THe loue that I owe vnto my Lorde God, to my neyghbor, and my natu­rall countre, hathe com­pelled me at thys tyme, to offer vnto you, my lordes & may­sters, some parte of suche substance, as almyghtye God hath geuen vn­to me. Whyche thynge, excepte I should haue done, I might haue ben easely proued, nether to haue loued God, nor my neyghbour nor my countre. He that hath the substance of thys worlde, and seeth hys bro­ther wantyng helpe, and shutteth vp his bowels from him, how doth the loue of God abide in him? How can he loue god whom he seeth not, whiche loueth not his neighbour, whome he seeth? How loueth he his neighbour that whē he may saue & helpe him, wil nether help him, nor offer any help to him at al? How lo­ueth he his naturall countre, which suffreth y^e postes & pillers of his coū tre (w^tout the which his coūtre must [Page] nedes be destroyed) for lack of helpe to peryshe, when as he can helpe them yf he wil? Then when as al­mighty God hath indued me with the knowlege of spirituall Phisick and se my brethrē and countre mē, the noble and gentyl men of Eng­lande, sore syck and lyke to peryshe, except they haue spedye remedye, wolde offer them no helpe, I might iustly be iuged nether to loue God, my neighbour nor my countre.

Therfore for the declaracion of my loue vnto all thre I intende accor­ding vnto my bound deutie, to of­fer you some of my spirituall Phy­sick, whiche God hathe lent me, to heale suche diseases as ye are sick in When as of late yeares I practised bodely phisick in Englande, in my lorde of Sūmersettes house, diuers sick beggers came vnto me, & not knowyng that I was a Phisician, asked of me myne almose. To whō I offered to heale their diseases for Goddes sake. But they went by and by awaye from me, and wolde none of that▪ For they had muche leuer be sick styll with ease and yd­lenes, then to be hole, & with great [Page 2] payne and labour, to earne honest­ly theyr lyuing. It were great sha­me, if any noble man or gentle mā, shuld be lyke vnto a lyther begger, as all they are doutles (yf there be any suche) which had leuer be sicke in a death bringing disease, that for a tyme they might haue their ease & pleasure then to be healed and to do their office with labour and paine, where vnto almightye God hathe called them. Other that are sore sick wil not knowlege that they haue a­ny sicknes at all, and therfore wyll byd me bestowe my phisick vpon them that nede it. As for the former kynde, I will offer them phisick, yf thei wil not receiue it, I am discharged, and to their ieopardy be it. As for the other kynde that saye that they are not sick, and pretend that yf they knewe surely that thei were sick, wolde both seke remedye for their diseases, and wolde thankful­lye receyue suche remedies, as are offered thē: I wil proue by good au­thorite and reason that thei are sick, although thei do not, nor cā not, perceiue and se their owne sicknes.

A sicknes is a passion in a bodye, a­gainst [Page] nature, hurting & stoppinge the naturall worke of the same bo­die. Then thei whose natural work is hyndered and stopped, by some passion against nature: are sick.

But many noble men and gentyll men in Englande do not their na­turall worke, that belongeth vnto their vocacion. Therfore there are many noble men and gentyll men sick in England. To proue that dy­uerse gentle men and noble men in Englande do not their offices that belonge vnto them: it is required that I first tell, who is a noble mā, or a gentil man, & what is the office of a gentlemā, & how many workes and properties belōge vnto a noble or gentleman, and wherin hys office standeth. It is therfore necessa­ry to shewe what is a nobleman or a gentilmā, because in thys boke I make so ofte mention of noble men and gentlemen, lest some shuld not knowe, to whome I ordeyne & pre­pare thys phisick: Nobilis in latine be tokeneth any gentilman what so e­uer degre he be of, so y^t he be aboue the cōmō people, & not only a Duke or suche gentilmen as are onely a­boue [Page 3] the degrees of a knyght, as this worde Noble, is cōmonly vsed in our Englyshe tōge now a dayes. Nobilis cōmeth of Notabilis, by taking awaye of ta. He is Notabilis which is well knowen and may be discerned from the cōmon sorte, by some excellent qualitie of body or mynde. A gentleman hath hys name of thys worde gens gentis, whych may be cal­led in Englyshe, a folk, a nacion, or a family, so that it appereth, that a gentleman is he, that is commed of some notable house, famely or sur­name: for gentlemen, cōmonly ha­ue their surnames, other of their famely or mansion houses, where as they were borne. The cōmon sorte of men which are no gentlemen, in many countres, haue none other name of their folk or kin, but suche as they receyued of their Godfa­thers, when they are baptised: As it is in lowe Germany, and in Scot­lande: In low Germany where as I haue ben moste, there is almoste no man sauyng gentlemen, that haue any surname, or name of theyr famely or kynred. For the yemen are ether called by the townes that [Page] that they are borne in, as Herman van Vtrecht, Ian van Munster, Henryk van der Busche: Or of their fathers name, as Iohan Henricus Bernard Clause, or of their occupa­cion, or of their fathers occupacion, as Bert luchtemaker, Hanse Dre­tler: The Scottes in great plentye and some Englyshe men, which are yemē men, and of no famose fame­lye or kynred, haue their syrnames, of their fathers christē names, and of their fathers occupatiōs, as Iohn Wilyems, Thomas Diksen, Rafe Robson, Steuen Gardiner, Tho­mas Turner, Laurēce Taylor, and many suche other, whose parentes haue bene no gentlemen, but of the low, and base sorte of the people.

Hetherto haue I onelye spoken of the etymologi of y^e name of a noble man and a gentle man. Now wyll I describe a gentleman as well as I can. A gentle or noble man is an excellent persone ether in qualities of body or mynde, or one that is cō ­med of noble parētes & forefathers, ordened & promoted of God alone or of God and his gouerners vn­der hym in earthe, to dignitie and to gouerne, ether all or some parte [Page 4] of the cōmon wealth, or churche of Christe in matters pertaynyng, vn­to the outwarde gouernement. And thys description is grounded vpon Scripture, Reason, & Philosophie, as I shall partly declare here after.

NOwe after that I haue tolde you what a gentil­man is, and that it is God that maketh & hath made all ryght gentle­men, let vs se for what ende & pur­pose he made them, and whether a gentleman serueth for any purpose in the cōmon welthe or no, or he is but an ydle superfluus and a dead parte of the politike bodye or no.

And yf he be a parte of the bodye, whether is he y^e belly, that wasteth all thynge, that the rest of the bodye wynneth: or he is an arme that de­fendeth the body wyth hys strength or the head that saueth it, wyth wit and learnyng or no. The common sorte of gentlemen beleueth that God hath made them in vayne, and [Page] that they are bounde to do nothyng at all for their lyuyng that they ha­ue, and that the proper office worke and callynge of a gentleman, is on­lye to hauk and to hunt, to dyce and to carde, to sweare and to bragge, to pype synge and daunce, & to ma­ke fyne cursy, to banket & to weare proude apparell, and to haue gorgi­us houses: The Philosophers and wyse men of the gentyls, whych by the lawe of nature that was wryt­ten in their hartes, knewe partlye the nature of god by his creatures: wyth one assent and agremēt, holde that God made nothyng in vayne. The same thynge maye ye learne of the partes of a mans body, wherin no parte is so lytle or smale, but it serueth for one purpose or other. As ye maye well learne of Galene the Phisiciane, in hys boke that he wrote, of the vse and office of y^e par­tes of a mans bodye: Then whē as the politike bodye of the common welthe ought to be lyke vnto the naturall bodye of man (whyche is cal­led of some wyse men y^e lesse world) ther ought no part to be in y^e politik body without office: wherfore yf ye [Page 5] be creatures of Goddes makyng, & true members of the politik bodye, ye muste nedes haue some worke & office in it, or els ye muste be vnprofitable brāches, which brynge forth no frute, and therfore worthy to be cut of, and to be caste into the fyre. Yf ye requyre scripture to proue it that I haue proued before by Philosophers and by reason, I wyl proue you by scripture that gentlemen ought to haue some worke and of­fice in the cōmon wealthe, and that they are not ordened of God to be idle and to haue no office, as many idle ruflers do beleue at thys tyme.

Moses sayeth that God dyd se that all thynges that he made were very good. Then yf gentlemen be of goddes creation, they are very good for somthynge. Yf they be made good, and that for some good thyng, then are they not ordened for to be ydle and vnoccupied. Whē as almyghty God sayd vnto Adam, in the sweate of thy browes shalte thou eate thy breade, he graūted no priuilege vn­to gentlemē, that they should be exempted frō all labour for they were at the tyme of that curse, as well in [Page] the loynes of Adam, as the yemen men were. Therfore they muste also labour, & haue some office, and do some seruice to God for their meat and drynke, & for their other good turnes, that they receyue of their lorde and maister almyghty God.

Paule the Apostle in the seconde e­pistle vnto the Thessalonians, cannot abyde suche ydle felowes as wil go vp and downe, & wyl do no good for their meat & drynke. And the sa­me Paule cōmaundeth suche as are warned to labor, and to fall to some kynde of honest exercise profitable for the cōmon wealth, and wyl not, shulde be excōmunicated. The wor­des of Paule.2. thes. 3 2. thes. 3. are these. Brethren we commaunde you thorowe the name of our Lorde Iesu Christ, that ye wythdrawe your selues frō euery brother whych behaueth himselfe inordinatly & not according vnto the ordināce which he hath recea­ued of vs. For ye know how ye ou­ght to folowe vs. For we haue not behaued our selues inordinatly a­mongest you. Nether haue I receyued bread of any mā for nothīg, but w^t labor & sweate, working day and night, for this end, y^t I wold not be [Page 6] thargeable vnto any of you. Not because that it is not lawful for any of vs, but that I might set my self out as an exāple vnto you to folow. For whē we were w^t you, this did we cō ­maūd you, y^t yf any man wold not labor, y^t the same shulde not eat. For we hear y^t there are some cōuersant amonge you & lyuyng inordinatly, doyng no worke, but doyng curiously. Them y^t are suche, we comaūd & beseche in the name of our Lord Iesus Christ, that they workyng with quietnes eat their owne bread. Ye y^t are my brethrē, be not wery of well doyng. Yf ther be any y^t obeyeth not our worde, certifye me of hym by a letter, & haue no felowship w^t hym, that he maye be ashamed. Hetherto Paule: The Lorde Iesus, our kyng & maister also cōpareth himselfe vnto a man y^t goeth from home into a far cōtre, & he cōpareth his disciples & christianes, vnto suche seruaūtes as haue receiued their maisters substance or power, & haue euery man their worke and office apointed vnto them. Our maisters wordes are these. Marci. 13. As a man y^t goeth frō home & leaueth his house, a hath [Page] geuen vnto hys seruauntes power, or hys substance, and to euery man hys worke. &c. Yf gentle mē, that is to saye, Kynges, Dukes, Erles, Lor­des, Knyghtes & Squiers, be Chri­stes seruauntes, and he hath geuen vnto them, any of his power or substance, then hath he geuen them al­so a worke, for he hath appointed e­uery one of hys seruaūtes a worke. Yf they haue a worke & a vocacion, appointed vnto them, then thei are not wythout an office, then maye they not thinke that they are bound to do nothyng profitable for the rest of the congregacion or politik body that they are of. When as Christe shall saye in the daye of iudgement, or in the ende of euery mans lyfe, gyue accompt of thy stewardship, shall the nobilite make no accompt at all? Yf gentlemen may be ydle, & haue no worke nor office appointed them, then shall they not nede to make any accompt of their stewardship. But they shall gyue accompt of their stewardship, therfore they ha­ue some office and work appointed them, by the kynge of heauen their Lorde and maister. Saint Paule [Page 7] sayeth that we muste al (out taking no man) be opened before the iuge­ment seat of Christ, that euery man may receyue, accordyng vnto those thynges that he hath done in hys bodye, whether it be good or euel. And Christ sayeth that in the daye of iudgement, they that haue done good thynges shall go into euerlastynge lyfe & they that haue done euel thin­ges shall go into euerlasting fyre.

Then they that are idle men and do no good, shall neuer enter into the kingdome of heauen, but God hath ordened heauen for gentlemen, for he wolde that all men shulde be sa­ued, therfore they are ordened to do good vnto the common wealth, and not to be ydle. Some wytty gentle­man perchaunce wyll saye, we shall not be taken out of the nombre of ryght gentlemen, for lack of labour and for idlenes, labour we not, whē we hunt and hauke? is it not labour to daunce? he that hunteth longe & foloweth ernestly his game, and he that daūseth longe, laboreth I warrant you, and sweateth wyth labo­ryng, he that dyceth and cardeth la­boreth earnestly wyth hys mynde, [Page] thus do we. Therfore we are not al together ydle. Ye are in dede when ye do these thynges, nether vtterly idle, nor yet altogether wel occupied your maister which gaue you your lādes & goodes, wyl not alowe these youre vnthrifty pastymes for a ry­ght labor, because he cōmaūded you neuer to occupye them, & therfore wyl he saye vnto you, that bragge so muche of gentlenes & nobilite, & do nothyng that belongeth therto, but hunt & hauk, & dyce & carde, who re­quired these thinges of your hādes. As ye haue not done vnto my con­gregacion, so haue ye not done vn­to me. But ye haue don no good vnto it, therfore ye haue done no good vnto me, therfore haue I no place for you in my kyngdome. Further­more haukynge and huntynge, dy­cynge & cardyng, sweryng of great othes, wearyng of costly apparel, and buyldyng of costly houses, and trimmyng of them wyth costly hangynges, are not the offices and la­boures properly and seuerally be­longyng vnto a noble or gentlemā. For Lyons, Beares, and Wolues, hunt for Calues, Foules and suche [Page 8] lyke beastes, Kytes, and Kestrels, hauke for chikens, goslinges, and butterflies. As for dycyng and car­dynge, and abominable swearyng, and fyne lutynge and daunsynge, and making prety curtesye, baudes and brothelles, ruffianes, and rybaldes, pypers and players, can do all these thynges as well and do them as ofte as any gentleman in Eng­land doth or can do They that thinke that costly apparel doeth make a gentle or noble man, may be bothe merely mocked and strongly confuted by a tale whych was tolde me of an honeste man borne and brought vp in Scotlād. The tale was of one Ihoan of Low, the kynge of Scot­tes fool. Thys symple mā stode in a place where as many lordes & other gentlemen cam by, but the sely fool nether greted nor put of his hood to any of al the lordes y^t came by. The which thing a certein curtier of the kynges house seyng, rebuked y^e fool sharply & bet him a lytle, and threatned him, that he wolde whyp hym, except he wolde grete the nexte lor­des that he sawe. Poore Iohn sayd that he wolde gladly grete the nexte [Page] lordes that he sawe, yf the curtier wolde tell hym, howe that he myght knowe a Lorde from an other man For he sayd that he knewe not a lorde from an other man. Then quod the curtier, thou shall knowe lordes by these tokens. They weare veluet and haue golde vpon their cappes, and about their neckes. Well quoth the fool, I shal lexe token them as well as I kan. And vpon the nexte daye as soone as Iohn cam abrode he sawe a great sort of byshoppes & other lordes mules standynge at the court gates, trapped with veluet & costly trimmed wyth golde, wherfore he remembring his lesson, that y^e curtier had taught hym, strayght waye as soone as he sawe them, he went vnto them, and cryed a great whyle, to euery one after an other, gued daye my lorde, gued daye my lorde, euen vntyll the Curtier hys scolemaister, came oute & sawe hym making curtesy, and gretynge the mules. As soone as the foole sawe hys scoolmaister, he said vnto him. Am I not a good sun nowe? Thou art mad, quoth the curtier, for these are mules & no lordes. Why quoth [Page 9] the fool, but these weare veluet, and gold on their heades. The curtier bet, the fool, and bad him learne better to ken a lorde or els he sayd he wolde whyp hym naked. And as they were talkynge, sodenlye came rydyng towarde them the sheryffe of Murra all in veluet, hauynge a cappe all full of golden agglettes.

The fool stepped forth to mete him, and as soone as he came nere vnto hym he sayd, gued day my lord and ye be not a mule. Some man wyll saye that the saynge or doynge of a foole, is but of smale strēgth to ouer throwe the opinion of many wyt­tye yonge men, whyche describe a lorde, or a gentle man onely by costlye apparel. To whome I answere: Saepe etiam stultus fuit opportuna loquutus.

That is, a fool oft tymes hath spokē thynges to good purpose, or in sea­son. Dyd not Balaams Asse speake wysely at a certayne tyme? Well yf any man be greued that hys opiniō shulde be confuted wyth the sayeng and doynge of a fool, let hym chuse one of these two whether he wyll, y^e is, whether the fool in thys hys do­ynge dyd wysely or foolyshly. Yf he [Page] answer that he played the wysemās parte in takynge and halsyng the mules for lordes: then muste he also do so, and call al brute beastes mu­les that are trapped wyth veluet & trimmed wyth golde, lordes: & gyue that name whych belōgeth vnto honorable men, vnto brute mules. Yf he played the ryght foole then is he a foole that taketh and greteth hym for a lorde whych not by learnynge and knowlege, but onely by costlye apparel differeth from an other mā Well thus dyd the poore Scottishe foole, were it not pytie that manye wyse Englyshe men (as they are ta­ken) shulde take and gret mules for lordes & gentlemē? Is it not possi­ble y^t one mule may at this day cary an other? Master Latemer thought so when syr Martin mydas rode to heare master Myles preache, & sayd when the sermō was done, that hys mule was as wel absolued as he.

And as for buyldyng of costlye hou­ses, and trimmynge of them wyth costly hangynges and fayre wayn­scot, manye marchauntes vse to do those thynges, better thē many gēt­lemen do, and yet for all that, are no [Page 10] gentlemē. Therfore these thinges, are nether proper offices, nor wor­kes of gentlemē, nether the seueral tokens whereby a gentleman may be knowē frō an other cōmon mā. Then seyng these are nother offices nor workes, nor markes belōgyng properly vnto a gentleman, I must seke out what is his proper office, & what tokens he hathe and ought to haue, whereby he maye be knowen from the cōmon people. The propre office and worke of a ryght noble man, is, to set forth and defende the true religion of almyghty God, to defende the innocentes & to ponishe the euel doers, and to shewe iustice and iudgement vnto all men, that are vnder hys gouerment. That the settynge forthe of Goddes worde & the mayntenance of the same, & the destroyeng of al false doctrines contrary vnto it, belōgeth vnto a noble man, both general commaundemē ­tes, and proper examples in the ho­ly Bible, do playnly beare wytnes. Almyghtye God geueth these com­maundementes folowyng vnto all hys people, and namely vnto the nobilite and iuges, which are the chefe [Page] workers of these cōmaundemētes, and all suche lyke as pertayne vnto iugement, and ponyshynge of horrible trespasses, although the cōmons be bounde in executyng of them,Deute. 7. to ayde them, and helpe them: Ouer­throwe sayeth almyghtye God, the aultares of the heathen, breake in peces their ymages, and cut downe their groues, Deuteronomi. vii. It is also wrytten Deuterono.Deute. 18. xviii. Yf there by any prophete made fro­warde wyth arrogancye, that wyll speake those thynges in my name, whych I commaunded hym not to speake, or wyll speake in the name of other goddes: he shalbe slayne.

Who shall se these lawes executed, but the nobles and gentlemen. Thē belongeth it vnto them, to destroye all false and conterfet religion, and to destroye all false teachers & prea­chers, and to mayntayne the true learnynge of almyghtye God, and the preachers of the same. We reade in the bokes of the Kynges and Paralipomenon, that all the moste ex­cellent and best kynges, soone after that they began to reigne dyd mainteyne goddes true religion, in put­tyng [Page 11] downe of Groues, chappels & churches, wherin false religiō was mayntayned, and dyd set forth the true religion, and maynteyned the preachers of the same. We reade in the same bokes, that some of y^e Kynges, besyde that they destroyed ydo­les and their tempels, dyd also both reade the scripture in the Temple their owne selues, and sent out ma­ny preachers to preache y^e true wor­de of God, whiche had bene, before their dayes, in the tyme of their fa­thers hyd and vnknowen vnto the folke of God.3. Reg. 15. Asa as it is wrytten in the .xv. chapter of the thirde boke of the kynges, whyche dyd it that was ryght in y^e syght of the Lorde as hys father Dauid dyd before hym, toke awaye the effeminate out of y^e lande and scoured quyte away, al the fylth of the ydolles which his fathers had made. He remoued also his mother Maachan, that she should not be the cheffe in y^e sacrifice of Priapus, and in that place that she had hallowed. He also ouerthrewe her denne, and brake y^e moste fylthy ydole, & burnte it besyde the broke Cedron. Thys dyd the good Kynge Asa, and he dyd [Page] it that was ryghte in the syghte of god. But though these thinges, had ben good of them selues, yet yf they had not perteyned vnto his office, or had perteined vnto an other vocacion then to hys: God wolde haue ponyshed hym, for enteryng into an other mannes office, as he ponyshed the Kynge Ozias wyth a perpetual Lepry, for entryng into the office of the Sacrificers, when he offered vp frankencense vpon the frākencense altare. [...]. par. 26. But the scripture maketh no mention of any ponishment of God that came vpō Asa for puttyng dow­ne of ydoles. But it sayeth expresse­lye that Asa dyd it that was right in the syght of God. Therfore it was hys office to put downe ydolles temples, and to destroye ydolatrye. And it that is said of Asa, muste haue place also in other good Kynges, whi­che did such like thinges vnto these that Asa dyd. Iosaphat as the .xvii. Chapter of the seconde boke of Paralipomenon beareth wytnes:2. par. 17. was a ryght good man, and the Lord was wyth hym. Thys Iosaphat after that hys herte had taken boldnes, for the wayes of the Lorde, toke also [Page 12] out of Iuda the high places and the groues. And in the thyrde yeare of hys reygne, he sente out of hys princes and ruelers, Benail, Abdia, za­charias, Nathanael, and Micheas, to teache in the cyties of Iuda, and wyth them Leuites, Semia, Nathonia, and zabadia wyth other & wyth them Belisima and Ioram sacrifi­cers or preestes. And they hauynge the boke of the lawe of the Lorde, taught the people of Iuda, and they wente about into euery cytie of Iu­da, and taught the people. The same Iosaphat as it is written in the .xix. Chapter of the fornamed boke, wēt out vnto the people (he sat not play­eng at dice and cardes, nor dalyeng wyth his maides at home in his chā ber, nether wente he out only to hū ­tynge, or to se Bearbaytinges) but he wente out vnto hys people from Barsabe vnto mount Ephraim, and there he cōmaūded them not to pay vntollerable sūmes of money, nei­ther to returne vnto the lernynge that they & their fathers were brou­ght vp in, from their tender yeres, and as their fathers foūd, taught & exercised. But he called them agayn [Page] vnto the Lorde God of their fathers And he ordeyned iuges of the lande in euery walled cytie, thorow out al Iuda. Thys good kynge, this good noble and gentleman, thought that it was hys office to destroye ydola­trye, and to sende out preachers to preache the true worde of God, and he dysdayned not to go abrode in visitacion hys owne selfe, to call hys people agayne vnto the true God, from the whyche they had departed and fallen awaye.2. par. 29, and. 30, Ezechias the no­ble kynge (whome the spirite of god so greatly cōmendeth,) rekened it to be one of the principal partes of his kynglye office, to destroye all ydola­trye, & to purge the churche of God, and to set for the wyth all diligence the true worde of God. And yf thys good and vertuous gentlemā, take it to be one of y^e principall partes of hys office, to destroye false religion, and to set forthe the ryght and true religion, all that are ryghte gentle men, and not ydoles and ymages of gentlemen wyll also reken it the principal parte of their office, as far as their cōmission wyll serue them, to destroye and to put downe ydola­trye, [Page 13] and to set out, & to maynteyne the true religion of God and the ministers of the same. All ye then that are ryght gentlemen, hear what the holy scripture reporteth of thys no­ble gentleman. Ezechias was .xxv. yeare olde, when he entred into the kyngdome of Iuda, & he dyd it that was pleasaunt in the syght of God. In the very fyrst yeare and first moneth of hys reygne, he opened the dores of the Lordes house, and he repayred them. And he brought Leui­tes and sacrificers, and he set them together in the Gast streate. And he sayd vnto thē. Heare me o Leuites, and be you made holy, make cleane the house of the Lorde God of youre fathers, and take awaye al vnclen­nes out of the holy sanctuary. He brake downe the hygh places, & burned the ymages, and cut downe the groues, and brake the brasen serpēt whych Moses made, because y^e chyl­dren of Israel offered frankincense vnto it. Ezechias also wrote epistles vnto al Israel and Iuda, to Ephra­im and Manasses, that they shulde come vnto the house of the Lorde in Hierusalem, and to kepe the solēne [Page] feast of y^e Passeouer there. Certeyne spedy messengers, were sent forthe into al Israel and Iuda, wyth the kynges letters, at the commaunde­ment of the kynge and his nobilite, proclamyng the contentes therof, accordyng vnto the kynges cōmaū ­dement: The summe of his letters was thys. O ye chyldren of Is­rael, returne vnto the Lorde God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Israel, and he wyll returne vnto the rem­nauntes, whych haue escaped out of the handes of the Assirians. Be not ye lyke vnto youre fathers and bre­thren, whyche ran awaye from the Lorde God of their fathers, whyche therfore brought them vnto destruccion as ye se. Gyue your handes vnto the Lorde, and come vnto his san­ctuary whych he hath hallowed for euer. Serue the Lorde God of your fathers, and the wrath of hys great indignacion shalbe turned awaye from you. &c. Thus dyd the good kynge Ezechias thynke, that it was the chief parte of his vocacion, to destroye ydolatrye, and to set forth the true religion. The noble and vertu­ous [Page 14] gentleman kyng Iosias, who as the holye worde of God beareth wytnesse, dyd it that was ryghte in syght of the Lord, and walked in the wayes of hys father Dauid, and ne­ther bowed to the ryght hande nor lefte hande, toke it to be the moste principall parte of hys office, to de­stroye ydolatrye, and to set forthe, and to promote, the true religion and worde of God. And therfore when as he was but a boye of xvi. yeres of age. As the .xxxiii. Chapter of the second boke of Paralipomenō wytnesseth, began to seke the God of his father Dauid, and in the twelft yeare of hys reygne, that is, when he was but twentye yeare olde (for he began to reygne whē he was but .viii. yeare olde,) he clensed Iuda & Hierusalem, from the hygh places and groues, from caste yma­ges and graued ymages. And they destroyed before hym the aulters of Baal, and they destroyed the yma­ges that was set aboue. He cut also downe the grauen ymages and the groues, and brake them in peces, & he scattered and strowed the peces, vpon the graues of them that had [Page] wont to offer, And burnt all the sa­crificing preestes bones vpon the alters of the ydolles, & he made cleane Iuda and Hierusalem. But also in the cyties of Manasses, Ephraim, & Simeō vnto Nepthalim, he destroyed al suche thynges. And when he had broken downe the alters & the groues, and had broken the grauen ymages into peces, and had pulled downe al the temples of false god­des in Israel, he returned to Hierusalem. And in the .xviii. yeare of his reigne when as he was but .xxvi. yeare olde, when as the lande was clenged and the temple made clene, he sent certayne of his seruauntes to repaire the house of the Lorde his God.2. par. 34. And whyles they were aboute that busines, Helkias the hyghe sa­crificer or preest, founde the boke of the lawe, whyche was geuen by the hande of Moses in the house of the Lorde, and he gaue it vnto Sapha the secretary, and the secretary brought it vnto the Kinge, and red it be­fore them. After that the kynge had hearde the wordes of the lawe: he rent hys clothes and commaunded Helkia and diuers other, sayeng: go [Page 15] your wayes & praye vnto the Lorde for me, and for the remnant of Is­rael and Iuda, for all the wordes of thys boke that is founde. For the hyghe displeasure and angre of al­myghtye God, hath ben poured vp­on vs, for not kepynge all the wor­des that are contayned in the boke that is founde. Then what blynde madnes is it to cōmende gouerners and rulers, whyche saye that God hath poured hys vengeaunce vpon vs, because we haue not kepte vn­written tradicions of man. I muste nowe my lordes and maisters are you a question, as it becommeth the Phisicion to do wyth his patientes, and it is thys. Yf it had not belōged vnto the kynge, and had not bene hys office, to se the worde of God set forth, that al the people myght read it, & heare it. What nedeth he to ha­ue rent hys clothes, what should he haue neded to desyre the hygh preest or sacrificer with other, to praye for hym, and to sende to a prophetise to knowe the wyl of God in that mat­ter? I thynke then ye wyl answere, that because he had reigned .xviii. yeres and had not loked for the holye [Page] scripture, in al that tyme nether set it out in hys tyme, he thought hym selfe gylty, and not to haue done it that belōged vnto his office. Iosias an honest man and a true man, said that God was angry wyth hym, be­cause the boke of the Lawe was not sought for, and set forth by hym, as it was hys office to haue done. Yf that be true, all Kynges and gouer­ners as wel as he, are boūde to seke for the scripture, and to set it forthe, or els the wrathe of God shall come vpon them. Iosias repented him very sore that the boke was so longe hyd, and that he had not sought for it, and yf he had not done so, as the scripture doth preuely teache vs, he shulde haue ben greuously ponished for that the boke was so longe hyd. Wherfore it is the office of all kyn­ges and gouerners, to seke for the worde of God, and to se that it be brought forth into the lyght, that al men maye reade it, and learne of it, what they are bounde to do vnto their Lorde God, and to their supperiors here in earth & to their neygh­bores. Then they that other wyl ha­ue the same boke, with other of lyke [Page 16] authoritie, to be layd vp that no mā shall reade them, or wyll not suffre them to be reade in a tonge that the people can vnderstande, haue an o­ther spirite then Iosias had. Iosias whome all good kynges and gouerners oughte to folowe, was so ear­nest in the settynge out of the holye scripture, that he called vnto y^e tem­ple al the elders of Iuda,2. par. 34. and al the people of Hierusalem, from the lowest vnto the hyghest, and in the pre­sence of thē al hered his owne selfe the boke of the lawe, & not one pece of it alone as the texte sayeth all the wordes of it. Yf that thys had not ben hys office to set forthe the scrip­ture. God wolde haue ponished him for goynge beyonde hys office as he ponished Ozias. But God ponished hym not, but alowed hym in doyng so. Therfore to set forthe the worde of God was hys office, & not more then his office, nor besyde his office, nor against hys office. And it that was hys office, was and is the offi­ce of all other kynges & gouerners. Thē it is the office, or one principal parte of the office of euery kinge, gouerner and noble mā to se that ydo­latrye [Page] be destroyed, and that y^e true worde of God, whych is conteyned in the holy scripture, be set forthe & preached and knowen of al the peo­ple that are vnder their gouerment. All ye that are vnder the dignitie of a kynge, maye not saye that this onlye belongeth vnto kynges and not vnto you, for thys belongeth not onlye vnto kynges, but also to all that saye sanctificetur nomen tuum, hallowed be thy name. For al they that wolde haue goddes name hallowed, must helpe to destroye suche religion as is against the honour of God, and to maynteyne & set forthe as muche as lyeth in them the true religion of God. Yf that euery priuate man be thus bounde to do, as farre forth as hys vocacion and callyng dothe suffer hym, muche more are ye my lordes and maisters bounde, which receyue and haue your landes and lyuelot, chieflye for thys purpose of your Lorde God, and are part of the kynges bodye, that is to wette, hys eyes, eares, and armes wythout the whyche he is not able alone in the common wealthe to do hys office & dutie, I thynke that he were a very [Page 17] arrogant kynge, that wolde thinke hymselfe better learned and wyser thē the noble seruaūt of God Duke Moses was, and yet he (as hys fa­ther in lawe tolde hym trulye) thou­ght hym selfe not able to gouerne hys people alone, and therfore he chosed out gouerners and iuges o­uer thousandes, and some ouer hundrethes, and some ouer fyftie, and o­ther some ouer ten. So when as no kinge is able to do al thinges alone that pertayne vnto hys office, euery kinge muste haue noble men vnder hym, to helpe hym to do hys office, that belongeth vnto hym, and to be partakers wyth the kyng in labour and office, as they are partakers w^t hym in honour and lyuelod aboue the cōmon people: To whome is it sayd I praye you? Vos dij estis? Ye are goddes? is it sayd onely to kynges? or is it also sayd vnto you? Yf it be sayd also vnto you, then yf you wyll take vnto you suche an honoura­ble name wyth Kynges, as to be called goddes, that is Iuges and rulers here in goddes stede, you must be content to take parte of the office that belongeth vnto that name.

Therfore ye muste also w^t the kinge destroye ydolatrie, & set out goddes true religiō, as the noble gentlemē that were vnder kynge Ezechias dyd. What other thynges belonge vnto the office of a noble man, and specially of a kinge, besydes y^e mainteining of the true religion and the preachers of the same, the wordes of Samuel partly tell vs, after thys maner. Beholde the Lorde hath an­nointed the vpon thy heritage, to be a prince, and thou shalt delyuer hys people from the hādes of their ene­myes that are rounde about them. But there are other places clearer and playner then thys, whych declare more plainly the office of a kinge and a noble man:2. par. 9. The, ix. Chapter of the secōde boke of Paralipomenō teacheth vs that it belongeth vnto a kynge and a gouerner, to exercise iustice and iugement. In the second boke of the kynges and in the .viii. Chap, where as Dauid was praised for doynge of hys dutie, it is reher­sed of hym that he dyd iugement & iustice vnto all hys people. Esay in the fyrst chapter of his prophesie re­bukynge the princes for leuynge of [Page 18] their office and dutie and exortyng them agayne to do their office, spea­keth these wordes vnto them: Audite verbum Domini principes Sodomorum. &c.

Querite ìudicium subuenite oppresso. &c.

That is to say ye princes of Sodom,Esay. i. heare the wordes of the Lord. Seke iugement, helpe hym that is oppres­sed, let the fatherlesse chylde haue iugement, defende the wydowe. And in the same chapter where as he re­proueth them againe for not doyng of their duties, sayth thus vnto Hierusalem. Principes tui infideles. &c. Thy princes are vnfaythfull, theues felowes, they loue al rewardes, & folow after bribes, they gyue no iugemēt vnto the fatherles chyldren, and the poore wydowes matter can not cōe in to you, where as you are. Moses also in the .xviii. of Exodus ordened certayne princes and gentlemen,Exod. 18. & chused them out of the strongest of the people, and he appointed them this office, that they shulde iudge the people vnder hym, at al tymes, and not in the terme tyme alone, as it is nowe the maner in Englande. Yf any man requyre authoritie out of [Page] the newe testament to proue that it belongeth vnto the Kinges, Dukes Erles, Lordes and other noble and gentlemen to exercyse iustice and iugemēt,Rom. 13. and to defende the innocent, and to ponishe the euell: I wyl shew two euident places to proue the sa­me. Paule in the .xiii. of the epistle vnto the Roma. declareth expressed­ly, that the office of prynces, is to de­fende the innocent, & to ponyshe the euel. His wordes are these. They y^t do well, nede not to feare the prin­ces, but suche as do euel. Wyll thou not be afrayed of the power? do it y^t is good, and thou shalt haue prayse of hym. For he is goddes seruaunt or officer to thee vnto good. But yf thou do it that is euell, feare, for he beareth not the sworde in inuayne, for he is Goddes officer, and an an­gry aduenger vnto hym that dothe euel? Peter also in the seconde chap­ter of hys former Epistle, teacheth vs that it is not onely the office of a kynge, to defende the good and to ponyshe the euel, but that the same is also the office of other rulers and officers vnder hym, as ye be. His wordes are these. Be you obedient [Page 19] vnto euery creature of man for the Lordes sake, whether it be the king as moste execellent, or dukes or go­uerners, whyche are appointed by hym, for the ponyshment of the euel doers, and for the commēdation of weldoers. These thynges are they, where in chiefly stāde the office & dutie of a ryght noble or gentleman, & all these thynges are al Emperores, Kynges, Dukes, Erles, Barons, Knyghtes, Squyers, and all other gentlemen bounde to do. But these thynges can they not do wythout great learnyng and knowlege, and specially in the holy scripture. For howe shall that noble man knowe, whether he be kynge, duke, or erle, howe to destroye ydolatrye and fats worshippynge of God, and set out the true religion, whyche hathe not learned what is ydolatrye, & what is true religion, and wherin the one standeth, and wherin the other standeth? He that knoweth not both the contraries, knoweth not parfytlye one of them. Howe shall he be able to iuge and say thys is ryght whyt, whych knoweth not blacke? Howe shall he knowe what is euell, that [Page] knoweth not what is good? Howe shal he iudge whyche is whyte, and whych is blacke, that is blynde and can se no colour? Howe shall he iuge after y^e ciuile lawe that neuer knew it? Howe shall he iuge after the law of God or man, that neuer learned nor knewe any of both?Aristotel. Quae quis (que) no uit de ijs vere iudicat, eorum (que) est aequus aesti­mator, Sayeth Aristotel, that is, eue­ry man iudgeth those thynges tru­ly that he knoweth. Therfore wythout great learnyng and namely in the word of God, no person cā rightly exercyse the office of kynge or go­uerner, or of a noble or gentleman. When a man of the contre, cōmeth to a gentlemā that is his landlorde, or to a iustice of peace, or to a knight or to a lorde, or an erle, or a duke, or a kynge, and accuseth hys neygh­bour of blasphemy or heresy, for sayeng, it that was ones breade, cā not be made God. Yf the gentleman be ygnoraūt in the scripture, to whom thys accuser cōmeth, and wote not what is blasphemy, but only foloweth that learnynge that he hath re­ceyued of vnlearned preestes, & false prophetes, & putteth in pryson the [Page 20] mā accused for thys sayeng, and the poore man dyeth in prison, in the meane season, whyche myght haue lyued yf he had ben out of pryson, what shall we saye of thys Iuge, is he not a murtherer? Thinke ye that on the daye of iudgement, whē god shal inquyre why that gentleman kylled, or cast in pryson an innocēt, thynke ye that yf the gentylman answere: I knew no better, that God the great iuge, which made althing, and was neuer made: wyll allowe thys excuse? I trowe not. Thynke ye that the gentlemē of Cambridge­shyre and the Iudges whyche keste Iohn Warde paynter into pryson amongest theues and murderers for sayeng that it was as lawful to set a candle before hys hat, as before a paynted ymage, shall scape vnpo­nyshed yf they dyd not repent them afterwarde? Wyll thys excuse, I knewe no better, be then allowed in suche as were by the expressed commaūdemēt of God charged to haue parfyt knowlege of the law of God? I trowe naye. Was it not a greate shame that Iudges whyche wyth a fewe other of that profession wyll & [Page] are almoste only called learned mē shulde be so ignoraunt in scripture that they kest an innocent into pry­son? namely whē as a paynter told hys matter so that no scripture lear­ned iudge wolde haue condemned hym to prison but rather wolde ha­ue commended hym? That Iuges maye learne herafter to iuge better and to auoyd the shame that the for­sayd iuges had, and the ponishment that abideth for them except they haue repēted thē selues: I wyl reherse the hole storye. Ihon warde aboute xx. yeares ago made a fayre payn­ted ymage of S. Christophor where vnto he had ioyned a deuout inter­pretacion of saint Christophors lyfe and he had set out the ymage very lyuely in a table, this set he before him in hys pew in the churche to learne to be a ryght Christophor. But with in a moneth that he had set vp hys table: certein supersticius people set were candels before the ymage that he had painted, trimmed & set vp.

Therfore he beynge offended wyth the supersticion of the people: keste downe all the candelles and toke a­waye out of the churche hys ymage [Page 21] agayne and caried it home, and vntyl he came agayne he left hys hatte in the place where hys ymage was before. And when he came agayne to churche, one axed hym what he ment to set hys hatte in the place of hys ymage, and he answered, to se whether any wyll be so mad to worship my hatte as they were to wor­shyp my ymage. Thynke you quoth the Papist to Ward that any man wyl be so mad to worship your hat. Ward answered: they maye as wel worshyp my hatte as my ymage, for the hatter is as holy a mā as I am, and hys handworke deserueth as well to haue candelles set vp before it as myne dothe. And for thys hys sayeng whē as he was accused therof and cōfessed it: he was iuged worthy to haue lyke imprisonmēt wyth theues and murderers. Wolde not the knowlege of scripture haue don good seruice vnto these blynde iud­ges? yes a great deale more then .x. queyres of pedlers frenche. But perchaunce the great men (I meane Kynges, Dukes, Erles, Lordes, Knyghtes, and other gentlemen) wyll saye there are lawyers & lear­ned [Page] mē enough, to do this busynes, what yf it be our duetye and office, to gyue iudgemēt in suche maters, when as we maye do thys parte of our office and dutie, by our seruauntes or other, why shulde we be com­bered therwith? Do not ye knowe my lordes and masters, that ther is none of you all that is so symple in degre, or of so smale lyuynge, but there cōmeth oft tymes some mat­ters to be iudged by you, when as nether learned seruaūt nether any lawyer is at hande? who is so single a gentleman but he hath some tenā ­tes? who hath any tenantes that ar so quiet, but that at some tyme they fall out one wyth an other? Ther is no gentleman that hath so smale a lordshyp but he muste sometyme be a iuge in suche maters as learning is to be requyred in. Can he at al ty­mes haue hys lawyer or other learned man by hym? or wyl hys lādes, that is but a poore gentlemā & hath many chyldren, be able to fynde a lawyer, or learned man at hande at all tymes? who is so simple a gentle man but that he is sometyme called to be a cōmissioner in one mater or [Page 22] other? Muste a gentlemā w^t shame, brynge hys learned man or lawyer wyth hym, to the reste of the cōmis­sioners: when as the mater oughte not to be disclosed to any but only to the cōmissioners alone? At Assises & sessions both in matters of lādes & good, and of lyfe and death who are more cōmonly chosen (yf the mater be any thynge weyghtye) to be iud­ges in suche maters, thē gentlemē? when as the gentleman is kept fast in a housewith his felowes, is it not to late then, to sende for hys learned man or his lawyer there? No kynde of men ought so muche to be of the kynges counsell as gentlemen both ought to be and are also. Shall the gentleman beyng a counseller be suffered to brynge hys learned mā or lawyer into the counsel chamber with hym? Gentlemen muste oft tymes go to the parlament, and there they muste intreate of matters, con­cerning the glory of God, and the cō mon wealth, and somtyme maters of heritages and of landes and goodes, are intreated there. Sometyme men are appeched of heresye, & som­time of treason, so that they that are of [Page] the parlament, are both coūsellers and iudges. Shall the vnlearned gentlemen, iudges and counsellers in the parlament house, be suffered to bring in with them thyther, their lawyers & learned men? But what yf a Kynge or a Duke, or any other gentleman had alwayes a learned man by hym, and myght cary hym, to all these places aboue named.

Howe shall the vnlearned Kynge, duke, lorde, or any other gentlemā, yf he be vnlearned hymselfe, be able to iudge, whether he that he hyreth for hys learned man, be learned in all suche thynges as he shalbe axed counsel of or no? or whether he be but a bragger of learnyng, or a learned man in dede? And though he be learned in dede, how can the vnlearned gentilmā knowe, whether hys learned man, iudged after hys learnyng or no, and whether he geueth good counsel or yl, or geueth true iugement or false, when as he that is vnlearned can not tel whether hys learned mā do after hys knowlege or no, or for a brybe, or for hys fren­des pleasure gyueth euel counsel or false iugemēt? Yf a mā were blynd, [Page 23] and when he heareth men go by hym, and inquired of them that go by, whether there be any man that wyll be hys gyde, for halfe of that whych they two can get wyth beg­gynge or no. There cōmeth one to hym & offereth hym selfe to be hys gyde, and he taketh hym. Now how can the blynde man tel whether hys gyde be blynde or no? And yf he do knowe that hys gyde can se: howe shal the blynde mā knowe whether hys gyde leadeth hym y^e ryght waye or no, or what not the blynde man, when he byddeth hys gyde lead him into the church, whether he leadeth hym vnto the galowes or no? I aske one of the flatterynge Cyphers whiche call prynces yonge lordes and other yonge gentlemen from theyr bokes, to haukyng and huntynge, & suche other ydle pastymes, sayeng to their maisters, what nede ye to studye, ye haue landes and heritage enough, ye nede not at al to studye, except ye intend to be scolemaisters or a man of lawe, or preestes. Mai­ster Cypher, yf youre maister com­maunded you to ryde frō London to Cābrige in the myddes of wynter, [Page] whether had ye leuer ryde blynde­felde thorowe bushes and bryers, thorow thycke & thynne, folowyng an other mā whych leadeth thy hor­se by the brydle, or thou had leuer ryde bare faced and seyng, that thou myght chuse the waye thy selfe? Yf thou had leuer chuse thy waye thy selfe, then to be led blyndefelde tho­rowe a foule waye, euen by hym that thou trustest beste, and know­eth the way beste in al thy maisters house. What kyn a dissemblynge & vnkynd beste arte thou whyche for feare onely of falyng in a poole, or rentynge of thy face a lytle, had ra­ther se thy waye thyne owne selfe, then to be led by a gyde be he neuer so perfyt, and yet wyll counsell thy maister to go blyndfelde with vncertayne and vnknowē gydes, thorow suche matters, as yf he hit not vpon the ryght waye, shalbe in ieopardye of lesyng both hys body goodes and heritage, yea and hys soule to? Let al noble mē beware of suche noughty counsel, lest they fal into an hole palsey, that is, a waryng of al mouyng & felyng which can not be holpen w^t any mans physik yf it be ones olde. [Page 24] The remedy to auoyd this perillus & foule disease, is, whilse it is but yet in the begynnyng, for gentlemen to go earnestly vnto their bookes, & to saye to suche talewanyng talkers these wordes, auaunt idle and vn­learned best, because thou arte vn­learned thy selfe, and arte nether borne to beare rule in the common wealth, nether haste learnyng, nor wytte to receyue learninge, thou wold haue me to be suche an asse as thou arte. Yf ye vse this medecine I warrand you, that ye shal neuer cōe into the daunger of the forsayd perilus disease. But of this disease I wil speake more largely herafter. This false opiniō that a kynge or a noble mā, nede not to be learned his own selfe, so he y^t haue lerned officers, is contrary both vnto the ordinaunce of nature, to the auncient philoso­phers learning, to the holy scripture and to the exāples & lyfe, bothe of alwyse heathen kynges, and of godly and religious kynges, whyche are cōmended by holy scripture. The same are also enemies vnto the cōmō wealth, and the honor of the realme that they are of, as I shall proue at large here after.

Thys can no man denye, but that nature hath ordened in all lyuynge beastes, byrdes and fyshes, that part whych gouerneth and ruleth al the reste of the bodye, shulde haue moste knowlege, and manifest wyttes & senses. Nature hath ordeyned that the heade shulde gouerne and rule, al other partes of the bodye, & ther­fore, where as she hath geuen, vnto al the reste of the body but one sen­se or wytte, that is to were, touching or felyng, she hathe geuen vnto the Kynge of the bodye, the heade, euen of brute beastes, al y^e .v. Wittes, that is hearinge, seyng, taistyng, smel­lyng, and felyng, and to the heade of a mannes bodye, besyde all these reason and vnderstādyng. Then as so many wittes or senses are nede­fully requyred in the head that hath the rule but of one body, how much wyt, learnyng and knowlege is to be requyred in that heade that hath the rule of an hundreth bodyes, Is there not muche more wyt & knowlege requyred in the heade that hath the gouernement, & rule of .x. thou­sande bodye? Where are nowe the fals flatterers, and the enuius lear­ned [Page 25] men that wolde haue none learned but themselues, that saye that a Kynge or a Quene, or any other prince, whych hath committed vnto his cure and charge, two hundreth thousande mēnes bodyes nede not to haue any more wyt learnynge & knowlege, then a mā that hath but one bodye to gouerne? who wyll be angry wyth the hele yf it heare not? who wyll be displeased wyth the kne, because it can not se? who wyll be myscontent with the thygh, yf it can not smel? who wyl chyde wyth the breste, because it can not taist?

But yf any of these want in y^e head, then is all the hole bodye hurte therby. Be the heade neuer so faire and well fauoured to loke to yf it haue not suche wyt as is requyred in it, not only men wyl mocke it and call it blockheade, but euen the brute fox wyll saye vnto it as farre as Esop maye be beleued. O pulchrumsme cerebro caput. O what fayre a braynles head arte thou. Though the heade of the cōmon welthe be neuer so wel trimmed and appointed wyth golde and precious stones, yf he haue no more wyte thē a poore foole of the coūtre [Page] hath: what wyll al that costly appa­rel helpe the cōmō wealth: doth cost­lye apparell and gorgious houses & great welfare help the cōmō welth? nothyng at all. The heade in a mās bodye gyueth felyng and mouynge vnto all the reste of the hole bodye that is sensible. Yf the heade be wytlesse and wythout sense, howe can it gyue vnto y^e body, it that it hath not it selfe. The byshop of Rome of late yeares taunted very properly suche a painted wytles heade (as ther are to many in England) after this maner. A byshop of Germany a Duke by his byrth and a goodly mā of person, came to Rome to shewe hymself to his father the Pope, the Pope spake latyn to hym and Italien, but he coulde speake nothynge at all but Duyche. Therfore when the Duche byshop was gon forth, the Pope answered one that asked hym howe he lyked the Duche byshop, after thys maner, par la corpe de sancto Francisco e la bella bestia, that is by saint Frances bodye he is a trime fayre or proper beast. What thynke you wyll wyse men thinke, although they dare not saye so muche when they se a lustye [Page 26] rutterken wyth a hauke on his hād and dogges folowyng hym, & a gol­den cheyne dobbel about his necke, with a cappe al ful of egglates, and a bushe of fethers in it as great as a capones tayle, whiche can scantlye wryt his owne name, and sauynge the shape, hathe nothyng elles of a man? Wyll they not thynke of hym as y^e foxe spake of the paynted head? and it that the Pope spake of the forsayd byshop? yes I warrant you, for all hys bragges, hys swearyng and staring, and proude lokes. A certain Italien beyng demaunded the que­stion who was a gentleman, answered thus in latyn meanynge of an vnlearned and wytlesse gentlemā, Est vna bestia sedens super bestiam, portans bestiam super manum, habens bestias se sequentes & insequens bestias. That is, a wytles and an vnlearned gentleman, is a beast syttynge vpon a beste, bea­ryng a beste vpon hys hāde, hauing bestes folowyng hym, and he folowing bestes also. It is therfore agaīst nature, that he that is a best in wyt and learnyng, shulde be the head of resonable men in a common welth, or that the head of the cōmon welth [Page] shulde be a beste, that is, a mā wyth out al wyt and learnyng, differinge nothyng from a very beste, sauyng in forme and lyknes. The noble philosophers also thought it mete that a kynge shulde be learned, and therfore sayd Plato, as I remember.

Happy is that cōmon wealth, wheras ether philosophers are kynges, or kinges play the philosophers. Vigetius in his first boke de re militari, & in the first chapter, requyreth lear­nynge of rulers and gouerners in these wordes. It becōmeth no man to knowe better thynges and mo thynges, then a prince, whose lear­nyng maye be profytable to all hys subiectes. Therfore prynces oughte to gyue them selues vnto the studye of wysedome. Scipio the greater, when as he had any leysure from warre and from cyuil busynes, ga­ue himselfe as Plutarch writeth vnto hys boke, and sayd, that when he was ydle after that maner, he dyd then the greatest worke and labor.

Iulius Cesar one of the noblest go­uerners that euer was or euer shall be, thought learnynge so necessarye for a gentleman, and namely for an [Page 27] hyghe maiestrate, that whyles he was a warfaire, he had hys spere in the one hande and hys booke in the other. Kynge Alexander the conquerour as noble a mā & as well borne as any noble man of thys our tyme is, thought it so greatly belonge vnto a gentle man to excel in learning and knowlege, that when as he had herde tel that his maister Aristotell had set out his bokes of natural philosophie, wrote vnto hym after this maner folowyng. Where as thou haste set forthe abrode the bokes of Natural philosophie, thou hast not done wel, for in what other thynge shall we be able to excell other men in, yf they be made common to all men whych we haue learned of the, for it is my desyre to excell all other men, rather in learning and knowlege, then in nombre of hostes and great ryches, thys far Alexander, whyche, I wolde haue you marke wel. Mithridates the kynge of Pontus and Bethinia, because he knew hymselfe to be the head of al his subiectes, and that it was hys dutie to gyue iudgemēt in hys owne person in very many maters, toke suche [Page] payne to learne to do hys dutie, that he learned .xxii. dyuers tonges, euē as many nacions as he was kynge ouer, and answered euery man parfytly in hys owne tonge. The same was so wel learned in philosohhy & phisick, that he made of hys owne wytre a souerayne remedye against poysone and many greuous disea­ses of a mans body, called after hys name vnto thys daye Mithridatium.

Alfonsus the noble kynge of Arra­gon sayd that an vnlearned kynge was lyke vnto a crowned asse, and where as there was a Kynge of Spayne which said, that it was not semyng that a noble man shulde be learned, he sayd that his sayng was the voice of an oxe & not of a kynge. Yf that a noble man regarde not the workes of nature nether any good reason, neyther any authoritie of Man, let hym heare what almygh­tye God sayeth by the mouthe of his seruaūt Dauid in the second psalme Et nunc reges intellig [...]te & erudimini iudices ierre, Bet you vnderstandynge o ye kynges and be you lerned o ye that iuge the earthe. Here haue al kyn­ges a playne cōmaundement to seke [Page 28] seke for learnynge and to be lear­ned, and not onely they but al other whych by theyr callyng are ordened of God to iuge hys people, or to gy­ue sentence betwene one man and an other. Almyghty God in y^e .xvii.Deute. 17. of Deuteronomi, geueth an expres­sed and a plaine cōmaundement vnto kynges that they shulde diligent­ly study the scripture, the wordes of God are these. After that the kynge sytteth in hys seate of dignite or hys kyngdome, he shal wryt out for him selfe, the Deuterono, of this lawe in a volume, and he shall take the copy of the offerers or preestes of the trybe of Leui, and he shall haue it wyth hym, and shal read it al the dayes of hys lyfe, that he may learne to feare hys lorde God, and to kepe hys wordes and ceremonies. The same commaundement was geuen vnto the noble gentleman Iosue, the Iudge and gouerner of the chyldren of Is­rael in these wordes. Take a good harte vnto the, and be very stoute, that thou may kepe and fulfyl al the lawe, whyche my seruaunt Moses hath cōmaunded the to kepe. Thou shalt not turne from it nether to the [Page] right hande, nether to the left hāde, that thou maye vnderstand al thin­ges that thou doest. Let not the vo­lume of thys boke go awaye frō thy mouth, but thou shalt be occupyed in it daye and nyght, that thou maye kepe and do all thynges wrytten in it. It is a meruelous thynge to se how that noble men & wemen are so busy to kepe those thinges that y^e deuel, the worlde & the fleshe haue founde out and cōmaunded, & howe slacke and slowe they are to do it y^e God hath commaunded so earnest­lye. The deuel deuysed dycyng and cardyng and wantō daunsyng, the worlde wyth the deuell hath founde out to costly proude lyght and tem­ptyng apparel, the fleshe with the deuel hath founde out wāton balades and bokes of loue and lechery: whether are there mo gentlemē in Englande that folowe y^e counsel of theyr Lorde God, which byddeth them studye the scripture & be exercised therin, or of them that folowe the coun­sel of the aforenamed enemyes both to God and man? Wyl ye not nowe my lordes and maysters, take those phisicianes for murtherers of your [Page 29] soules, whych forbyd you to eate of almyghty goddes triacle, that is, to reade hys worde whych he hath so earnestly cōmaūded, for the sauing both of your bodyes and soules. Are they worthy to be of a kynges counsel or of a quenes counsell that haue burned thys booke whyche God in­ioyneth you to reade, and haue po­nysh the readers thereof as here­tikes, yf they be of the same iudge­ment styll? Nowe let vs se whether that the cōmaundement of God concernyng that princes should be lear­ned, and the scripture to be red of al kynges and rulers, was so vnder­stande of holy men euen as it stan­deth, that is, that they should studye and reade y^e scripture in their owne persones, or they muste learne the scripture and reade it and knowe it onely by their chaplaynes, & other suche like officers, as the moste part of princes and noble men expound that commaundement of God now a dayes. All blessed and happy and holy mē reade the scripture and are exercised in it nyght and daye, their owne selues in their owne persons. Then they that wyll not reade y^e scripture nether nyght nor day in their [Page] owne persones, nether ar exercised in it, are cursed vnhappye and wyc­ked, be they neuer so ryche, noble & so holye in the syght of the blynde worlde. Dauid in the fyrst psalme describing a blyssed, happy and godly man, proueth it that I sayd now to be true. Blessed is the man (say­eth Dauid) whose wyl is in the law of the Lorde, and in hys lawe is ex­ercysed in his mynde, & thinketh vpon it both day & nyght. And the cursed man or the wycked man, sytteth in the seat of scorners, that is to say, wyll nether be vertuously occupied in goddes worde them selues, nor wyl suffer other to read it, but mock the readers of it, as they do nowe a dayes, that for a spytfull mocke, call the readers of Goddes lawe gospel­lers, & sometyme heretikes, & mock them that ether in open preachyng, or in preuie admonition tell them of their fautes, and exhorte them to godlynes and vertuous lyuynge. Dauid in the .119. Psal. 119. psalme, beareth also wytnes that the cōmaundemēt of almyghty God, concernyng the scripture to be reade and studyed of kynges iudges and noble men, [Page 30] ought to be vnderstande that they shulde reade it, and be exercised in it in their owne persones, & they that talke not wyth them selues of the scripture and are not exercised ther­in their owne selues, are not blessed happy and godly, but cursed vnhappy and vngodly, for he sayeth. Beati qui scrutantur testimonia eius, in mandatis tu­is exercebor, & considerabo vias tuas, in iusti­ficationibus tuis meditabor, non obliuiscar sermones tuos. Seruus tuus exercebatur in iustificationibus tuis, nam testimonia tua, medita­tio mea est & consilium meum iustificationes tuae. Ne auferas de ore meo verbum veritatis vsquequa (que). Confundātur superbi quia iniuste iniquitatem fecerunt in me, ego autem exerce­bor in mandatis tuis. Tribulatio & angustia inuenerunt me, mandata tua meditatio mea est concupiui salutare tuum, & lex tua meditatio mea est. Yf it be true that y^e noble men whych serche and seke for the com­maundementes of God, and studye the lawe of God and are exercysed therin, are good and blessed men, thē are they euel cursed and vnhap­py men, whyche searche not for the commaundementes of God, nether studye the scripture, nether exercise them selues there in. The reason is [Page] good, for all the good kynges wherof is menciō made in the scripture, were diligent setters forth and rea­ders of the scripture, and the wicked & vngodlye kynges cared not for it, reade the bokes of the kynges, and the bokes of the cronicles, and you shall fynde thys that I saye ryghte true.4. Reg. 22. In the .xxii. of of the .iiii. of the kynges ye maye se in the historye of Iosias, howe that al hys forfathers that were euel kynges cared not for the scripture, but let it lye many ye­res buryed & hyd, so that they were not exercysed therin accordyng to the expressed commaundement of God. Yf ye require one priuate exā ­ple of one man,Iere. 36. reade the .36. of Hieremie the prophete, and there shall ye fynde how that the wycked kyng Ioachim, cut in peces the worde of God, and burnt it in the fyre, and sought after and persecuted Hiere­mie, the authour of the boke and Baruch the writer of it, as certaine gētlemen bothe of the laite and also of the clergie haue intreated of late ye­res the Translators and the Pryn­ters of Christes testament, and as the Byble is handled nowe in some [Page 31] churches in Englande and namely in westminster. I marke also that Dauid in thys psalme wherof I haue made mēcion, sayeth .viii. tymes, that he was and wolde be in time to come, exercised in the lawe of God. Yf he were a true man and no lyar, thoughe he had sayd it but ones we ought to beleue hym. Yf we do bele­ue hym, ye maye se that Dauid the good kynge, whyche was so muche exercised in the scripture, vnderstandeth the cōmaundement of reading and studyeng the scripture, to per­teyne to the kynges and gouerners them selues, and to their owne per­sones, and not onely vnto their ser­uauntes and clergye. Kynge Salo­mon as well borne and as noble a man as any is thys daie in Europa and as wyse a man, and as wel learned as any coūseller in Englande, or els where, and therfore knewe y^e meanyng of the cōmaundement of the scripture to be reade of princes, thought not scorne to syt in iudge­ment in hys owne persone, and be­cause he knewe that it was hys offi­ce to gyue iudgement vnto his peo­ple, and that he could not do that of [Page] fire well excepte he had great lear­ning and knowlege whē as almightye God offered vnto hym to gyue hym frelye what so euer he dyd axe, answered God after thys maner folowyng. Thou haste shewed great mercy to Dauid my father, and hast ordened me kynge in hys place:

Nowe Lorde God let thy worde be done which thou promysed vnto my father Dauid. For thou haste made me a kynge ouer a great nombre of thy people, whyche is as vntellable as the duste of the earth. Gyue my wysedome and vnderstandyng, that I may go in and out before thy people, for what man is able to iudge worthely suche a great nombre as is of thys people? God answered & fayd vnto hym. Because thys hathe more pleased thy herte, and haste not axed ryches and substance and honour, nether the lyues of them y^t hate the, nether lōge lyfe. Thou hast axed wysedome & knowlege, y^t thou maist iuge my people, ouer y^e which I made the a kynge, wysedome and knowlege ar geuē vnto the, & I wil gyue the ryches substance & honour also. Dauid this noble gentleans father [Page 32] in .119. psal. desyreth God .xiiii. times to teache him his witnesses & his cōmaundemēts, but wherfore I pray you? that God shulde teach him to saye the .x. cōmaundemēts, or to read them onely in diuers tonges? Nay, for he could say them by herte wel enough. But for thys ende sayd he so oft, teache me thy cōmaunde­ments that it myghe please God to gyue hym the true vnderstandynge of the scripture, that he myght or­der hys lyfe accordynge vnto hys commaundementes. Where vpon seynge that Dauid so wyse a man and so wel learned, desyred almightye God so earnestlye, and so ofte, to teache hym the vnderstandynge of the scripture, and exercised hym so muche in it: it foloweth that as the true vnderstandynge of God­des worde is necessary for a prince, so it can not be had without prayer, great payne, labour and exercise.

Then when as God commaundeth Kynges and Iudges to be learned, and learnynge can not be had with out great studye and laboure, it appereth very playne that the chief labor that a noble gentlemā shulde [Page] be occupied in, al y^e dayes of his life, is the studye of scripture, and suche other wrytyng, as help to the vnderstandyng of the scripture, and to the declaracion of the same. Lucius the fyrst christian kynge of our lande, who sent to Rome for Baptisers & preachers, and receaued the baptis­me of Christ wyth all his, after that he had receaued the christian fayth, caused many bookes of latin to be translated into hys owne naturall tonge, he also parted and bestowed the day and night after this maner, he spent eyght houres in studye and in prayer .viii. houres in hearynge of causes, and eyght houres in sle­pynge, and in suche necessary thyn­ges as were necessary for his bodye Picus the noble erle of Mirādula, sayd a very notable sayeng, whyche I wolde al erles & noble men shuld marke and beare awaye, and it is thys. Learnyng is vnto a Yomā mā in the stede of syluer, to a gentlemā in the stede of golde, and to erles & princes in y^e stede of precius stones. Now my lordes and maisters, whether is it more mete that we shall fo­lowe the counsell and examples of [Page 33] al wyse philosophers and moste noble kynges, that were vnder y^e lawe of nature, and the commaundemēt of holy scripture, and the example of all holy and noble kinges vnder the law of Moses, and also the saynges and doynges of the best kynges y^t were vnder the lawe of the Gospel, whych thought it necessary for kyn­ges and noble men to be learned, e­uen their owne selues: or to folowe the counsel of a sorte of vnnaturall and vnlearned curtely crowes, whiche saye that a kynge or a noble mā nede not to be learned, but that it is sufficient for him, yf y^t his chaunce­lers or chaplaines, & other officers belōging to him, be learned for him As farre as I can perceyue, ye that are noble men and gentlemen, and nowe, speciallye ye that are of the Quenes coūsell, and are lordes of y^e parlament: had neuer more nede of learnyng, then ye nowe at thys present tyme haue. For y^e religion whi­che hath ben brought in agayne of late by the myght of goddes worde, and hath bene receyued thorowout al thys realme, sauyng of a fewe obstinate Papistes, & hath bē brought [Page] to thys perfection that it is now at, not onely wyth great labour & ieo­pardye, but wyth the deathes of many an honeste and learned man, is nowe taken for heresye and false doctrine. And yet there is no smale nō bre of them, that wyll aduenture, bothe lyfe & goodes, that it is y^e true religion that was exercised in kyng Edwardes dayes, and that it, why­che begynneth nowe thorowe out Englande to take place agayne, and was alowed in the tyme of the late kynges, kynge Henry the .vii. & the viii. war ryght Papistrye, and false learnynge of men, onely able to be defended, by longe tyme, & the falsly pretended auctoritie of Christes Churche, whych wyl brynge in and set forth none other doctrine then suche as her husbande Christ hathe cōmaūded & alowed. Thys cōtenci­on is about no smale matter, it is aboute goddes seruice, and about the true doctrine religion and worshippyng of God. The saluacion and dā nacion of many a thousand, hangs vpon these matters, therfore seyng that God hath made you gouerners vnder the Quene & iudges in these [Page 34] matters ye had nede to loke wel vpon the worde of God, that ye gyue not sentence against goddes truthe, to the destruccion of your owne sou­les, and many thousandes mo. The one parte bryngeth forth scripture and the wrytten worde of God, and the other parte bryngeth forth, lōge customes, fathers, and the authori­te of the Romyshe churche, whyche hathe erred shamefully many hun­dreth yeres, and no mā is able to defende the contrarye. I do perceyue that some of you are indifferēt, and are not maryed vnto one kynde of men more then another, wherfore ye maye in these controuersies, be y^e more indifferēt iudges. But I hear saye that there is an other sorte of the nobilite, that are so partial in these maters, that are nowe in con­trouersie, that what so euer reason or scripture be brought of the other parte that they fauour not, they wil not beleue it, but yet wythout any reason or scripture or any other sufficient profe, or trial of theyr doctri­ne: embrace and gladly receyue, all suche doctrine and tradicions as theyr chosen prophetes teache them [Page] whome they fauour and fantasye. The same affectionate people, why­che truste so in these men wythout any trial of theyr doctrine whether it be good or bad, are so tender ouer theyr owne bodyes, that they wyll nether eare any meate nor drynke any drinke, though theyr cokes and butlers be neuer founde fautye in theyr offices in al theyr liues: except there be an assay takē of their meat and drynke before. Yea I heare say that some dare not eate of the meat that is dressed of theyr cōmō cookes in the cōmon kytchens, be the cokes neuer so honest men and these wyll neither truste their cookes nor assayers and therfore eate no meate but suche as is dressed of their maidens in theyr owne presence, in theyr owne secrete chambers. Wolde to God these loued their soules so wel, & the soules of all them that are vn­der their gouermēt, as they do their owne natural bodyes. As the meat of the bodye yf it be good, fedeth and norysheth the body and saueth it frō peryshynge, and yf it be poysoned it kylleth the bodye, euen so the doctrine or preachynge whych is the food [Page 35] of the soule yf it be good saueth the soule, so yf it be noughty and false, it poysoneth and kylleth the soule. Is it thē godly wysedome to se and trye it which goeth into their bodies wyth theyr owne eyes to be good & holsome before they receyue it? and to receyue of their olde gostly cokes what so euer they dresse for them vnsene, vntasted, and vnassayed? Tho­ugh their bodely cokes haue serued them neuer so longe, they wyl take nothyng that is dressed of them, ex­cept they se it wyth theyr owne eyes assayde, whye truste they then their spirituall cookes so well that wyth­out any further assay or trial, recey­ue into theyr soules, what so euer meate they dresse for them & gyue them? Perchance they wyl say that seculare and maried cookes, hauing wyues and chyldren, may easely for a brybe, be brought to poysone their masters and maistresses, but spiri­tual and vnmaryed men are more to be trusted in their spiritual cookery, because they are wyuelesse and nede not to be compelled vnto poyse­nynge for lacke of lyuinges because they haue enoughe, and also [Page] by touchyng dayly the body & bloud of Christ, are holyer then the worldly cookes are, and so halowed wyth the holy oyle wherwyth they were anoynted in the tyme of their conse­cracion, that they can not kyll vs w^t poysoned meate, as the secular may easely do. And therfore what so euer our spirituall cookes sende vs, that is good and holsome, that wyl we receyue, wythout any further tryal.

We knowe them and trust them so well. To whom I answere that not only forein stories, but also that our owne cronicles beare wytnes, that these spirituall wyueles cookes for all their touchynge of their Christes bodye dayly, and for all theyr holye oyntment, haue euen bodely poyso­ned not onely kynges and princes, but also dyuers other honest men, besydes that I can proue, that spiri­tually they haue poysoned many thousandes. In the cytie of Berna, iiii. freres poysoned a tayler wyth the poysoned bread of the sacramēt in our dayes, & the same were burnt for their labor. A spiritual & wiueles cooke a black monke, wel anointed, poysoned kinge Iohn as our stories [Page 36] beare wytnes. We reade in dyuers stories y^e monkes & other wyueles anointed cookes, poysoned not only Emperors & kynges, but also poysoned the sacramentall bread whyche they toke for their Lord & their God Thē euen wyueles spiritual cookes wyll poysone kynges & quenes, whē as they ar not aferd to poyson their God him selfe. Thus far haue I spoken of bodely poyson. But as tou­ching spiritual poison, that is to say concernyng marring of mens mindes w^t false doctrine, the cōningest & beste betrusted cooke y^t they haue nowe at this tyme, who rueleth the roste alone, hathe ether serued out poyson vnto kynge Henry the .viii. & to al Europa, or els Quene Mary is a bastard, yf false doctrine be poy­son of the soule, & she be a bastarde that is borne out of lawfull matri­mony. Steuen Gardiner an vnder cooke in the Cardinal Wolfe Wol­sey hys house, and afterwardes a­lowed of kynge Henry the eyght, to be a maister cooke and hys princi­pall cooke for a lōge tyme, r [...]led the roste in y^e kynges house, as boldly & [Page] as saucely, as hys maister dyd be­fore hym, as y^e blowe vpon his cheke that my Lorde of Warwyke gaue hym, maye beare wytnes. But whē as thys cooke shoulde serue out a dyshe of obedience vnto the kynge and vnto all the West churche, he poudered it wyth suche poyson, that he made the kynge an hore master, our Quenes mother an hore, & oure Quene Mary a bastard. Is it good trustyng of suche a wyueles anoyn­ted cooke? Are not then wyueles cookes as muche to be suspected of spiritual poyson, as other cookes are to be suspected of bodely poyson? Yea & a great deale more. For your bodely cookes were neuer taken wyth any suche offece, for yf they had ben taken therwith, they shoulde haue bene streyghtwaye hanged or scal­ded to death for their labour. Thys cooke for all hys poysoned seruice, is so trusted nowe, that he is made Chancelor of England, and presidēt of all the counsell. But lest any mā should denye y^t theyr maister cooke S. Garde. dyd euer any suche thing I wyll brynge hys owne wordes, wherin he confesseth opēly to al the [Page 37] worlde hys dede, and as yet, I for my parte, haue neuer herd nor red, that he repēted him of his so doyng Hys wordes are these. The Leuiti­call cōmaundementes, of the forbydden and vnnaturall horyshe matri­monies, pertaynyng vnto the cha­stitie and clenenes of matrimonye (wherin the hole felowship of man­nes lyfe is conteined, and the beginnyng of encrease of issue standeth) haue alwayes so ben takē as fyrst, to be geuē in dede vnto the Iewes, because they were expounded to set clerely forth the lawe of nature and therfore shoulde alwayes perteyne vnto all kyndes of men. Wherein doutles both the voyce of nature, & the cōmaundement of God agreing together, forbad it that was contra­rye vnto the condicion of bothe.

But amongest these, when as the cō maundement of not mariyng the brothers wyfe, is also conteyned, what other thynge ether oughte, or coulde, the excellent maiestie of the kynge of Englande do, then that he hath done, wyth the great consente of hys people, and the iudgement of hys church, that is, that he deuorsed [Page] from vnlawfull bādes or couenauntes, shulde enioye lawfull mariage, and that he obeyeng the cōmaunde­ment of God (as it was mete) shulde forsake her, whom nether lawe nor right would suffer him to holde stil. In whych mater, when as the sen­tence of Goddes worde had ben sufficient, (whych al men are bound to obey) yet y^e moste sacred kynges ma­iestie, disdeyned not to put vnto it the voyces of the moste auncient & graue men, and the iudgement and censures of the moste famus vniuersities of all the worlde. Thus farre hath maister Gardiner spoken the cooke, whose cookery ye wyl not su­spect, because he hath bene alwayes so honest and true. But let vs se what maner of seruice he serueth, & sendeth vnto all the worlde, & howe honestlye he thynketh of our soue­rayne lady Quene Mary, & Quene Katherin her mother. Fyrst he say­eth that the mariyng of the brothers wyfe, is an vnnatural, horyshe incestuus mariage, and he iudgeth the matrimony betwene the Quenes father & mother to be suche, & therfore he sayeth, the kinge dyd wel, in breakyng the vnlawfull bandes of ma­trimony, [Page 38] whylse he put hys vnlaw­full wyfe awaye. Ye maye se my lordes and maisters, that thys mā cal­leth and iudgeth Quene Katherin, to be none of kynge Henries law­full wyfe, whych sayeng conteyneth in it, that Kynge Henry the eyght, was an incestuus horemaister, that Quene Katherin was an hore, and that Mary theyr doughter nowe Quene, is a bastarde. For who so e­uer lyeth wyth a womā, that is not his lawful wife, is an hore maister, and she that hath carnall copulacion wyth a man, y^t is not her right hus­band, is an hore, & the childe that is begotten & borne of these .ii. is a ba­starde. I pray you my lordes (yf ye dare) axe this cooke, whether he wyl abide by this cokery or no. Yf he wil not abyde by it, thē may wyueles cokes sōtymes, send poisō to their lor­des or ladies tables, as wel as maried cokes. Yf he wil recāt & deny this his sayeng, & say tonge y^e lyest, thē ye muste not suffer hym to haue thys new found glorius name of Constantius, Constātius which he gaue him self in his boke of y^e sacramēt,Iactātius. but let hī be called iactantius, for that agreeth w^t this his cōdicion, better then constantius doth. [Page] But yf he wyll stande to hys olde sayeng, and defende that hys meate had no poyson in it, and that the mariage was vnlawfull betwene the Quenes father and mother, I mar­uel why that maister Ridley of late byshop of Londō, and dyuers other, are ponyshed as traytors for y^e same wordes, and that thys man shalbe taken for the Quenes hygh frende. Gardiner was lōge at Rome, in la­bourynge as I herde saye to obtey­ne of the Pope a lycence of dyuorce for the kynge, and it is lyke that he purchased in the meane tyme a par­don of the Pope, that he myght saye what he lyste for hys lyfe tyme vn­ponyshed, whyche pardone belyke some men (that thynke that the Po­pes lycence is styll in full power & strength,) seyng the same pardone, suffer hym to enioye his pardone at hys pleasure, and gyueth him leaue to do and saye what he lyste. Yf he sayd nothyng but the truthe, in say­eng that the mariage betwene the Quenes father & mother was vn­lawfull, yet there are other wordes of hys owne, that wyl condēne him to be a perillous cooke, and a poy­sonyng [Page 39] cooke. In the very fyrst leaf of hys boke, of hys obedience, he cō ­fesseth, that he wyth many other graue and learned mē, by a folyshe and an olde superstition for a season wythstode the truthe. Yf he wyth­stode the truthe for a season for the same tyme he helde with falshod (for to wythstande the truthe, is to holde wyth falshode) & he that holdeth for a season wyth falshode, and teacheth and preacheth the same, he serueth in the same tyme out poyson, for holsome meate, and therfore is more to be suspecte in hys spiritual cookery, thē the bodely cooke, is to be suspect in hys cookery, whyche at no tyme was cōuicted ether by word or dede, to haue done any other thynge, then became a christian mā to do. In the same place he graunted playnlye, that he departed from the truthe, & that he was a ielous folower, & an earnest defender of the law and the letter, and that he dydde neuer any thyng more vnwillyngly, thē to go awaye from those opinions that he once had taken, what so euer they were. He sayeth also, that he was not lyke vnto Paule, whych whē as [Page] he was ouerthrowen was so obedient to the voice of God, that he said, Lorde what wylt thou haue me do. Yf a man thynke that these sentēces be not in hys boke, I wyll reherce hys owne wordes in Latin as he wrote them. Ne (que) vero dubito quin in hāc eandem, aut certe aut multo dissimilem cogitationem mecum multi, ij (que) do­cti graues ac boni viri inciderint, quibꝰ inepta quadam, & inueterata supersti­tione impeditis veritati (que) aliquamdiu reluctantibus, eadem hec cogitatio om­nes dubitationis scrupulos prorsus ade­mit, lucem (que) vere veritatis diuina ope­rante gratia attulit at (que) adduxit. Equi­dem autem vt de meipso ingenue confi­tear, cum legis & litterae, vt ita dicam, aemulator ac propugnator essem aceri­mus, nec quic (quam) illibentius vn (quam) aut inui­tius facerem, (quam) vt a receptis qualiacū (que) essent discederetur, quo quidem longius mens in eare, iudicium a veritate reces­sit, hoc certe vehementius, at (que) acrrius quiddam in veritate agnoscenda passus videbar, non aliter sane at (que) oculi tene­brarum caligine hebete; iam facti, ad su­bitum [Page 40] irradiantis luminis splendorem solent obstupescere. Mihi nā (que) illud haud datum fuit, quod diuo Paulo constat ac­cidisse, qui simulat (que) a deo prostratus ce­ciderit, vocem obedientiae protinus emi­sit, dicens, domine quid vis me facere?

Hoc enim electo illi vasi vberior Dei gratia contulerat, vt vocem corripientis Dei, & ab errore reuocantis, confestim agnoscens totum se Deo cōmitteret re­gendum, & ei in omni veritate statim obediret ac pareret in omnibus. &c.

Nowe maye ye se by hys owne wordes, that he was an enemye vnto the truthe, he that was ones an enemye vnto the truthe, may nowe al­so be an enemye vnto the same a­gaine, and whether he be a frende at thys tyme or a foe vnto the truth, howe can they iudge, that ether wāt al iugement, or yf they could iudge, wyll not take the payne. I beseche you my lordes for the loue that ye beare to God, and the cōmon welth, axe hym in what opinions he went from the truthe; whether it were in defendyng holy water & holy bread, in y^e inuocaciō of saintes, in purga­tory, [Page] in the iustificacion of workes, in the nombre of the Sacramentes, in the ceremonies of the Church or in defendyng of the real presence of Christes body in the Sacrament, or in what other articles he erred in? Because he dyd not tel in what pointes he erred in, it may chaunce y^t he is fallē into y^e same errores againe, as we se certaine of hys secte, which had forsworne in the two last kyn­ges dayes diuers errores, and had subscribed to the cōtrary, and nowe afreshe are fallen into the same errores agayne. Yf that master Gardi­ner alowe his doctrine styl, of kyng Henries mariage let hym set forth the same doctrine in Englyshe at large, because the cōmō people may learne some holsome doctrine of it euen as he, or at y^e leste some of his, haue handeled maister Barlowe, which wrote a noughtye and a false lyeng boke, compelled by feare to do so. But yf he wyll not set out hys booke in Englyshe both because he knoweth in hys conscience that it is a false boke, and an heretical boke, and therfore wyll not knowlege it now to be his boke, because he was [Page 41] compelled by feare to wryte against the open truthe: he (or at the leste some of hys popyshe prentises) is very vncharitable & vniust vnto mai­ster Barlowe, whych hādeleth hym otherwyse then he wolde or wyll be handeled hym selfe. Yf that men & wemen that are so maryed vnto certein men, that they wyl not examin theyr doctrine but take it to be y^e veri truthe what so euer they saye, wold stande to the iudgement of the holy scripture, I shulde easely condemne them for theyr so doynge, and proue that they dyd playne contrary vnto the mynde of the holy ghost. But because they care not for scripture, I wyll let them alone, and talke a lyt­le with you my lordes and masters, that are indifferent men and haue not sworen to holde wyth the wor­des of any one scole maister. Saint Iohn in the .iiii. chapter sayeth.1. Io. 4. Ne cui vis spiritui credatis, sed probate spiritus an ex Deosint. Beleue not euery spirite, but trye the spirites whether they be of God or no, but they beleue all spirits, that holde wyth the messe, purgatory, holy water & holy bread, inuocation of saintes, and such lyke [Page] ordinaunces of man, and trye not whether they be of God or no, and yf they wolde trye the spretes shuld they not trye them wyth the worde of God? Haue they knowlege in the worde of God? they confesse they haue none at all, but they saye that it is enoughe for them, to trye all doc­trine, wyth theyr fathers fayth, and other of theyr olde ancetores, & with the authorite of the catholyke chur­che. What yf some of theyr forfa­thers or els of theyr mothers, wyth­in these fewe hundreth yeares were heathen men, or heathē wemē, shall it be mete for them to iudge all doc­trines, by theyr fathers fayth?

Whych of theyr fathers or mothers was not a Papist? Shall men iudge ryghtly matters of religion, by the fayth of papistes? What yf theyr fa­thers haue erred, shall we be com­pelled to folowe theyr fathers er­rors? that were great pytie. What yf some of theyr fathers bylded Ab­bayes to fynde a sorte of ydle mon­kes in, and founded chantre prestes to synge for soules in purgatory?

What yf some of theyr fathers put downe abbayes and chantres, howe [Page 42] shall they iudge here who dyd bet­ter, and whome they and we ought to folowe? Yf some of theyr fathers helde thys opinion, that it was law­full to put awaye theyr lawfull wy­ues, & to cleue to hores, as some of them can not denye, but that theyr fathers haue both so beleued and al­so so done? Was thys a good beleue, I thynke that they theyr selues will saye that the beleue was nought.

Shall it be then mete to examine al doctrines wyth theyr fathers fayth, and theyr ancetores beleue? Yf any of the ydle and vnscripture learned traditioners (for so muste we call them, because we maye call no man now a Papist) do holde that it is not requyred, that a Kynge or a Quene or any ruler shulde be well learned in the scripture because all matters and controuersies of reli­gion oughte to be tryed by the au­thoritie of the catholyke churche, meanynge therby the common consent of almoste al the byshoppes prelates, and vniuersities in all the west parte of Europa and the determinacions of generall counselles: I answere, yf we shulde folowe the [Page] iugement of thys catholyke church: then shulde we boldly pronoūce that the mariage betwene kyng Henry the eyght, and his fyrst wife Quene Katherine, was not lawfull. For the moste principall parte of the ca­tholyke churche of our tyme as it is taken, that is the moste parte & most notable vniuersities of thys part of the world and the moste part of learned men, and all the Byshoppes of the churche of Englande sauynge one, condemned the mariage betwene kynge Henry the eyght and lady Katherine thys Quenes mother. I haue enowe to beare me wytnes that it is true y^t I saye,Cuth­bert. Steuen Sāpson besyde Cuth­bert nowe byshop of Durram, Steuen byshop of Wynchester, & Sam­son nowe byshop of Couentre. But yf these forsayd Vniuersities and byshoppes of Englande had ben corrupted for money, as scolares are poore and sometyme graunt it that ought not to be graūted for mony, namely suche where as y^t Pope beareth rule, and these .iii. fornamed byshoppes as some other lawyers do, as they be, had sold theyr tonges and handwrytynges for mony and [Page 43] promotion and for theyr princes fauour: Yet the olde Canones and ge­nerall counselles are not so to be suspected of corrupcion as paraduen­ture some of these forsaid byshoppes be: heare therfore what the olde Ca­nones and counselles iudge of thys matter.

Thys that I wyll allege is wrytten in the seconde parte of the decre­es, the .xxvii. cause & seconde questiō Cap. Si quis disponsauerit sibi aliquam, & praeueniente mortis articulo, eam co­gnoscere non potuerit: frater eius non potest eam ducere in vxorem. That is yf any man be handfaste or betrou­thed vnto a woman, and he beynge preuēted wyth death could not haue carnall copulaciō wyth her: hys brother maye not mary her.

Gregory the bysshop of Rome also speaketh thus of thys matter, in the same place as he is alleged.

Nulli christiano licet de sua consan­guinitate, vel quā cognatu, suus habuit in matrimonium assumere.

It is not lawfull for any christen man to mary any of hys owne kyn or her that hys kynsman hath had. [Page] The same Gregory sayeth also the­se wordes in the same place. Si quir vxorem desponsauerit. &c. Yf any mā be­trouthe or be handfast vnto a wyfe, or gyue earnest vnto her and he be­yng taken awaye by death before & so can not mary her, none of thys mānes kyn may take her afterwardes to wyfe. Iulianus also byshoppe of Rome as he is alleged in y^e same place, hath the same sentence and almoste the same wordes, sayeng that nether the brother that lyueth nor any other of the kynred maye ma­ry her that was betrouthed vnto the brother or kynsman that is de­parted.

Prynce Arthur dyd not only be­trouth the Quenes mother, but also mary her and lye with her, therfore by these men it was not lawfull for his brother afterward to mary her.

In the .vii. Chapter Concilij Aureli­ani thys lawe was made by y^e church concernyng the mariyng of the brothers wyfe.

Frater superstes ne thorum defuncti fra­tris ascendat. Let not the brother go vp in to the bedde of hys brother that is departed.

It is also wrytten thus of the same mater in an other counsel cal­led Concilium Neocaesariense in the secōd Chapter.

Mulier si duobus fratribus nupserit, abijci­atur vs (que) ad mortem. Yf a womā be ma­ryed vnto two brethren, let her be caste away vntyl her death.

Nowe maye ye se whether it be safe to leaue the wrytten worde of God and to truste vpon the traditioners catholyke churche or no, why­che yf men wolde gyue credit to, thē shulde they beleue that kynge Hen­ry the eyghtes mariage wyth Katherine the Quenes mother was vn­lawfull and that our Quene were a a bastarde.

But ye that are ryght shapen gent­lemen, and not vayne braggers of nobilite, I truste wyll folowe the ryght and true christian gentlemē, wherof Luke maketh mencion in y^e xvii. Chapter of the Actes, in these wordes. Hi erant summo genere nati inter cos qui erant thessalonicae, qui receperūt sermo nem, cum omni animi promptitudine, quotidie scrutantes scripturas an hec ita se haberent.

These were of a noble byrth, or of y^e chefest of the nobilitie, amongest thē [Page] that were in Thessalonica,Act. 17. whyche cherefully, or wyth all redynes of mynde, receyued the worde and ser­ched daylye the scripture, whether these thynges were so or no, that is, whether Paules doctrine and sayn­ges were agreynge wyth the scrip­ture or no. Nowe as many as wyll be in dede, it that they ar called, that is ryght noble men and gentlemē, let them folowe these ryght christiā gentlemen, and take them for a pa­tron to folowe, and then shall they be able to gyue ryght iudgement in matters of religion that are at thys tyme in controuersie. But yf they wyll not folowe these gentlemē, but wyll be wylfully blynde, and suffer them selues to be led, whether so e­uer it shall please theyr blynde guy­des to leade them, they may as well tary at home, as come to the parla­ment house, to syt there, except they wyll other slepe, or elles tel the cloke whylse learned men, dispute the ma­ters that are in contention, as I haue sene some gentlemen of the fyrst head do, when I was a burgesie of late, of y^e lower house. Yf that it per­teyned not to gentleman, by the reason [Page 45] of hys office to be learned yet it were expedient for the honour & ho­nestie of the realme, that gentlemē shulde be learned. For whē as ether embassadours beyng learned gent­lemen come into Englande or En­glyshe gentlemen go as embassa­dours vnto Emperours, kynges, or other noble and learned gentlemē, into straunge landes, yf our noble men be learned, iit shall turne to the honour of the hole realme, but yf they be vnlearned, the straungers wyl reken vs al to be brute beastes, when as our heades are so brutyshe and vnlearned. Aboute .xiii. yeares ago, it chaunsed that I was in Cal­lice, and whylse I was there, the prince of Salerne came thether out of Italy, wyth many noble gentle­men. At that tyme two Englyshe cō missioners were sente thether, to scoure the towne of traytours. And no depute as yet appointed, nor be­yng there: these two Englyshe com­missioners muste welcome y^e prince and his nobles that cam wyth him, and when as the gentleman spake fyrst Italian vnto oure men, after­wardes latin, and as farre as I re­member [Page] frenche to, oure gentlemē coulde not speake one worde againe to them, in any of those .iii. tonges. The one was an Erle, and the other a knyght. Whē as they shuld walke together, because oure Erle wolde shewe the straunger a caste of Englyshe curtesye, when the straunger wolde haue geuen the honoure and hygher hande vnto hym, he cryed stylle (thynkyng that he behaued hym selfe Erlely and gentlemanly) nothyng els, but by goddes body I wyl not, by goddes body I wyl not, by goddes body I wyll not, as thou­ghe hys gentlemanship had stan­dē in great sweryng. Was not thys a great shame vnto all Englande, that there was no better choyse in Englande, but that suche two must be sent forth, whych were so vnlear­ned, and namely vnto such a place, as straungers of all nations, and of all degrees cōmonly resorte vnto?

Nowe haue I proued by mannes learnyng goddes holy worde, and by natural reason, that it belongeth vnto al princes, gouernores and noble men to be learned and by the holy scripture, that y^e office of a prince [Page 46] or of any other gouernor, is to sette forth goddes true religiō, to destroy false and conterfet religion, to exer­cise iustice and iudgement, and to defende the innocent, and to ponyshe the mysdoers. But the moste parte, of the noble men and gentlemen in Englande, is not learned, and doth not this theyr office which God hath appointed them. Therfore it folow­eth that the moste parte, of the no­bles and gentlemen of Englande is syck. For I haue proued before, that he is syck that can not do his natural office or worke, whych nature hath appointed him to do or worke. Let vs nowe se what diseases they be that hynder the nobilite to do theyr office and dutye that they are called to.

SOme of the nobilitie as far as I can gather, are syck in the apoplexia, that is a disease, that maketh al the hole body num and wythout felyng, & speakyng. They that are sycke in thys disease, are also called taken, Some call this disease a Palsey, but a palsey is properlye in y^e one syde, when as thys sycknes is ouer al the bodye. It that is the numnes in a naturall body, is vnlearnednes in the polityke body of the nobilitie.

For as he that hath the hole palsey, can fele nothynge, nor speake any thynge hym selfe, and can not go but where as he is caryed of other, so an vnlearned gentleman y^t hathe no learning nor knowlege himself, but trusteth onely to other mennes learnynge, is caryed of hys counsel, be it good or bad, whether it shal please them, is syck in a spiritual Pal­sey. As there is no more myserable disease in a mannes body, then a palsey is, for he that hath it, is as it wer a lyuyng carion, and maketh al his frendes wery of hym, and cā do no­thynge that belongeth vnto a man: so in the politike body of a gētlemā [Page 47] vnlearned, is an vnprofitable bur­den of the earthe, and is in no parte able to do the office that belōgeth vnto a gētlemā, & therfore hath nomo­re of a gētlemā thē a paynted yma­ge hath of a man. The palsey in a natural body, cōmeth of colde & tough humores, whyche are ingendred in the heade, by often dronkennes, and to muche excesse of meate & drynke. Yf the age, the tyme of the yere, and the strength of the patient, wyll a­byde it, the letting of bloud in the begynnyng is very good, for the hea­lynge of thys disease, but yf it be dif­ferred to longe, thē is y^e disease incu­rable. Euē so the spiritual hole, pal­sey, ignoraunce, when as yonge gētlemen in theyr youth begyn to loy­ter, & wyl not learne, but wyll rūne a huntyng and haukynge when as they shulde be at theyr booke, they muste be let bloude oft tymes in the buttokes, for the noble spiritual phisicion. Salomon in the .xxii. of the Prouerbes, teacheth vs thys reme­die, against the spiritual palsey,Pro. 22. and the recepte of it is thys. Stultitia colli­gata est in corde pueri, virga disciplinae fuga­bit [Page] cam. Folyshnes or vnlearnednes, is bounde together in the harte of a boy, but the rode of correction wyll driue it awaye. Yf that the disease be so great that nether wordes nor herbes be able to heale it, thē we muste accordyng vnto the greatnes of the disease, vse remedies made of grea­ter thynges. Therfore thys receyte that I wyll apoynte, wyll be verye good, both to auoyde the disease, and to dryue it away, after y^t it hath ben taken of a chylde. Recipe virgarum betul­ce aut salicis, manipulum vnum, & quotidie pueri natibus, adhibeatur ad sanguinis vs (que) effusionem, donec conualuerit. Plus millies me dicamentū hoc efficax esse probatum est. And Salomon in the .23.Pro. 23. of hys Prouer­bes, sayeth playnlye that thys reme­dye, can not hurte any chylde. Noli sayeth he, subtrahere a puero disciplinam. &c. Take not awaye correccion frō a chylde, for yf thou beate hym with a rode, he shal not dye. Thou shalte beate hym wyth a rod, & thou shalte delyuer hys soule from hel. The rod and correction gyue wysedome, but the chylde that is suffred to haue his owne wyl, shal shame hys mother.

Thus far Salomon, yf this disease be ones healed in y^e nobilite, it shall be the easyer to heale al other disea­ses, whych they haue & are in daun­ger of. They that are disposed vnto this dysease, or haue it, muste vomit out the opinion that the parasites holde, that gentlemē nede not to be learned, & they muste absteyne from to muche wyne, and from al excesse of meate and drynke, and then by y^e grace of God they shalbe hole. Yf thys physyke had ben wel practised L. yeares ago, ther had not bene so many sycke in thys palsey as nowe are. And they that now for age, and by the oldnesse of the sycknesse, are incurable, myght haue bene easelye holpen. But seyng the olde palsey, can not be holpen, by mannes phy­syke, let vs carye with our pray­ers, al olde ignoraunt men vnto Christ, that he may make them fele hys truth, and speak of his worde, to the glo­ry of God almyghty.

I Se so manye tokens in ma­ny gentlemen in Englande, of the dropsie, that I muste nedes thinke, that there are many gētlemen sycke in that syckenes.

The cōmon tokēs of all the .iii. dropsies, are these. To be swelled & puf­fed vp, wyth wynde and water, and to be excedyng thursty. The fyrste kynde called, Anasarca, is almoste of hole water. The seconde kynde cal­led, Ascitis, is of two partes water, and one parte wynde. The thyrde parte called, Timpanitis, is of two par­tes wynde, & one of water, as some phisicians holde. The nobilitie in my tyme haue swelled so muche, y^t nether theyr owne clothes, whyche they had wonte to weare, nor theyr fathers clothes, whych was as byg men as these be, wyll not holde thē, but they muste haue bygger clothes and more costly garmentes. Some swell so great, that they can not be content, wyth theyr fathers houses, whych were as great men as these be, for theyr fathers house wyll not holde thē, for they bylde wyder hou­ses, and mo then theyr fathers dyd, for one or two wyll not holde them. [Page 49] And some swel so great, that all the houses, that theyr fathers and they haue buylded, wyll not holde them, but they muste also haue byshoppes houses, and deanes houses, parsons houses; vicares houses, and poore beggers houses called hospitalles. And yet they swell so great that all these wyll not holde thē (except they amende their maners) vntyll they come to hell. There is a place greate ynoughe, for suche as can neuer get place enoughe for them, but eyther by crafte, or by compulsion, or by frayng of their inferiors, or by vn­shamefast begging, get theyr places and houses from them. The other kynde of cōmon tokens that the wa­tersyke haue, is an excedyng greate thyrst, and so greate that the more they drynke, the more they desyre to drynke, & no drynke is able to quenche their thyrst. Suche a thirst haue some of the nobilitie nowe, & suche one hath some had of late: wherfore the nobilite hath now & hath had the dropsy. Some hauynge landes of theyr owne to lyue on, haue peltyngly gone about from courte to court, biynge fermes and bargaynes and [Page] ouerbyddyng al mē, so y^t pere mē cā get no resonable price of ani ferme, or bargaine for thē. Sōe are so thir­stye of fermes, and namely of benefyces, that they snatch vp all the re­uersions that can be had in a coun­tre, though the fermers haue yet .xl. or .l. yeares to come. There is one knyght that hathe ten benefices in one shere in hys handes, and an o­ther hath .xxii. as credible persones haue tolde me. Some are so thyrsty for the fermes of vicarages & parsonages, that they bagge or bye the aduousons of them, of the patrones, & as soone as they fall, they wyll lette none haue the benefice, but suche as wyl let them the benefice to ferme, wyth house, and lande, and tythes, wyth all that belongeth therto.

Other drinke vp the glebe lande & let the reste alone. Some haue by brybery, simony and other vnlaw­ful wayes, robbed many a poore paryshe in Englande, of their parsonages, and persones, and haue dronkē vp quyte the parsonages for them & their heyres, for euer, wherwyth y^e churche of Christe had wonte to be fed, both bodely and goostly. Some [Page 50] newe gentlemen haue dronken vp, not onely a great part of byshoppes landes, but also haue dronken vp di­uers churcheyardes, hospitalles, chapelles and chauntries, to patche and cloute vp theyr lyuynges wyth all, because their father lefte them neuer a foote of lande. One of the nobilite lawe of late yeares, a prety churche wyth a good large churche yarde, the same was lorde of y^e tow­ne there, and he desyred the paryshe that they wolde lette hym, haue the churche and churchyard promysing them a newe church & a new church yarde, in an other place, the poore tenauntes durste not saye hym naye, because he was theyr lorde. In the meane season, he lent the paryshe a foule euell fauored hole, an ende of an olde abbey, very strayt & narow, euell couered, and euery daye lyke, to fal vpō the poore peoples heades, and as for other churche, the poore people cā get none, vnto thys houre Where is there any good parsona­ge in Englande, but it is ether bou­ght, and dronken vp of some gentlemen, or els is let to ferme to some gentleman. As wyth great honesty [Page] and prayse, the noble mennes ser­uauntes, had wont to come home to theyr maisters houses, wyth ha­res, wylde cattes & foxes vpon their backes, so wyth muche shame, they come wyth tythe pygges by theyr tayles, wyth tythe egges, and tythe hemp and flaxe. Well, they that cam from the donghyl muste go thether agayne. Nature wyll out, although it be holden in wyth forke a whyle, as the dauncyng of the ape doth te­stefye in Esopes fables, whych daū ­ced wel, vntyl the nuttes were castē abrode in the floure. In dede I fynde this dropsy for the moste part alwayes in the crowish stert vppes,Crowish stert vp. and not so muche in the ryght and olde nobilitie. How be it, euen some of the stocke of the olde nobilitie, ha­ue growen and gone out of kynde, and are also sycke in thys common sycknes. There was an erle wythin these fewe yeares, that had lande & good enoughe, & coulde not quenche hys thyrst therwyth, vntyl he had gotten one of the greatest deanryes in Englande, and so was made my Lorde deane also. But he left to hys successours, the lādes vndiminshed, [Page 51] and therfore dyd muche better then he shoulde haue done, yf he had takē the Deanerye quyte awaye into his owne handes for euer, for hym and his heyres. Some haue bene so thir­sti of late y^t they drank vp not onlye hole comones, and great fyldes but also the very hyghe wayes, and the foule puddels in them. A certayne felowe of mine, which had ben lōge from hys frendes gat leue to go to them, and went thetherwarde, but when he came wythin a litle of hys fathers house, he could fynd no way a lōge tyme into his fathers house, the thirsty gentleman had so dronk vp al the hygh wayes there. Some haue dronke vp of late, hole riuers and meres, and fennes, whych had wont to be common, and wyl not suffer a mā to angle therin, nether any man to put a veast there, but let them to ferme. Some when as they haue dronken vp as muche of the cō mones of abbey landes, of byshop­pes landes, of deanes landes, of persones lādes and of beggers landes (I meane of hospitalles) as wolde serue .iiii. as honest and as honora­ble men as they be, yet for to spare [Page] theyr owne drynke at home, are not ashamed to begge drynke of suche poore mē as I am. When as I had but .74. lib. to spende in the yeare, my fyrst frutes yet vnpayd. And yet they neuer gaue me a cup of ale vn­deserued ī al their lyues. I haue yet copies of theyr begging letters here in germany to be witnesses of their shameles beggynge. I wolde there were some acte of parlament made agaynst suche valiāt beggers, whi­che vexe poore men as I was, much worse then the lousye beggers do.

Honest gentlemen that are not syke in the dropsye, when as they are ve­rye thyrstye, and entre into a cytie, they do not lyght and drynke in the fyrst alehouse that they se in the cy­tie but for sauyng of theyr honestye, differ to drynke, vntyl they come in­to an honest in, & there they drinke as muche as they nede but no more. He that is an honeste gentleman, wyll leuer suffer great honger and thyrst at home, then to earne drinke in the market with sellyng of coles, or bere, or of bullockes, of plowes, of shepe or of shepes dōge, or of pisse, or of suche like vile thinges, as some [Page 5] haue done, & do at thys tyme, wyth shame enough yf they were not past shame. Buth suche gentlymē as the dropsye hath taken awaye theyr ho­nestye & shamefacednesse frō them, that they care not howe they get drinke, whether it be wyth honour or shame, so that they maye haue it, while as some gentlemen, yea some Knightes and lordes do nowe in Englande not be ashamed to sell oxen, shepe, bere, corne, mele, malt, coles & thynges muche vyler then these be. Nowe it is euident, that there are many of the nobilitie of Englande, sycke in the spiritual dropsye, let vs se whether it is any perilus disease or no. This dropsye is a disease very harde to heale, and kylleth many a man and woman and it bryngeth not onely death, of bothe bodye and soule, but in the lyfe tyme mocketh men, and bryngeth men into false opiniōs. The holy scripture sayeth, that the spirituall dropsy, bryngeth death and euerlastyng damnacion, as Paule .i. Corin .vi.1. Cor. 6 wytnesseth in these wordes. Nether theues, ne­ther couetous men, nether dronker­des, nether cursed speakers, where [Page] extorcioners, or rauen ous men, shall haue the heritage of the kyng­dome of God. He that is syke in the dropsye, thynketh that plentye of drynke shall helpe hys disease, and that hys drynke, shalbe turned into bloude, and that he shalbe noryshed therwyth. So is it also in the dropsy that our gentlemen are sycke in.

They thynke that in heapyng toge­ther of muche golde and syluer, in gettynge of many fermes, in get­tynge of many benefyces, that their gredye appetite shall therwyth be quenched, but they are deceyued.

For the noble poetes in these verses folowyng affirme the contrary.

Crescit amor nūmi, quamtum ipsa pecunia crescit. Quanto plura parasti, tanto plura cupis. Semper auarus eget, quare? quia competit vsus. Tangere parta ti­met, cur? ne minuatur aceruus.

At primum scelerem matrem quae sem­per habendo. Plus sitiens patulis, runa­tur faucibus aurum. Trudis auaritiam. Crescit indugeirs sibi dirus hydrops.

Nec sitim pellit, nisi causa morbi.

Fugerit venis, & aquosus albo corpore langor.

The loue of the peny groweth, as muche as the pkny groweth. The more thynges that thou haste gottē the more thou desyrest. A couetous man is euer nedy, and why? the vse requyreth, he is afrayed to touche that whych he hath gotten, & why?

because that his heape should not be mynished or made lesse. But fyrst thou thurstest downe couettousnes the mother of myschiefe, whyche the more it hathe, the more golde it gapeth for wyth open iawes, and is more thyrsty. The cruel dropsye fa­uourynge it selfe to muche: can not put awaye thyrste excepte the cause of the syknes flye out of y^e veynes & the wattery siknes leue y^e pale body. The preacher in y^e .v.Eccle. 5. cha. cōfirmeth the same, that the poetes haue sayd. A couetous man, sayeth he, wyll ne­uer be fylled wyth mony. Further­more as in the bodely dropsye, the great plentye of drynke, is not tur­ned into bloud, nether into any good noryshment of the body, but is turned all into water and wynde, and the body is neuer y^e better there by, but fylled wyth il moysture whiche ingendreth a new thyrst, so is it [Page] also in the spirituall water syknes, the golde and the syluer, the landes, the houses, the fermes, the shepe & the bullockes, oft tymes do nether the couetous men them selues any good at length, nether theyr chylder for whome they are so gredy, and so carefull. For some dice awaye theyr shepe, some lawe awaye their bullockes, some banket awaye theyr benefices and fermes, some pisse all that they get agaynst the walles, some waite theyr euel gotten goodes vpō hores and harlotes. And thoughe they kepe theyr goodes stil for them selues and theyr chylder, for a while as some do, thē vnthrifty sonne, wil as vnthryftelye spende, hys fathers euell gotten goodes, as hys father got them vnlawfully, or vncharita­bly dyd holde them from the poore people, whyche ought to haue parte of them. Nature, philosophye, and holy scripture, and the cōmon and dayly experiēce do teache vs, that y^e goodes of the couetous men, for the moste parte, nether profyt the coue­tus mā him selfe, nor make his childrē ryche, in suche ryches at y^e least, that wyl endure. For the cōmon sayeng [Page 54] is that y^e thirde heyre shal neuer enioye goodes or landes euell got­ten. A couetus gentleman, is lyke a gredy gliede. A gliede otherwyse called a pottock, or a kyte, hath the for­me and fashion of an hauke, and a farre of loketh very lyke an hauke, whyche is a noble byrde, but yf ye come nere hande hym, ye shall kno­we hym by hys whinning, and la­mentable pewynge, as thoughe he coulde neuer get enoughe, ye shall also se hym do other thynges, then a ryghte hauke dothe, whyche for the moste part, fedeth vpō his owne praye, that he hath gotten hym self. The kyte resteth but lytle, and is al­moste alwayes flyeng, and euer he loketh downewarde to the earth af­ter one praye or other. In the tyme that he byldeth hys neste he caryeth al that he can catche and snatche, vnto it, ragges, cloutes, napkins, ker­ches, boyes cappes, and sometyme purses, as I haue herde saye. And all the hole yeare thorowe, there is no pray y^e cōmeth amysse vnto him, he eateth vpō al kynde of carion, he thinketh no shame to eat wormes, [Page] he cleketh away goslynges, ducklinges, chickins, & al kindes of yōge birdes y^t can not flye, or otherwyse pro­uide for thē selues. He is so bold sōe tyme in Englād, (I neuer saw it so nether in Italy, nether in any part of Germany, where as I haue bē) that he dare take butter & bread, out of boys hādes in y^t stretes of townes cities & villages. He is more vnsha­mefaced thē euer ani begging frere was. For he wil without any axyng or beggyng, take away trypes and puddynges frō wyues, whylse they are in washynge of them. And thys doth he moste eranestly and vnsha­mefastly, when as he hathe yonge. But what profyt cōmeth vnto hym and all hys, for hys manyfolde rob­bery and rauin? very lytle. For he abydeth styl a foule kyte, & hys yonge ones, as I haue sene it my selfe, ar always slaueryng it out, that the father hath stollē and robbed for thē. Marke here howe that nature tea­cheth vs, howe that it whych is got­ten wyth rauin and robbery, is as soone spent and wasted of the chyl­dren, as the couertus fathers haue gotten it. Dauid in the .36, psalme [Page 55] speaketh thus of the couetus men, and of theyr heires and chyldren.

The armes of y^e synners shalbe bro­ken:Psal. 36 but the Lord strengtheneth the ryghtuous. The Lorde knoweth the dayes of the vndefyled, and theyr he ritage shalbe for euer. But the ene­myes of y^e Lorde, anone after y^t they be set in honour, and be alofte, they shall fade as smoke vanyshe awaye. The vnryghteous shalbe ponyshed, and the sēde of the wycked men shall peryshe. Salomō also in the .xx.Pro. 20 chapter of hys prouerbes, wytnesseth that suche heritage, as is gotten ha­stely and with couetousnes, shal not endure. The heritage sayeth Salo­mon, whereto is great haste made in the begynnyng, shall not prosper at the length. Ecclesiasticus wry­tyng both of the right godly gentle, and of the vngodly and false gentle­men, sayeth these wordes,Ecc. 44 Ecclesia­stici. 44. Al these haue gotten glory, in the generations of theyr kynred, and in theyr dayes they were pray­sed. They that were borne of them, haue lefte a name to tell the prayses of them. And there are some whose memory are quyte worne out. They [Page] haue perished, as thoughe they had neuer bene, and they are borne, as not borne, and so are theyr children with them. But the other men are of mercy, who haue not wanted god lynes, and a good heritage continu­eth, & the sede of theyr chylders chyl­dren, hath stande in the testament, and theyr chyldren for theyr sake, a­byde for euer. Theyr sede and theyr glory shal neuer decaye.Eccle. 5. Ecclesiastes in the .v. chap. hath a sayeng not vnlyke vnto thys. The couetous man (sayeth he) shall neuer be fylled with mony, & he that loueth ryches shall not take any profyt of them. Besy­des all these authorities, we learne by experience dayly, that cōmonlye the greatest & grediest gatherers, are not alwayes the rychest at the length, & that theyr chyldren, for the whych they vse suche catchyng and snatchyng, ether are taken out of the worlde, or els become fooles or vnthryftes, so that the euel gotten, & vncharitably holden ryches, prosper not, in the chylder of the watersyck. Ye remember what gentlemē, sick in the dropsy, haue of late yeres ben taken away, from al their gredely, & [Page 56] vncharitably purchased landes, ye can name some chylder, which haue loste by theyr fathers death all that they prepared for them. Ye knowe also one watersyck gentleman (yf ye wyl gyue me leaue to cal such a carle a getlemā) whych had dronkē vp almoste an hole contre, that his children myghte haue drinke enoughe, who is now chyldles, & hath not thē for whom he had so gredely scraped and scratched so muche ryches toge­ther. Whether dranke kinge Henry the seuenth, or kynge Hēry the .viii. more? I thynke that there is none of you all, but that ye wyll saye, that kynge Henry the eyght dranke .xx. tunnes more then hys father dyd.

For he dranke vp all the monkries, freries, and nunries in Englande, he dranke vp the tenthe parte of all spirituall mennes lyuynges in all the hole realme. Yea and al the pro­fytes and fyrste fruytes of all bene­fyces, that fell in hys tyme, for the fyrste yeare after that he fell in to the greate dropsye, that is, sence the makynge of the deuelyshe and abhominable acte of fyrste fruites and tenthes. Yf one man had sene [Page] bothe the kynges, cut vp after theyr deathes as it is not vnlyke but do­ctour Chambers dyd, perchaunce he shulde haue sene as muche blood in kynge Henry the seuentes harte, as in kinge Henry the eyghtes, and perchaunce more. But I let that passe and wyll talke of it that is bet­ter knowen: Whether of these two dyed the rycher? the greater dryn­ker or the lesse? whyche of these two kynges heyres was lefte rycher, at the death of hys father? ye wyll saye I am sure, that the heyre of the lesse drynker was left much rycher. Or els what neded kynge Edwar­des counsellers and good housban­des, so ofte crye, the kynge is poore, the kynge is poore, and to get al the chauntries in Englande vnto him, and so ofte to spoyle the byshoppes landes, to enryche hym therewyth? ye se therfore, that in both the kyn­des of dropsy, that the exceding plentye of drynke, nether quencheth the thyrst of the syke, nether helpeth the disease, nether increaseth any good blood. Therfore seyng that the spirituall dropsye (wherein dyuers gentlemen of Englande are sycke in at [Page 57] thys tyme) bryngeth at length death of both body and soule, and maketh suche a folishe opinion in them, that they beleue, that it that moste of all engendreth the syknes, helpeth it, & that it that most destroyeth both the blood & naturall heate, ingendreth bothe the same, it muste nedes be a perillous disease. Then where as it is so perillous a disease, they that ar syke in it, had nede of some remedy for it, whych I intende to offer vnto them. But before I shewe the reme­dye of thys dysease, it is mete that I shewe the causes of it, that I in healyng of it, maye shewe the practice more lyke a workeman, then a foo­le, for he that knoweth not the cause of the disease, howe shall he take the cause away of it? And he that knoweth not the cause of the disease, how shal he take it awaye, and he that taketh not the cause of y^t disease away howe shall he take the disease away, when as the cause abydyng styll the effecte muste nedes folowe. It is also necessary for all my patientes, to knowe the cause of theyr diseases, that after that they are ones healed, they maye exchewe the disease, by [Page] puttyng awaye, and auoydyng the causes of it. It shalbe also necessary for them, y^t are not yet sycke in that sycknes, but are disposed naturally therto, to knowe the causes of thys disease, that by flyeng and eschuyng the causes of it, they maye auoyde it. Sycknesses come two wayes, moste cōmonly of a naturall cause, and sometyme, though it be but sel­dome, immediatly of God, without any natural cause, for the reuēging and ponyshyng of some open synne or offence. As for an exemple. The leprye moste cōmonly cōmeth of a melancholike humour, or of a salt burned humour, that is in a mannes body. But we reade that wythout a­ny suche natural cause, it commeth immediatly of God, ponyshyng sōe notable and opē offence,4. Re. 5. Nu. 12. 2. pa. 26. as it came vnto Gehasi, to mary Moses syster, & to kynge Osias. The bodely drop­sye cōmonly cōmeth of the stopping of the liuer, and the stoppyng com­monly commeth ether of colde or of grosse humores. Euen so the spiritu all dropsye cōmeth of colde or grosse humores. Vnder the name of colde humores, I vnderstande suche spirituall [Page 58] drinke, as is not warmed with an earnest preacher, but is coldely serued out, wythout any zele or fer­uentnes in sprete, after whych ma­ner, our newtralles and manplea­sers of late, and now the latin sacri­ficers, serue the people in England. By grosse humores, I vnderstande fleshely and grosse ceremonies, whiche were neuer tryed wyth the fyer of Goddes worde. But as thys is the cōmon waye, wherby mē come to the dropsye, so is there also an o­ther preuye straunge and seldome waye, wherby I reken that many of oure gentlemen, haue fallen into the spiritual dropsye. That is, by the ponyshment of almyghtye God, whych suffered them to fall in to thys sycknes, for theyr open syn­nes, as he brought the .iii. aforena­med persones, into y^e lepry. The no­ble & wel borne, kyng Henry y^e .viii. by the counsel of certeine of hys scripture learned counsellers, toke in hāde to reforme & heale some of hys clergie, whyche was so sycke in the dropsye, that they had almoste dronkē vp a quarter of the hole realme, and accordynge vnto the worde of [Page] God, and hys bound deutye, he be­gan to dryue out of hys lande, the seuen kyndes of people, whereof is motion made in the seuenth chap. of Deuteronomi, that is, the Hethites, the Bergelces,Deu. 7. the Amores, the Canarees, the Pherisees, the Euees, and the Iebusees. And in dede he healed the clergye after one maner, that phisicianes vse, that is, per ablati onem, & he droue out after a maner the forsayd enemies of God, whych had gotten them, by continuaunce of longe tyme, seuen newe names. Yf any man wyll knowe theyr na­mes, that he droue out, their names are these. Iacobites and Minorites, Augustinianes & Carmelites, whyt monkes, blacke monkes, and Cha­nones. &c. Because he coulde nether heale all y^e watersyke alone, nether coulde alone dryue out so many enemyes, he cōmaunded hys nobilite to helpe hym, and they not vnwyllyngly toke hys parte. But howe healed they the dropsye, & howe droue they awaye the seuen heathen nacions? Surely nether accordynge vnto the rules of bodely, nor of spiritual phi­syck. [Page 59] What maner of phisiciane is he that cōmeth vnto a house, where as there are some parsons syck, be­cause they had to many humores, and others for lacke of sufficient hu­mores, & other are not syck, & he not onely cōmaundeth them al together both syck and hole to faste alyke, for the space of an hole yeare, and to gyue hym for hys labour, al it that they shulde haue eaten that yeare: but enioyneth thē al alyke, for all the tyme of theyr lyues euer after, to departe wyth the tenth parte of the meate, that they had wont to spende, and to gyue it vnto hym? Haue not the noble phisiciās occupyed the same phi­sick, whylse they went about to heal the clergie? yes doutles. For some of the clergye had to muche, and some to litle, & some no more thē enough, and yet muste euery man haue one kynde of medicine, all muste be purged, bothe the sycke and the hole and all muste faste and kepe one dyet, both the hole, and the two kindes of sycke. Wolde these phisicians be cō ­tent, that doctor Wendy, or doctor Owen, doctor Wotton or doctor Huic, or I, shuld practise wyth them so, [Page] yf we were called to theyr houses to heale certeyne syck persones there? Doutles they wolde not. Wherfore when as they do otherwyse vnto theyr brethren, then they wolde be done to them selues, they haue bro­ken the rule of oure maister doctor Iesus, the chife phisician, and haue cōmitted an open synne, that all the world may se. For the which synne, God hath suffered them to fall into thys foule dropsy, that they are syck in now, euen as he ponished Geha­sy wyth a lepry, for cōmittynge the same synne, that our gentlemē dyd. For as Gehasy synned in couetous­nes, in takynge of rewardes, of the heathen man y^t hys maister healed, hauyng no cōmaundemēt so to do, so these when as they had no com­maundemēt of theyr maister Christ to take the goodes of the clergie, for the reformyng of it: synned in coue­tusnes, & fel into y^e same siknes y^t the clergie had. And so is it now comed to passe, y^t the phisicians whych toke in hāde to heale other mē, are fallē into y^e same syknes thē selues, & ha­ue nede of phisicians to heale them. The same in dryuing out of the aforsayd seuen natiōs, brake openly the [Page 60] cōmaundement and rule of y^e great Phisiciane, whych in these wordes Deuteronomi .vii.Deu. 7. gaue this com­maundement. When as the Lorde thy God, shall brynge thee into the lande, wherinto thou shalte entre, and take possession of, shall dryue awaye many nations of people in thy syght, the Hethites, the Gergeze ets. &c. thou shalte burne in the fyre their grauen ymages. Thou shalte not desyer the golde and the syluer wherof they are made, nether shalt thou take vnto thee any thynge of them, leste thou stūble or do amisse, because it is the obominacion of thy Lord God. Nether shalt thou bring any thynge of the ydolles into thy house, lest thou be accursed, as it is. Thou shalte defye it as fylthynes, and thou shalt lothe it, as dyrte and vnclennes, because it is acursed.

Thys open cōmauudement of God, hath our phisicianes, of our clergie openly broken. For they toke vnto them selues, not only al the landes of the heathen, & al theyr golde and their syluer, but also all their yma­ges & their abominable ydoles, & caryed them home into their houses, or at the lest into the kynges house. [Page] That to put downe ydolatrie for ryches sake, and to take the ydoles to a mannes owne proper aduaunta­ge, displeaseth God hyghly, ye maye learne by the ouerthrowe, that the chyldren of Israel had, of the cyte­syns of Hay, and by the death of A­cham, who was put to death myse­rably wyth all hys, for stealynge of certayne iewels and other ornamē ­tes perteynyng vnto ydoles.Iosu. 7. Iosue vii. and also by the death of the Ie­wes, that fought vnder the Macha­bees, whych after their death, were iudged, of the churche therfore, to haue bene slayne of theyr enemyes because they had taken priuely vnto them selues, of the offerynges of the ydoles, ye maye se that God toke it for a great synne, to take the spoyles of ydoles and ydolaters, to a man­nes owne selfe, because that he po­nyshed it twyse wyth death. Wher­fore it is a greuus synne, to destroye ydoles and ydolatrye, not for God­des loue, but for theyr spoyles and ryches sake. But howe ponysheth God, these golde thyrsty phesicians? Euen wyth the same sycknes, that they went about to take from theyr [Page 61] patientes. For God sayeth, thou shalt brynge nothynge of theyr ydo­les, to thy house,Deu. 7. Ne tu sias anathema si­cus illud est: that is, leste thou be made accursed, and abominations as it is After nowe that the causes of thys dropsye are knowe, it foloweth next to be done, that I shulde ordeyne a preparatiue. When as the disease cō meth of colde, and of the stoppynge the liuer, our preparatiue muste be made, of suche herbes, as are hote & bytter, therfore as many as wyll be purged of thys euell humour, that maketh the dropsye, muste take this bitter preparatiue (for muche vse of swete watery & colde meates, make the dropsye.) Go to the churche and desyre a learned man to make a bytter sermon agaynst couetousnes, of the whyche sermon, take one good draught fastyng in the mornyng, & and other an houre before supper, wyth an vnce of repentance, at eche tyme for the space of fourten dayes, and then take .vi. drāmes of the purgation, whych maye well be called, hiera zachei, and it wyll scoure them that haue the dropsye so perfytlye, that there shall not remayne one [Page] pinte, of that thyrst makyng water, Yf y^t it can not be founde redy made in the poticaries shoppes, make it thus.Luk. 19 Dimidium bonorum tuorum, da pau­peribus, si quem defraudaueris, redde ei qua­druplum, Gyue the one halfe of al thy goodes the poore, yf thou hast taken any thynge awaye from any man vniustly, restore .iiii. times as much to hym agayne. Yf thys purgation be to stronge and to bitter, & wolde purge to sore, then take lesse of it, & make equale restitution, accordyng vnto y^e value of it that is takē away from any man. After that they be thus purged, because it is a stronge purgation, and a bytter, & maketh the takers of it very weake, and af­ter that a mā is healed ones of thys disease, he may lyghtly fall into it a­gayne, I wyll ordeyn and make the water syke, a confortatiue, and im­mediatly after also a preseruatiue, to saue them y^t they fall not agayne into theyr olde disease. Their confortatiue, shall be thys that foloweth hereafter.

Luk. 19. Math. 3. and. 11. Venit filius hominis, quaerere & seruare quod perierat. Non veni vocare iustos, [Page 62] sed peccatores ad poenitentiam. Poenitentiam agite & appropinquabit regnum celorum. Venite ad me omnes qui labo­ratis & onerati estis, Math. 11 & ego refocillabo vos, Sic Deus dilexit mundum, Ioh. 3. vt vni­genitum filium suū daret, vt omnis qui credit in eum, non pereat, Ezech. 13 sed habeat vi­tam eternam. Nolo mortem peccatoris sed magis vt conuertatur, & viuat.

Nowe wyll I teache you a good triacle or preseruatiue. The preserua­tiue is thys.

Non concupisces vxorem fratris tui, Exo. 20. non domum, non agrum, non seruum, non an cillam, non bouem, non asinum, & vni­uersa quae illius sunt. Non fitis solliciti quid esuri sitis, aut quid bibituri, aut quo induamini. Math. 6 Primum querite regnū Dei, & iusticiam eius, Pro. 10. & hec omnia ad­ijcientur vobis. Non patietur Dominus vt anima iusti fame laboret. Leunculi penuria & fame laborant qui autem do minū inquirunt nullo bono destituūtur. Deu. 17 Cum fueris rex constitutus, non multi­plicabis tibi equos. Non habebis vxo­res plurimas, ne (que) argenti & auri ingen­tia pondera. Rex iustus erigit terram, [Page] vir auarus destruit cam. Pro. 30. Mendicitatem & diuitias, ne dederis mihi, tribue vi­ctui meo necessaria, ne forte satiatus al­liciar ad negandū & dicam. Quis est Dominus, aut egestate compulsus furer, & periurem nomen Dei mei: Seiunge ab hijs, qui questum putant esse pietatem. Est autem questus magnus pietas cum animo sua sorte cōtento. Nihil enim in­tulimus in mundum, videlicet nec esser re quic (quam) possumus, 2. tim. 6 sed habentes alimen­ta & quibus tegamur, his contenti eri­mus. Caeterum qui volunt ditescere, incidunt in temtationem & laqueum & in cupiditates multas, stultas ac noxias, quae demergunt homines in exitium & interitum, Siquidem radix omniū malorum, est auaritia. Vos qui diuites estis in praesenti seculo, ne sitis elato animo, ne (que) spem ponite, in diuitijs incertis, sed in Deo viuente, qui praebet nobis omnia affatim, ad fruendum. Benefacite vt di­uites sitis bonis operibus. Estote faciles ad impertiendum, libenter communican­tes, recondentes vobis ipsis fundamen­tum bonum in posterum, Psa. 39. vt apprehen­datis vitam eternam. Spera in Domino [Page 63] & fac bonitatem, & inhabita terram, & pasceris in diuitijs eius. Delectare in Domino, & dabit tibi petitionem tuam. Nouit Dominus dies immaculatorum, & hereditas eorum in aeternum erit. In­imici vero Domini mox vt honorificati sunt & exaltati deficientes quemadmo­dum fumus deficient. Iunior fui, Psa. 36. & se­nui, & non vidi iustum derelictum, nec semen eius querens panem. Psa. 118 Iniusti puni entur, & semen impiorum peribit. Incli­na cor meum in testimonia tua, & non in auaritiam.

I haue wrytten thys in latin for theyr sake, that had leuer read their confortatiue and diet in latin, then in Englyshe. But yf I shoulde leue thys latine not turned into English I wolde be aferde that some vnlearned persones shulde abuse thys my wrytyng, as the Popyshe sacrifice­yng prestes and the cōmon popyshe sorte of the vnlearned people, abuse the physicke of Christ written in la­tin. For when as Christ had made many noble medecines against dy­uers diseases, and the Apostles and Euangelistes had written the same in Greke, and learned men hadde [Page] turned them out of Greke into la­tin, some of the cōmon people bele­uyng that Christes medicines was very good, desyred y^e prestes to reade vnto them Christes preparatiues, purgations, confortatiues and diet to their comforte, and for the same cause they came euery sondaye vnto the churche. But y^e Popyshe prestes rede ouer y^e sicke ꝑsons heades, Christes aboue named medicines ī latin, as though the bare redynge of the phisicians byll in a straunge tonge, shulde helpe the syck men, when as they vnderstande neuer one worde thereof. And the same prestes, nether taught the people, howe they sholde vse theyr preparatiue, nether theyr purgation, nor confortatiue, nether dyd they declare what diet the people shulde holde, but read the diet & other medicines in a straūge tonge. I wyll therfore make my hole counsell and my other medici­nes in Englyshe for them that vn­derstande no latin, and yet I coun­self them that are sycke in thys dis­ease, when as I coūsell them y^t they daylye reade thys confortatiue, and preseruatiue, that they loke for no [Page 64] helpe of the only readynge of them, but y^t they shoulde do those thynges that are wrytten, & not onely heare them, or se them, or saye them, but also order theyr lyfe according vnto the cōfortatiue & the foreappointed diet. The sonne of mā came, to seke out and to saue, that which was lost I came not to call the ryghteous, but synners vnto repentaunce.

Repente you, for the kyngdome of heauen is at hande. Come vnto me all ye that labour and are ladē, and I shal refreshe you. So God loued the worlde, that he gaue hys onely begotten sonne, that all whych be­leue in hym, sholde not peryshe, but haue lyfe euerlastynge. I wyll not the death of a synner, but rather that he conuert and lyue. The pre­seruatiue. Thou shalt not desire thy brothers wyfe, nor hys house, nor hys lande, nor hys seruaūt, nor hys mayde, nor hys oxe, nor his asse, nor any thynge that is hys. Be ye not carefull, what ye shal eate, nor what ye shal drynke, or wherwyth ye shal be clothed. Fyrst seke the kyngdome of God, and the righteousnes therof & al these thinges shalbe gyuen you. [Page] The Lorde shall not suffer the soule of the ryghteous to be greued wyth honger. The yonge Lyons are gre­ues wyth penurye and honger, but they that searche out the Lorde shall lake nothyng that is good. When thou shalte be made a kynge, thou shalte not purchace vnto thee many horses, thou shalte not haue many wyues, nether exceadynge greate weyght of golde and syluer. A ryghteous kynge setteth vp the lāde, but a couetus man destroyeth it. Extre­me pouerty, nor great ryches gyue not vnto me, giue me necessary thinges for my lyuyng, leste paraduen­ture I beyng fylled, shalbe intysed vnto the deniyng of thee, and saye, who is the Lorde? or I beynge com­pelled wyth pouerty, shulde stele, & forswere y^e name of my Lorde God. i. timo. vi.1. tim. 6 Seperate thy selfe from those whyche thynke gaynes to be godlynes, for godlynes is great vaū tage, when a man is content in hys owne mynde, for we brought no­thyng into the world, nether we can cary any thynge out therof, but ha­uyng sufficient fode and clothynge, let vs be content therwyth, for those that [Page 65] wyll be ryche, entre into many temtacions and snares, and wycked de­syres folyshe and hurtfull, whyche drowne men & cast them into death daunger and destruction. For coue­tousnes is the roote of all euell. You that are riche in this present world, be not of an hyghe mynde,1. tim. 6 and put not your hope in vncerteine riches, but in the lyuyng God, whych shall gyue you all thynges plenteously to inioye them. Do you well, that ye maye be ryche in good workes. Be you easy to distribute, gladly giuing parte, layeng vp for your selues, a good foundacion agaynst the tyme to come, that ye maye take holde of euerlastyng lyfe Psal. 37.Psal. 37 Trust in the Lorde, and do good, and dwel vpon the earth and thou shalt be fed in the ryches of it. Delyte or trust in y^e Lorde, and he shall gyue the thy de­syre. The Lorde knoweth the dayes of the vndefyled and theyr inheri­taunce shalbe euerlastyng. But the enemyes of the Lorde streyght way as they be honored and set vp, they fadynge awaye, do vanyshe as the smoke. I was yonge, and am olde, and I haue not sene the ryghteous [Page] forsaken, nor theyr sede beggynge their breade. The vngodlye shalbe ponyshed, and the sede of the wicked shall peryshe. Moue my harte vnto thy wytnesses, and not vnto coue­tousnes. So farre the preseruatiue. After that they be ones perfytly healed, they muste not onely vse thys foresayd dyet, but they muste also exercise them selues, leste they by to muche reste, fall into theyr sycknes agayne. For thys diet that I haue prescribed after Goddes phisik, wyl not helpe except they be exercised in some good workes: for the spirite of God sayeth,Psal. 33. declina a malo, & fac bonum. flie euel, & do good. But your chiefe exercyse shall stande in goynge wal­kynge and runnyng,Exercise ye muste rune wyth Dauid,Psal. 118 which sayd, viam manda torum tuorum, cucurri, I haue runne the waye of thy cōmaundementes, ye muste also walke as Dauid sayeth, in lege Domini, in the lawe of the Lord, and ye muste go as the same prophet sayd, a virtute in virtutem, from one ver­tue to another. Althoughe there be many vertues wherein, a christian gentlemā ought to be exercised: yet there is none that is more fyte to [Page 66] wythstande thys dropsye, nor more becomynge a ryght gentlemā, then is liberalitie, for it is not one of the vnsurest tokens, where by a gentle­man is knowen from an other mā. Because the waye of liberalite is e­uel to fynd, and there are .ii. wayes of eche syde of it, and euerye one of them is muche broader, then y^e way that leadeth vnto lyberalitie is: I wyll tel you what lyberalite is, and wherin it standeth, and what vices be contrarie vnto it.Libera­lite. Liberalite is a vertue, whiche standeth in gyuyng & in takyng, but rather in geuyng. In gyuynge, to whome it is mete to gyue, and to receyue of them, of whome it is conuenient to receyue. Aristotle in the fyrste boke of hys e­thikes confirmeth my sayeng thus.Aristo­tel. Liberalis est dare, quibus dandum est, potius quam vnde accipiendum est accipere. &c.

That is, It belongeth rather vnto a liberal man, to giue to them to whō he ought to gyue, then to receyue of whome he ought to receyue.The end of liberalite. The ende of liberalitie in philosophie is for honesties sake, in the scripture, for Goddes sake & our neighbours. A liberal man sayeth Aristotle, wyll [Page] gyue so muche and in suche time as is mete, and it that he doth, he doth gladly, and not vnwillyngly. But he that gyueth vnto them, to whom he ought not to gyue, and not for honestye nor for vertues sake, but for some other cause, he is not to be coū ted lyberal. A liberall man, wyll ne­uer receyue of them, of whome it is not lawfull to receyue. Nether is he muche dysposed to craue or begge, because he that gyueth, receyueth not gladlye. Yet shall he receyue of them, of whome it is mete that he shoulde receyue. And yet he shall not gyue vnto all men, that he may ha­ue store to gyue, at tyme conueniēt, and to whome it is mete. The moste parte of the prodigalles, receyue of them, of whome they oughte not to receyue, and for that cause they be­come couetus. For when as by gy­uynge, they begyn to want their selues, they are compelled to laye han­des vpō other mennes goodes. For they haue a desyre to gyue, but they care not wherof, nor howe they gy­ue. Couetusnes standeth chieflye in gyuynge of lesse then a man oughte to gyue, and in passyng measure in [Page 67] receyuyng. So that lyberalitie is set betwene .ii. vices, y^t is, prodigalitie & couetusnes. Thus farre haue I rehersed vnto you the mynde of Ari­stotle whose learnyng in thys mat­ter, is not contrarye, vnto Christes learnyng. Therfore we maye be the bolder to folowe it.The cō ­mon opinion of diuers gentle­men. The cōmon sort of gentlemen thynke them selues very lyberall, yf they bestowe vpon dogges .xx.li. in the yeare, & the rest of their goodes vpon gentlemen & other ryche men, though they spend not .iii. farthynges all theyr lyfe vp on one poore ma. The maner of no­ble mennes houses, and gentlemēs houses (cōmonly) is this. Yf a gent­leman come to the house, whether he be knowen or not knowen, yet ether, for to receyue suche good che­re againe of the strāger, or for good fames sake, that he maye be cal­led a lyberal gentlemā, and a good house keper, the maister of the hou­se wyl byd him welcome, and make hym good chere. But yf any poore mā, ether an artificer, or a plowmā wolde haue any meate or lodgynge at the gentlemans house excepte he be knowen and lyke to do some pleasure [Page] againe it shalbe told him thus: Thys place is no Inne, nor alehou­se, therfore get you hence. As for the ragged beggers, yf the dogges ha­ue left any bones, & slauered breade and noughtye drynke, that is God­des parte and theirs, other shal they haue none, though not in al gentle­mens houses, yet into many. Thys is also the maner in some great mē nes houses, that yf any man come into the hal in a ierken or a sleueles cote, he maye not syt downe & dyne there, wyth sleued men, and sleued beastes there. But the vssher wyl cō maunde hym to departe. And it is also meruell that any suche poore man, may come in at the gate, so ar they only hated, in the gentlemens houses, to whome almoste only, liberalitie ought to be shewed. Thys cō ­monly vsed liberalite in Englande nowe, is no true liberalite, but ra­ther prodigalitie, for it is quyte contrarie both to y^e liberalitie that God describeth and appointeth, and also vnto it that all wyse naturall men haue written of, and haue cōmaun­ded their disciples to occupye. Al­mighty god in the lviii. cha. of Esay [Page 68] speaketh vnto all Emperores, kynges, dukes, erles, lordes, knyghtes, gentlemen and al other ryche men Frange esurienti panem tuunt. &c. Esa. 58. breake thy bread vnto him that is hongry, and brynge into thy house poore & wanderyng mē, or wayfaring mē, or straungers that haue no houses, into thy house, & when as thou shalt se a naked man couer hym, and de­spyse not thy fleshe. This cōmaundement of God, is cōmonly broken in occupyenge of lyberalitie. For the poore men haue not the breade bro­ken, nor the herborles are lodged.

Christe in the newe Testament tea­cheth vs, howe that we shulde exer­cise & occupie lyberalitie after thys maner.Luce. 14 When as thou makest a dy­ner or a supper, cal not thy frendes, nether thy brethrē, nether thy kyns­folkes nether thy ryche neyghbors, lest they also byd the agayne, and so be rewarded for thy good dede. Nay rather when as thou makest a selfe cal poore, weyke, lame, and blynde, and thou shalte be blessed, because they can make no recompence vnto the but thou shalt be recompēsed, in the resurreccion of the ryghteous.

Nowe what maner of Christianes are ye, that exercise your lyberalitie for the moste parte, quyte contrarie vnto the ordinaunce of God the fa­ther, and of his sonne Iesus Christ? The prince of this world, for whose sake ye occupie your liberalitie, vpō the ryche that nede not, wyl reward you after hys fashion. But y^e kynge of heauen shall saye vnto you, that fede the fatte and the riche only and despyse the poore hongry.Mat. 25 I was hō gry, and ye haue geuē me no meat, I was herborles, & ye gaue me no lodgyng &c. As ye haue not done to these, so haue ye not done vnto me, go your wayes ye cursed, into euer­lastynge fyre. For the auoydyng of this hote and vnsufferable fyre, and that ye maye also kepe honest and honorable houses, accordynge vnto your states and vocacions, thys is my coūsel. Make .iii. kyndes of gest­houses, and .iii. dynynge places, let one be made for them that are vnclē ly or are suspecte to haue ben in places infected, a lytle frō your gates, other wythout or within, let certain standyng messes of meate be daylye prepared, accordyng to the rentes of [Page 69] your landes, for these poore folke, whether they come or no, thys can not be loste, that ye bestowe vpon these, for ye bestowe it vpon Christe hymselfe. Let there be one rome for honest plowmen, artificers & other straungers, vnder the degre of gentleman, let some nombre of meses of meate, be also prouided, acustoma­bly, euery day for these. Yf there cōe no straungers gyue thys meate vnto the poore neyghbours and labourers in the village or towne next by These ones done, ye maye make your frēdes, and al maner of honest gentlemen suche chere as your conscience shall counsell you, & as your landes wyl. be able to beare suche expenses. Yf that ye be disposed to kepe ryght and christian hospitalite, ye muste kepe it as I haue tolde you, or els your liberalitie wyl not be a­lowed for liberalitie of almyghtye God. Yf that ye wyll be perfyt in ly­beralitie, ye muste haue some to go before you to leade you the way, for we are all blynde of nature, of whō ye maye learne to go a good pace in the hyghe waye of liberalite, that ye nether fall into the way of couetous­nes [Page] nor of prodigalite.3. gydes There are iii. gydes whyche yf ye wyll folowe ye shal not misse but fynde the hygh waye. Nature, good men both vn­der the law of nature, and vnder the law of God, & God hym self. Of the whych cōmeth bothe the lyberalitie that nature teacheth, and lyberall men haue exercised and do exercise. They that wryte of the nature of the ryght egle, saye, that when he hath gotten a good pray, and hath tasted a lytle of the best of it, he cryeth and calleth other byrdes to hym, and let­teth them eat wyth hym. After the same maner sparrowes, goldfyn­ches, lynettes and suche smale byr­des, that flye by flokkes together, yf they fynde any sedes that like them, they cal other of the same kynde vnto them, because they wolde not eat alone, but haue cōpany wyth them. The Emperor Titꝰ vsed euery daye at the leste to do one good turne to some bodye,Titus doynge. & yf at any tyme about nyght, he perceyued that he had gy­uen no rewarde that daye he was very sory: Abraham and Lot, called into their houses all that they sawe [Page 70] passe by, and made thē good chere, as the .xviii.Gen. 18 and .19. of Genesis and the .xix beare wytnes. Ezechias gaue vnto the people when they came vnto Ierusalem to worship God there and to kepe theyr Passeouer to the Lord,2. par. 30 a thousande oxen, and .vii. thousand shepe, and the noble mē gaue them a thousande oxen and ten thousand shepe. Here was a ryghte scripture man, and an ymage breaker, and his gentlemen were also ryght scri­pture men. I wolde se when as any vnlearned blynde traditioner, that was vnlearned in the scripture, dyd euer gyue hys commons any suche gyftes, as thys scripture learned kynge, and hys gentlemen, gaue vnto hys commons, because he and they woulde haue the people conti­nue in the lawe of God, and in hys seruyce whyche he appointed them. In my tyme one kynge at one par­lament tyme to make men the son­ner to embrace Goddes religion, whych he toke in hande to set forth, tokē awaye frome the commones and frome the gentlemen, muche aboue the value of a thowsande [Page] oxen, and .vii. thousande shepe, but I haue not herd muche of it that he gaue at any time vnto the cōmons, to make them embrace theyr newe and trewe religion. All ye that are ryght gentlemen and true gospel­lers, folowe these noble gentlemen, & though ye can not ouertake them, folowe them as nere as ye can and not the gredy gripes, which hauing croked clawes, euer receyue, and neuer gyue any thynge. Almyghtye God gyueth all thynge that all men and al lyuyng creatures in y^e world receyue, and for all that he gyueth: he receyueth nothynge, sauynge a kynde herte and a thankfull. The nobler that any prince is, and the mightier and rycher, the more nere he ought to be a folower of almigh­ty God. Who kepeth open houshold at all tymes, and as well prouideth for flyes, sparowes, pisemiers and yonge rauenes, as he dothe for olde goshaukes, herones, bustardes, swā nes, egles, and great oxen. As I haue set you these .iii. God, nature, & good men, to be folowed and to be your gydes, because I wold ye werfully exercysed, I wyll appoint you [Page 71] whome ye ought to flye and runne away frō, for it belōgeth vnto hym that wyl appoint a diet wel, as dili­gently to tell, what thynges oughte to be auoyded, as what ought to be occupied.Flie the water birdes. Ye muste flye frō al kyndes of waterbyrdes, whych exercise both the water and the lande, that is, from the couetus men, that are both lay men and spiritual men, as they are called, and from all suche, as can not be content wyth one suf­ficient vocacion or office, but wyl haue many, to the hynderaunce of theyr brethren. Also ye muste absteyne from the horse leche, from the Tyk, frō the Sow, and the Molde, & from the Heron. All these are to be eschued aboue all other beastes and byrdes.Auoyde the horse leche. The Horseleche and the Tyk haue mouthes to receiue blood, and they tary stil in one place vntil they be full, but they haue no place to a­uoyde it out agayne, and so kepe it all to themselues. A sow is alwayes amonge the dyrt, and neuer dothe good vntyl she dye. Then her pud­dynges and bagges go abrode, and euery bodye of the house hathe hys parte of her. For as longe as y^e Sow [Page] lyueth, men nether haue mylke of her, nor woll. And for gredines sōe time she eateth and worrieth vp her owne pigges, as some gentlemen haue done, whyche for mony, haue solde their doughters awaye, to pokky olde carles, and theyr sonnes, to yonge euel fauored, meseld, & noughty horyshe and euell manered wen­ches.The mole, The Mole is euer in the earth, and there can he shyfte for hymselfe wel enough, he hath a longe snowt, and eyes to, but can se nothynge at all. There are to many folowers of this mole, which in erthly matters, cā talke meruelus wyttely, but take them ones out of y^e earth, y^t is, out of world & erthly maters, thē are they starke blynde, & can se nothynge at al. But in smellyng profyt & aduauntage, be it neuer so farre of, they are nothing behinde y^e mole,The Heron. w^t his lōge snout. The Heron is euer about the water sydes, & euer fyshyng, & yet is he euer lene, & as sōe doth say, y^e fishe somtyme goeth out, as faste at the one ende as they are taken in at the other. The heron and hys folowers are to be eschued of all ryght gente­lemen, whych as they gredely gette [Page 72] ryches so they vnthryftlye spende them agayne, and yet nether they, nor theirs are the better therby.

Nowe haue I tolde you the tokens of the dropsye, the causes, and inco­modities, & ieopardies of the same, I haue taught you lykewyse a pre­paratiue and a purgation or two, to heale it wythall. I haue also tolde you, a confortatiue, to comforte you, after your purgatiō, and what diet ye shulde kepe, after ye are healed, howe and what maner of exercyse ye shulde occupie, what thynges and whome ye ought to folowe, & whom and what thynges ye ought to flye and eschewe. Yf that ye folowe all thys my hole coūsell, I dout not but ye shall, bothe be delyuered, of thys present dropsye that ye haue nowe, and also as longe as ye lyue, shall neuer fal into it agayne, by the help of almyghty God, who haue you al­wayes in hys kepynge.

THere is yet an other sore disease whych hath reyg­ned longe, and yet reyg­neth amongest dyuerse noble and gentlemen, [Page] whych maye be called in latin, se [...]abies Romana, superstitio, fucata pictas, falsa religio in greke etholochriskia, in English the Romyshe pokkes, false religion papistrie, and vnwrytten worship­pyng of God, fathers fantasies.

The Romyshe pokkes is a disease of the mynde whych maketh a man worship God not accordynge vnto hys wrytten worde but after the tradicion and ordinaunce of the bishop of Rome. This disease in many phī tes, is lyke vnto the frenche pokkes A great outward signe of the french pokkes, is when the nose of a mā is almoste all eaten awaye and the patient sneueleth and speaketh euel fauoredly.Signes of the pokkes. An other is, when as al the chylder that a man getteth, haue the pokkes. But of hyd signes in spiritual diseases, we ought not to speake except they be declared, ether by the patient hymself, or els by other sure tokens whych declare the inwarde syknes. Therfore I wyll not speake of the inwarde signes, excepte they burst out by them selues. But I do se dayly, ii. manyfest tokens of the Romyshe pokkes, in the nobilite of Englande. The fyrst token is, that [Page 73] I se dyuerse gentlemens spirituall noses, so quyte eaten awaye, that they can speake nothynge of God­des worde, and hys wrytten truthe, but sneuel alwayes of wyl werkes, of pylgrimages, of ymages, of pur­gatory, of Messes, and of Diriges, and suche lyke stuffe, and yf any mā offer any other doctrines vnto thē, then these aboue named, because the Romyshe pokkes hath eaten awaye theyr noses and iugement, can smel nothynge at all. I se dyuerse yonge men whyche neuer were in Rome whych are shamefully ouergone in the Romyshe pokkes, whyche dout­les receyued the disease of their fa­thers. They can abyde nothynge, but suche as hathe bene alowed of them of Rome. So that there are bothe olde and yonge gentlemen, that are sycke in the Romyshe pok­kes. As there are other sygnes and tokens of the frenche pokkes then I haue rehersed, so are there other to­kens of the Romyshe pokkes, howe be it the tokens are not alwayes true, but they are cōmonly true.

Some that haue the frēche pokkes, wante all the heere of theyr berdes, [Page] & the heere falleth of some of their heades, ether all or in parte, whych disease is called of some pilorella.

A sygne of the romyshe pox.Whyche thynges are also no small nor vnsure tokens, of the Romyshe pokkes. For there is not one gentle man of the clergie, that hath the Romyshe pokkes, in the hole realme of Englande, that hath his hole heade couered wyth heere, but one patche is bare. For the Romyshe pokkes is so sore in their heades, that it lea­ueth not one heere in their crounes Loke yf ye can se any ryght Roma­nist preest in Englande, that hathe hys hole heade couered and vnpil­led. Yea and y^e sorer that the disease hath taken any man, the lesse heere hath he, and the balder is his crow­ne. Whereby I gather that my lor­des the byshoppes, are sore syck in thys Romyshe pokkes for they are almoste all heerlesse, and balde euen vnto the eares which thinge ye shal not greatly wonder at, after y^e I ha­ue shewed you the begynnynge of thys disease howe it sprange fyrste vp, and how men are infected with it. Let me se yf there be any ryghte shapen papist, of the laye gentlemē, [Page 74] that hath any heere vpō hys beard? Yf there be any, they are but fewe.

They that are sore infected wyth the Romyshe poxe can not abyde the syght of a bearde, and therfore iuge all them that haue beardes, to be heretikes. But seyng that it is my deutie, not onely to heale them that are nowe syck in thys disease, but also to teache other howe to auoyde the sa­me: it is necessary that I tell, howe thys disease fyrst spronge vp & how men are infected and come by it.

The frenche pokkes began thus, as diuerse good authores wryte. Whē as the Frenche men came into Ita­ly, a warfare, and were in Naples, there was there a noble hore, which had thys abominable frenche pox wyth whome, because she was a no­ble hore, many noble men laye with her, and some vnnoble. But as ma­ny as laye wyth her, caught the dis­ease, afterwarde called the frenche pokkes of her, & they infected once, infected other hores, and other he­res, infected many other men of euery sorte, and because it began amongest the Frenchmen, it was called the frenche pokkes. After the same [Page] maner also, spronge vp the Romysh pokkes. There was a certeyne hore in Italy, whych had a perillus dis­ease called false religion, & she was so fyne and fayre speakyng, and so beauteus to loke to, that she called and intised vnto her, all the kinges and nobilite of the earth, and intised them to lye wyth her, and they com­mitted fornicatiō wyth her, of whō they were all infected wyth her dis­ease, and so caught the Romishe pokkes. Some wyl thynke that I geste, and speake but fables, but yf ye wyl reade the .17. of the Apocalips and the preface of saynt Hierom that he wrote before saynt Markes gospel, ye shall fynde that I speake y^e truthe in earnest.Apoca. 17 The wordes of S. Ihon in the Apocalips are these. Come I shall shewe thee the damnacion of the great hore, whych sytteth ouer many waters, with whome haue cō mitted fornicaciō, the kynges of the earth, and they that dwel in y^e earth, haue bene made dronken wyth the wyne of her horedome. And the spi­rite toke me awaye into a wylder­nesse, and I sawe a woman sytting vpon a red beast, ful of names and [Page 75] cursyng, hauyng .vii. heades and .x. hornes, and the woman was gyr­ded round aboute wyth purple and scarlate, & gylded wyth golde & with precius stones, & perles, hauyng in her hande a golden cup, full of the abominacions and vnclēnes of her luste, and in her browe was wryttē a name, a mystery. Babilō the great mother of horedome, and of the ab­hominacions of the earthe.Hierome. Saint Hierom in the preface before saint Markes gospel sayeth these wordes of Babilon. Papias byshop of Hierapolis maketh menciō of this mark, and Peter vnder the name of Babilō, figuratiuely betokeneth Rome, maketh mencion of hym, sayeng: that church greteth you, whyche is in Babilon, whyche is partaker of your election, and my sonne Mar­cus also. Nowe maye ye se that Ro­me, is the hore of Babilō. But howe that Rome, hath inferred all Euro­pa, we maye easely learne of the de­crees and decretalles, and of diuers historiographers, wherin we fynd, that false religion, superstition, and ydolatrie, was founde out by the Romyshe hore, alowed, offered, yea and [Page] thrust into all kyngdomes of Europa, by the same, and so earnestly cō ­maunded to be kept, that they that wolde ether speake agaynst y^e baggage of Rome, or wolde not receyue it, were takē for heretikes, & put to sha­meful & painful deathes. There is sōe [...] amōgest y^t lerned mē, who brought into thys lāde, the Romish pokkes. We reade in olde histories, that the Britānes receyued the true and vnleuened religion in the tyme of kynge Lucius, the kynge of the Britannes, and that it cōtinued vn­defiled, vnto y^t tyme of Gregory the great, who sente into Englande a monkyshe apostle of his, which bro­ught wyth him the Romyshe pox in to thys lāde, that is to wete, crosses, copes, vestments, shauyng of crow­nes, syngyng and rynging. &c. with an infinite sorte of superstitius and abominable ordinaunces, ceremo­nies and learninges of men, where w^t the hole churche of the Britānes at length was infected and poyso­ned, and the liue worde of God cho­ked, or at the leste shamefully myni­shed, and these trifles receyued and occupyed in the stede of it. Other [Page 76] holde that he brought not y^e romishe pox, sayeng, that he brought y^e fayth into Englande. The truth is (which can be easely proued by the churche story of Bedes wrytynge,) that the Brytannes had the fayth many yeares, euen .cccc. yeares and more be­fore that Austen came into Englād, and that the same Austen,Austen. although he brought in the fayth to the Eng­lyshe, yet brought he wyth hym the Romyshe pokkes, whych dyd not only infecte the Englyshe, but also the Brytannes, yf that the Romyshe pox stande in crownes, coules, vest­mentes, crosses, syngyng of latin in the churche, wyth suche other Ro­myshe tryfles and ordinaunces, as it is easye to be proued both by rea­son & by scripture. But who in oure dayes, restored and renewed the Ro­myshe pokkes in Englande, (when as it was almoste taken away, partlye by Luters bokes, and other new wryters, and partly by preachynge, and by the translacion of the newe Testament,Doctor Steuen and the readynge of the same) it is not hard to geue. Doctor Steuen was longe wyth the hore of Babilon, and as it doth appere, laye [Page] with her there, for he doutlesse brought the Romyshe pokkes into Eng­lande agayne, and infected many a christian soule therwyth. The same hath so defended hys lemanis hore­dome here in Englande that all the other Romyshe horemaisters, are nothyng to be compared wyth him. For that intent that ye maye saue your selues from the Romyshe pokkes, I muste shewe you certeine o­ther tokens, where by they that are moste infected with the disease, may be knowen, that ye maye auoyde them. What so euer man ye shall se, wyth a great balde plat in his crowne hauyng womans clothes aboue mans clothes, and a messayer wyth all, take hym for a pokky hore mai­ster of Rome, for the hore of Rome, gyueth suche garmentes, vnto her chiefe pokke louers, and requyreth of them to were suche garmētes as badges and tokens for her sake.

And they to please their lemman, do wear suche womanly apparel, that they maye please her, and continue styl in her loue and fauour, as sardanapalus desyered to please hys lemannes, when as he put on womās clo­thyng, [Page 77] whylse he taryed at home, when all hys counsellers and com­mones were fyghtyng with the enemyes of hys realme. They are also syoke in the Romyshe pokkes verye sore, and it is verye leopardous to eate or drynke wyth them that are not ashamed no more of theyr bare plat that is bared wyth the pokkes, but for theyr lemmannes sake loue it so well, that they blesse it, & crosse it, wyth the paten of the chalyce, as a very holy holy thynge. Yf any mā wolde be free frō the Romyshe pok­kes, let hym nether eate nor drynke wyth these pokky marchauntes, nether suffer to breath vpō hym in theyr confession boothes. They that loue theyr chyldren, let them take hede, that none of these pokky prelates, put any of theyr pokky spattell in to theyr chylders mou­thes, leste they be infected with this perilus & euell fauored disease ther­by. But leste ye shoulde thynke that thys disease is not greatly to be ca­red for, as though it neuer brought death, I wyll proue you that it bryngeth both death and damnacion.Apoca. 18. In the .xviii. of the Apocalips the voyce [Page] whych came from heauen, sayde to them that dwelled in Babilon. Go out of Babylon o my people lefte ye be partakers wyth her of her fautes and leste ye receyue not of her pla­ges.Apoca. 18 Thē they that go not out of Babylon, but continue in Babylon, y^t is in the Romyshe poxe, muste be dā ned wyth the hore of Babylon.

Moreouer the hore and the hore­maysters, muste be ponysshed wyth lyke ponyshement, but the Romyshe pokkye hore muste be damned, therfore all her pokkye louers muste be damned also, I proue the same matter thus. All men that preache doctrines or learnyn­ges whych are the cōmaundemen­tes of men, worship God in vayne. But al Romyshe preachers, preache and teache doctrines and learnyn­ges, whyche are preceptes of men, therfore all Romyshe preachers worship God in vayne.Marke the ar­gumēt. But all they that worship God in vayne shalbe dam­ned, and al Romyshe preachers wor­ship God in vayne, therfore all Ro­myshe preachers shalbe damned.

Yf all Romyshe preachers shalbe dā ned, then shall all they be dampned [Page 78] that beleue Romyshe preachynge, for yf one blynde leade another, as Christe sayeth, they both fal into the dirhe. Then when as all doctrine,Matth. 15. whych is the cōmaundement of mā onely and not of God, and the Ro­myshe pokkes are all one, al that haue the Romishe pokkes, excepte they be healed of them, shalbe damned wyth them, of whome they receiued them. Then when as the Romyshe pokkes, is suche a perillus disease, it is very nedefull, that all they that are sycke in that sycknes, be healed therof. To the healing of y^e Romishe pokkkes, a strayt diet, many purga­cions, and a good confortatiue, af­terwardes are requyred. And suche diet as the bodely phisiciās inioyne to them that are sycke in the french pokkes, must I also inioine vnto al them that are sycke in the Romyshe pokkes. They that cure and heale them that are syck in y^e frenche pok­kes, inioyne theyr patiētes to drinke water, wherin is sodden the pouder of guaiacū or lignum sanctum, and y^t they shall eat only twyse baked bread called bisco and none elles, and of it and of al other meates, but a smale quā ­titie, [Page] that is to wet, but .iii. vnces or iiii. at the moste. Euery fyfte daye or syxte: they muste be purged, and ofte tymes muste they swet, that all the euel humores may go .iiii. way­es out, by the pores, by the founda­ment, by the water vessels, and by the mouthe. Euen suche lyke dyer muste they kepe, that are syck in the Romyshe pokkes, for they haue got­ten it, of spirituall fornication, but fornicacion commeth of to muche drynkynge of wyne, and to muche eatyng of swete meates, & to muche noryshynge of the body, as Terence sayeth, fine cerere & baccho friget Venus, wythout plentye of meat & drynke, the luste of the bodye is colde.Ezech. 16. And Ezechiell reherseth amongest the great and shamefull lechery of So­dom and Gomor plenty of breade. Then whē as the excesse of the hore of Babylons wyne, and the eatyng of the great quantitie of the leuen of the pharises, haue brought these sik folke vnto spirituall horedome, and there of haue gotten the Romyshe pox, when as it that is gotten by to muche, ought to be dryuen away by abstinēce, and by euacuacion or our­settynge [Page 79] of it that is superfluus.

My counsel is thys therfore, that ye whych are syck in thys sycknes, for the space of your lyfe tyme forbeare from the Romyshe wyne and from the leuen of the pharisees,Matth. 16 whyche is counterfet holynes, and from all mens inuencions. Ye shall eate no other bread, but such bisco, or twyse baked breade, as Christ hath blessed, and the apostles haue delyuered vnto you, beware of the swete stollen breade. Wherof y^e scripture maketh mencion. Eate of the breade of lyfe,Ioh. 6. wherof saynt Ihon maketh menci­on in the .vi. chapter. And ye shall drynke no other drinke for your lyf tyme, but the water of lyfe,Ioh. 7. whyche spryngeth of Christes well. Wyth the which water alone, our chief phisician healed an hore of Samaria whych had had six louers,Ioan. 4. one after an other. Because the mater of this disease is very grosse, we muste prepare it wyth bitter herbes as is re­pentaunce, and suche other, as with their heat or bitternes wil cut them in sonder, and wyl make them redy to go forth, wyth the purgations.

Drynke of thys drynke euery daye, [Page] two great draughtes, and one vpon the nyght, and reade the compositiō of your preparatiue euery day ones at the leste, that when as it is once dronken vp, ye maye make it freshe agayne: your preparatiue, shall you make thus. Take a gallon of y^e wa­ter of repentaunce, and sethe in it al these herbes folowynge.

Psal. 118. Erraui sicut ouis quaeperijt. Peccaui­mus cum patribus nostris, iniquitatem fecimus. Pro. 14. Est via quae videtur hommi recta, nouissima autem eius ducunt ad interitum. Esa. 53. Math. 15. Nos omnes quasi ones erraui mus, quis (que) viam suam sectatus. Frustra me colunt docetes doctrinas & praecepta hominum. Deute. 12. Non facietis singuli quod si­bi rectum videtur, sed quod praecipio ti­bi, hoc tantū facito nec addas quie (quam) nec minuas. 1. Ioh. 1. Si quis venit ad vos, & hanc doctrinam non attulerit ne recipiatis illū in domum, ne (que) dixeritis illi aue, qui dix­erit illi aue, cōmunicat eius operibus malis. Iniquitatem meam ego agnosco, & peccatum meum, Psal. 60. contra me, est semper. Auerte faciem tuam a peccatis meis, & omnes iniquitates meas dele. Cor mun­dum crea in me Deus, & spiritum rectū innoua in visceribus meis.

The Englyshe of your preparatiue.

I haue erred as a shepe that pe­rysheth. We haue synned wyth our fathers, and we haue done wyc­kedly. There is a waye the whych semeth ryght vnto a man but the end of it, leadeth to destruccion. We ha­ue all erred as shepe, euery one fo­lowyng hys owne waye. They worship me in vayne, teachyng doctri­nes that are the preceptes of men. Ye shall not do euery one of you y^t se­meth ryght in your owne eyes, but that that I byd you, that onely do, nor thou shalt not adde any thynge therto, nor mynishe any thynge. Yf any man come vnto you and bryn­geth not thys doctrine wyth hym, se that ye receyue hym not into youre house, nor ye shal not say vnto him, god spede, for he y^t so sayth vnto him God spede, is ꝑtaker w^t him of his e­uel dedes. I do acknowlege myn in iquite & my sinne is alwaies agaīst me. Turne away thi face frō my sinnes & put away al my iniquites. O god creat in me a new hart, & make now win me a right spirit. Whē as ye haue drōkē out this drinke ones or twyse y^e [...]euel humores ar prepared, thē take this purgaciō folowīg.

Recipe hierae magorum conuersorū 3. vi. aquae vitae praedictae. 3. iiij. cale fa­cito super carbones decretorum, decreta­lium clementinarum extrauagantium, librorum sententiarum & omnium libro­rum papisticorum bene vstorum, & tūc totum ebibe.

That is to saye, take .vi. drames of the bytter medicines of y^t turned sorserers, and .iiii. vnces of the abo­ue named water of lyfe, mingel thē together and warme them vpō the coles of the decrees the decretalles, Clementines, extrauagantes, of the maister of the sentences, and of all other suche popyshe bookes, well burnt into coles, and thē when the drynke is warme, drynke it hole out Yf that thys hiera be not made al redye let your apoticaries read the .xix chapter of the seconde booke of the christian phisician Lucas Anthiochenus,Act. 19. and there they maye fynde the discripcion of thys hiera. The noble phisician Lucas, telleth howe that there were a certaine nomber of sorserers, which had gottē by readyng of the bokes of Egypt the pokkes of Egypte, the same sorcerers when as [Page 81] they had herde the preachynge of Goddes worde, fel quyte awaye frō that horedome, and leste they shulde be brought vnto witchcraft againe, they burnt vp al theyr bokes, which were iudged to be worth at the leste a thousande pounde. After that ye haue dronken thys purgation, then shal ye take an other, muche lyke vnto the former, and the purgation maye be called in latin, Confectio Mosi and in Englyshe the confection of Moses, wherof .vi. dayes after the other purgatiō ye shal take an vnce, wyth .iii. vnces of aqua vitae aboue named, and drynke al vp. Yf that thys drynke be not founde made redy in your poticaries shoppes, your poti­caries may learne to make it, by the seconde boke of Moses. When as the chyldren of Israel,Exo. [...] had fallen into the hethnyshe pokkes, and had cō mytted spirituall fornicacion wyth the golden calfe, he burnt the calfe into pouder, and to heale them that were hurte wyth the calfe he gaue them the pouder of the very same to drynke wyth water. After the same maner shal ye make your purgatiō. Suche thynges as ye haue cōmitted [Page] fornicacion wyth, muste ye burne, and drynke y^e pouder of them wyth water. But ye haue cōmytted spiri­tuall fornicaciō wyth crosses, pixes, syngynge bredes, copes, vestments, ymages, alters, roodloftes, paxes, mesbokes,Instru­mentes of spiri­tual for­nicatiō. grayles, antiphoners, processionalles, corpresses, chalices, patentes, bedes, banners, holy wa­ter stokes, super altares, & suche lyke Therfore ye muste burne al these, and caste the ashes of them into the water, and drynke as muche of thē, as cōmeth vnto your parte, that is aboute the quantite, that I haue pre­scribed afore. Thys call I the confeccion of Moses, because he begā first to heale men after thys fashion.

How be it lest any scripturescorner, which can abyde nothing but mans learnyng shulde dispise thys maner of healyng of sik folkes, wyth y^e ea­tyng of suche thynges destroyed as haue hurte them before: ye shall knowe that the moste excellent phi­siciās, haue made a very souerayne medicine against all venum & poy­son, euen of the moste poysoned beastes that is, euen a Veper. For the venemus Veper wyth other certain [Page 82] medicines the head and taile cut of, eaten, & receyued both healeth them that are bitten of y^e Veper & of other venemus beastes,The vy­pers of Englād wold be thus serued. & preserueth men frō poysons that shalbe taken after­warde. The Scorpion also, a death­bryngyng beste, kylled, brused, and layde to, healeth his owne poysoned byttyng. When he is rosted and ea­ten & taken into the poysoned mans bodye, he is a good remedye for the same poyson. Diascorides, and Galenus wytnes thys to be true that I haue tolde you. Therfore dispyse not your medicin, because it is both agreyng vnto the scripture, and philosophye. After that ye haue dronk vp this for sayd purgation, the next daye after take as muche as ye cā, of the noble sirup, Letificantis Christi, vse that euery day ones or twyse, vntyl ye be ꝑfyt­ly hole. The medicine called Letificās Christi, is thys. The sonne of man is comed to saue it that is loste. It is a true sayeng and worthy by all mea­nes to be receyued,Luce. 19. 1. timo. 1. Iesus Christe came into thys worlde to saue syn­ners.Mathe. 11. Come vnto me all ye that la­bour and are laden, and I shall re­freshe you. So hath God loued the [Page] worlde, y^t he hath gyuē his onely begottē sonne, that al y^t beleue in him shulde not peryshe,Ioh. 3. but haue lyfe e­uerlasting. When ye are healed perfytly of thys disease, leste ye catche it agayne, as a thousande in Englāde dyd of late, whych appeared vnto al mē, to be fre frō thys disease, for the space of many yeares ye muste a­uoyde the company of all suche, as are sik in that disease, (for it is an infectiue disease) and frō the Romyshe wyne,Math. 16. and from the leuē of the pha­risees from Messes, Diriges, Leta­nies, Legendes, and all other sacrifices and seruices deuised by the hore of Rome. From the whyche excepte ye absent your selues, ye cā not chu­se but be infected agayne wyth the Romyshe pokkes, whych wyl bryng you from Christe, to euerlastynge death at lengthe. Exercise your sel­ues in readyng of scripture, and in hearyng of good sermons, and by the grace of God ye shal be delyue­red from thys foule death bringyng disease, and ye shall neuer fall into it agayne.

AFter that I haue tolde remedies for the inwarde diseases of the nobilitie & gentlemē of thys realme, I intende to shewe my counsel to them that haue outward diseases, that they maye be healed also. Amonge all outward diseases that I do perceyue the nobilite to be vexed wythal there is none fouller, then the lepre, or leprosye as some men call it. I perceyue by many to­kens, that very many are sik in this disease. The bodely lepre is taken diuers wayes, ether by euel diet, or by eatyng or drynkyng, or kepyng cō ­pany wyth them, that haue the bodelye lepre. But the spirituall lepre wherin our gentlemen are sik, is taken by accompaniyng wyth them that haue the spiritual lepre. The signes of y^e bodely lepre, are taught in the scripture at lengthe. Leui. 13. and also of dyuers noble phisicians.Leui. 13. But at thys tyme I shal not nede to wryte, any of the tokēs of the lepre, that I intende to heale, for it is wel ynough knowen already. The lepre that vexeth you of y^e nobilite, is, the defamation and shame that cōmeth vn­to [Page] you by the receyuyng into youre order, felowship, apparell & leuerye, suche persones as shame you, & your hole order, and make you loke as e­uel fauored in the syghte of all wyse men, as a bodelye lepre defaceth and maketh euel fauored the conte­naunce of hym that hath that foule disease. There are two sortes of mē, whych brynge thys lepre vnto you, proud stertvppes, or selfe made gēt­lemen,ii. kyn­des of stertup­pes. and lordely byshoppes. Ther are two kynde of stertuppes, or selfe made gentlemen, nether promoted by God, nor the kynge, to the digni­te that they take vpō them. The for­mer sort are crafty witted felowes, whych haue gotten vnder theyr masters muche golde and syluer, wherwyth they haue purchased muche good lande, and haue spoyled many a good personage and vicarage.

These although they haue commed to theyr ryches by deceiuing of their maisters, and by bribeyng and poullyng of theyr poore brethren vnmercyfully, yet forgetting that they cam late from the doughyl, wyl be taken for gentlemen, and wyl weare gentlemens apparell, and suche do ye a­lowe [Page 84] and admyte into your compa­nye and felowship as gentlemen, when as they are the pestilent pla­ges of the cōmon wealth, and the defacers and shamers of al true nobi­lite. The other sorte of stertuppes, whyche are ydle belly bestes, come from the donghyll as well as the o­ther, but whē as they can not other­wyse come to theyr desyred purpose, which is to be gentlemen, that is to go gayly, to do nothynge, and to be had in regarde, they steale & robbe, dice and carde, dance and syng, and flater ryght gentlemen, and turne them selues into all fashions, to get wherwith, that they maintayne the opinion of nobilite, whych they ha­ue taken vpon them. These two kindes wyth the bastardes that are ne­ther borne to a fote of lande, nether haue any science nor honest occupa­cions to get theyr liuinges wyth al, enter into the name felowship, com­pany, and clothyng of gentlemen, & because the fyrste kynde, that is the ryche stertvppes stealeth craftelye, and the other two beggerly sortes, rob openly, and are ofte tymes takē wyth roberies and are hanged, they [Page] shame and dishonour the hole nobi­litie, and make men thynke that all gentlemen are nought, because ther are so many that are called, and gy­ue them selues for gentlemen, and are taken for gentlemen, that are theues robbers and ruffianes, and very pestelēces of the cōmon welth. For the helpynge of thys lepry that ye haue taken by suche: thys is my counsell, that ye that are ryght get­lemen in dede, yf there be any poore bastardes, of your kin, or name, yf they be yonge, put them to the scole. and holde them at it vntyll they be ether preachers, lawyers, or phisici­ans, or yf they be not fyt for lear­nyng, then put them to occupaciōs, to be marchant men, or of suche like calling. Yf y^e beggerly stertvppes cōe to any place where as ye haue any autorite to examē thē, inquyre howe they get theyr lyuynges & yf they cā not shew how they come by their ly lyuinges, thē appoint thē to labour, but yf they wyll not labour, then set these wyth the olde ydle bastardes, that lyue, vpon spoylyng and rob­byng, dycyng and cardyng, in ship­pes to the grene lande, or to other landes, not as yet well knowen. Yf [Page 85] they can win any thynge there, let them ether tarye there, or els come hime agayne wyth suche ryches as they haue wonne, that they may ly­ue theron lyke honeste men. Yf they be drowned in the waye, or be kyl­led in the onsettynge of any lande, they shall nether shame you, nor cū ­bre the common wealth any more. As for the rauenous ryche stertup­pes, me thynke it were best that ye folowed the byrdes, whyche when they sawe the vayne glorious crow as Esop telleth, braggyng her selfe of her false nobilite,Esops Crowe. toke eche one theyr owne fethers from her, and sent her to the donghyll agayne, frō whence she came. When as Salo­mon byddeth men folowe the Pise­mire, and men oughte therfore not to be ashamed to learne of the Pis­mire,Prouer. 6 so ought ye not to be ashamed to folowe the byrdes. Naye yf ye fo­lowe not the byrdes in some poin­tes, the byrdes shalbe wytnesses a­gaynst you in tyme to come. To ap­plye this fable to the truthe, ye shuld do well in my iudgement, yf ye ob­teyned a commission of the hyghe magistrates & went to euery place [Page] of Englande, where as any stert [...]ppes and there shulde make a procla­cion,A proclamacion that yf syr Mathew mukforke, had taken any landes or goodes a­waye from any poore man, or from any cōmunaltie, ether by subteltye, threatenyng or maistership, and of they coulde proue the same, that he shulde be restored vnto hys landes and goodes againe. Thys done, that is conteyned in thys proclamacion, we shulde se a great sorte of brag­gers, brought to shame, and confu­sion, and so shulde ye not be blamed, for the rauenous robrye of suche co­uetous kites as wyl neuer be fylled Or yf thys waye seme to longe, it were mete that ye obteyned thys ly­cence of the parlamēt, that al dukes, erles, lordes, barons, knyghtes, and theyr ryght begottē sonnes, myght haue autorite, whē so euer they saw any stertup, whych coulde not spend cc. [...]luck [...] crowe poūdes in the yeare, of hys owne truely gotten landes, wearyng silk veluet or any golden cheyne, to cary the crow to the next market towne, and there to plucke the crow, that is to cut his clothes al in peces, and to take hys cheyne from hym, wherof [Page 86] the ryght gentleman shoulde haue the one halfe, and the pouerty of the towne the other. Elizabeth the countesse of cast Freseland when she had learned surelye, that a certaine yo­mannes wyfe had garded her gow­ne wyth a brode garde of veluet, she sent her officers vnto the crow, and cut al her gardes in peces, and con­demned her in a great sūme of mo­nye, for her pryde. Me thynke ye do very euell, to suffer euery man that lyst to come into your lyuery, apparel, felowship and order, and refuse no man what so euer he be. Ster­lyng rookes, thoughes, and doues, wyth many other kyndes of byrdes flye eche kynde together, and eat to­gether, and can not well suffer that byrdes of other kyndes, shulde be in theyr company, and ether dryue thē away, or els flye from them. Shepe go together, swyne go together, and gottes go together, heringes swime together, haddokes swime together, and mindes swime together, and so for the moste parte: al fyshes byrdes and beastes, kepe onely company together wyth them of theyr owne kynde, & as muche as lyeth in them, [Page] ether dryue awaye, or flye the com­pany of other kyndes. Onely the nobilite of Englande suffer al kyndes of men to come into their order, and lyuery, to theyr great shame, & som­tyme to the losse bothe of theyr esti­macion, and also of theyr lyues and goodes. The salters wyll receyue none into theyr lyuery and cōpany but salters, the grossers, the haber­dasshers, the mercers, and all other company do the lyke. In the Vni­uersities masters of arte, and bachelers of arte, wyl suffer none to wear the apparel belongyng vnto them, sauynge onely suche as are alowed, and admitted, vnto those degrees & ordinaunces. Yf a man put a pre­stes cap vpon a sowes hed, and a tip­pet about her necke, and set her vp agaynst a stall in chep syde, and set many round shyues of rapes before her, that she myght eate them, wold not all the hole order of sacrificers be angry wyth hym that clothed the sowe so? Yf that a man shulde shaue an Ape in the crowne, and set a my­tre vpon hys hed, and put a rached vpon hym, wolde not the byshoppes be miscontent wyth hym that dyd [Page 87] so? And yet ye the noble men of En­glande, nothyng regardyng in this behalfe, the honestye and honor of your order, suffer hogges and dog­ges, crowes, and kites, and al other kyndes of wylde beastes (as tou­chynge theyr condicions) to go in your apparel, and to be also continually in company wyth you. Do ye not suffer dycers and carders, and al kyndes of vnthryftes, not onely to go in gentlemens apparel, but also receyue them into your houses, and there to dyce and carde, and to exer­cyse suche lyke pastymes wyth you? And hathe not many a well borne gentleman, ben brought both to shame, and to losse of hys goodes, and sometymes to a shamefull end, by y^e meanes of suche company? Ye suffer not onely suche vile beastes to sha­me your order, wyth theyr euel ma­ners and noughtye condicions and to infecte you wyth theyr lepre: but ye suffer a sorte of false Apostles, to take youre honor from you, and to be your lordes, and maisters, and to occupye your offices, whych shuld belonge onely vnto your order and dignite. Is not this as it were a certein [Page] kynde of lepre in your faces, to be thus defaced and shamed by these crafty foxes? There are two kyndes of gouernores or rulers in the com­mon wealth, or in y^e churche of God, for in the cōmon wealth of christia­nes,ii. kyn­des of ruelers is the cōmon & outwarde chur­che. The one kynde of gouernores is apointed of almyghty God, to de­fende mannes soule, from the assaultes of the world of the fleshe and the deuel, wyth the preachyng of God­des worde, to receyue into y^e church by baptyme, and to dryue forth of y^e churche by excōmunicacion, to ministre the sacramentes accordyng vn­to the ordinaunce of Christe, and to admyt ministres and shepherdes to theyr offices. These haue theyr com­mission cōmitted vnto them in these wordes. Euntes docete omnes gentes, bapti­zantes eos in nomine Patris & Filij & spiritui Sancti. Go and teache al nations and baptise them in the name of the Fa­ther, and of the Sonne, and of the holy Ghoste,Math. 28. other commission ha­ue they none sauynge to excommu­nicate, to praye, & admit ministers to theyr offices wherof is mencion made in dyuers places in the newe [Page 88] testamēt. Because euen in Christes tyme ambition and desyre of superioritie, had crepte into y^e very hartes of hys apostles: and he knewe that after hys tyme, that the successores of hys apostles, shulde also be earnest­ly pricked of the deuell therto: he ga­ue an expressed cōmaundemēt, that hys apostles shuld nether be lordes nor shulde leaue the ploughe & loke bakwarde, to the worlde, & to worldly besynes, in these wordes. Vos scitis quod principes gentium dominentur eis, Luce. 22. vos autem non sic, ye knowe the princes of the heathen people be lordes ouer them, and they that are great, ex­ercyse power ouer them but ye shal not be so. And Peter to put hys maysters cōmaundemēt in mynde,1. Pet. 5. sayeth vnto the Apostles and prea­chers thus. Ye shall not exercyse lordshippe ouer the parysshes, or as some textes haue, agaynst the paryshes. Now these falslye named Bysshoppes (for so do I call them because they loke not vnto theyr flockes, leaue theyr owne office of preachynge and ministryng of the sacramentes, and of sitting in iuge­ment [Page] to se them excommunicate, that are open trespassers vndone,) become embassadoures (for where is there any embassache, but a Bys­shop muste be one therof most com­monlye) president of Wales, and of Yorke, Iustices of peace, and some full lordly, syt at Sices and cessions amonge temporall iuges, leauyng their owne courtes, to some syngle syr Iohn, or to some blynde bryber. Other are commed as I heare saye nowe, to be counsellers, euen in temporall maters, in great nōbre, and one is nowe clom vp so hyghe, that besyde that he is a knyght of the garter, and a great lorde, is also the hyghe chancelor of Englande, and president of the counsel, and is aboue all the lordes, both temporal and spirituall, of the hole counsell, and so lordlye behaueth hym selfe, that wythout the knowlege of the reste of the counsell he sendeth forth commissiones (as he dyd of late to Welles by doctor edgeworthe) and offereth pardon alone,Edge­worth. latimer as he dyd to maister Latimer, as thoughe he were ether kynge of Englande, or elles had the quene and al the coun­sels [Page 89] hedes vnder his gyrdle. Ether there are gentlemen in Englande enowe to be embassadores, presy­dentes of Wales and Yorke, Iusti­ces of peace, Counsellers, Chauncellers of Englande, and Presidentes of the hole Counsell, or there are not. Yf there be not enow, it is exce­dynge shame for you, and for youre hole order, that amonge so many as ye be, haue not a fewe learned and wyse men amongest you, whyche are able to do youre dueties belon­gynge vnto youre dignitie, but ye muste, contrary to the wyll of God, and to the shame of the hole lande, desyre byshoppes to do your duties, and offices, to serue in temporall maters for you. Yf ye haue enowe wyse and learned gentlemen, to do and execute all these aboue named offices, then is it shame for you to be so lither, as when ye are able to do your offices your owne selues, ether desyre or suffer the byshoppes and clergye, to do your offices for you, whereby they take vnto them sel­ues, the honour and dignitie dewe vnto the nobilite & spoyle you vtter­lye of youre name, same, and re­nowne, [Page] whyche your fathers in ty­mes past, haue wyth great labour, ieopardye, yea sometyme wyth the losse of theyr lyues, won for you. I Beware that ye spin not at home, whylse other go a warfare abrode, lest that chaūce vnto you, that chaū ced vnto Sardanapalus. We red both in Iosephus de bello Iudaico and also in aegisippo, that the gentlemen of the Iewes, were so lither and vnlustye to do theyr offices belongyng vnto them, that the hyghe prestes toke theyr offices in hande, and at laste became bothe prestes and kyn­ges, and had al the noiblitie vnder theyr girdelles, as these hyghe pre­stes of your tyme wyll handell you, yf ye pluk them not bak betyme.

The byshop of Rome after the com­ming of Christ, by to much sufferīg of the nobilite at the begīning, hath so lyke an iuy, nay rather lyke a cā ­ker, crept vpon the nobilite, that he hath clom ouer al knightes, lordes, erles, dukes, kynges, & emperores, and hath brought them in such sub­ieccion and slauery, that he maketh the beste of them al kysse hys fete.

The byshoppes that ye haue in En­glande [Page 90] nowe, are not onely of the same false opiniōs in religion, that the Pope is and was of, but of the same false, proud, lordly and ambi­tius order that the pope is of & eiusde Coruipulli, and burdes of the same ra­uen. For as the Pope contrary vn­to the ordinaunce of Christe, whiche was,Luce. 22. 1. Pet. 5. that no one apostle shulde be hed of the reste of hys felowes, hath inhaunsed and set hym selfe aboue al other elders and byshoppes. Euē so haue the byshoppes of Englande after y^e same maner, lyfted vp them selues aboue al the elders of thys realme, whyche by the worde of God haue as muche authorite, as they haue or ought to haue. For the worde of God in the newe testamēt nether sheweth nor maketh any difference, betwene an elder whych is in latin, presbyter, and a byshop, whyche is cal­led in latin episcopos. But your bishoppes, wyll haue none to be called epis­copos, but them selues, and other mē wyll they haue onely to be called presbyteros. Yf ye sawe them nowe howe slauely and bondly they handle the reste of the clergye in theyr conuocacion house, ye wolde saye that they [Page] were the Popes ryghte shapen son­nes. For where as there sytteth but seuen or eyght lyn in wering byshoppes, at the table in the conuocacion house, yf there be .lx. pastores and elders that are wolwerers, as longe as they shall tarye in the byshoppes conuocacion house, so longe muste they stāde there before their lordes, thoughe it be .ii. or .iii. houres, yea & that be the wether neuer so colde, or the men neuer so olde or sikely, bare heded. Is thys pryde to be suffered? Nowe maye you se howe they wold handel you, yf they coulde get the hygher hande ouer you, whyche sure­lye is lyke to come to passe, yf you loke not to your selues betyme.

Thys is tryed to be true in all ages, that where so euer the ydle order of the vnpreachyng prelates, cā get power to theyr desyre, they cast vnder them, and brynge vnder theyr sub­iection all the nobles and al the hole layte. Besyde the Pope the father of thys proude order, other ha­ue subdued the layte and broughte them into shameful subiection. The sacrificyng prestes, of the cathedrall church of Mense in Germany, wan [Page 91] the citie from the seculare magistrates, and brought all the hole cytie in to theyr subieccion, as it dureth yet styll vnto thys daye. The byshop of Mense, the byshop of Wormes, and the byshop of Colen, came boldly vnto Henryche the .iiii. Emperor of that name, and toke hys crowne of hys heade in a castell a lytle frome Mense, and clerely deposed hym, be­cause as the byshoppes sayd, he had made Abbattes and Byshoppes by simony, but the story telleth y^t thys was the cause. He wolde not alowe the Popes doyng, and therfore was thryse acursed of the Pope, and therfore the chylder, coulde not suffer hym to reygne whome theyr father hated. The byshop canones and pre­bendaries of Colon, vpon a tyme assayed to brynge all the hole cytie in to theyr bondage. For in the yeare of our Lorde .1074. as the hystorye sayeth. Episcopus aliquod sibi vsurpauit, in vrbe dominum, ciuium abutens officio. The byshop toke vnto hym vnlawfullye certayne gouerment or lordshippe in the cytie and wrōgfully occupied the office of the cytizenes, at whyche tyme it chaunced that a certayne cy­tizen [Page] had a ship, whyche the byshop wolde haue taken awaye by force, but he wythstode the byshop and gathered the cytie on hys syde. The bisshop perceyuyng that the citizenes wolde ryse agaynst hym, made a longe sermone vnto the citizens, wherein he threatned goddes curse, vnto all those that toke parte wyth the forsayd cytizen. The citizens be­yng sore greued wyth hys vndiscre [...] sermone, at nyght after folowynge altogether rose vp against the bys­shop, and burst into the bisshoppes pallace, & slue diuers there, but the bishop fled to Nuice, wher as he gathered a great hood, and set sodenly vpon the cytie, and suffered his sou­diers to spoile the cytie, and as ma­ny as they coulde get, they ether cut of theyr heades or put out theyr ey­es, and so he brought the cytie into hys bondage. But afterward the Coleners delyuered them selues from that bōdage. And in the yeare of our Lorde .1260. the byshop went about ones agayne to bryng the cytie into bōdage but the cytizes marked him wel, and disapointed hym. At leng­th for all that two canones had the [Page 92] borow maister to dyner, and when he came, the canones bad hym go into a fayre chamber,Merke the canones of Colones banket. wherin was a hongrye Lyon, and as sone as he was in, they clapte to the dore, and let the lyon do wyth the borow maister what he coulde. But the borow maister, put hys left hande into the lyons throte, and wyth the other hande, toke out hys dagger, and killed the lyon, and wythin few dayes after he hanged, harde by the cathe­dral churche, the two canones. But after that rose suche stryfe amonge them, and the byshop, that it coulde not be ended, vntyll y^e cytezens wan theyr lyberte wyth the swerde. The byshop of Luke in the yeare of oure Lorde .1460. was so desyrus of lord­ship ouer the cytie, y^t when he coulde not win the cytie hym selfe, he pro­cured Charles duke of Burgondye to besege the cytie, and when the cy­tezens sawe, that they were not able to make theyr partye good, they fell to intreat for peace, but the byshop wolde not hear them, & therfore suf­fered hys cosin Charles to kyll .xl. thousande men, and to drowne .xii. thousande women, in the floud Mo­sa [Page] called the Mase. Thys practise hath bene so common amonge the vnpreaching prelates of Germany, that the Germaynes made thys ry­me of theyr ambition and cruelnes.The ry­me of y^e germa­nes a­gainst y^e ambitiō of y^e clergie. Monike nunnē vnd papen. Segen rotten vnd apen. Vliegē rupen vnd muse, horen keuer vnd luse. Dardi crygen di ouerhandt, vorderuen­se stede vnd landt. That is, Mōkes, nonnes and papes, gotes rattes & apes, flies, caterpillers, and myse, hores weueles and lyse, where they get the ouerhand, they destroy both cytie and lande. But what nede I ferche exāples farre of out of strāge cuntres, when as we haue so many at home: reade the practise of prela­tes, and there shal ye fynd, what ambitius myndes they beare, and how gladly they wold raygne ouer you. Call to your remembraunce Tho­mas Wolsey the Cardinall and bys­shop of York, and hys handelyng of the nobilite in hys tyme. Loke nowe vpon youre lorde of Winchester, your lorde Chaunceler, youre lorde President of the counsel, is not he a chykkē of the same cok? Let al noble me take hede of this lordly pape be­tyme, [Page 93] leste some of them whych can not abyde his vnbearable pryde, haue suche a rewarde at hys handes as the duke of bockinggam had, at hys father wolfes Wolsei hys hāde. The remedy against these lepres bi­les, scabbes, scalles, lumpes, pokkes and cancres, whych disbeuty & dys­grace the face of the hole nobilite at thys tyme, is to dryue these ydle am­bitius byshoppes home to theyr bysshoprykes, & to cause them to preach Goddes worde there truely, and to studye your owne selues nyght and daye to get learnyng, and vntyl you may be lerned your selues, to make good and honest ciuilianes and scripture learned cōmon lawyers, and other learned me and no prestes in the meane tyme to be knyghtes and lordes, coūsellers, Iustices of peace, chauncelers, and presidentes of the marches, and to take your owne of fices vpō you, and do them, your selues. And after that ye be learned your selues, ye maye, not wythstandynge take as many as ye shal nede vnto you, of these forsayd lawyers, and learned men. But holde in no wyse the bysshoppes from theyr pulpittes, [Page] leste the vengeaunce of God fall both vpon you and them, Vpon you, for holdyng of them from do­yng of theyr dutye, vppon them, for not doyng of theyr dutie. Yf ye dry­ue these forsayd falsly named lordes and gentlemen out of your order & company, and wyll do your offices and duties in your owne persones, as almyghtye God wolde haue you to do, then shall ye haue iuste honour in thys worlde, and in the worlde to come lyfe euerla­styng.