not tell.

Yet to proue what our ymagynatyfe doctours can do, let vs for good company graunte that there be some thynges vn­wryten necessary to the saluacyon of our soules / shall it folowe therfore, that those same vnwryten verytyes, whiche some of them assigne to be the worde of god vn­wryten, be so in dede? I wonder in what fygure this same argumēt stādeth, whe­ther in Bocardo, or in Newe [...]ate. Suche maner of arguynge is moche lyke, as yf one of these vnwryten prophetes, goynge to the feldes to shote, and lackynge bothe braser and shotynge gloue, wolde proue that he neded his wyues nyght cap, and argue thus. By god I haue nede of dy­uers [Page] thynges whiche I haue not, if I shulde shoote well. Mary that is truthe myght an other of y^e company say. Nowe if this wyse man wolde conclude vpon the others graunt, and say / ergo it is my wyues nyghtcappe / myght not an vn­gracyous felowe standynge by saye / ergo it is an halter / or ergo thou wylte neuer be wyse? yes in good faythe: excepte he wolde make a braser or a shotynge gloue of his wyues nyghtcappe. Semblably whan our doctours saye: there be many thynges vnwritten in scrypture necessa­rye to our saluacyon to be byleued. ergo this or that is one of them / yet that same this or that foloweth not of necessyte, no more than the good wyues nyghtcappe dothe / so that if thou se cause why thou maye as well saye / ergo it is the good wyues nyghtcappe, or denye it, and put hym to the probacyon of it: and of this I dare make the warrantyse, that ney­ther he nor all the frendes he hath shall euer be able to make it good.

[Page] But the best sporte of all is, that our vnwritten euāgelystes be driuen by their owne confessyon, to forsake the worde of god written, as the thynge that is not able to beare them out in their trouble, & [...] [...]ory [...]. to seke this sorye shyfte of the worde of god vnwritten, and that of necessyte as they saye. Of what necessyte euery man knoweth. Trewly bycause they be not able to proue the bysshoppe of Romes po­wer and tyrannye, with other erronyous artycles, by scrypture written / but graūt well and wysely that the worde of god stādeth not on their parte, and must ther­fore make their refuge to the worde in­uisyble that flyeth aboute in the ayre, and no man can tell what it is nor where to fynde it. Be not these sore felowes to fyght in a mannes quarell, that castyng their best weapons from theym, ronne home to their wyues & say they be driuen to flye for faute of weapon / and desyre a podynge in the stede of a sworde? God sende euery good man in a iust cause, som­what more wyser coūsayle than he were [Page] lyke to haue of suche men, whiche euen at the fyrste choppe / ye and without any study to, confesse they be but beggers and haue no ware to fell. Is not a mannes money well bestowed vpon suche mer­chauntes as crye creke euen at the. fyrsts brunte? These be they that wyll beat [...] downe all the worlde with then gonne shotte. But if other men had ben driuen to suche shamefull shyftes by them good lorde what exclamaciōs wolde they haue made. And as for the perpetuall virgy­nite of our lady / no man douteth of it that I knowe. But in the meane tyme I de­syre my maysters the papystes, with the proctours of bycherly buggersters to tell me as they wyll abyde by, whether they byleue y^e perpetuall virgynne of our lady to be comprehended in scrypture written or no? all be it I knowe that in some pla­ces they haue sayd naye all redy. But as for y^t I wyll take no holde of it but gyue them for this ones the priuylege of cor­nisshmen, that is to tell their tales twyse, for at the fyrst tellyng it may fortune they [Page] were not well aduised, or ꝑaduenture the mens wyttes were rauysshed, or (as the cōmune saying is) breched. Neyther is it good maner to take a man at the worste.

An other cauellacyon haue they, & that This cauela­cion toke the patriarche of vnthriftes out of do­ctour dron­karde. is this. How knowe ye say they which is the true worde of god? Whervnto I an­swere, that as concernyng our outwarde knowlege, thapostles & ꝓphetes haue left their myndes therof behynde them in writyng, by the whiche we may discerne the true worde of god frō dreames & fanta­syes. Well say they agayn. But how be ye sure that thapostles & ꝓphetes dyd write that same worde y^e ye red [...]? as who sholde say, it is possyble y^t ye may be deceyued, & that y^e byble whiche ye haue & loke vpon, may be falsly intytled, & be none of thapo­stles & prophetes doynges. Whervnto I make answere, y^t as concernyng the out­warde knowlege, we haue as moche and good assuraūce that it is y^e very selfe same worde y^t Chryst, his apostles, & y^e ꝓphetes taught: as that same sorte, which ye cal y^e churche / y^t is to say, the preestes, monkes [...]eres, chanōs, abbots, bysshops. &c. and [Page] haue herde Chryst, thapostles, & the pro­phetes teche & preche as often as euer did they / & sene thē as often as euer dyd they. Wherfore as cōcernyng y^e outwarde tytle & knowlege, as I said before, we be so wel assured therof as they ben, and receyue no knowlege of thē, no more thā they receyue of vs. Neither haue they any better know lege in this behalfe, than we haue. Than procede our wyse dreamyng doctours further / & affirme y^t we of the tēporaltie haue none other knowlege & assuraūce of y^e true worde of god, but bycause y^e churche, y^t is the clergye as they meane, beyng assured which is y^e true worde, & which not, by y^e instruction & techyng of y^e holy goost, doth certifie & tell vs by y^e same spirit, which is that same true worde of god. It is an olde sayd sawe (good reder) y^t a man shal soone [...]ceyue a thefe by his own tale. These olde bottell bretherne be so subtyl, y^t they wote not in y^e worlde what they say. I [...]myse you they ben excedyng connyng in wrast­lyng by y^e armes / but whan they cōme to the collers, they ben choked vp forthw^t, as the deuyl wolde / & cast in theyr owne trip. [Page] Let vs marke well their wordes, and se what they haue won by their owne tale and cōfession. If y^e holy ghost (as they cō ­fesse, and as there is no doute) eustructeth the churche & teacheth her to discerne the true worde of god, from false dremes and fantasyes / than is it as false as euer god almyghty was true or is, that we of the temperaltye haue no other knowlege or assuraūce whiche is the trewe worde of god, but by the spirytualty, for as moche as we by y^e redemptyon that is in Christ Iesu be of the same churche, that is en­structe, taught, & made perfyte in all ve­rytees or truthes. For loke howe the holy ghost enfourmeth & teacheth all the hole holy catholyke churche of god / euen so he inspyreth & teacheth euery trewe and ly­uyng membre of the same, in all veritees and truthes necessary to their saluacyon. But truthe it is that the papysticall spy­ritualtye, with the doctour of y^e vnwriten worde, be not of the churche of god / ergo they be not enstruct by the holy ghost: and consequently knowe not y^e true worde of god. wherfore of good cōgruence & reason [Page] y [...] & by theyr own reson, they must bylene [...], whan we say vnto them, this is y^e true worde of god, & not we them. For y^t they be none of y^e churche approueth saynt Paule in the .viij. chapitre to y^e Roma [...]s, saying But if any mā haue not y^e spiryt of Christ, that mā is none of his. The papistical spiritualtie, with y^e prophete of lytell verait, haue not this spirit of Chryst. ergo they be none of his sorte, by y^e wytnesse of his ser­uaūt Paule. Yea how can they for shame be so bolde to saye y^t they haue his spiryte, whan they be al vtterly voyde of y^e fontes aseribed & appropriate to them y^t haue the spirite? Oneles they coulde make good, & fortifie these lytle prety ones y^t I shall ad­nōbre to be the frutes of Chrystes spiryte, as ambicion, pryde, lordlynesse, enuy, ma­lyce, disdeyn, preuy & open murdre, oppressyon, tyranny, sleuthe, ease, glotony, w^t all maner of lechery, brennynge, drownynge, hangyng men ī their owne gyrdels, sectes scismes, diuision, debate, cōtenciō, & stryfe with Symō magus & Iudas, & y^e people of Sodome & Gomorre, w^t hawkes, horse, hoores, knaues, theues, & all y^t naught is, [Page] and whether these be the knowen & ma­nifest fruites of y^e papistycall kyngdome, the heed, father, & god wherof is Anty­christ of Rome / & his atturney the great god of Cateway, y^e father of vnwritten veritees / I reporte me to all y^e worlde. And now ye se what our vnwriten euāgelistes haue won by their owne tale, & to what point & cōclusion they be brought by their vndouted veritees: Forsoth y^t they be ney­ther sure whiche is the worde of god, nor yet be none of his churche / & that for by­cause they be not endued w^t his spiryt, as their fruytes do well declare. But y^e very entent, purpose, & pollicy of the authours of the forsayd vnwritten worde was vn­doutedly, herafter whan they shuld haue sene tyme conuenyent / to haue denyed all holy scripture writen, bothe tholde testa­ment & the newe to be the worde of god. This is in no wyse to be doubted. And of this dyuellisshe drifte & purpose, they put forth this questyon to the blynde people, sayeng. Howe know ye y^t the byble which ye haue dayly in your hādes and whiche ye rede, is y^e true worde of god, but by vs? [Page] Or els to what other entent shulde they mone such questyons, but y^t they mynded purposely to bring me in wāhope & doute of y^t thyng wherin they neuer douted be­fore? Oh good lorde, why doest y^e suffre these wretches thyne enemyes so longe to reygne, to rule, to deuoure, to murdre, to s [...]e & kyll bothe the body and soule of thy poore creatures? Discende good lorde dis­cende, & reuenge the bloode of y^e innocent, with the slaūdrous blasphemy of thy ho­ly name. Thou hast here proued vnto the (good christen reder) that the bysshoppe of Rome, otherwyse vniustly called pope, may erre / & howe y^t by the meanes of that same foule monstre & bloodsupper, and by his clientes, this realme of Englāde hath ben greuously vexed, troubled, pylled, pol­led, shorne, shauen & scraped euen to y^e ve­ry harde bones and mary: and not onely this realme, but other also / the heedes & rulers wherof as before is declared, haue ben of the same gargle faced Antichrist w^t his ministers, shamfully handled, vexed, imprisoned & deposed. And this hath be [...] done w^tout thautorite either of godd [...] lawe [Page] or mans, by very power & tyrannye, hym selfe beyng but a subiect, and of no power without his owne dyocese / whiche ought to extende no further than the dyocese of the next bysshop. It is proued also by the authorite of scripture, that all men ought to be obedyent to y^e kyngꝭ power, of what cōdycion or state so euer they be / and that vnder y^e payne of euerlastyng fyre. wher­to I haue annexed that the worde of god writen is suffycient to y^e saluacion of our soules / & that the vnwriten worde is but a dreame & fantasye. And nowe prepare thyselfe to the lyfe of Gregory the seuenth somtyme bysshop of Rome / of al tyrantes monsters, & vnfaythful mamalukes that euer was the moste: wherin thou shalt se suche mischefe, abhomynacion, [...]etestaci­on, execrable maners, pride, tyrāny, craft, subtyltie, ambytion, symony, poysonyng, necromancy, settyng vp, puttyng downe, preuenting & supplantyng as hath neuer ben sene in no one mans lyfe y^t euer was written or redde. And that not of Gregory alone, but of many other mo suche mon­sters bysshops of Rome, contayned in the [Page] same lyfe of his. Finally (most gentle and indifferēt reder) by y^t tyme that thou hast perused it / I dare be bolde to affirme that thou woldest for no good worldly but that thou haddest sene it. And if thou fynde not my wordes true blame me hereafter, as it shall seme good vnto the. And to y^e ende that thou mayst gyue y^e more credence to the truthe of the history, thou shalt vnderstande y^t it was written in latyne (as I tolde the before) by one of y^e most famous and vertuous cardynals that than lyued called Beno. Thou doest lust & longe per­aduenture to se it / be of good comforte, for with all the spede that may be possyble, it shall be imprinted. And thus in y^e meane whyle fare as well as I wolde my selfe.