YOur letters wryt­ten the fyrst day of Septembre / we haue recey­ued the .xx. day of Mar­che: In whiche ye write your selfe / to be sorie and ashamed / that ye folyly & hastely / nat of your owne mynde: but by the instyga­tion of other / suche as lytell fauou­red me / dyd put out your boke agaīst me / with whiche ye knowe your selfe that ye haue sore offended me / And therfore haue cause to be ī drede and [Page] shame to write vnto me. Nat with­standyng / ye saye that ye be the more bolde nowe to write vnto me / nat on­ly bycause ye parceyue my benignite suche / that cōsydring my selfe a man mortall / I wyll nat beare immortall enmyte: but also for as moche / as ye by credible enformation / vnderstāde that the boke put forthe in my name / for the assertyon of the Sacramētes was nat myn own / but fraudulently deuised by false Sophisters / to myn ignominy and rebuke / and specially by the Cardynall of yorke / whom ye call a monster / odious to god & man / and the pestylēce of my realme: And therfore ye say / that ye be nowe asha­med to lyfte vp your eyen to me / that haue of lightnes so suffred your self to be moued agaynst suche a kynge / whiche natwithstādynge / ye write y^t ye be forced and compelled ernestly [Page] to write vnto me / bycause y^t I haue nowe begon to beare fauoure to the gospell / whiche is (as ye saye) ioy­full tidynges to your herte / wherin ye beseche god to encrese me / that I may with hole hert obey and fauour the gospell: And y^t he suffre nat myn eares to be occupyed with the pesty­lent voyces of those Serenis / which can nothyng els do / but crye out that Luther is an heretyke.

¶ ye write also / y^t ye wolde I shulde consyder / that there can be no harme in your doctryne / syth ye teche (as ye say) nothing els / but onely that man must nedes be saued / in the faythe of Iesu Christ: And y^t vpon this foūdation / ye bylde charite to your neygh­bours and obeydience to your gouernours / with the crucifyeng of y^e body of synne: And in these ye desyre to be [Page] herde / moche marueyling that ye be condempned vnherde and vncōuyct: Than after your accustomed maner / ye rayle vpon the churche of Rome: bostyng y^t many princes of Almayne take your parte / & that it is no mar­ueyle / though the Emperour & some other prīces and people pursue you / but rather were it wondre that any wolde holde with you / for asmoch as alwaye princes and people be (as ye say) enemyes to Christ: wysshinge / that ye myght ones se that myracle / that by god workīg with your good wordes / I might be fully tourned to be one of those that might fauour the gospell / and be a fauourer of yours: Requyring and besechyng me in dy­uers partes of your letter to pardon you / that ye haue offēded me by your boke / and offrynge your selfe / if it so stāde with my pleasure / that ye wyll [Page] write & put out another booke to my prayse / recantyng and reuokyng all suche wordes / as ye haue in your o­ther boke written to the contrary / af­fyrming also / that no litell frute were lyke to growe therof / if ye might ha­ue leaue / at liberte to write to y^e king of Englande / cōcernyng the gospell of god. ¶ These be Luther all thyn­ges / whiche were in your letter con­tayned: In whiche / as we right well ꝑceyue your couert fraudulent pur­pose / so shall we on the othersyde / af­ter our accustomed playnnesse (leste your crafty wayes might abuse gode symple folke) to euery poynt gyue you trewe and open answere.

¶ where ye write / ye be ashamed of your boke written agaynst me / I am nat very sure / whyder ye saye trewe therin: but of one thynge I am very [Page] sure / that ye haue good cause to be a­shamed / nat onely of that booke / but also of a great meyny mo than that / they beyng suche as they be: nothyng els cōtayning / but errours and here­syes / neyther by reason nor lernynge proued / but onely by shamelesse boldnesse affyrmed: Alowyng your selfe / to be as good or better authour / than any afore your tyme hath ben / or be nowe. And as touchyng your boke written agaynst me / who so solycited or prouoked you to put that forth / ra­ther semed to haue bē your yuell wyller / than myne / your boke being such as the maker coude therof haue but rebuke / and myn therby be moche honoured: Against which boke of myn your boke declared / y^t ye coude fynde no wyse worde to write / nor alledge authour of substaūce agaynst it / whiche thynge is ynough (as I thynke) [Page] for the reders or hearers / to dyscusse / whiche of vs is in the righter faithe: And although ye fayne your selfe to thynke my boke nat myne owne / but to my rebuke (as it lyketh you to af­fyrme) put out by subtell sophisters: yet it is well knowen for myn / and I for myne auowe it: and as for the re­buke / though ye dissimule it / yet may all the worlde well ꝑceyue / how mo­che it fretteth your stomake: that nat onely my worke / hathe so highly to myne honour ben approued of many wyse and good men / but specially of that holy see Apostolyke also / of whō saynt Hierome rekened it suffycient / that his faith were approued / in whiche neuerthelesse / if any good thyng be / I do ascrybe it to hym / of whom all goodnesse cometh / and nat to me: Howe beit / this delyteth me nat a ly­tell / that as symple as my boke was [Page] (for I knowe well inough myn own imbecillyte) yet somoche more feble was your cause / that my boke for so farre as it touched (that is to wytte / the Sacramentes of Christes chur­che) nat onely clene wyped away / all that euer ye had blasphemusly writ­ten agaynst them before: but also / all that euer sythens ye ꝑniciously haue written agaynst thē / and droue you to the writyng of that furious boke / by whiche all the worlde well ꝑcey­ued / that ye were for angre fallen (as who sayth) in a very fransy: In whi­che boke / all wytte / lernyng / and ho­nesty forgotten: ye nothynge alledge but mere scurrilyte / furious babling braulyng / and conuytious raylyng: where as I refelled your erronyous opinyons (nat without charyte and labour of your amēdement) by effe­ctuall reason and euydent scrypture: [Page] nat interpreted after myne owne fantasye (as ye do by yours) but by the olde holy fathers of Christꝭ churche / nat medlīg therin / with any of those whom ye call Sophysters / which be men in dede / good / vertuous / & con­nyng: Whom ye therfore call Sophisters / bycause that euery substātyall reason / by which they confoūde your foly / ye wolde were enfamed / vnder the name of Sophistry.

¶ And where as your pestilent tong is so leude / to rayle vpon the most re­uerende father in god / the lorde Le­gate / Cardynall of yorke / oure chefe counsailour & Chaūceller / it greueth hym lytell (I wot well) to be rayled vpon / with y^t blasphemous tōg / that rayleth and rageth against Christes hole churche / his saintꝭ / his apostles / his holy mother / and hym selfe / as it [Page] euidently (as well by many partes of your pestylent bokes / as by the fu­rious actꝭ of your faction) appereth: And his fatherhode nowe is & shalbe so moche in more cordyall fauoure with me / In how moche I parceyue hym to be the depar in the hatered of you / or other suche as ye be: whome where ye call / the pestilence of my re­alme / I purpose to gyue you no rek­nynge / what manyfolde good frute my realme & I receyue by his fayth­full dilygence / labour / traueyle and wysedome: Howbeit / all other thyn­ges set a parte / it well appereth / that his fatherhode is in this one poynt / to my realme very gode and holsome in that he conformable to my mynde and accordyng to my cōmaūdement / studiously pourgeth my realm from the pestylent contagion of your factious heresyes: with whiche among / [Page] there entreth some in to my Realme right sicke / out of such placꝭ as your vnholsome brethe hath enfected / whō as they haue be founden / we haue by the holsome and good dilygēce of the sayd most reuerende father / nat only kept of from thenfecting of our own people / but haue also with right cha­ritable handelyng / holpen and cured them: For as for our owne subiectes we trust in goddes help / haue & shall haue / lytell faythe in your erronious opinyōs / what soeuer hope ye be put in / eyther by other wayes / or by one or two Freres apostataes / ron out of our realme / raignyng in riote & vn­thriftye lyberte with you / of whome we reken our Realme so well rydde / that if there were any mo suche here (as we truste there be nat many) we wolde ye had them to.

[Page]¶ It is a gladde tidynges to youre hert / ye say / that I nowe haue begon to beare fauoure to the Gospell / as though I had neuer fauoured y^e gos­pell before: Howbeit y^t I haue nat so late (as ye make for) begon to loue & reuerently rede the Gospell / though ye lyste to dissymule it: yet / ye ryght well ꝑceyue / by that I haue all redy by the playne gospell disproued euy­dētly / some of your pernitious here­sies / wherby ye well fynde / that this is nat the fyrst tyme that I haue en­termedled me with the said gospels / wherfore wete ye well / the Gospell longe hath ben / and euer shalbe / my chefe study: as the doctryne most holsome to euery man that wyll / in y^e studye therof / vse a way contrary to that that ye do: Whiche in the interpreta­tion therof / vse to folowe your owne fantasticall inuētion / agaynst all the [Page] worlde besyde / contrary to the coun­sayle of the wyse man / that saythe: Fili ne īnitaris pru­dentiae tuae et ne sapi­ens uideri uelis in occulis tuis. ‘Sonne / leane nat vnto thyne owne wyt / nor take nat thy selfe for a wyse man:’ But as for me / I well knowe and knowledge / that I am vnable of my selfe to the vnderstādyng therof / and therfore callyng for goddꝭ helpe / most humbly submitte my selfe to the determynation of Christes churche / and interpretations of the olde holy fathers / whom his goodnesse plentu­ously lightned with lernyng / illumi­ned with grace / furnished with faith garnysshed with good workes / and finally / with many myracles decla­red their faithe and lyuenge to lyke hym: Where ye on the contrary syde / settīg all these olde sayntꝭ at nought / and villanously blasphemynge their memories / procuring the detractyon of their honour / lest the reuerēce and [Page] estymation of their holy lyues shuld stande in your light / admitte no mā ­nes wyt but your own (whiche onely you admytte in all thing) and desen­dyng a manyfest foly for wysedome / an open false heresy for a truthe / haue nothynge els to stande by / but onely crye out that the scripture is euydent for your parte: and that all that euer toke it otherwyse / were but fooles: Were they neuer so many / neuer so wyse / neuer so well lerned / neuer so holy: And whan ye haue thus well & worshipfully quitte your selfe in wordes / than instigate and sette out rude rebellyous people / vnder pretext of Euangelicall lyberte / to ron out and fyght for your faction.

¶ If any man had so lytell wytte to dout / which of these two ways were the better / yours nowe newe begon / [Page] or the faythe of the olde fathers: our Sauyour putteth vs out of doubte / where he saythe: Ex fructi­bus eorum cognosce­tis eos. ‘By their frutes ye shall knowe them:’ For of thē no man douteth / but they were good men & of holy lyueng / seruynge god / in fa­stynge / prayer / and chastyte: And all their writynge full of charite / and of you / men dout as lytell / whan they se that all your doyng began of enuy & presumption / procedeth with rācour and malyce / blowen forth with pride and vaynglorie / & endeth in lechery: And therfore / cloke ye neuer so moch your doctryne / vnder the pretexte of euangelycall lyberte: nat withstan­dyng / that I knowe howe sklendre myne owne lernyng is / yet is it nat so sklendre / that ye can make me be­leue that ye meane well / whan ye speke fast of y^e spirite / and fall all to the flesshe: Whan ye make / as ye wolde [Page] exhort all the worlde to lyue after the gospell / and than exhorte mē fro cha­stite / to which the gospell effectually counsayleth: and forsake your selfe / your vowed chastyte / promysed and dedycate to god / to the kepynge and obseruaunce wherof / all holy scrip­ture byndeth you.

¶ ye write that ye be ashamed to lift vp your eyen to me / for that ye shulde of lightnesse suffre your selfe to be so sore moued by thynstigation of yuell folke to write such a boke agaīst me: But I moche marueile in good faith that ye be nat ī ernest ashamed to lyft vp your eyes and loke / eyther vpon god or good man / that haue suffered your selfe by the deuyls instigation / to fall in that lyghtnesse of wyt / that for the folly of your flesshe / ye beyng a Frere haue taken a Nonne: & nat [Page] onely vyolate her (whiche if ye had done among the olde Romayns that were paynyms / she shulde haue been buried quicke / and ye beaten to deth) but also which moche worse is / haue opēly maried her / & by that menes o­penly abuse her in synne / with y^e wonder of the worlde and abhomynable contempte / as well of the sacrament of Matrimonye / as of youre bothe vowes of chastite. And that worst is of all / where ye shulde be ashamed & sorie for this heynous dedes / in stede of repentaunce ye take therin pride / and so farre be fro the desyre of for­gyuenesse of your own synne / that ye by your bokes / exhorte other vnthrif­tes therto.

¶ And in this doynge / it is no mar­ueyle / though ye wolde that men had no reuerence to the olde holy fathers. [Page] For who so beleue y^t they were good / must nedes parceyue y^t ye be nought which bothe teache and do so many­festly the contrary of their dedes and doctryne. For who can lyke a freres maryage / if he sette ought by saynt Hierome: for to thē that hath vowed chastite / saith this holy man Vouentibus nō solum nu­bere / sed etiā velle damna­bile est. ‘/ it is dā ­nable / nat only to wedde in dede / but also to wyll or wysshe it.’ Rede well his Epystell written to the Nonne y^t was gotten with chylde / & his other to the Deacon that dyde that synfull dede: And therin / & in other lyke let­ters and holy writyng of olde holy fathers / lerne to repent your owne fau­tes / rather than in makyng bokes for the defence of your vnexcusable syn / to drawe by your yuell example & vngratyous counsayle / more wretched company with you to the deuyll.

[Page]¶ ye that so moche bost your selfe of holy scripture / I marueyle ye can set so lytell by your vowe / whan ye rede therin this holy sayeng: Si qⁱd vouisti deo ne more­ris reddere displicet enim deo infidelis promissio. ‘If thou ha­ue any thynge vowed to god / delay nat the performyng therof: for an vn­faithfull promyse displeaseth god.’

Rede ye nat also there these wordes: Vouete & reddite / dn̄o deo vestro. ‘To your lorde god make ye vowes / and fulfyll thē?’ What say ye by these wordꝭ Quum vo­tum voueris dn̄o deo tuo non tardabis reddere: quia requiret illud dn̄s deꝰ tuus et si mortuus fueris reputabitur etiā tibi in peccatum. ‘/ whan thou hast made a vowe to thy lorde god / come of and ꝑforme it: For thy lorde god will haue a rek­nyng therof. And if thou dye / it wyll be layde to thy charge for a syn?’ But ye reken I trowe / holy vowes of fa­stynge and chastyte / seruyle cerymo­nies of Moyses lawe / for your wri­tyng and lyueng / semeth to reken the Euaungelycall lybertie of the newe lawe / to stāde in lyueng after liking: but the prophete Isaye sayde / that ‘in [Page] that tyme (meaning y^e tyme of Chri­stes lawe) they shall vowe vowes to our lorde and performe thē In die illa uota uouebūt domīo et soluent’ / she wing that vowes shulde haue in Christes lawe more strength / & be better kept / than in the olde lawe: Wherof god shewed example / whan he toke ven­geaunce vpon Ananias and his wife for that they had broken their vowe to god / ī kepyng asyde some of their owne money / Whervpon holy saynt Gregorie / as though he myght seme to speke to your lēman and you (for weddīg was it none y^t ye were wed­ded with) saithe in this wyse. Ananias deo pecunias vo­uerat / quas post victus ꝑ suasione dia­boli subtraxit. Sed qua morte mulctatꝰ est scis. Si ergo ille mortis periculo dignus fuit / qui eos quos dederat nummos deo abstulit. Considera quanto periculo ī di­uīo iudicio dignus eris qui non nummos sed temetip̄m deo oīpotenti cui te sub monachali habitu donaueras subtraxisti.

What say ye Luther? What saythe your leude lēman to this? If ye knowleged yo^r synne for synne: If ye were for your synne sorie / though ye fyll by fraylte yet were there hope of amendement / as was in Mary Magdalene / Da­uyd / and many other: but now what hope is there of you / if ye persyst in the defence of your faut / with y^e bo­styng of your leudnesse / whan ye call your vyce vertue / and the v (er)tue vyce / Fall ye nat in this doing / depe in the maledictyon / that Isaye spake of / whan he said: Ve qui dicitꝭ bonum malū / & malū bonū / ponētes tenebras lucem / et lucē tenebras amarū in dul­ce / et dulce in amarum. ‘Wo may ye be that call good yuell / and yuell good / puttyng darknesse to be lyght / and light to be [Page] darknesse / bytter for swete / & swete for bitter?’ Now / whan ye regard all these scriptures nothynge / whan ye wrest them to your vnresonable ap­petyte / whan ye contempne the interpretations of holy fathers thervpon / whan ye set at nought their holsome doctryne / confermed by their vertu­ous lyueng: and against all these / set your owne sensualyte / and with bru­tall reasōs / rayle agaynst all vowes (so manifest and heynous an heresy / that there neyther hath been herde a greatter or a more open) yet ye pray god that he suffre nat myne eares to be occupyed with the pestylent voy­ce of those Serenys / whiche can no thynge els / but crye out that Luther is an heretyke. Where as I knowe in this behalfe no greatter Serene / than your owne workes / whiche al­most crye nothyng els in myn eares / [Page] than that Luther is an heretyke: so farforthe / that I moche marueyle / howe ye maye for shame saye to me / that ye teache no thyng / but that the saluation of man muste nedes aryse by the faithe of Iesu Christ / the son of god / that for vs suffred his passion and rose agayne / and that vpon this foundation / ye buylde and teche cha­ryte towarde oure neyghbours / and obedyence towarde the rulers / & the crucifyeng of the body of synne.

¶ Wolde god Luther / y^t these wordꝭ of yours were as trewe / as I knowe them for contrary: For what charite bylde you vpon fayth / whan ye teche that faythe alone without good workes suffyseth: For albeit that in your boke made agaynst me / waxinge for shame halfe wery to here therof: ye layde to my charge / that I dyd ther­in [Page] mysse reporte you / yet dyde ye nat onely make none erthly answere to your owne wordes / whiche I layde to your charge / openly prouynge in you / that detestable heresy: but also sayd the same agayne in the selfe bo­ke / In whiche ye pretende your selfe to haue ben wrōgfully charged ther­with before / sayeng: Sacrilegium est et impie­tas velle deo placere per opera et non per solam fi­dem. ‘That sacrilege it is & wickednesse / to haue any wyll to please god by good workes / and nat by onely faythe:’ whiche wordes be as open / as those that ye wrote before in Babilonyca / where ye write this sentence: Ita vides (quam) diues sit ho­mo christianꝰ siue baptisatꝰ qui etiam vo­lens non po­test ꝑdere sa­lutam suam qu [...]tiscun (que) peccatis nisi nolit credere. Nulla enim peccata eum possunt dānanare nisi sola incredulitas / cetera omnia / si radeat vel stet fides in promissionem diuinā bapti­sato factam / ī momento ab­sorbentet per eandem fidē. ‘Thus thou seest (saye ye) how riche is a christen man / or he that is baptysed / whiche thoughe he wolde / can nat lese his saluation / by any synnes / be they neuer so great: but if he wyll nat beleue / for no syn can dampne hym / but onely lacke of beleue / for as for all other synnes / if [Page] there stande styll or cōe agayn fayth and credēce in goddes promyse / that god made to his sacrament of Bap­tyme / they be supped vp in a moment by the same faithe.’ These wordes of yours shewe so manyfestly what ye meane / that there neyther nedeth nor boteth▪ any glose: It can receue no colour / but that contrary to Christes wordes Angusta ē uia que ducit ad ce­lum. ‘/ the waye is strayte and na­rowe that leadeth to heuyn’ / ye / with your Euangelycall lyberte / make a brode and easy waye thider / to wyn you fauour of the people / teachynge that it shalbe ynough to beleue god­des promyse / without any labour of good workes / whiche is farre fro the mynde of saynt Paule / whiche tea­cheth vs a faith that worketh by loue and also sayth. Si estis in­fide christi uos ipsi ꝓbate. ‘If ye be in the fayth of Christ proue you y^t:’ whiche profe can nat be / but by good workes: For [Page] as scripture sayth: Qui opera­tur iustitiā acceptꝰ est deo. ‘He that worketh rightuousnes / is accepted with god:’ And saynt Iohan spekyng / agaynst suche seductours as begile men with a vayne ydell and a deed faith / saith: Filioli nemo vos seducat / qui facit iustitiā iustus est. ‘My chyldren / lette no man begyle you / he that iustly dothe / he is iuste’ & rightuous / for els to beleue of youre facion / without good workes & boldly to lyue in vice and wretchednesse / with presumptuous hope / that your faithe shall suppe vp all your synnes it is a faithe worse than deuillysshe / For as saynt Iames saith: Tu credis qd vnus est deꝰ / et demōes credūt et contre­miscūt. in hoc te minꝰ mali sunt quia non times. ‘Thou be­leuest that there is one god / so dothe deuylles / and trymble for drede: In this they be nat so yuell as thou / for thou fearest nat.’

¶ And verily / with that opinyon of your onely faithe / ye putte awaye all feare of god / whan ye say that a man [Page] though he wolde neuer so fayn (how vngratius soeuer his dedꝭ be) cā nat be damned / but if he will nat beleue: thā / if this were true / there shulde no mā nede to fere god no maner away / neyther by fere of his iugementꝭ nor iust punishmentꝭ / nor by initiall or filyall. For what nedeth a man to fere god / if onely beleue may saue hym / or what boteth a man to feare hell / or to labour for heuen / or to feare the displeasure of almighty god / if a bare faithe may saue his soule. And also / where as ye put clene away by your assertions / all feare of goddes iuge­ment from the induction of the sacrament of penaunce / & wolde that only by loue we shulde attayne the same / herein ye wolde do great wronge to all synners / though ye by your wor­kes pretende thē fauour / for ye wolde take away one of the best meanes to [Page] attayne y^e very ꝑfyt loue of god / whiche loue in hym selfe / encludeth a cer­tayne feare. And I feare me / that in the pylgrimage of this present lyfe / loue is right syldome very sure if we sette asyde all feare / & make our selfe to sure: For as holy scripture saithe: Ad quem re­spiciam dicit dn̄s nisi ad humilem et quietum et timen­tē sermones meos. ‘Vnto whō saith our lord shall I loke but vpon an hūble man and a quyet / and hym that dredeth my wordes’ / by whiche appereth well / that without drede of goddes wordes / he wyll nat loke vpon a man: whervnto well ac­cordeth the wordes of scripture / whiche saith: ‘But if thou holde thy selfe continually in the feare of god / sone shall thyn house be subuerted.’ Thus may ye se Luther what so euer ye say feare may nat well in this worlde be for borne / but if we wolde haue god tourne his face from vs / & our house ouer tourned vpon our heed / & surely [Page] in scripture / who so that redeth shall well fynde that the gyftes and callynges of god / be dyuers and in sondrie wayes deuyded / amōges whiche / seruyle drede is one / and yet all to one ende / without whiche medyations & meanes / the synner can nat alwayes attayne at the fyrst / that perfyte cha­rite that causeth saluation. Wherfore what worse counsayle can ye gyue to synners / thā to aduyse them to leaue / those remedies & meanes / by whiche they may be pulled from syn / & gratiously drawen to god: And of trouthe there is nat lightly any other waye / by which mē be drawen more often / nor yet in the begynning more strōg­lye / than by that feare that is caste in to the herte / by the depe cōsyderation of the terrible paynes of hell / which thyng was the very cause / for which our mercifull Sauiour dyd cast that [Page] feare before the eyen of his blessed a­postels / whan he said vnto thē: Timete eū / qⁱ quū occiderit habet potestatem mittere in gehennam. ‘drede hym / whiche whan he hathe kylled / hath also power to cast in to hell’ / and therfore whā this was said to y^e apo­stels: let no mā thīke this fere a thīge of so lytell weight to sely synners / & nat yet so verily penytentes in dede / as deuisyng thervpon and goynge about to be. To whome / what can be more holsome than feare / whiche as scripture saith / Timor expellit peccatum. putteth syn out / and Qui sine ti­more est / non poterit iusti­ficari. ‘he that is without feare can nat be iustifyed.’ And ye wolde haue feare of goddes iugement and puysshment / nat onely taken fro contrition / whi­che is the moost cōmune waye y^t dra­weth men from synne: but also to the ende / that men shulde in synne pre­sume vpon their faithe / ye wolde ha­ue all feare taken frō the loue of god: where as holy scripture rekeneth feare [Page] a way / to attayne the loue of god / for he saith. Timor domi­ni initium di­lectionis. ‘The feare of god / is the begynnyng of loue’ / ye and also thretneth (as I haue sayde) that excepte thou kepe thy selfe continually in the feare of god / thyne house shall soone be subuerted. The scripture besydes this well declareth also / howe great strength feare hath towarde faithe / whan he saithe: Qui timēt dominū nō erūt in creduli verbo illius / qⁱ ti­ment inqⁱrent que benepla­cita sunt ei. ‘they that feare god wyll beleue his worde / and they that feare hym / wyll seke and ensertche / what thynges stande with his plea­sure.’ And yet ouer all this / holy scripture teacheth vs that wisedome / also taketh his beginnyng of feare / for he saithe: Initiū sapiē ­tie timor dn̄i. ‘The beginnyng of wisedom is drede of god.’ Lo Luther / here ye se that feare which ye set so lytell by / the holy scripture (by whiche ye ma­ke / as thoughe ye set moche) ioyneth nat onely with wysedome and faithe [Page] but also to loue / during the tyme that we wandre in the pilgymage of this worlde / and nat without good cause For surely / whan a man is by y^e feare of goddes iugemēt withdrawen frō the folowyng of synne (which tour­neth his mynde from god) he is & nedes must be / the more fyt both to loue god / and be beloued of him. For whiche cause / the holy prophete Dauyd / parceyuing the great profyte of that necessary feare / hertely prayed god / that this feare might nat onely besēt hym: but also strōgly / with his grefe and payne stricken in to hym / crieng to god in this wise. Confige in ti­more tuo car­nes meas a iudiciis enim tuis timui. ‘Rote or fastyn in my flesshe / thy feare / for I haue been aferde of thy iugemētes:’ so sheweth he / that he hath nat onely feared goddes iugementes / but he desyreth also to haue that drede depely fastened in in his herte. And wherto wolde god [Page] haue gyuen vs warnyng of hell / and thretten vs therwith / except the feare therof shulde haue been / as it were a bytte or a bridell to refrayne vs from synne / and to bringe vs and preserue vs in charite / and his fauour. Wher­fore / sithe it is euydent that ye take a waye this feare / and openly write a­gaynst good workes / contempnyng in penitentes all satisfaction: Howe shamelesse are ye to write y^t ye vpon faith do edifye charite / whan as I haue expresly proued by your owne writyng that ye buylde vpon your fayth right nought but yuell workes in te­chyng that onely faith alone suffiseth and manifestly cōtempne good wor­kes / and gyue boldnesse largely to worke yuell without feare / teachyng that faythe alone shall suppe vp all our synnes / namely as ye defyne yo^r faith / where ye say Fides esse nullo modo potest nisi sit viuax quedā et indubitata opinio qua homo certus est super omnem certitudinem se placere deo se deum habete propitium & ignoscētem in omnibus q̄ fecerit aut gesserit. that faith can nat [Page] be in no wyse / but if it be a certayne lyuely & vndouted opynion / by whi­che a man is certayne aboue all cer­taynte y^t he pleaseth god / & that god hath hym in fauour / and pardoneth hym in all that euer he dothe / by whiche wordes ye cōmaūde an high pre­sumptuous faith / wylling men to reken and accompt them selfe nat only sure of goddes fauoure / but also so highly in his fauour / that they maye be bolde to offende hym / as thoughe he wyll for mannes onely faith / par­done and forgyue all their fautes.

And y^t suche a faithe wyll as ye wrot in Babilonica / suppe vp all their sinnes which faithe is cōtrary to y^t / whiche olde doctours teche: for holy Isodoresaith / Frustra sibi de sola fide blanditur qui bonis moribꝰ non vtatur. ‘that man whiche wyll nat vse no good dedes doth folisshly flatter hym selfe with a bare faithe.’ And also saynt Augustyne affyrmeth / that Fides appel­lata est ab eo ꝙ fit. due syllabe sonant quū dicitur fides / prima a facto secunda a di­cto. interrogo te ergo vtrum credas dicis credo fac qd dicis et fides est. [Page] ‘faithe beareth his name in latyn of two syllables / the one belongeth to the dede / the other to the sayenge. I aske y^e saith saīt Augustyne / wheder thou beleuest or nay / thou answerest ye: than do as thou sayest / and than hast thou faithe.’ But what auayleth to lay you the wordes of your auou­ry saynt Augustyne / out of whose order ye be ronne in apostasye: Wherto shulde I lay you the auctorite of any of the olde holy fathers / whom ye settyng all at nought / dare boldly con­tende and affyrme that there is none other way to faithe / nor that fayth is none other maner thynge / but suche as ye defyne wrong / which your wrō ge defynition of faith / albeit ye wold haue it beare a cloke / and be taken as though it were formed and perfyted with charite: yet shall ye neuer make any mā that knoweth the right fayth [Page] of Christ in that poynt to beleue you whan you make your faith care so lytell for good workes / and so lyght­ly supping vp all synnes that it must nedes gyue all myscheuous vnthryf­tes a great audacite and boldnesse of vngratious lyueng / For vpon the o­ther syde the blessed Apostell saithe / in them that are of age the very true faithe is that / whiche worketh with loue: And saynt Iohan also saith Qui diligit deum / mandata eius habet et seruat. ‘/ he that loueth god / hath and obserueth his cōmaundementes’ / so after bothe their myndes / the one of faithe the o­ther of loue / ye must of necessyte (as holy scripture saith: Declyne frome yuell and do good / and nat to rest in that ydell and errogant faith / by whiche ye thynke and ymagen your selfe sure and certayne / aboue all certayn­te / that god is well pleased with you and eyther approueth or pardoneth / [Page] all that euer ye do: For if that were so that holy man Iob / whiche was of goddes owne mouthe called so good and rightuous / that there was none lyke hym in the erth / wolde neuer haue been so tymerous and fearfull / as to haue sayde: Verebar om­nia opera mea sciens ꝙ non parceres de­linquenti. ‘I feared all my wor­kes / well wittynge that thou sparest nat the synner.’

¶ Nowe where ye write that faythe must be lyuely / that graunt I well / but how cā it be lyuely without loue and he loueth nat god / as the Euan­gelyst saith / that kepeth nat his commaundementes / nor he that is of age kepeth nat the cōmaundemētes / that laboureth nat in good workꝭ: Wher­vpon it well and consequently folo­weth / y^t your faith settyng good workes at nought / can in no wyse be lyuely / but must nedes be suche a faith / as [Page] saynt Iames the apostell reproueth / where he saith: Fides sine operibus mortus est. ‘Faith without good workes is deed.’ Ouer this / if that be trewe that your selfe affyrme in your sermons of the preceptes / that goddꝭ cōmaundementes / namely the nynth and y^e tēth can of no man (be he neuer so good) in any maner wyse be kepte contrary to y^t / that Christ semeth to meane / where he saithe Jugum meū suaue est et onus meum leue. ‘/ my yoke is softe and easy / and my burden lyght’ / but as I said / if ye say true y^t goddes cōmaūdemētes can ī no wise be kept / & god is nat loued / but if his cōmaū ­demētes be kept / nor lyfe is there non in faithe / except y^t god be loued / seye nat now y^t of your owne wordꝭ ye fal agayne to the fyrst poynt / that faithe whiche (as ye say) must nedes be ly­uely / ye bring it in to suche case that it must nedes be deed / but your entēt may facilly be ꝑceyued: For as your [Page] workes do shewe / ye wolde eyther y^t men shulde presume to beleue y^t faith were as an instrument to ꝓuoke men to synne / and to gyue them boldnesse that faith shall suppe vp all their synnes / how great soeuer they be / to the entent that men shulde neglect good workes / and remayne in high presūption / whiche is contrary to scripture whiche saith: O presūptio neqⁱssima vn­de creata es. ‘O most wicked presūption / wherof were thou made’ / or els ye sette it in that high pricke / though with imꝑtinate termes / which fewe or none can attayne vnto / bringynge in therby men in to desperation / to y^e entent that desperation ones rooted / all care of good lyueng layd a parte they shulde ron out at large in to all kynde of vytiousnesse / and than ye myght saye by them as saynt Paule saythe / ad Ephe. Desperantes semet ipsos tradiderūt impudicitie in operationē ī ­mundicie oīs in auariciam. ‘They dispeyringe / haue gyuen them selfe to lechery / and [Page] the workyng of all vnclennesse’ / whi­che thyng ye procure vnder pretence of lyberte. And also the sayeng of holy Iob / whiche saith to desperate folkes / Non credit frustra errore deceptꝰ quod aliquo precio redimendus sit. ‘he beleueth nat vainly deceyued by errour / that he shulde be redemed by any price / ’ wherby men maye par­fitely parceyue your doctryne & preachyng expresly naught / which wolde gyue to men no meane way in faithe but eyther that / whiche the blyndest maye parceyue naught / or that waye whiche the best can skante attayne / nor neyther by the one waye nor the other / nothynge els procure or go a­bout / but to fynde the meanes / that eyther the boldnesse of faithe optay­ned / or the dispeyre of optaynynge myght driue men in to a bolde lyber­te of leude lyueng / whiche is the onely thyng that ye labour to bringe in custome vnder the name and cloke of [Page] Euangelycall fredome. And this is the charyte / that ye buylde vpon the foundation of your deed faithe.

¶ Nowe where ye write / y^t ye bylde vpon your faithe obedience towarde gouernars / who seeth nat how shāe­lesse an vntrouth ye write therī / whā there is no man but he knoweth how obstinately ye teache that no christen man can be boūden by any lawes / of which the gouernours be ministers: And also howe ye sette at nought / all the holy generall counsails that euer haue ben of Christes churche: For y^e execusion of whiche / your vngraty­ous heresy / ye with other detestable heretykes / brenned vp the holy Can­nōs with open derisyon and rude vp­landisshe people by you incensed / haue rysen in plūpes agaynst their go­uernours / to their owne distructyon [Page] and your shame.

¶ Howe can ye for shame say that ye buylde vpon your faithe the crucify­eng of the body of syn / whan ye byld vpon your deed faith / the negligence of prayers / the vilypensyon of holy­dayes / the cōtempt of fastyng dayes / and finally all thyng in effecte / whi­che christen men by the cōmaūdemēt of Christ / and ordynaūce of his holy church / crucifye the body of syn by.

¶ Also howe can ye say that ye teach and exhorte men to crucifye the body of synne / whan ye teache that synfull heresy / that man hath no power nor lybertie in his wyll to do any good with all: For who shall study to do any good or care what yuell he dothe / that were ones throughly persuaded in hī selfe / y^t he neyther can any good [Page] thyng do by hymselfe / nor workyng with goddes grace any thīg to do to­warde it / nor that in any yuell worke his owne wyll dothe any thyng at all but the necessyte of goddes wyll worketh all togyder / whiche he can ney­ther let nor further. This heresy / the very worst that euer was / and moost highly touchyng the iustyce of god / semeth to be the very rote / wherof all other myscheuous demeanour & out­rage of your vngratious faction sprī geth / whose boldnesse and temeryte ye arme with the excuse of goddes ordynaunce / and ineuytable necessyte / and thus you wold aproue your false opinyons / settyng forthe & prechyng some certaine places of scripture ob­scurely written / extorted by you for your purpose / some clere against you which ye neuertheles without shame cōtende that they make for you / wherfore [Page] I marueyle greatly (if you had eyther wytte or shame) y^t you durste haue that boldnesse to afferme y^t ab­hominable and vnresonable heresy agaynst the doctryne of so many good men / of so many wysemen / of so ma­ny cōnyng men / of so many holy men against the hole consent & agrement / nat only of Christes holy church / fro the begynnynge therof to this daye / but also / agaynst all cōmune reason of all the hole worlde / fro the fyrste creation of the worlde hytherto (sa­uyng that of late Wicclyffe began it afore you) and agaynst innumerable places of holy scripture / manyfestly shewyng the contrary to your opy­nyon / whervnto ye can set no colour of which syth they be so ryfe & thicke in euery parte of scripture / in vayne were it here to bring you many / ther­fore one or two shall suffyce for a sample. [Page] For what can be more open than these playne wordꝭ Proposui vobis vitam et mortē / bene­dictionem et maledictionē elige ergo vi­tam vt & tu viuas et semen tuum. ‘/ I haue set before you lyfe and dethe / good blessynge & maledyction / chose therfore lyfe that y^u mayst lyue / & thy ꝓgeny also:’ what election is there I pray you where lyberte lacketh? howe standeth choyce with necessyte? In lykewise / where it is openly sayde vnto man / by god puttynge bothe good and badde pu­nysshment / and rewarde in choice of mānes fre wyll / sayeng thus: Apposui tibi aquam et ig­nem ad quod volueris por­rige manum tuam. ‘I haue set before the / fyre and water / to whe­ther thou wylte put forthe thyn hāde’ and in lykewise this: Ante hoīem vita & mors ꝙ placuent ei dabitur illi. ‘Before man I haue put bothe lyfe and dethe / wher­ther shall please hym shall be gyuen hym.’ What meaneth here his wyll & puttyng forthe his hande / if he haue no lyberte of choyce? Wherto badde saynt Iohn̄ that the iewes shulde do penaunce? Wherto badde Christ the [Page] aduoutresse that she shulde synne no more? Wherto cōmaūded he all men to kepe his cōmaundemētes / if men coude neyther of themselfe performe thē / nor with his ayde and helpe do any thyng towarde them? Whan god tolde thē / that good and badde was put in their choice / dyd god tell them a trewe tale or a false? if ye saye that he sayd nat true / than take ye credēce from all his promyses by faith / whi­che onely credence ye say / suffyseth to saluation. And on the other syde / if it were true / than must ye be nedes vn­trewe that teache the cōtrary / so that in this mater I se none other questi­on / but wheder we shal beleue Christ or you / except ye wyll say (as I se nothing so farre out of reason / but ye be redy to saye it) that god spake it in sporte / but neyther is that the graue and ernest maner of his maieste / and [Page] in this thyng also he spake maruey­lous ernestly / and shewed them their free liberte / as the very cause of their iust punysshment / if they brake his behest / declaryng and testifyeng his rightwyse Iustyce / to the ende that no man shulde of his goodnesse con­ceyue so pestylēt opinyon / as to thīke the thyng that ye nowe preache / whiche is / that his clemence hath that tyrānous nature to punysshe any man without desert / as it were onely for a cruell pleasure. And therfore / whan ye be so farre fallen in to the pytte of pestylent heresyes / that ye can fynde in your hert to conceyue that detestable opinyon of god / whiche no good man can fynde in his herte to thynke of an other / there nedeth none other profe to declare what ruynous buyl­ding ye reare vpon the false founda­tion of your vnfaithfull faythe.

[Page]¶ Nor I touche nat these heresyes of yours for any purpose / to dyspute vpon them: For I bothe knowe thē for suche as agaynst euery one of thē were mater ynough / nat for a longe letter / but for many long bokes: and also / for suche as be so plainly and so fully dāpned / reproued / and reiected alredy / and vpon the bare hearynge in euery good mannes eares so dāp­nable in themselfe / that they nede nat to be nowe disputed vpon / nor shulde be disputable or doutfull / and moche lesse credible / although (as saīt Pau­le saith) An angell wolde come from heuyn and preache them / beyng so cō trary to the gospell and faithe / that Christ hath taught his church / from the begynnyng hyderto. Nor if they were as doutfull and dysputable for you / as they be vndoutedly clere a­gaynst you / yet am I long syns at a­poīt [Page] / no more to vouchsafe to dyspute any man with you / sith I haue had so good experiēce of you / howe clene ye set all reason asyde / and fall all to raylyng: For which I haue determyned (which I shal surely kepe) as for any dispytions / to leaue you to your leudnesse / albeit other folke me thynke haue as well of other places / as of our owne realme answered you / & som­what handled you / as ye be worthy / after your owne facion / sauyng that they among playne wordes / tell you reason / where ye vsed onely raylyng and as yet / ye answere none of them one worde / agaynst whom ye wolde nat so longe haue holde your peace / were it nat that ye ꝑceyue your selfe so plainly cōcluded / that ye coude nat write against them again for shame: but and if ye happe herafter to waxe shamelesse agayne for angre / some of [Page] them I thynke / wyll nat mysse yet eftsones / Luther / ones to shewe you yo^r selfe agayne: But as for m [...] / neyther purpose I to write any more to you / nor at this tyme wolde nat / ne were it that I ꝑceyue by your letter / your fraudulente purpose / by whiche ye wolde abuse the worlde / as thoughe ye knewe me for turned to your sect: wherī I wold haue gyuen you short answere without any touche of your heresyes in specialte / had ye nat be so shamelesse to write that ye teache no thynge els / but that men muste be sa­ued in the faithe of Christ / with cha­rite buylded thervpon / and obediēce and crucifyeng of the body of synne / whiche your shāefull and shamelesse lyeng / hath driuen me so to shewe & specify one or two of your open here­syes / that euery man maye parceyue howe farre they be of another kynde [Page] than the faith of our saluation or charite / or obediēce / or crucifyeng of the body of synne / whiche ye saye be the onely thynges that ye teache / and yet haue I nothynge touched / the great hygh hope of all your other heynous heresies / whiche yet more plainly declare and proue your shamelesse vn­trueth / in writyng / that ye teache no­thyng els / but the faithe of our saluation / charite / obedience / and crucify­eng of the body of synne: For whan ye so plainly write agaynst the sacramentes of Christes church / whan ye damme chastite in preestes / deny all holy orders / ioyne breed with y^e body of Christ / take from all men the benefyte of the masse / rayle agaynst y^e ho­ly Canon of the same: whan ye make women confessours and ministers of all sacramentes / and make them con­secrate the body of Christ: Whan ye [Page] teache so lytell differēce bytwene our blessed lady and your leude Lēman: Whan ye blaspheme Christes holy crosse: Whan ye teache that there is no purgatorie / but y^t all soules shall slepe tyll the daye of dome / that syn­ners may be holde for so long / with a thousāde shamefull heresics besyde / Are ye nat now a shamed / to say that ye teache nothyng els / but that man must be saued by the faithe of Iesu Christ? Whan ye go about in dede to distroy the faith of Iesu Christ / who if he had come to teache suche wayes as ye teache / he had nat cōmen to call the world fro badde to good / nor had been a techer of vertue / as he was in dede / but a very patrone of syn / wherof the contrary / he dyd well shewe in suffryng the punisshment of y^e crosse for the onely redemptyon and remis­syon of our synnes. Howe myght ye [Page] for shame (if there were any in you) write vnto me such thingꝭ / knowing that I nat onely haue reed these thinges ī your bokes / but haue ouer that manifestly to your open shame & re­buke / conuycted you in many partes of the same / as substantiall well ler­ned men do iuge.

¶ All whiche natwithstandynge / it is wonder to se / with what boldnesse ye desyre to be herde / and (as though ye hadde neuer been herde hytherto) shewe your selfe moche to marueyle why ye shulde be condempned / ney­ther beyng herde nor cōuicted. Haue ye nat been herde face to face before y^e popes Legate in Almayne? Haue ye nat been herde in open dispytions in Saxony? haue ye nat ben ouermoch herde / by your erronyous and blas­phemous bokes ouer largely sprede / [Page] through the worlde? & yet ye alledge your selfe nat to be herde / but condēpned without conuyction: ye maye be safe ynough from all cōdempnation / if there be fyrst requisyte suche a conuyction / as your selfe wyll cōfesse for a conuyction: but of trouth / ye haue ben conuycted oft ynough by sondrie connyng men (and as wyse and well lerned men reken) by my writyng al­so / whiche was confermed by the ap­probation of the see apostolyke / the which thing though your pride wyll nat parceyue / yet your dealyng doth confesse / sithe ye neuer hiderto coude ne dyd answere thervnto / by any substantiall reason / but onely by leude raylyng.

¶ If my selfe knewe nat the maters wherof ye be condempned / yet coude I no thynge dout / but ye were iustly [Page] condempned / seyng that ye were condempned by our holy father the pope and the holy college of Cardynals: whose iustyce and indifference / there wyll no wyse man any thynge mys­trust / for the leude raylyng of a sym­ple frere / angry with his owne iuste condempnation / and namely such as ye be / whom no reason can satisfye / none auctorite can moue / nor beleue no man but your owne wytte / whom onely ye beleue in all thynges / con­trary to the wyse mannes counsayle / whiche saith:R [...] sapiens esse apud se­metipsum. ‘Stande nat to well in your owne conceyte:’ And he saith al­so / that there is moche more hope of a fole than of one that taketh him selfe for so wyse. Uidisti hoīem sapiētem sibi videri: magis illo spem ha­bebit insipiēs Whan ye were also con­dempned by dyuers vnyuersitees / & among other / by the famous vniuer­syte of Paris: why shulde I mistrust your condempnation: and though I [Page] had my selfe (as I sayde) nothynge knowen of your mater / namely sithe your selfe cōdiscended to stande and obey to the iugement of Paris / but parceyuinge your errours so many­fest / that ye coude haue none hope in the iugement of any man / good and cōnyng / At your personall beyng at Wormace / where ye were by the Emperours maieste condēpned in playn parliament / ye were / ye said / content to dispute / but ye refused vtterly vp­pon your dispytions / to stande to a­ny mannes iugement. Nowe whan I se that ye order youre selfe in this wyse / neyther stande to the iudges that ye condiscende vpon / nor to the iugement of the Emperour / with suche nombre of cōning men as he hath and than had about hym: nor to the iugement of the Pope / and y^e church of Rome / but furiously appele from [Page] the Pope to the next generall coun­sayle / and that with a sta [...]yng hole / farther addyng / suche as shulde next be congregate in the Holy gost: And yet after that / openly detracte & deny the power of all generall counsayls / wherby well appered / that in conclusion / ye wolde stande to none at all: howe coude I than (as I said) mis­trust your condempnation: All this your order consydred / albeit I had nothyng els herde and vnderstāden of your mater: but no we knowynge your maters my selfe / and well par­ceyuinge them / for suche as they be / playne and euydent heresyes / of su­che sorte / as I haue rehersed you sōe / as ye say ye marueyle that ye can nat be herde: so I moche marueyle more that you can so say / and that any mā is in those opynions content to gyue you any hearynge at all / as thoughe [Page] they shulde nowe dout / wheder those thynges be trewe or nat: whiche as artycles of oure faithe / all Christes churche beleueth / and hath contynu­ally beleued this fyftene hundred ye­res before / as appereth by y^e doctrine of Christ and his blessed Appostels / with many other holy doctours and sayntes / writynge in sondrie tymes consonant in one faithe / fro Christes dayes vnto yours / of whiche holy saī tes / & interpretours of the scrypture of god / sithe ye contempne their wri­tynges / I se nat by what reason ye can desyre y^t we shulde beleue yours / or what frute coude come of your writynges / so clene contrary to the frute­full writyng of theirs: And therfore where ye saye there were great hope of no lytell fruyte to the gospell / and glorie of god / if ye might haue leaue and lyberte / to write vnto me therof: [Page] surely / than hadde ye nede to write clene the contrary / of suche thynges as ye haue written alredy / and seme lykely to write by your letter / for by that ye haue hiderto written / the gospell of Christ hath take no frute / but by the pestylent blast of your veno­mous mouth / hath had moche good­ly frute vtterly spilte and rotten / and many a fayre blossome perysshed / y^t wolde haue ben swete frute / if suche a catterpyller had nat deuoured thē.

¶ Nowe where as ye rayle of y^e fau­tes of the court of Rome / and the clergye / I purpose nat with a manne of your auctorite to dispute moche ther vpō / but how soeuer they be / ye shew your selfe what ye be: and syth ye re­ken your selfe so great a gospeller / it were well done / that ye lerned of the gospell / to pull the beme out of your [Page] owne eye / ere ye spye a festue in ano­ther mānes / and that ye consydre by them that of rancour and malyce re­buked Dauyd / what ende they com­munely came vnto / that rayle vpon their souerayns: And that / albeit ye shulde se the church sō what swarue / that ye be nat yet so bolde and mala­perte / presumptuously to take vpon you to set your croked handes to the rightīg therof / lest god so teache you curtesy / as he taught hym that sette hande to y^e arche of god whan it was swarued: Howe be it vndoubtely though ye lyst to rayle vpon y^e court of Rome / yet it well appereth vpon your doctryne / and your lyueng that ye worst lyke in the churche / what so euer is best: for sithe vnthriftes and apostataes / that ron out of relygion and fall to flesshly delyte / be welcom to you / and good relygious folke be [Page] dayly by your meanes expelled oute of their places / in whiche they were determyned in chastyte / prayer / and fastyng / to bestowe their lyues ī goddes seruice: & now those holy houses partly pulled downe / partely good & vertuous virgyns put out / left vnto lechours / and polluted with aposta­taes / vnder the name of mariage lyueng in lechery: This dealyng well declareth / that ye hate no man for his vyce / but that ye rather hate thē that be good and vertuous / bycause they be contrary to your wayes: & surely the great cause why ye murmure a­gaynst the churche of Rome is / by­cause ye se and were wode therwith / that it hath cōdēpned your heresyes / so that it may with reason aunswere you with holy scripture / which saith: Non contra nos est mur­mur vestrum sed cōtra do­minum. ‘your murmure is nat against vs but agaynst our lorde:’ And than shall it [Page] loke vp to Christ in heuyn / whose place it representeth in erthe / and shall agaynst youre heynous presumptyon gratiously be herde / sayēg: Presumētes de se et de sua virtute glori­antes humi­lias. ‘they that presume vpon them selfe / and glorie in their owne strength / thou doest a­bate’ good lorde: & surely there was neuer mā borne (I trowe) that set so moche by hym selfe / that had so lytell cause: but and ye were so wyse ī dede as ye stande well in your owne con­ceyt / ye wolde nat murmure against your amēdement / for as the wyse mā saithe: Uir prudens et disciplinatꝰ non murmu­rabit correptꝰ ‘A discrete man & well taught wyll nat murmure / whan his fautes be shewed him.’ I feare ye shall finde it so / that wenyng your selfe so wyse / it wyll fall by you / as saynt Paule saithe / by the paynym philosophers Euanuerunt in cogitationibus suis ob­scuratū est īsipiēs cor eorū : dicētes se esse sapiētes stulti facti sunt. ‘/ They haue done vainly in their in­uentions / their folysshe hertes were blynded / callyng thē selfe wyse men / [Page] they were made fooles.’ So ye ryse highe in your owne herte / and with great bost reken yourselfe very riche of frendes / and namely of great princes / that (as ye say) take your parte in Almayn: but I wene ye shall finde to preue trewe vpon you these wor­des of the Apocalyps / whiche saithe to the ryche man these wordes: Tu dicis qⁱa diues sū et locupletatus et nullius egeo et nescis quia miser es et miserabilis et pauper et ce­cus et nudus. ‘thou affyrmest to thy selfe / I am riche and of great substaūce / and haue no nede of nothynge / & yet thou knowest nat that thou arte a wretche / and myserable and poore / blynde and naked:’ I thynke ere it be long / our lorde wyll of his highe goodnesse prouyde / that with such wayes as ye take / your vnwyse pride wyll in suche wyse abate / that ye shall fynde your selfe as pore and bare of all frēdes / as ye be of grace and goodnesse / and it beginneth alredy / if ye haue the witte to parceyue [Page] it: For where ye boost of princes ta­kyng your parte / we here of none su­che; but haue good experience y^t rude boystous people / seduced with your secte / haue cōmen to great myschefe / by the valyaunt acquitayle of good and Catholyke princes in Almayne / that resysted your malicious faction there / to their highe meryte of god / honour of this worlde / laude & praise of all good christen men: And where ye saye / it is no marueyle though the Emperour and some other prynces pursue you / and that it were maruell if any prince or people were on your parte / rehersyng the wordes of Da­uid: Gentes fre­muerūt et populi meditati sūt inania astiterūt reges et principes conuenerūt ī vnū aduersꝰ dn̄m et aduersus Christū eius. ‘the gentyls haue ben angry / and the people haue deuysed ī vayne / thynges haue assembled / and prīces haue gathered togider agaynst our lorde / and agaynst his enoynted Christe▪’ These wordes make moche agaynst [Page] you / if ye say trouthe / that the prīces and people of Almayne take youre parte / as you ī your letter do affirme for certayne is it / that your doyng is in dede agaynst Christ / wherfore ta­ke your parte agaynst hym who so wyll Qui habitat ī celis irride­bit eos et do­minus subsannabit eos. ‘/ he that dwelleth in the heuyns shall laugh them to scorne / and oure lorde mocke them / ’ as he hath all redy proued / by thre or fourscore thousāde of your faction / whiche by his highe punysshment / are / & hath ben slayne.

¶Now where as ye so holily wysh / that god shulde in me so worke with your wordes / y^t I might (as it were by myracle) be cōuerted / and fauour the gospell: Verily / I ꝓfesse my selfe to fauour y^e gospell / and that mynde I praye god / nat onely to contynue / but also dayly to encreace: but for as [Page] moche as I well knowe / that ye no­thyng els meane / by the fauour of the gospell / but the fauour of your owne secte / and wolde haue your pestylent heresyes taken for Christes gospell: And sithe I well wote also / that our lorde wyll hym selfe worke no myracles / agaynst the faythe of his owne sonne: Therfore / ere the deuyll shuld worke any suche wondre in me / that I shulde (vnder y^e cloke of Christes gospell) fauour Luthers heresies / I wolde fyrste wysshe / that ye Luther and all yours / were there where (ex­cept ye mende) ye & they be worthy.

¶Nowe as touching your worshipfull gentyll offre / that ye wolde / if I were so content / make and put out a­nother boke / to my prayse & honour / with reuokynge of suche wordes / as [Page] ye haue written to the contrary / All this laboure I gladly remytte you / nor I desyre none of your bokes / to be written to my prayse / but wolde y^t ye shulde reuoke your heresyes / and confesse your errours / & therby gyue prayse and glorie / to almighty god: For if ye perseuer in your heresyes and leude lyueng / ye canne nat more highly praise me / thā in dispraising: nor more highly disprayse me / thā in praysing / if it be trewe that Seneck saythe: Tā turpe tibi sit laudari a turpibus: quā si lauderis ob turpia. ‘It is as great a shame to be praysed of naughty folkes / as to be praysed for naughtynesse.’ And ther­fore / where as ye in dyuers partes of your letter write your selfe sore ashamed of your boke / that ye put out a­gaynst me / layeng the faut therof / to the yuell instigatyon of other men / hūbly besechyng me of forgyuenesse [Page] prosterning your selfe to my fete / trustyng that sithe I am a man mortall / I wolde nat beare īmortall enemyte: Surely Luther / albeit ye haue ta­ken your selfe alwaye for so great a man / in your owne conceyte / that ye haue in writynge / openly professed your selfe / that ye were & euer wolde be / bothe quycke and deed / a perpe­tuall enemye to the Pope (to whose highnesse I well knowe / howe farre the estate of a kyng is inferyour) yet neuer made I / so great accompte of you / that euer I wolde vouchsafe / to reken my selfe for your enemye: all beit I am to your heresyes / as great an enemye / as any man. Nor all that euer ye wrote agaynst me / neuer mo­ued me so sore: but that moche lesse / submissyon on your parte / shulde cō ­tent me / than ye now offre / if it were [Page] offred syncerley: But sithe I ꝑceyue all your humble offres proudely poudred / with the mainteynaūce of your former heresyes: I am nat Luther so blynde / but that I well parceyue / to what ende entendeth youre (nat ve­ry well nor wisely cloked) wilinesse: by whiche (albeit that by the way ye somtyme vse youre selfe for lacke of wytte right contumelyously) yet la­bour ye with blandysshyng and fla­tery / to gete and obteyne leaue of vs: that ye myght vnder the pretexte of treatyng the gospell / with our good wyll and fauour / write hyther to vs boldly / in the defence and / fortifyeng of your abhomynable errours & he­resyes / at your lyberte: but if the no­bles of Almayne had (as wolde god they had) aswell foreseen your ways in tyme / as I do / ye shulde nat there / [Page] vnder the name of Euangelycall ly­berte / haue brought in to the countre so moche distructyon and myschefe / as ye haue. Wherfore / as ye fayned­ly beseche me / by the vertue of Chri­stes crosse (to whiche crosse what re­uerence ye beare / youre vnreuerente treatyng and vyle writynge therof / openly declareth) that I wolde par­done youre offences towarde me / so I Luther / vnfaynedly with a very christien hert / aduyse and counsayle you / that ye prosterne your selfe / nat at my fete / but at goddes / and with his grace (which is euer at hāde / for them that wyllyngly wyll nat refuse it) ye do endeuer your selfe to applye the fredome of your wyll (whiche ye nowe synfully deny) to the callynge for entre and encreace of grace. And thervpon / that ye so laboure and en­force [Page] your selfe to worke with all / y^t ye maye fyrst puttyng from you / and sendyng in to some Monastery / that sely wretched woman / somtyme the spouse of Christ: Whom ye to youre bothe dampnatyon / abuse in synfull lechery / vnder the pretext of laufull matrimony: than by all the dayes of your lyfe / to mourne / bewayle / and lament / the manyfolde heresyes that ye haue fallen in: the Innumerable heape of harmes / that your yuell do­ctryne hath done / the piteous distru­ction of all those bodies / whom your yuell incytatyon hathe caused to be slayne. And yet aboue all / the moost soroufull losse and distruction / of the infynite nombre of those sely soules / which your vnhappy teachyng hath sente in to dampnatyon: And wolde our lorde ye had suche grace and go­stely [Page] strength / that no feare of dethe / coude refrayne you in the recōpēce of your olde false errours / but that wyllyngly / ye wolde prease forthe / and preache nowe openly the trueth / accusyng and cōdempnyng all your olde heresies / written in tyme paste / and yet remaynyng in your herte / to the furtheraunce of your dutie / and augmentatyon of Christes very faythe. Howe beit / if the lacke of grace / and the infyrmyte of your fleshe / can nat sustaine that / wherby ye dare nat for drede of dethe / reuoke your errours presently among them / where ye ha­ue sowen them: yet / disdayne nat to folowe saint Peter him selfe / though ye contempne his successours: Wherfore / if ye dare nat confesse the truthe but deny and fors were Christ with­in / gete you out at the lest wayes frō [Page] them / whom your selfe haue corrup­ted vnlyke saīt Peter / in that poynt: and bytterly wepe for your syn / with drawyng your selfe somwhere farre of / in to some religious place / & there take recourse to the fountayne of grace & remission / our Sauiour Christ: and there do penaunce for your syn / where ye maye reuoke / and in wri­tynge call agayne your olde errours and heresyes / for the helth and saue­garde of your soule / without any paryll of your body: there / with reuo­kynge and lamentynge your former errours and yuell lyuenge / with the meke and humble hoope of goddes great mercy / with the gesture / wor­des / and hert of y^e Publycan / labour to procure by the good contynuaūce of frutefull penaunce / remissyon and forgyuenesse of your fore passed of­fences: [Page] of whiche your amendement and other by your meanes / I wolde be as gladde to here / as I haue been sorie to se you / & by you so many mo / pi­tuously spylt and lost.