THat there was a deꝑting and deuysion made euen frome the begynnyng of the worlde, forthe with as sone as reasonable cratures, receiued lyfe: the nature of aungelles do euydentlye declare / for parte of them dyd folowe god and parte of them dyde departe and fall a­way from god, makyng a newe god to theym selues, that is to wyte lucifer / man in earth, (for of Adā forthw^t brake forth Abell & Cayne two sundrye & dyuers ways: ī to which al theyr posterite haue entred & do euē yet walke in they & so shall walke euen to y^e world (ende) dyd serche out hygh actes / now if we do rede the olde historyes,In y^e boke of Genesis and thoro­ughe out the Bible. as manetho amōge y^e Aegeptions / Berosꝰ y^e histo. of y^e chaldeis / Mochꝰ & Estiꝰ of y^e sy­ryās / Hisiodꝰ & Iosephꝰ of y^e Iewes / [Page] and Tytus lyuiꝰ of the Romay­nes: then do we fynde most sure and vndoubted, & also most true tokens, that all men of all tymes haue ben bothe in other thinges, but most specyally in the honou­rynge & worshyppynge of god, maruailously disagreing & stifly contrarye one to another / in so moche y^t euery londe and regyon hathe deuysed & ymagyned to it selfe a propre & a newe & straūge god, not herde of before. ¶The fyrst origynall cause of so many­folde & dyuers goddes, was the incredulite & vnbelefe of our first father adā. For after y^t y^e eternall & the verye god had shewed hym selfe vnto Adam, & he had gyuen lytel credence to the word of god he came therfore in to īobedyēce, which was y^e occasiō of his hed­longe fall: for in the mean season [Page] whē he dyd not fere god by faith & belefe, he dyd searche out thyn­ges ꝑteinynge to his owne selfe, that is to wyte, y^t he myght get the cōnynge & knowlege of good & euyll, trusting y^t therby it shold haue come to passe, that he sholde haue bē made like vnto god: then sodenly the lorde god dyd reiecte hym & cast hym of as one beynge an vnbeleuer, & as one beyng disobedient vnto his cōmaūdment. Therof hath diffydence or vnbe­lefe, & wantonnes, and temeryte entred in & possessed al the lōdes of Adam, out of which we all se­li wretches do crepe forth, & that nature we haue all the mayny of vs sucked out of the brest and bosome of our mother Eue, with so greate vyolence and myght that all wee men and women are by the comen progresse and course, [Page] gendred & brought forth indyffydence, & vnbelefe as saynt Paule sayth ī his epistle to y^e Ro. Therfore aft myn opiniō & Iudgmēt,what origi­nall syn is. origynal sȳne is none other thȳg then incredulyte or vnbelefe, and wytchynge or rebellion & disobe­dyence against god, which cōeth w^t vs in to this world. Therfore the offerynge vp of sacryfyces in the lawe of nature, & Circūcision in y^e lawe of moyses, & Baptisme in the lawe of grace, are certeyne dyuers tokens of belefe towar­des god ī which men haue fayth­fully & boldely excercysed theym selues to fayth to the sygnyfyca­cyon and betokenynge of the in­warde man beynge obedyente & gyuynge credence to the wordes & ꝓmysse of god / for y^e sygne and tokē w^tout faith & belefe is vayn & vnꝓfitable / & when y^e sygne or [Page] seale & marke of faith which was imprynted in vs by the inuocaciō of the name of god, doth come to our mynde & remēbraūce: thē we ought euermore to take an occa­sion from the innermost desire of our herte to gyue credēce, & to gyue thākes vnto y^e excedȳge grace of god giuen vnto vs, and to his most benygne & liberall ꝓmyses. For the greatest of all sacrifyces is a ryght & true chrysten fayth: which after y^t y^u hast excercised, y^u doest veryly a ꝓfytable worke, & doest not widder & dry vp w^t ydelnes as certeine blynd ꝑsones do. Yf Adam had veryly belyued the word of god: he shold neuer haue fallen, vpō whō y^e Iustice of god (& not vnwortheli) toke vēgeāce & punyshement / y^e same ꝑuerse & corrupte nature of vnbelefe & disobediēce of our fyrst parēt, al we [Page] his ofspryng haue taken and re­ceyued as our inherytaūce euery one after other: so y^t comenly na­ture guydyng & ledynge vs ther vnto, we are in all thinges holdē w^t the loue of our owne selues / & our owne thynges we doo seche magnyfye & aduaūce / and do preferre theym afore al thinges, and of our selues do forme and make as it were a certeyne god / so dyd Cayne preferre hym selfe before his brother Abel, and dyd byelde y^e fyrst cyte,The fyrste begynnge of Idoltrye called Enoch & made hymselfe a kynge / so also Nem­brothe beynge proude and highe mȳded began to byelde y^e proude kyngedome of Babylon / soo sen the kinge of y^e assyrianes,The fyrste greece or steppe. graūde father to Abraham, dyd byelde y^e fyrst tēple of Idolatrie, settynge forth mē for to be honoured in y^e stede of god / not long after whē [Page] Belus the sonne of Nembrothe had gouerned Babylon and all the kyngdom of Assiria w^t mer­uaylous peace and trāquilite by y^e space of thre score and fyfftene yeres: Ninus y^e sonne of Belus, willing to gette y^e fauoure of y^e people, & glorie, dyd sette vp an ymage of his father very cun­nyngly and workemanly carued vpon an high pyller, in the myd­des of the market place / ꝓnoun­singe and openly declaring it to be a certayn sanctuary & place of refuge, y^t who soeuer, of what so euer trespase or cryme they were gyltie, dyd rūne for socoure vnto that ymage, they sholde be safe & vntouched, and delyuered. Into the which ymage anon after the old serpent lucyfer dyd enter gy­uing oracles and answeres vnto men: by y^e reason wherof y^e Assi­rianes [Page] and the people of Babylō beganne to worshyp a newe god called Beel.Beel y^e fyrst newe god. After the deathe of Ninus forthw^t came Beel in vse, and by succession and processe of tyme Beel was taken for a very and an olde aūcient god / which Beel contynued afterwardes in babylon by the space of fyftene hundreth yeres, as long as that proud kyngdom dyd stonde vn­destroied.The thre goddesses of Paris. Pallas. Iuno. Venus appered vnto Parys the son of Pryamus the kynge of Troye / whyles he was a slepe, as vnto a Iudge which of them was most excellent in beaute: vpon whome the yonge man was so meruayl­lously inamoured, y^t both y^e ymages of theym were set vp in chir­ches, & also y^t y^e very Images sel­ues / which dyd speke & gyue an­swers by y^e fraude and deceite of [Page] the serpent, were accompted and taken for goddesses.Saturne. Saturnus beyng a verye wyttye & also a di­ligent & good husbondman pur­chased & gate to hym selfe suche lawde & prayse among men: that whome they toke for a kynge in his lyfe tyme, the Image of him after his dethe they dyd worship as the god of the erthe.Iuppiter. Iupyter the son of the saide saturne in the Ile of Creta enclyned & prone to plaie at the dyesse, beyng also ambyeyoꝰ & desyroꝰ of honor, & also an horemōger, for to purchase & get to hȳ selfe most hyghe honor & worshyp, spente largely moche golde & syluer, & gaue excedynge great rewardes, specyally about y^e deceiuynge & wȳnyge of yong women, which were excellent in beaute and fayrenes, whome he dyd begyle thrughe dysguysyng [Page] of hym selfe, in many sundrye appelles, & so apperyng in dyuerse lykenesses: of the whiche sleyght and crafte Ouyde toke the occa­syon of wrytynge his boke entytled, Methamorphoses. And the same Iupyter also after that he was deꝑted from this lyfe, was called by the name of god: and in ꝓcesse of tyme was made an olde god.The cause of idolles. Sēblably maye we reherse al y^e goddes of blynde antiquite. For who so euer was notable / whether he were a kyng, as Be­lus, or elles a coueytous man as Saturnus / or elles ambycious, as Iupyter / or elles a cruell and blody tyrante as Mars / or elles wyttye & eloquente as Pallas & Mercuryꝰ / or elles gyuen to vo­luptes & pleasures of y^e body, as Venꝰ & Priapꝰ / or elles drunken & ouercomē w^t wine, as Bacchꝰ / [Page] or els a sothsayer & teller of thynges after to come, as Appollo / or els a wyse & cōnynge hunter, as Dyana: breefly what so euer notable, specyal, & synguler thȳg they dyd fynde to the vse & ꝓfyte of men therof they got the name of a god. Thē as sone as y^e yma­ges of suche excellent men or kynges were set vp in the steede of a god: the deuyl entred in to y^e said Images,The crafte and deceipt of y^e deuyll. playenge mastryes in these stockes, otherwhiles castīg forthe fyere, or elles makynge & causyng dreames to men, that if they wolde laye sycke & deseased persones afore this or y^e Image, and wold kyl some beaste, & offre it vp ī sacryfyce to that god, they that were diseased sholde receyue theyr helthe again: by this crafte & meane was Idolatrye begon, and also contynued & encreased [Page] among them of y^e old tyme. Af­terwardes ī so gret a multytud, & as a man wolde say, an host of dyuers & sundry goddes, euery kynge, when he shuld goo forth to make bataylle, chose hym out a god, some one, some an other (as diuerse mē are of sundry ap­petites & affections) suche a one as they thought mete for theyr busines: as for example, the god Mars / or the goddesse Bellona, (I take record of the Capitalie house in rome, which was full of diuerse goddes) to whom he wold make sacrifice, and whose coūsailles or oracles & aūswers he wold take. Another desyring a yonge woman to his wyfe / & y^t a faire & a well fauoured one: wurshipped venus. The husbōd man, y^t was gredy & desyrous of corne and fruytes of the earthe, [Page] dyd honour & made his prayers to Saturnus: lykewyse as he y^t was sycke & diseased, dyd make his prayers to Appollo, for y^e re­couery of his helth / And they y^t were desirous of sapience & wis­dome (as the grekes) dyd pray vnto Dyana or Pallas whiche goddes and goddesses had euery one of them theyr owne propre prestes / which dyd comen w^t the ꝓdigious & wūderfull ymages,The prestis of the gods called Fla­mines. as interpretours of theyr myn­des / vnto which prestes the co-men people both men & women dyd resorte to take instruction of brynging & offeryng sacrifices & gyftes to the god: & so one londe after a nother fallyng from the worshypping of very god, wold haue a ꝓpre god of theyr owne, whom they supposed to be more mighty & puissaūt then all other [Page] goddes / wherfore y^e holy ꝓphet Helias dyd mocke & scorn y^e goddes Baal, & theyr foure hūdreth prophetes, And hereof also the Ephesyons were proude of the moost noble and famous temple of Dyana,The tēple of Diana within the citie of E­phesus. whiche was rekened amonge the meruayles & wūderful workes of the worlde, which thynge was vnto many men an accasyon of entrynge in to theyr prouynces, brekynge the goddes all to gobettes, because the god­des beyng egal in goodnes, thus dyssencyon and stryeffe amonge theym selues, dyd warre eche to destroy other. And this supersti­cion lasted and cōtynued aboute the space of two thousande and thre score and two yeres, before the commynge of our lorde Iesu Christ. But after y^t the lorde and king of glorie, y^e son of god came [Page] downe from heuen, from the bo­some of his eternall father vnto vs wretched & blynd synners, to take vpon him selfe the nature of mankynd: than was there a bry­del cast vpon these coūterfayted,Christe Ie­sus the vanquissher of idolatrye. & forged, & newe goddes (which yet in theyr tyme were amonge mē accoumpted for olde goddes) and a marke was prefyxed & set vp, y^t they sholde not frome thēs­forth so myghtely haue dominiō & rule ouer the worlde, that the scrypture shold be fulfylled. sapi. xiiij. And Christ Iesus began to teache man kynde, that the verye eternall god, & the old god, which was afore the begynnyng of the worlde, was to be acknowledged and to be worshypped in spyryte and trouth / by the reason wher­of in diuers and many places the temples decayed and fell downe, [Page] the ymages at the commynge of the trouthe of Chryste / waxyng dumble, & the ꝓphesyenge spyrite or breath of the caues or dennes wearynge out and vanyshynge away, & the might of the christen fayth and relygyon encreasynge and waxing stronger & stronger. This thynge coulde not the olde serpent abyde & suffre, to see him selfe thus to growe all together into contempte:The cause of the persecution of y^e christē men. he dyd therfore conspyre & spake to the prestes of y^e false goddes (which were cal­led flamines) y^t they shold chace and dryue chrysten people out of all places, and oppresse them, be­cause they dyd teache straunge thȳges & newe thinges agaynst the old faythe & belefe: and so y^e kynges & prȳces being ꝑswaded therunto by y^e sayd prestes, dyd exercise excedȳg great and cruell [Page] tyrannyes, and whersoeuer the christē people had becom or styr­red them selues: ther was no re­medy but forthewyth they must nedes lease theyr lyues / and as thogh deth had not ben inough for thē, they were vexed afore & tormented w^t intollerable tormē ­tes, & y^e most sore paines y^t could be deuysed / and y^e tyrauntes dyd suppose and wene, that of suche cruell handelyng of the chrysten men, ther dyd come hygh & syn­guler reuerence to the goddes, & also y^e by the reason therof them selues shold haue y^e better spede and fortune. But after that the chosyne and elected soldyers of Chryst most vertuous chrysten men had put theyr confydens & trust in Chryst: he assysted them w^t his present & mighty ayde and help / workīg by thē through his [Page] myghtie and wonderfull power many maruaylous thynges / as that the ydolles dyd fall to duste and pouder, and were broughte to nought / and that the slaygh­tes and deceyptes of the prestes, and of the prophetes and sothe­sayers came to lyghte and were openly knowne with their great infamye and shame / and that the kyndes and theyr Empiers, (as it were compelled) were sub­dued to the Chrysten faythe. Then the olde serpent,Lucifer the fyrst newe god. the fyrste and newe god Lucyfer, dyd cast and compasse in his owne mynd these craftye counsayles / The ydolles or ymages, and the offe­ring of beastes in sacryfyce (sayd he to hym selfe) decayeth & gothe away / thy name is despised,The craft & subtylte of the same Lucifer. seorned, & set at nought / al diuine honours, & also the swete smellyng [Page] frākentens are taken a way frō the: y^u must fynde another way & some other crafty prouysyon, seyng y^t this way hath deceyued the. As long as christen mē dyd not greatly esteme nor set moche by temples or chirches, and by y^e pompes of y^e same, but all theyr power & myght stode in y^e scryp­ture, they vaynquysshed & ouer­came all mē w^t theyr speche, & no man was able to take thē in so meruaillous a doctrine as they dyd teache: y^t god hath a son / & y^t the same sone had taken flesshe vpon hym, & afterwardes had suffred passyon, being nayled on a crosse / had dyed / had ryson a­gayn from dethe to lyfe / & that they ought to beleue the gospell accordyng to y^e rule wherof we ought to lyue, to be pacient ī tri­bulation & necessite / to loue our [Page] enemyes / to do them good / to pray for thē & suche other thyn­ges, which the prestes of y^e mau­mettes had neuer told to y^e kīges & princes, but had often tymes told them the contrary thynges to these. Also chrystē men did so constantly & perfectly leade an honest, a louing, & a peasible life / that one of them (y^t is to wyte Augustyne) did say, I wold not beleue the gospell, onles the auc­toryte of the chirch (y^t is to say, of the chrysten mē, whych by the meanes of the gospell haue gro­wen vp in so cōmendable a lyfe) dyd compell me / as though he sholde say, seing y^t so honest mē & vertuous, so good & so chary­table, & louing amōg thē selues, & so holy & iuste men do springe & growe vp of the doctryne of y^e gospell: it can not be otherwyse [Page] but that the doctryne of the gos­pell is true and iuste. And after­wardes this wycked & vngrati­ous serpent full of a thousande craftes and gyles,The second degre of ydolatry. consydered and pondered the fyrste pryncy­ples, y^t is to saye, the foundacion and groūd worke of the christen faythe, dysputyng & reasonyng in this wise with hym selfe: thou waste amonge all creatures the fayrest and most beautyfull / the most wyse, & the most noble in nature / and most resonable, and most perfyte of vnderstanding / and y^u gauest no credence to the worde and commaūdement of god, but thou wast dysobedient to his precepte: therfor y^u wast cast downe hedlōg from the pla­ce y^t thou wast in, and was reiec­ted and forsaken. Then after­wardes he vsed suche a maner [Page] of argumēt also. The fyrst men Adam and Eue, they also by the reason that they dyd not beleue God, nor obey his cōmaūdemēt, came in to the same estate of ꝑdi­tion: And lyke wyse Cayne and Saul. wherfore experiēce doth teache me, that who so euer doth not beleue God, & gyue credence to those thynges, either whiche he hath promysed, or whiche he hath spoken: that man shalbe re­iected and forsaken of God, and shall be dampned. Of whiche thinges doth folowe this corner stone for the foundation, That there can be no greater, no more profytable, nor none more acceptable worke to God, than if a man dothe holly in all thynges gyue credence to the wordes and cōmaundementes of God, with out any questionīg or enserchīge [Page] of the causes: as my capitall and deadly enmy Esaie dothe saye in the forty chapitre / who was of coūsell with him? Besydes this I do vnderstōd and perceyue of the apostles that they vtterly be­leue theyr Iesus of Galyle / and what soeuer they do speake, it is scrypture / they do neyther adde any thynge therto, neyther my­nishe any thyng therfro, leauing the wordes as god spake them. wherfore Messias dothe assyste them so strongly, that no power of the Emperours of Rome can any thing preuaile agaynst thē. For y^e mo chrysten men y^t are out to deathe by sore & cruell tormē ­tes: by somyche the more chere­fully, and the more boldlye and manfully do they fyght for the fayth, and do teache it. But this polycye and crafte thou shalte [Page] vse, & thus thou shalte do. Thou knoweste very well he worme, with which y^e hoke was bayted, wherwith Adam / Eue / Cayne / Nembroth / Saul / Hieroboam / and suche other were allured & taken: Thou shalt cast thy hoke agayne, and lette it hange / thou canst not telle, what fysshe thou mayst happen to drawe vp at y^e next draught, if the hoke be de­uoured & swalowed in together with the bayte: and so the olde wylye & gylefull serpent began his fysshyng, coueryng and hy­ding the hoke w^t meate / & conue­nient bayte for his pourpose (by the hoke, vnderstandyng dysobe­dyence / by the bayte incredulitie. For whosoeuer distrusteth, doth beleue nothing) So anon he gat certeyn of the Iuwes / whiche dyd repyne & speake agaynst the [Page] doctryne of y^e Apostels accusing them to be seductours & decey­uers, whiche went about to w^t ­drawe the people from the lawe of Moyses to an other lawe, & therfore that they were not to be folowed, nor theyr doctryn to be beleued / for who so euer (they sayed) were not circumsised, and did not lyue according to y^e lawe of Moyses: that man was fallē from eternall helthe & saluation. O howe delectable & plesaunt, and also how bryght and howe clere a bayte dyd y^t most vngra­tious and myscheuous deceyuer lay for y^e iewes? Suppose you, or wene you y^t the iewes myght with honestye haue sayed, The Apostles do teache a newe faith, and they do teache errours and heresyes / but we will beleue in the olde god of Israell, and we [Page] wyll gyue credence to y^e old fayth and doctryne: wherunto what dyd Paule answere? he dyd not make any phylosophycall dispu­tation & reasonyng, but sayd, If you wyll be circumcised,Gala. v. then is Christe not ꝓfitable nor aduayl­lable vnto you. O folyshe crea­tures, who hath bewytched you, that you sholde not beleue and obey the truthe? O Paule wold god y^u were lyuynge nowe these days. with this deceiptfull bay­te the olde serpent dyd crepe tho­rough all y^e corners of y^e worlde, and in what soeuer place y^e apo­stles and disciples dyd preache y^e gospell, sodeynly the chefe pree­stes & the pharyseys brake forth, laying agaynst them the lawe of Moyses, the olde god of Isra­ell, the olde faythe and belefe: & when they were not able to make [Page] their partie good, nor to matche them in doctryne / then they fell to opprobrious and rebukefull wordes / to raysynge sedicions agaynst them / to beatynge and punishyng of them, which thing the most noble capitayne Paule doth witnes in y^e .xi. chap. of his seconde epistle to the Corinthy­anes, moost greuously complay­ning from y^e botom of his hart, of the labours and trauaylles / of the strokes / of the shypwra­kes / of manyfold daungers and ieoperdyes of false brothern. &c. which place I beseche the to rede dylygently, and it shall make the sorye at thyne harte, to see that Paule for his so great labours and trauaylles was so vnkynd­ly and vngentily entreated. And this moste vngracious and cur­sed bayte of vnbelefe the deuyll, [Page] caryed aboute, nygh the space of two and forty yeres, vntill that the iewes were all wholy vayn­quesshed and ouercomē by Tite and Vespasian, and were cōpel­led to forsake theyr owne coun­trey, and wandre about lyke ba­nyshed men: whiche sayde iewes euen yet at this day do receyue the aforsayd bayte of perdition, wherwith (alacke for pitie) they shall be stangled for euermore. But after that this bayt was so publyshed and so well knowen,The thyrde degre. that men being ware and wyfe wolde no lenger be taken and be made faste with the hoke, despi­synge and settynge at noughte suche maner meates: Then he put vpon the hoke meate of an other colour, that is to wyte, the power and auctoritie of the em­perours & kynges (as we haue [Page] taught hertofore) accordyng to the comen prouerbe: whan wordes can nothyng auayle, thā we must ꝓuoke to strokes. But by how moche the more cruelly the princes did exercise their tyrāny: by so moche the more the christē fayth waxed stronge and gathe­red fast rotes.The fourth degre. Then dyd the vn­gratious wylie serpent cast this in his mynde, by this way I am neuer the nerer to my purpose, The kynde of men is constant / stronge / stedfast / and do stonde styflye, and wyl not ones be stir­red & moued out of their place: I muste take some other way / & deuise some other policy: seing y^t for all y^t euer y^e iewes & tyrantes can helpe, yet thou arte neuer a deale the further: now take also on thy side y^e disciples & scholers of y^e preestes y^t serued the idolles, [Page] (whiche were the philosophers that had in tymes passed lerned many thynges of the sayde pree­stes) and fyrste he perceyued the Grekes to be very mete persons for this busynes, as the Atheni­enses in Boetia / Corinthia and Achaia. These philosophers did ryse agaynst christen men, laughynge to scorne all that euer they dyd speake of the Natiuitie and dethe of Christ: bryngyng forth argumentes and reasons out of the bokes of the philosophers / Aristotle / Socrates / Pythago­ras / and of the seuen wyse men of Grecelāde / and by craftie and very subtyl sylo gismes, they did inferre and conclude it to be im­possyble, that a deed man coulde ryse agayne from dethe to lyfe. And what soeuer suche thynges the christen men had put forthe [Page] concernynge any poynte of our fayth / the Grekes alwayes gayn sayd & withstode it very subtilye and wysely w^t theyr philosophy / in so moche that saynt Paule al­so was moued and styrred to say to the Corinthians in the fyrste epistle and the first chaptre, But we do preache Christe, crucified / to the iewes an occasion of fal­lynge / & to the Grekes folysshe­nes. But yet not withstandyng whan myracles dyd folowe the doctrine of the gospel: at the last they dyd beleue the gospell. And this disputation & stryfe betwen the christen men & philosophers endured and cōtinued after Christis ascension aboute the space of thre hundred yeres. But yet (to speake as to the worldewarde) the christē men must nedes than be in thraldome and subiection / [Page] and to kepe them selues within a narowe and strait rowme: for contempte and despisyng dyd folowe them (as the shadow foloweth the bodye) thorugh bany­shemētes / turmentes, ꝑsecutiōs, and dethes. But neuer dyd the churche of christen men stonde either better or more blessedly & prosperously, than in those thre hundreth yeres. After whiche in the yere of our lorde three hun­dreth and enleuen came Constantyne,Constātine a good man and a noble, & a great fauorer and louer of the relygion of god, which when he shulde make agaynst Maxētius the tyrant, a murtherer of chry­sten men, and a turmentour of good men, a neocromancer, and the aucthor and causer of y^e mur­ther & destruction euē also of his welbeloued. And whan the sayd [Page] Constantine toke great care and thought for that batayle: it hapned hym as he laye a slepe in his bedde to haue a dreame or vision that he was makyng batayle a­gaynst Maxentius, and in the meane season appered to hym in the aier a crosse of golde towar­des the easte, and whan he asked and demaunded what maner a signe and token this was, there soūded ī his eares a loude voyce sent downe from heuen, saying: Constantyne in this signe & to­ken thou shalte wyn the victory. Anone after he awoke, musynge soore what maner ymage this shulde be: and whan it was day lyghte, he gathered and assem­bled a counsayle of his nobles and great lordes, by whom he had ꝓfyte vnderstondynge and knowlege, that the Crosse is the [Page] signe and badge of christen men, whom he did also sende for afterwardes, whiche dyd preche and telle many thīges to hym of the holy crosse, and of the christen fayth, to whom Constātyne the emperour made answere in this wyse: If I haue good spede in my batayle against Maxentius, so that I do get the victorie: I my selfe also wyll become a chri­sten man. And so he dyd, as it were arme him selfe & his souldiers w^t the holy crosse of Christe: and fyghtyng with Maxentius he dyd moste valiantly gette the victorie of hym, & also dyd most prosperously triūphe. And whā the Romaynes accordyng to the vsage and custome had decreed to Cōstantine, pompouse & roy­all ornamētes and other thīges appertaynynge to a goodly try­umphe: [Page] he answered and sayde, These thīges are not due to me, but to Christe, & therfore he dyd sette vp a very noble and goodly crosse, and was baptised and be­came a Christen man. Here the Romane historie, whiche is had in the .xcvj. dist. Constantinꝰ. &c. doth say that the donation was made of the Emꝑoure Constan­tyne, the .iiij. day after his bap­tisme: whā saint Hierome in the history called Tripertita histo­ria, doth recorde, that Constan­tyne was not baptysed afore the last ende of his lyfe, and that not at Rome, as these men do saye, but in Nicomedia, whiche thyn­ges do not stonde wel together nor agree one with the other. The Popes lawe in this place dothe fayne many excellent and goodly donations and graūtes / [Page] to haue ben made to the pope of Rome, y^t the rule & gouernāce of y^e hole worlde is graūted to the pope of rome, & y^t the maiestie of kynges & prynces is subiecte to hym. &c. whiche thīges do take no likelihood or colour at all of y^e testamēt of Cōstātius. For this Constantius likewise as his fa­ther Cōstātinꝰ gouerned them­pier of Rome, And after Constā tius likewise dyd Iulyanus. &c. This is of truth, he gaue to christen men licence & leaue to builde churches, & he adorned the same churches w^t ryche gyftes, and he graūted libertie to preche the go­spel in euery place: but he neither gaue rome, neither yet any other ꝓuince or nation.The crafty polycyes & counsayles of Sathan. The old serpēt toke recourse agayne to his olde craftes & subtylties, he ꝑpared & ordened a craftie baite to y^e hoke, [Page] reasoning thus w^t hym selfe, it is now come to passe, y^t the emꝓour of y^e Romaynes hath forsakē the for his capitaine / he is fallen frō taking thy ꝓte, & from worship­pyng of the / y^t ymages of y^e god­des in the capytalie house do de­cay, & are troden vnder the fete / theyr temples are shytte vp & do fall down to ground / thus shalt y^u do trustyng to y^e help of philo­sophers, y^u shalt sowe false sede into y^e felde of y^e scryptures, y^t is to wite, ꝓuerse & wronge vnder­standing, so y^t the vnite & cōcord of christen men may be broken in sondre into diuerse ꝓtes,Herespes dyd sprīg of philosophy. & by the reason therof, theyr faith shal be­gyn to waxe weake, to faile, & to be suspected & mystrusted, & then shall thy goddes ryse vp againe / and so the hooke beinge couered with this bayte, a certeyn preest [Page] amonge the christen men dyd de­uoure and swalowe it in, whose name was Arrius, a grecian in Alexandria of Aegypt,Arrius. whan he fortuned to rede that place in the xiiij. chap. of Iohn̄: Pater me maior est, my father is greatter than I: he toke therof occasion to teache a dyfference in the most blessed Trinite, saynge that the father is the greatest, and moste puissaunt of all / and that nexte to hym is the sonne, but inferior and lesse thā the father / and that last of all foloweth y^e holy goste, the least of all in the Trinitie. Plucke vp your eares, and listen o christen men, howe full of wō ­derfull fraudes and gyles y^e olde serpente is, by whiche he wolde breake y^e corner stone of the true christen faythe? in what wyse he hath imagyned and ordered all [Page] thynges from the begynnyng of y^e worlde, to thētent y^t we shulde neither beleue God, nor trust in hym. Thou Arriꝰ, why dyddest thou not also rede that texte in the .x. of Iohn̄, Ego et pater su­mus, I and my father be bothe one: And like wise whan he said to Philippe, Qui videt me, videt et patrem, he that seeth me, seeth my father. And what other thīg dyd deceyue Arrius the preest, & brynge hym in to errour: than the phylosophyes? whyles he wolde measure & iudge the holy scripture by Aristoteles lernīge: Lykewyse as euen these days o­uer many mē do, the more pitie. This Arrius dyd drawe after hym a great flocke of disciples & folowers, whiche dyd extolle & magnifie him for a newe god, by the reason of his doctrine. For [Page] those thinges, which he taught, he dyd fortifie & strengthen with many philosophical argumētes and syllogysmes, and also with many examples. But than that olde Leuiathan dydde treade on roses, and was not a lyttell well appayde, after that he sawe this inuētion and deuise of his to go forwarde, and to come well to passe: that the christen men dyd disagree and were at variance a­monge them selues. For bothe Constantius dyd consent & agre with Arrius, and also many ex­cellent bysshops, as Eusebius in Nicomedia, a citie of Asia the the lesse: For in it and in Morae and in Achaia, and in Macedo­nia, al philosophers welnere did springe vp and begynne, whiche did reigne there in scholes by the space of many yeres, cōtinually [Page] fom the tyme of Daris, y^e kynge of Asseria and of Medea, & these phiosophers dyd beleue nothīge elles, but only that, whiche rea­son dyd teache / and leade them vnto. In this sayd tyme y^e good and wel lerned man Athanasius was promoted vnto the bisshop ryche of Alexādria / whiche toke vpon hym to shewe the veryte & trouth to Cōstātius.Athanas;ius But what busynes had than the olde Leuiathan? what craftes and subtile gyles wrought he than? He proued false accusers / whiche dyd is false lies so accuse that good and well lerned bysshop Athansius vnto themperour Constantius / that he was so far broughte out of fauour w^t the sayd emꝓour / y^t he dyd a longe season seche mea­nes & occasions to put Anatha­sius to deth: but thēde & ꝓfe of y^e [Page] thynge dyd full well declare and shewe his innocency. For Arriꝰ within a lytle whyle after dyed a shameful dethe / his entrelles & guttes fallynge from hym in to a priuie or sege / in the Synode of Nece / as afterwardes the a­forsayde Athanasius in the citie Treueres openly dyd expresse / & put in writyng vpon the psalme Quicun (que) vult. So whan the olde dragon had drawen to hym this fysshe hangynge fast on the hoke / he preserued and kepte the bayte to begyle & take moo with all,The begynnyng of he­resyes bicause he saw that ther was a great multitude of Arrianes / whiche pyckyng out dyuers and sundry textes of the scripture, did season them with theyr brothe of the philosophies / & couer them with a disceytefull coloure, and fastnynge them on the hoke / dyd [Page] take many vnprofytable fysshes nothynge apperteynynge to the vessell of saluation / as Macedo­nius / Nestorius / Eurites / Si­mon / Valentiniane donatus. &c. In processe of tyme aboute the nombre of .lxviij. of suche vnpro­fitable fysshes, as it were y^e firste draught / dyd swalowe in y^e bayt and the hooke withall. Hereof sprange so great dissentions and stryfes amōge christen men, that the holy fathers and byshoppes were fayne to take excedīg great labours and paynes in disputȳg and wrytyng agaynst errours & heresyes / as Anastasius / Euse­bius / Hilarius / Cirillus / Damascenus / Ambrosius / Hierome / and Augustine. &c.

This dissencion and diuerse vn­derstondyng of the scryptures, lasted and endured in certeyne [Page] places, about the space of .viij.C. yeres. And who soeuer is desy­rous to see the steppes & tokens of the newe goddes, and of the newe faythe by name, lette hym rede the decretalles in the .xxiiij. cause and y^e thyrd question Qui­dam. &c. In suche maner dispu­tions occasyon was offered to good & worshypfull fathers, by subtyll and crafty obiections of philosophy, to take in theyr han­des whatsoeuer maner weapōs, to cast forthe agaynst them / al­though they were otherwhyles vnlyke & not agreing to the holy scrypture. But yet for asmoche as they dyd it full sore agaynst theyr wylles, and dyd fyght of a pure and a good faithfull mynd: they were promitted and suffred to retreate, and call agayn suche thynges as theyr workes do suf­fycyently [Page] wytnesse and recorde. wherfore saynt Augustyne sayd not vnwysely, other mens wor­kes (sayth he) I do so rede, that, be they neuer so excellent in holynes and doctryne / yet I do not therfore thynke theyr sayenges true / because they dyd so say and thynke: but because they haue ben able to perswade it vnto me to be true / by y^e canonicall scrip­tures / or els by probable reason. Vngratious and cursed Lucifer cōtinually trustyng after heuen­ly honour and worshyp / styll cō ­passed and dyd cast all polycyes and craftes to & fro in his mynd and lefte no waye vnassayed, ha­uynge his mynde stedfastlye set vpon all the state of christē men, and well auisynge it / he ꝓceyued and marked thēperours makȳg warre amonge them selues / and [Page] other prouinces: by the reason wherof they had ones fallen a­gayne from the faith of Christe / & myght litle gyue theyr mynde to holy scriptures:The offyce of y^e bishop­pes in olde tyme, whiche the bysshoppes dyd studye / all other thinges despised / preachyng the gospell in pouerte / neither was the bysshop of Rome any thyng elles at that tyme, than a pastor or herdes man / not a kynge and lorde / as he is nowe / and so lykewyse in other cities also, the bis­shoppes dyd exercise the office of sheperdes / they had not the do­minions and lordshyps / and the gouernance and rule of y^e world nor dyd not seke their owne ho­nour and lucre: they taught the people the kyngdome of God / they conforted & cherysshed pore folkes. For at that time the peo­ple dyd mynyster & gyue to them [Page] their necessaries, and also money to be distrybuted amonge poore and nedye folkes, accordynge to the exāple giuen by the apostles: but of the great & noble estates, & of y^e dukes and lordes they had many iniuries and persecutions done vnto them / & they submyt­ted them selues / sufferynge paci­ently all aduersyte and trybula­tion for the name of the lorde. But the comē people with great fidelite confortynge eche other / as euery place was most in quiet and tranquilite: so thither they did most assemble & gather them selues together. As for example in Aegypt / where saint Antony dyd wynne many dysciples vnto Christe / the christen people swarmyng ther so thycke / that certen thousandes of men and women dyd in that place lyue a lyfe accordyng [Page] to the heuenly philosophy, that is to wyte, accordyng to the gospel in mortifieng of the fleshe as saynt Hierome dothe witnes.

The decay and fall of y^e Romaine Empier.In those dayes in y^e yere of our lorde .CCCC.lxxvi. and after, the Emperours stylle makynge warres (for by desteny thende of the Romayne Empier was then nere at hande) the famylyes and lynages of the sayd Emperours were destroyed and plucked vp by the rotes, and there was a capitayn made gouerner of Rome called Orestes, whiche had gyuē this honour to his owne sonne / that he shulde be called not Au­gustꝰ (which was the ꝓpre and true name of the emperours) but Augustulus, which was as you wolde say / a smalle encreacer of thempier. For the olde Romane Cesar thēperour of the west ꝓte, [Page] that is to wite, of Rome / of Ita­lie, of Fraūce / of Germany, was thrust from y^t empier / and in his stede Isaurus the emperour of Constātinople, had set Orestes one of the senatours bloud / and had made hym captaine & gouernour of Rome / whiche dyd sub­stitute & make his sonne Augu­stulꝰ gouernour of the citie after him selfe, and so the noble citie of Rome / whiche somtyme was la­dy and maistres of al the world / dyd serue vnder a captayn w^tout any Romane Emperour. Then rose vp a prince beyonde the bor­ders of Hungary (as I suppose out of walachia) whose name was Odoacer Russus, whiche w^t a gret armie assēbled, toke his iournay straight toward rome / agaȳst whō cam forth y^e captain Orestes beinge also armed with [Page] his legions / to mete with hym / and to withstande hym: but at the fyrst syght of valiant & bolde Odoacer, he fled towardes Pa­pia. But Odoacer Russus pur­suinge fast after hym, layed siege to the cytye / and wanne it by ba­tayle / and slewe Orestes. And afterwardes walkȳg to and fro throughout all Italie / makynge hauocke and great destruction in all places where he went / when he founde none enemy that durst w^tstande hym, he wente strayght to Rome to make warre vpō it / and in cōclusyon was aduaūced by the swerde to the Empier of Rome, and dyd gouerne it after his own pleasure / and as he lyst hym selfe / And this is the decaye and fall of y^e Romane Empier.The decay and falle of the weste empiere. In the yere after the bieldyng of the Citie of Rome M.CC.xxix. [Page] and after the natiuite of Christe CCCC.lxv. after that Odoacer had reigned at Rome .xiiij. yeres amonge other prouinces and re­gions / which were tributarie to the Romanes, Fraūce also was one, and after certeyn yeres whā the Romanes dyd requyre try­bute / the frenche men dyd rebelle and dyd trie the natier with the Romanes by batayle: wherin y^e Romane hoste beinge ouercome and dryuen out of Fraunce / the frenche men dyd electe and make a kynge ouer them selues, one Pharamundus / and in lyke ma­ner y^e other ꝓuinces also / which afore tyme did belōge to the Ro­manes / dyd nowe one and then another create kynges of theyre own / forsakȳg the citie of Rome from the yoke of obedyence. Of whiche sayde city withdrawing [Page] them selues by lytle & lytle / they were theyr owne lordes / all ser­uitude and subiection clene sha­ken of. For as Odoacer hadde wonne and goten Rome by vio­lence and stronge hande: euen so lykewyse was it taken again frō hym / for he was slayne of The­odoricus of the Gotthes / so the the noble and famous Citye of Rome was made a praye to all oute tyrauntes and nations:Rome tor­ned into a praye. e­uen so as the citie of Melayne hath ben in our days, wherof at one tyme an Vngaryan / at an o­ther time a Greciane / at another tyme a Gotthiane / and within a lytle whyle after in Armenyan hath had the rule & gouernance: he that is most myghty / & can do most w^t weapons & gūnes, is ne­rest it & most set by with them.

There is not one worde in any [Page] wrytyng, that the pope at those days did desyre Rome or that he made any warre at all / eyther a­gaynst Rome, or els against any other nation, he had hydde hym selfe in a corner in pouertye, and aduersyte, lyuynge by his owne ioyse and mosture. But in y^e yere after the incarnation of Christe fyue hundred and .xix. Iustinius themperour, a very good man / a Gotthiane, dyd gouerne the citie of Constātinople, which calling forthe the bysshops from the corners, wherin they laye hydde as banyshed men / dyd shewe tow­ardes them great beneuolence & fauoure. After whom succeded Iustinianus his systers sonne / whiche was so great a louer of iustice and rightuousnes,Iustiniane. that he dyd gather together all the con­stitutiōs of y^e Roman emꝓours, [Page] and dyd set them in order / which vntyll this daye we do calle the Ciuile or themperours lawe. This Iustinian consyderynge the ruynes and decayes of y^e Ro­mane empier / dyd recouer agayn certeyne prouinces from the ene­myes of the Romanes, & so dyd set vp agayne the Romane Em­pire / whiche for the moste parte was decayed and fallen downe / and he dyd also bielde goodlye churches in the honoure of god, specially at Constantinople / en­rychynge them with great trea­sures and ryches / addynge also therunto yerelye meate & drynke and clothe to y^e mynysters of the same. This thyng dyd encorage the bysshops & prestes / and they began to take harte agayne / and to be cherefull & glad, al thoughtes and cares clene caste awaye. [Page] At this time the bishop of Rome called Agapitus was sent to the emperour bi Theodotiꝰ to make peace and vnite,Agapitus bysshop of Rome. al discordes and debates layde aꝓte. This Aga­pitus was so holy a mā, that as he entred the gates of Constan­tinople / a certayne blynde man receyued agayne his syght: whiche thynges were done in y^e yere of our lorde .CCCCC.xxx. nei­ther coulde than the newe God Lucyfer leaue vsing of his frau­des and craftie gyles. About the yere of our lorde fyue hundred & lxxx.Gregory the fyrste. Gregoriꝰ Magnus y^e fyrst of that name was made the bys­shop of Rome, y^e fyrst emperour also then beinge of the Grekes / one Maurice a Capadociane. At that tyme the ryches of the bysshop of Rome beinge wel en­creased, the olde serpent brought [Page] forth his hoke agayne / styrryng mouyng entysing Maurice, that he shulde deadely pursue Grego­rie, & that all the other bysshops also shulde be in great contempt. But whan themperour continued and hylde on stylle to hate ho­lye Gregorie: the prouidence of god graunted vengeaunce to be taken vpon hym, that is to wyte that he was takē of Focas, whi­che beheding Maurice, dyd afterwardes hold y^e empier him selfe. This Gregory the fyrst was the last bysshoppe of Rome that dyd folowe the steppes of the mar­tyres and apostles, in lyuynge and doctrine. And albe it that from the reigne of Constantine the bisshops of Rome had dayly encreased more & more in riches, and had not any lenger all of thē ordered and ledde al theyr lyfe so [Page] straightly & perfectly accordyng to the rule of the gospell as they had don afore that tyme, but de­clynede & fell downe by lytle and lytle from the gospell to ceremo­nies, makynge and publishinge one lawe after another: yet had they but tollerably chaūged thē selues vntyll the tyme of Grego­ry, after whom they dyd vtterly close and shytte vp y^e gospel boke breakyng in by salutations into the courtes of princes opēly / as folowethe.The fyfthe degre of idolatrye. In the yere of oure lord .CCCCC.iij. Focas a man borne of a lowe stocke and degre but a valiant man of armes and a doughtie warrier, was fyrst in seruice with the capitayne & go­uernour of Rome, and afterwardes beinge elected & chosen Em­perour in the tentes, was a cruel tyrant. In y^e seconde yere of his [Page] reigne deceassed out of y^e worlde the holy father Gregorie: which is accompted and rekened one of the .iiij. doctours of the churche. But than the olde dragon dyd garnyshe his hoke with a bright bayte by this crafte, The laufull emperour was residēt & had his seate in Constātinople. But yet neuertheles he hadde chosen and taken to hym selfe a ꝓtener and felowe, whiche shulde occupye & gouerne the kyngdome and Em­pier of the west parte (as Rome, Italye / Fraūce / Germanie) thē ­perour of the westpart then be­inge slayen, as we haue sayde be­fore, & dryuen out, so that Rome was set out to rauyne and rob­bery vnto euery man, & the nati­ons dyd ransake away whatso­euer thinges they myght. In the meane season ryches grewe and [Page] encreased to the byshop of Rome but not regions or peoples / but as it happeneth other whyles in treasures of money. Therfore than began the spirite of the go­spell to kele and waxe faynt in hym: bicause that the bysshope of Constantinople dyd preferre hym selfe afore the bysshoppe of Rome, to whom forthwith the olde serpent did proferre and re­che forthe a bayte, which he had prepared and made redy before for the same purpose,Boniface the thyrde. (y^e bysshop then was Bonyface the thyrd of that name) wiht this maner co­lour / what? wylt thou alwayes lye styll in misery & in cōtempte? Rome is the hed citye of all the worlde, it is a foule shame and rebuke to the, that thou thy selfe art not also called y^e hed bysshop of all other: whiche name sholde [Page] moche more ryghtfully agree & belonge to the, then to the patry­arche of cōstantynople. The do­mynyon and empyer of Rome is chaunged, and thou thy selfe art not in so lowe a condycyon and estate or degre among themper­ours / as thy predycessours haue ben. The hoke of this pryde to­gyther with the bayte dyd Boni­fatiꝰ vtterly swalowe in fleynge to the frendship of the emperour Foeas, to whom he made instāte request and prayer for the preue­lege, y^t the bisshop of Rome shuld be y^e highest of all other bysshop­pes / that is to say, that he shulde be pope or father of fathers / and that the chyrche of Rome shulde be hed chirche of al other / which thynge albeit that it was longe and moche adoo,Howe the name of pope fyrste beganne. ere it wolde be graūted: yet for all that thrughe [Page] importune request and prayer he opteyned and brought it to passe at the last, that Focas dyd cōsent to the sayd pryuylege. But this thinge do y^e Popes now a dayes wysely dyssymule, and speake no worde of it at all, cryenge out y^e the pope is the greatest of all bis­shopps, and the chirche of Rome hedde aboue all other churches: and that by the ordenāce of god immediatly, as they do say in the xxij. distinction omnes & .c. why or for what cause then was the donation of Constantine forged by whiche the bysshopryche of Rome, shulde be aboue all other bysshopryches / and raigne ouer them al? as they haue it in theyr decrees in the .xc.vi. distinction, Constantinus. &c. The Roma­nistes do saye euen what soeuer they lyst of theyr own priuileges [Page] and do put into their lawe what so euer thyng smyteth into theyr braynes, and cometh in to theyr mynde: but yet no man durst be so bold to say against their lawe, onles he wyll be contented to be called bi that terrible name of an heretyke, as it is decreed in the .x. and .xij. distinctions, and also in the distinction, Sic omnes. et cete. This bayte of glorie, as I haue sayde, dyd Boniface the pope deuoure and swalowe in. But whether this thynge be cō ­formable and agreeynge to the gospell of God, lette other men iudge: and this same hoke dyd also catche and drawe al the bys­shoppes that haue succeded the sayde Bonyface, so y^t it is made a lawe, yea more ouer a deuyne lawe, vnder payne of commyt­tynge deadely sinne / who so euer [Page] shuld haue other opiniō or shuld thynke other wyse of the prima­cye or preemynence of the bys­shop of Rome:Here begā the name of most holy father the pope. and hereof came the name of the most holy father the pope / and so they fondly fra­med y^e scripture, tu es Petrus. &c. thou art Peter to the priuileges of the emperours / and of bothe these they made them selues a diuyne lawe. Oh what a strōge and myghtye Idole, and a newe god, dyd then sprynge vppe and begynne? For this name hadde neuer any bysshoppe of Rome a­fore that tyme. But when the fyar of contempte and pouertye was quenched and put out / thā dyd ryches, and slouthfull ydel­nes brynge forthe suche maner frutes, as we do se remaynynge stylle euen at these dayes.

Bonifaciꝰ euen then forthwith vsurped the tytle of Pope, wry­tynge hym selfe, Bonyface the thyrde of that name, greattyste bisshop, and he gathered a coun­sell at Rome of y^e other bisshops and preestes / in whiche counsell he decreed, that from that tyme forward, the pope beinge elected of the prestes & the people, shuld be of the same strēght and auctoritie, and of as great reputation, as if he had ben also confirmed by thēperour / which decree was cleane repugnant and contrarye to the olde vsage and custome of the emperours, and agaynst the auctoryte of confirming the bys­shops, whiche they had vsed frō the fyrst begynnȳg y^t emperours became christen. But Boniface after he had obteyned and goten the priuilege of themperour, y^t he [Page] myght call hym selfe pope: this recompence he made to Cesar to acquite him his kindnes withal, he dyd pryuely derogate and mi­nyshe themperours maiestie and prerogatiue / and presumed to be lorde and ruler ouer the same emperour, of whom afore, as of his lord & emperour, through hūble petitiōs and lowly requestes, he had obteyned the pryuylege of primacy and preeminence aboue other bisshopps / howe be it ney­ther he hym selfe, nor a certeyne mayny of his successours durste be so bolde, as to put this decree openly in execution and vse: by­cause at that tyme the emperour had set a captayne and deputye vnder hym at Rome, one of the Senatorie stocke, by whose ele­ction and approbatiō the popes were created and made. But yet [Page] from then forward y^e popes dyd so beare them selues, as thoughe by ryghte they were superiours to thēperours, without whose helpe they dyd what soeuer thīg they myght: teaching bysshops, that they shulde obeye the pope / rather than themperour. Yet is there one thing, that thou maiste compare and matche to this so passinge and outragious pryde. For not lōge after Focas beinge slayne, whiche had graunted so great pryuileges, to the vicar of Christe, so humbly and louly re­quirynge and besechynge hym. Heraclius was made emperour in the yere of our lorde syxe hun­dred and twelue,The begin­ning of ma­homettes sect & belefe at which tyme the newe ydole in very dede and the newe god Mahomet an Is­maelite dyd ryse / whiche hadde byelded and set vp a newe fayth [Page] and belefe, in which the Turkes do lyue. After that the fyrst new god Lucyfer had promoted and put forwarde his cause so farre forthe, that he had gotten one a­monge christen men / which dyd take vnto hym selfe the name of highest bysshop, and the greatest lorde of all men: the sayde Luci­fer was wel apayde and proude therof, and thoughte this in his mynde: Thou shalt procede and go further fourth yet, seing that thou hast thus broken the bedge and lept ouer it, he cast forth his olde bayte well ouerlayed with gyles, afore the pope Constan­tyne in the yere after the natiuite of Christe syxe hundred .lxxxvij. whiche bayte he gredyly swalo­wynge in, dyde desyre moo pri­uyleges to be confirmed of Iu­stinian themperour of Rome / [Page] the thyrde of that name, (not of hym that made the Ciuile law) by which thinges it is easy to ꝑ­ceyue, by what meane y^t so great holines hath sprongen & growē vp. And so the popes of Rome felle from the holy scrypture, ta­kyng so great a name vnto them selues, and takyng also the chefe rule in all matters and busynes / and the chiefe seates and moste honorable places, and beganne to ioyne amytie and frendshyps with princes & emperours, and learned to visite theyr courtes / entermedlyng and making them selues to do with al matters and causes / that were to be treated of this partie and that partie / growynge also and encreasynge welfauouredly in possessiōs and ryches, whiche maner of lyuyng endured and contynued by the [Page] space of one hūdred yeres. The mischeuous & cursed feende toke great ioye and pleasure, that his sleyghtes and craftes dyd go so royally forwarde. For within a lytle whyle after, about the yere of our lorde seuen hundred and eyghte / the Emperoure Leo, the thyrde of that name, a Syriane borne / deposed the patriarche of Constantinople, whiche was a Germayne borne, and dyd substitute in his crowne Anastasius. Then the pope Gregory y^e third brake forth,The fyrste dissentiō of the pope & themꝑour. and wrote to them­perour, that he shulde restore the Germayne to his olde honour agayne, which thyng, whā Leo themperour wolde not do, Gre­gorie after the counsell of y^e olde serpent dyd moue and perswade all Italie that they shuld forsake themperour (but not accordyng [Page] to thensample of the olde popes, whiche lyued after a lowe sorte / whom also he dyd excōmunicate to thētent & purpose / y^t whyles the emperours dyd kepe warres amōges them selues, the empier myght falle in to his handes, for asmoch as he was of gret name amonge the prynces. The olde serpent strayghte way without any delay annoynted bayte, and put vpon the hooke, to caste it forthe agayne: (for this was all his trauayle and labour, that if he myght not suppresse and hold vnder the faythe of Christe, yet at the leaste wyse that he myght by some maner, what so euer it were, entangle and trouble it) he gaue this counsayle to the pope: and dyd put these thoughtes in his mynde: In as moche as the laufull Romane Empier is de­stroyed, [Page] and euery stranger from euery parte of the worlde dothe breake into it, makyng hym selfe emperour at Constantinople / & setting here ouer thy necke some of the Senatorie bloude: why dost thou not put thy lyfe in ieo­perdy, that thou mayst not only haue the name of greatest, but y^e thyng also with all? Rome shall be thy seate, thempier shalbe at thy pleasure, to whome soeuer it shall lyke y^e to gyue it.The fyrste breaking in of popes in to kingdōs. After Leo themꝑour succeded Constantine his sonne, a very tyrannous per­sone / vnder whome Pypine sent embassadours from Fraunce vnto the pope in y^e yere of our lorde seuen hundred & .lij. and the pope lykewyse agayne of his parte / layenge theyr wittes together, and brewyng craft ye counsailes betwene thē, that pope zacharie [Page] shulde take certeyne power & au­ctorite vpon hym, & so deposyng the olde kynge, he made Pypyne kynge of Fraunce / with the fa­uour and consent of the prynces to the same / and this Pypyne is rekened the fyrste kynge of that lande, made by the benefyte of the pope, as the popes lawes do recorde in the .xi. cause, the fyrste question, De quidam. The next yere folowing, the pope zacharie beinge deed, Stephen the secōde was substituted in his place. This Ste. willȳg to vse his po­wer whan kynge Astulphus did molest and disease him in Italie, he dyd forthwith call vpon Py­pyne & met hym certeyne myles of the waye, besechynge hym to gyue ayde & defence to y^e churche of Rome: for he had leuer to be a confessour then a martyre / thyn­kynge [Page] it ynoughe, yf he dyd by that title breake in to heuyn. Then y^e olde wycked deuyll toke no more thoughte, thynking his matier in good case ynoughe, af­ter that he had made the trewe kernell of the christē diuinite cor­rupte and fautye. For those mē, whyche in tymes afore passed, were the moste stronge pyller of all christen men, in contempte & martyrdome: nowe beinge alie­nated and turned from the holy scriptures, had taken vpon them worldely & earthely busynesses / of creatyng ēperours & kynges / of drawynge kyngedomes and lordshyps vnto them selues / se­chinge and goynge about to get royall & proude tytles, offeryng forth their feete to be kyssed / y^t no busines shulde be brought to an ende without y^e pope, whiche [Page] dyd threaten vengeance and pu­nysshement vpon his ennemies. And so the deuyll being free and voyde from all thoughte & care / neded no lenger to walke aboute as a rampynge lyon / of whom Peter speketh: for he knewe wel ynough that saying of y^e gospel. No man can serue two lordes & maisters, and also that sayinge of Paule, No mā that warreth on goddes parte / doth entangle hym selfe w^t worldely maters or busynesses. And y^e olde Sathan was excedyngly gladde garnys­shynge and preparyng his bayte more gayly, and castyng it forth agayne before the new god to be deuoured & swalowed in of him, and his deceipt and gyle was so contriued, as I haue made men­tion a lytle here before. In the yere of our lorde seuen hundred [Page] & .li. whan there reigned kynges in Fraunce by title & name only, the parlyamēt (as it is also euen to this day) determynyng al the causes of the realme: the pope dyd somewhat make the heed of Fraunce to bowe downwarde / at whiche tyme ther reigned kȳg Hilderike of noble bloude, of the auncient famylye and stocke of Merouenge. But Pypyne the graund father of great Charles otherwyse called Charlemayne, was the gouernour and ruler of the realme, in whos roume, after his deceasse, succeded his sonne Charles, whiche also was a go­uerner & orderer of y^e realme, no thynge lesse than Hylderyke (as the which was sprongen of roy­all ꝓgeny) the kyng of Fraunce, I can not tell with what faythe and trustines Charles was ouer [Page] seer and ruler of the realme: but this is plaine and vndoubted, he had y^e pope of Rome fauouryng & leaninge to him. In the meane season dyed Charles, leuyng be­hynde hym thre sonnes, Charle­mayne, Pypyne, and Grypho. Charlemayne had opened & sho­wed his mynde to Pypyne / that he purposed to entre in to religiō and was in dede made a monke / so by the reason therof, occasyon was opened to Pypyne of inua­dyng the realme, vnder the cloke and pretence of administratour and gouernour, Euen yet Hilde­rike yet beinge a lyue, Pypyne thrustynge after the regal digni­tie dyd ioyne him selfe to y^e pope, and the pope agayn ioyned hym selfe to Pypyne, moued bothe of them with theyr owne pryuate and singuler profyte, Pypyne [Page] therfore (consydre here & marke wel in the meane season the gyle and craft of the olde serpent) did sēde ouer to Rome one Burcard the bysshop of Herbipolis / with a chaplayn also of his owne, cal­led Fobrardꝰ, vnto the pope za­carie, to haue his answeres and counsayle concernyng suche ma­ner demaūdes & interogations,The coun­sayles of y^e pope agaīst Hilderike. whether of the two were more worthy to be kynge, he that dyd beare all the burthayne & charge of the realme, or elles he whiche beinge free from all cares & busynesses of the realme, was kynge and gouernour onely by name. vnto which thinges, zacharie by the instructiō of the deuyll made answere and gaue sentence: that it was more ꝓfytable and beho­uefull that he shulde be named kynge, whiche by his dylygent [Page] care, dyd ordre the matiers and busynesses of y^e realme, & whiche toke vpon hym all the labours & paynes, (which is the very office of a kyng:) than the other whi­che was an ydle kynge onely by name. whiche sentence the pope had lerned of his owne lawe in the .xxii. cause and the .v. questiō. Si quis conuictus. &c. whan Pipine the minister had ꝑceyued and founde so great fauour, and sawe so great a wyndowe ope­ned, and so great an occasyon gyuen to hym self, for to inuade the realme: he cōceyued in his mynd a purpose to wynne by force the regall maiestie, whiche enterpri­ses were deceyptes and gyles a­gaynste the naturall and laufull lorde of Pipine and kynge, that is to wete, Hilderike. For he (euē so as it is seen now a days) was [Page] gouernour of the realme, by a cu­stome fet and broughte agayne from the moste auncient kynges descending of Meroue. Suche maner power had the pope ney­ther graunted to hym by Christ, (whiche wold no deuide the patrimony betwene y^e .ij. brethern) neyther yet by any other man, I meane that he might gyue a disagreinge sentence and iudgement for the seruant, against the lorde mysdemȳg no suche maner thīg: but the olde serpēt had his plays and pastymes, & they came ende as he wolde haue them. And so (as we haue sayde) Pipine clened to the pope, and the pope also to Pypyne / sechynge defence and mayntenaunce of his owne po­wer / (as lyke alwayes reioyseth and is glad of lyke,Prouerbes and there is [Page] no potte, but it fyndethe a mete couer) but there was neither ex­ample / nor lawe, for it / that the pope shuld make kynges. wher­fore he dyd turne hym selfe to o­ther subtylties and craftes / he purchased and gatte to hym selfe and Pipine, the amite and frend shyp of many of the princes of Germanye, and lyke wyse of the people of Fraunce / y^t they shulde cōsent therunto, and so was the barlay brothe (as we say) brued, that the Pope myghte take the swerde of his power / aduaūsing Pipine vnto the regall dignitie / according to the tradition of the holy lawes in the .lxxx.viij. dist. Ep̄us. &c. Good lorde after that the true, and good, and the olde kynge Hilderike had vnderstan­dyng and knowlege herof. what shuld he do? for al thynges, both [Page] whiche were to be done, & which were to be lefte vndone / were in the handes & powere of Pipine / as orderer and gouernour of the realme / whā the very good king dyd monyshe Pipine his myny­ster and put hym in remembrāce of his ꝓmesse that he had made, and of the othe that he had takē: then brast forthe the holy father pope Stephen (whiche succeded zacharie) and dyd assoyle Pipine and dispense with hym for al the othes whiche he had made,The power of the pope more then hethenisshe and the faythe / whiche he had gyuen and promysed to the olde kynge Hilderike: and not onely he dyd this to Pypyne, but also he dyd the same to all other (pri)nces, whi­che dyd cōsent vnto the makyng of Pypyne kynge, and the verye good kynge Hilderike,The pope a newe god. they dyd thrust into a house of relygyon. [Page] Therfore lyke wyse as Christe did refuse and flee from the kyngdomes of the worlde,Iohā vi. and the a­postles dyd despyse and sette at nought the honour of y^e worlde, and the olde holy bysshops dyd fyghte with the holy scrypture, wyllyngly and gladly sufferyng dethe for the trouthes sake: So at this tyme y^e bysshops of rome with open face did boldly breake in to all the worlde, sechinge the highest honours and the ryches and power of the worlde, yea v­surping also the heuenly power, agaynst all y^e cyuile lawes made by themperours, agaynst all na­turall, and also agaȳst all diuine lawes, in that he dyd by fraude depose y^e laufull & natural kynge from his seate (whom they fayn to haue ben vnprofytable to the realme: & what maner of folkes [Page] be they?) & also in y^t he did assoyle and lose the othes holely made, & the faith & true allegeance ꝓmy­mysed. what more ꝑfecte ioye & pleasure, thynkeste thou coulde haue happened vnto the olde serpent: than this mater broughte luckely to passe? Howe be it the Pope hath a colour of this po­wer and auctorite in the holy ca­non law in the .xxvij. distinction Omnes. &c. The firste new god Lucyfer was of good conforte and courage vpō the settyng vp of the temple & of the newe god, in comparyson of whiche temple that sumptuous and gorgyous temple of Diana was in a ma­ner nothynge, but he wolde also receyue and beare aweye the fru­tes & trybute of his labour (for thempier of Rome was plucked vp bi the rotes, & clene destroied, [Page] the citie of Rome was become y^e Popes seate / whiche reioysedde greatly, & was proude in spirite, that he was comē into the place of so great an emperour) he toke agayne Astulphe kyng of Lum­bardie, which did warre against the pope, and dyd sore vexe hym for that he dyd so by lytle & lytle take awaye of the lordshyps ly­enge nere vnto the citie of Rome with the iniurye of the pope.

wherfore Stephen the pope did desyre Pipine of ayde and helpe, and y^t he wold defēde his goods and the prouince from the kynge Astulphe, so Pipine dyd on his harneys, & went to Rome with the Pope, (whiche was comen his owne selfe vnto hym for suc­cour) & dyd dryue out Astulphe from Rome. At whiche tyme Pipine did graunte vnto Stephen [Page] Rauēna and certeyn other cities as a gyfte. In the meane season,How the pope came by y^e cityes of Italye. whā Pipine was thus ordeined and made kynge of Fraunce, by the power of the Pope / and the fauour of the people: ther reyg­ned at Constantinople Leo the fourth Romane / and as moche as Fraūce grewe and encreased: so moche dyd y^e reigne of Rome / and of thēperours, minyshe and decaye, all obedience at Rome / being clene extincte / & no lawful Emperour gouernynge Rome, where as in olde tyme of aunciēt custum there had ben lordes and rulears. Now the pope had foū ­de mayntenaunce of his power in Pipine, whiche gaue frely vn­to hym, accordynge to his owne lustes and pleasure, cities / pro­uinces / and nations in al Italy. For what cause I do reherse [Page] these hystories, thou shalt anon perceiue / for they are profytable and necessary / but y^e thou mayste gette out the very treuthe, what the pope is. After these thynges don which we haue rehersed, in the yere of our lord .vij.C.lxxxi. Leo beyng deade at Constanty­nople, there succeded hym Con­stātyne his son / and Pipine also the king of Fraunce died / leuing behynd hym alyue his two son­nes Charles / and Cherlemaine, Charles beinge kyng of Fraūce, came to Rome: and was very louingly receyued of pope Adrian, whose two sonnes, y^t is to wete, Pipine, / and Ludowyke / he dyd his owne selfe make and anoynt kynges / the one that is to wyte / Pipine, of Italie (the olde kyng taken and banysshed) and the o­ther that is to wyte, Ludowike, [Page] of Aquitania / the comen people was taught to say, that Charles was of the senatorie stocke go­uernour of Rome. This Char­les & Pipine had subdued vnto theyr owne dominiō all Rhenus euen vnto Antwerp / Saxonie / Durenne / Colayen. &c. Baua­rie / Normādy / Britaygne / Aus­tria Vngaria. In the yere of our lorde .vij.C.xcix, y^e popes lyuing quietly in good peace, & no man daryng openly to vexe or troble them for feare of the kynges of Fraunce, (whiche were the only refuege of the popes, & in whom the popes did put all their hoope and trust,How the kyngdome of Fraunce came from the pope. and whiche had gyuen to the same roiall gyftes of regi­ons and people. In the meane season Constantyne the sonne of Leo themꝑour dysceassed with­out any heyre: after whome his [Page] mother Hyrena reygned by the space of fyue hole yeres / then ca­me the tyme in whiche it was or deyned by desteny, that y^e kynges of Fraunce sholde / clymbe vp to hygher honours. The pope of rome after Adryane was Leo the thyrde / to whome the Romayns had done I wote not what con­tumelye and dyspleasure: which he takynge verie heuely fled vnto his wont remedy charles y^e kyng of fraunce, declarynge vnto hym with lamentable wordes his ca­lamities, and besechynge him of helpe. Charles then gatherynge a great armye incontynent went forthe ryght fyetsly agaynste the Romaynes, (Oh howe greate a reioysynge and gladnes was this to the olde serpente) and re­uenged the pope gaylye of his aduersaryes / for whiche cause he [Page] was of Leo the pope, crowned kynge of Romaines, all the peo­ple crieng Charles the great em­perour. So this was the fyrste kinge of Fraunce, that euer was made emperour of Rome, In the yere of our lorde eyght hundreth and one. But from that time for­warde the emꝑours of Constan­tynople had no lenger the name of the romane emꝑour, but were content with theyr owne tytle, medlynge nothynge at all with Rome / whiche was the cause, that moeued me to reherse this hystorie / for thou hast herd how the people by lytle and lytle for­soke holy scrypture,An epiloga­tiō or reca­pitulatiō of all y^e thīges a foresayde. the gospell & the steppes of y^e olde bysshops, falling frō pouerty / contēpte, he­uynes & lowe & vyle state / & tor­ning him selfe vtterlye vnto the cōtrary thinges. Thē afterward [Page] how he gate the preuylege of the emperour Focas, that he myght name hym selfe the highest of all bysshoppes & pope, and his chyr­che of Rome the cheefe and heed chyrch of all other. Forthermore howe they gaue dylygence, and laboured, that theyr pryuyleges sholde be approued & confyrmed of Iustinian themperour, gathe­rynge also in the meane seasone many other preuyleges by flate­ryng / by subtil craftes & deceites (for trewe christen men, suche as were the first bisshops of Rome) had no nede of suche pryuyleges and lybertyes / neyther dyd they ones coueyte & desyre any suche / wherfore accordyng to theyr de­seruynge they receyue the croune of glorye, of etnal god) but these mē dyd wynde them selues in to the courtes of prynces & kinges, [Page] being chosē & called otherwhiles to be of theyr counsayles (as the vse & maner is euen now a daies also) dyspatchyng & bryngynge to an ende their maters, alwaies well and honestly to syght & ap­paraunce. In conclusyon they desyred ayde & helpe of y^e kynges and prȳces agaynst theyr aduer­saries & enemyes, and dyd suffre also that they sholde be slayne al­beit y^t they dyd greately abhorre and hate to beare y^e name of the effusion of theyr blode. At lenght they dyd cōfederate theim selues with prynces, and began to take coūsayle with theym, as it chaū ­sed w^t Pypyne the admynystra­toure and orderer of the realme, agaynst the ryghtfull and natu­rall kynge hylderyke, when they dyd caste awaye all clokes and vysures, and boldely with open [Page] face dyd embrace and take vnto them selues great power (but yet with feare in y^e begynnyng) that is to wyte / of makynge kynges wherof they had made pactions with princes / laste of all, because all thynges went forward lucke­ly they dyd also adourne theym selues with most goodly cytyes and prouyncies, connyngly and peacybly obteynynge Rome for theyr owne selues, whiche shold be, as it were, the myrrour of the christen faythe, in whiche all the whole worlde might see & learne the very christen and euangelyke lyfe as they do write them selues in y^e syxte of y^e decretalles, in the sxyte tytle, & the fyrst boke, & the xvij. chapytre / Nūquid. And by theyr owne propre power which they had takē vnto them selues, they promouted Charles vnto [Page] themperourshyp of Rome / & by suche feates, they haue so crepte into possessyons and domynyon: (allways vndre the semblaunce and coloure of holynes, and vn­dre the cloke of saynt Peters na­me) that now they are lordes of all the worlde.The pope is cōpared & likened to an yuie tre. And here cometh to my remembraūce a propre symylyrude. In lyke maner as the Iuye tree doeth in the fyrste be­gynnynge / it is a tendre twygge rysynge out of the grounde, and crepynge lowe on the grounde: but by lytle and lytle it ioynethe it self to the rote of a stronge and a very hyghe tree, as a fyrre tree or suche an other, whiche fealeth nothynge at all so slender and so weake a sprygge, for in the wyn­ter tyme it getteth and receyueth dyuers and many iniuryes as in sufferynge otherwhyles the falle [Page] of the bowes and of the leaues. Neuertheles althoughe it dothe in suche wyse suffre, yet dothe it contynually growe vp vntyll it haue fastened it selfe within the barke of y^e tre, that it maye cleaue alwayes more fast, vntyll besyde the barke it do growe fast also to the body & substaunce of the tre / & then is it no lenger in daunger to be hurte with wyndes. Then contynuethe he to goo forth on myghtely wyndynge hym selfe aboute y^e tre, and when he is ones cropen vp so hyghe that he maye get holde of the braunches, then doeth he shedde and depart hym selfe vnto the way of the braun­ches of the tree, embrasing them euery one in suche wyse, that the tree hath miche worke to growe: In cōclusion there do breake out so many braunches, of the Iuye [Page] so many leaues, so many beryes, and that so thycke, and so great a nombre of them: that the verie ryght tree it selfe is straungled and choked / and so that excellent and noble tree doeth peryshe and dye, vpon whiche the stynkynge Iuye doeth growe to suche byg­nes, that it is a tree of it selfe, and doeth occupy the place of the for­mer great tree. Compare now y^e narratiō y^t we haue made, what thȳkest y^u? did it not come euen so to passe in olde tyme: as it doeth euen yet also dayly? an example herof fetche in the xcvj dystinctiō thrughe out all the chapiters of it. But Adryan afterwardes the pope, when he dyd perceyue hym selfe to be vnequall in power to desyderyus kynge of Italye: he raysed vp agaynst hym Charles the great, which cōmyng with a [Page] greate hoste agaynst desyderius, toke the sayd desyderiꝰ prisoner, and commaunded the pope with an hundreth and .iiiij. bysshops and abbottes for to assemble to a counseyll at rome,The aucto­ [...]e of theꝓ­ [...] to [...] pope in whiche the pope Adryan with y^e whole coū ­seyll dyd offre vnto themperour & all his posteryte for euer all his auctoryte and powere for then­herytaūce and ordynation of the Romane see. So y^t all the arche­bysshops thorough oute all lon­des, sholde take theyr investiture (as they call it) of themperour, and that none shold be consecra­ted without it, vnder payne of excomunycation and gyuyng to the deuyll, whiche same thynge Leo the pope nexte elected after Adryane dyd also, whiche in an open coūcell assembled in y^e chir­che of saynt Sauyour, did bothe [Page] his owne selfe and all the coun­sayll a forsaid with hym cōfirme vnto Otho the fyrste of the ger­maines y^t was emꝓour of Rome, y^t the same shold ēdure & cōtynue for euermore / as it is redde in y^e lxiij distinctiō Adrianꝰ, & also in synodo. This motiō they made to Charles, y^t they myght haue one of y^e senatorie stock & a defē ­der agaynste y^e kynge of Italye, whō Pipin & Charles had depriued of his kīgdom, gyuȳg it to y^e pope of rom, which sate ī pesible possessiō / after y^t he had submited hym selfe, & all his clergye, vnto themꝑour lyuynge then in securite, & w^tout ony feare or drede, he did at y^e last ī ꝓcesse of tyme, take al the goodes of y^e whole ꝓuince of Thuscia by p̄scriptiō ī to his possessiō. The olde serpēt knewe his nest well, & therfore willynge [Page] to bring forthe some newe thing in the worlde, he conueyed hym selfe in to his owne counterfeyte newe god. Charles the great de­ceased in y^e .xlvij. yere of his own reygne, which was y^e yere of our lord viij.C.xv. after whom succeded Lewes his sonne & the pope Adryan the fyrste of that name lyke wyse dyed whiche with the counceyll hadde gyuen the afore rehersed lybertye vnto Charles / herken nowe an hystorye. (The great Iuye, which as I sayd be­fore was growne vp: hadde felte hurte) in the election of the newe pope, they dyd create & cōsecrate pope Stephen the .iiij. neyther callynge to counseyll thembassa­dours of themperour neyther so moche as speakynge one worde of y^e mater to themperour lewes. But after y^t it was noysed, that [Page] themperour was displeased and angrye, for that y^e pope with the hole counseill were shortly foūde false and vntrue brekers of theyr owne iudgement and sentences: and yet they do now a daies saye that it is impossyble, y^t a coūseyll sholde erre or lye, then Stephen fledde to gylefull excepcyon fra­myng letters which sholde wit­nes the contrarye. In the begyn­nīge he dyd cōfesse it to be true, y^t to thelection of y^e new pope afore y^t he were chosen there oughte to assemble the bysshops, & prestes, and the senatoures, & the people of Rome: (and he dissembled the name of themperour and of his embassadours) but after that the pope was elected & chosen, that then themꝑours ambassadours were to be called, in whose pre­sence he shoulde be cōsecrated, and [Page] not before. Consydre the wycked craft of the pope. The eleccyon belonged to them with out any knowlege gyuen to themperour the consecration of the pope be­longed to them: only themper­ours ambassadours muste stond by and loke on at the tyme of the cōsecration. But where was the coūseill of Adrian lefte in y^e mean season? The pope by hym selfe alone dyd infrynge the sayd coū ­sell: and yet dyd not the pope a­lone neither decree, nor make nor giue that liberty to themperour. But the pope inuented a crafte & a subtyll exception as the history sayth: y^t thēperours had ben som tyme vnwyse, & furyoꝰ, folowīg theyr owne braynes, nothynge regardynge the voyces of theyr men (where as in y^e counseyll of Adriā there was no suche word, [Page] that themperour sholde giue his voyce with other: but that thē ­perour alone shold haue the Iu­rysdyction of electyng and con­fyrmyng the pope, whiche as a newe god had chaunged y^e wor­des of the councell, and turned them a contrary way) and that they dyd fall somtyme into here­syes / from whiche them selues god wote were saufe, wherfore themperours shold not medle w^t y^e eletiō of y^e pope vnder payne of excomunycaciō / of these thȳges, let euery man iudge, what holy­nes folowed y^e popes frō day to day, after y^t they had ones goten cytyes and domynyons. But if any other man had sayd against the counseyll: in to howe greate heresies shold he haue fallen / but Stephen the Pope was grea­teste of all men, there is another [Page] reason in hym: nowe is it tollerable to se how pertely he percheth forth of his neste? gettynge vnto him pretely the power of kynges and emperours, so y^t now, hense forthe he neadeth no more theyr fauour. ¶Afterwardes Pope Stephen sent ambassadours to lewes the emperour in to fraūce, to myttygate his indygnation, for that he was not saluted nor spoken to aboute thelection and consecratyon of the pope: for he wold come to hym his owne self personally (se y^e wicked craft, the pope toke boldnes vpō his backe, vysityng thēperour in his owne proper persone: but by that craft he brought to passe that thynge which he desired, that is to wyte, the dystructiō of Adryanes coū ­saile) when the pope was comen in to Fraunce vnto themperoure [Page] Lewes, y^e good and patient em­perour wēt forth towardes him with a greate company to mete hym, and receyued him very cur­tesly & louyngly: where the pope saide masse and crowned Lewes the emperour of Rome / whome the pope dyd then desyre that he wolde pardon and release to him the priuyleges graūted by Adry­ane his predecessour vnto the aū ­cesters of the sayd Lewes: The good prynce beynge perswadede dyd consent. Then this renūcia­cion forth with they did put in to the popes lawes, and from that time forwardes the Romanistes haue made vs popes after theyr own wyll & plesure. This lewes was the secōd emꝑour of Rome, whiche was made by the power of y^e pope / and he lefte successour of the kingdome his fyrst begotē [Page] sonne Lotharius, and his other two yonge sonnes Charles and Lewes beynge kynges onely in name, he made the one prynce of Acquitania (whiche is a regyon of Fraūce liēg towardes spayn) and the other of Bauarie. After y^e deceasse of their father Lewes, there arose discorde and stryfe be­twene the thre bretherne. The yonger bretherne were dyscontē ­ted & angry, that they were de­pryued & put from theyr kyngdō of theyr father, and whiche was heredytarie to theym: wherfore they made as it were Iuste and ryghtfull batayle agaynste Lo­tharyus in whiche batayll there was so moche blod shed on both parties,The chaū ­ge of them­pyer. that all the power of the sayd bretherne was mynysshed & decayed: In conclusyon Lotha­rius was ouercomen: & so fraūce [Page] was deuided, Charles had to his part, all that euer is betwene the Englyshe see and Mosa: and to Lewes part whiche was thelder brother, fel all Germanye whole euē to the ryuer called Rhenum / And all the region lyenge betwe­ne, as Lothoryngya (so called of Lothorius) Treueris / Colayne, Mogūcia / Braband / Flaūders. After this maner dyd thempier of Rome fal in to the lotte of dy­uyson. The olde auncient kyn­ges of Fraunce, as the Merouē ­ges toke theyr name of merouēs, the sone of Clodyus / so lyke wise the Carolines were called of Carolus the fyrste sonne of Pypyn, which sayd carolines, did reigne aboute an hundreth & ten yeres, and as long as y^e Romane Em­pyer was cōtynually remaynȳg and holden of y^e Frenshe men In [Page] these thre bretherne the famylye and stocke of the Carolines was quyte extynete / Lewes (whiche was also called Suendebalde) beyng the last of theym all. And Otho duke of Saxonye by the voice and consent of al men was called to be Emperour of the Romaynes is the yere of oure lorde ix.C.xiij.Otho the fyrst Romane emꝑour of the Ger­manes. This Otho layeng for hymselfe very great aege, & be sy­des that his owne impotency, y^t he myght be lyghtened and eased of so greate a charge and rule of y^e Romane Empyre. By his iud­gement therfore and counseyll a certeyne man called Conradus, one of the Germaynes was elec­ted Emperoure / of whome it is doubt, whether he was of the ly­nage of y^e Carolynes or els not. But when he had raygned seuen yeres in Germanye, he dyed / and [Page] afterwardes. Otho y^e sone of y^e duke of Saxonie, was called, the fyrste emperour of Rome, y^t was made of the Germanyes. Now it was necessarye to the olde ser­pent, that he sholde make this so plentifull a fysshing, ons so hap­pely and luckely goten, propre & sure to his owne selfe. Therfore after that y^e romane empier was cōmen downe frome the frenshe men to the flemynges, in the yere of our lorde .ix.C.lxij. with in a lytle vnder or ouer. The pope in the mean season about the space of .C. yeres bothe had put in cer­teyne emperours in thempier, & had enoynted theym / so that the auctorite of that thing was now waxed strong and had gathered rotes: albeit yet neuertheles som men other whyles dyd speake a­gaynste it, and also dyd therfore [Page] warre agynste the Romane do­minions & lordshyps / and when it was ones comen to passe y^t the Frenshe men dyd fall from them­pyer, beynge nothynge of myght and power of them selues singu­larly aboue other: then the Pope also (wysely in dede) loked ano­ther way, turning his heed from theym, & made Otho duke of sax onye Emperour of rome / but yet vnder a cōdition, y^t his owne po­wer sholde frō thensforth remain stedfast & stable vnto hym self, yf at ony time an accōpt shold be re­quired of his possessiōs, & also y^t he shold haue, to whō he myght trust & leane for socour & mayntenaūce. Iohn̄ therfore y^e .xij. pope of y^t name whiche was goten vp to the popeshyp by the ayde and power of his frendes, dyd prescribe an othe vnto Otho, in whiche [Page] Otho shold acknowlege him self to be y^e popes phasalle (as we do now cal it)The pope requirethe an othe. & so bi these craftes & sleyghtes y^e most noble & mighty empier of y^e worlde did receaue of y^e pope. Ius cliēte lario (rum) p̄dico (rum), vnder whose very great holynes it hath for y^e most ꝑte contynued also. The sayd othe is writen in this forme & maner / in y^e canon lawe in y^e .lxiij. distinctiō To the lord Iohn̄ y^e pope,The forme of the othe. I kinge Otho do make promyse & an othe, by y^e father, y^e sōne, & the holy ghoste, and by this tree of the quickning crosse, & by y^e relyques of saintes, that if it please god to suffre me, that I maye come to Rome: I shall exalte the holy Chyrche of Rome, and you the gouernour of it, accordinge to all my myght and powere, and also you shall neuer lease your lyfe, no neyther [Page] ony mēbre of your body, neyther this honour which you haue, by my wyll, or by my counseyll, or my cōsent, or my exortation, and I wyl make no decre or ordenaū ce in Rome concernyng ony of al those thynges, whiche do belong to you, or to rome, without your counsayll: & what so euer londes of saynt Peters, shall come in to my handes and power, I shall restore it vnto you: and to whome so euer I shall cōmyt and betake the gouernaūce of Italye, I shal make hym swere, y^t he shall ayde and helpe you to the vttermoste of his power, to defende the pa­trymony of saynt Peter. The pope hath power and auctoryte to requyre suche a maner of othe as this, for so doeth the canon lawe witnes in the twelfth cause and y^e fyrst questyon Clericus. This [Page] is indede to deuoure & swalowe in the soppe that is layed afore the. From this Otho, all them­perours that folowed euer after euen to this daye: haue ben com­pelled to bynde them selues vnto y^e pope as to theyr lorde, by suche an holy othe. Oh Romane em­pire, suche a meate or supping as this is y^u woldest in olde time not ones haue tasted of: But nowe there is no remedy but that thou muste eate it clene vp / but thou wilt none other, for the scripture also muste be fulfylled. To the making of this greate othe, fyrst Otho the fyrst of that name dyd consente / then afterwardes his sone Otho the seconde, and after hym Otho thyrde, also dyd the same, breefly the same dyd all the dukes of Saxonye. But when Otho y^e thyrd was elected, beȳg [Page] yet in a maner but a chylde, the Romanes were greatly offended and greued therwithall, for they dyd couet greatly to haue had a certeyn man Crescentiꝰ magnꝰ whiche was consull of the cytye of Rome, made emꝑour / whome when they had also elected and chosen, then pope Gregory the .v. fled to Otho in germanie, whose cousyn he was. And otho goyng forth with verye greate strenghe besyeged the cytye of Rome w^t a passynge great hoste, and wāne it: in whiche bykeryng Crescen­tius was stryken thoroghe and slayne, and the newe pope Iohn̄ had his yeis put out / pope Gre­gory the .v. therfore gathered a counseyll, that he myght decree, after what forme and maner the elections were to be made of the newe kynge or emperour: for the [Page] emꝑours were in the power of y^e popes, because they had sworne to theym as vnto theyr lordes, lykwise as the Othoes had don, wherfore the popes toke then vp on theym selues to gouerne and rule thempyer with full powere & auctoryte. For when one wold not sweare to suche thynges, as they dyd requyre, nor kepe and fulfyll suche thynges as he had sworne to: there was foūde ano­ther prynce, which was ful glad to sweare onely to thentent that he myght ones be made Emper­our. And suche maner contenti­ons and pryde of y^e Prynces dyd gyue the pope occasyon, and pla­ce often and sundrye tymes to in­uade thempyer. ¶In this great counseyll it was decreed and or­deyned by the pope (he beynge a Germayne), whiche descended of [Page] the lynage of the dukes of Saxonye, that frome y^t tyme forwarde there sholde no more ony Emperour be made of the lyne or blodde of the Romanes,The begynnyng of chosyng y^e em­perour in Germany. but onely of the Germanyes: and it was put in thelection, power, and auctorite, of the prynces of Germanye, to make emperour whom they lyst. And this thynge was constytu­ted by Gregorie the .v. and by the counseyll in the yere of our lorde M.ij. From suche a begynnyng it came afterwardes in to a custome, that thempeours were made by the voyces of seuen prynces of Germanye the electours, which thynge we do se to be done euen at these present dayes. & therfore the kyng or emperour of the Ro­manes is named the son and the defender of the chirche of Rome, oneles we wyll that our faythe [Page] shold decay & perysh. After suche facion do the popes now a daies vexe dyuers wayes and subdue vnto them the sely emperours of Rome: euen as coursers do hor­ses / what soeuer thyng they co­uet to be brought to passe in any parte of the worlde, they do send a cardynall called a legat a latere vnto themperour, puttyng hym in remembraunce of his offyce & duetye, and of the othe which he hathe made, and oneles he wyll be made periured, he is compel­led to assyst the pope in all thyn­ges, whether it be right or wrōg, which in the meane season being instructe w^t goodly paynted elo­quēce, ꝑswadeth euen this thyng also, for that the Pope can not erre. &c. Reade thou y^e histories, whether this thynge be trewe or not / & now all power & auctorite [Page] is turned cleane contrarye to the ryght way. Constantyne y^e fyrst, with his successours which pro­fessed Chryste, dyd create & make and confyrme all the popes of rome, & also all the other bysshops: but nowe the popes of Rome, do make both kynges and emꝑours bysshops, and abbottes / & what so euer is in the worlde. Moreo­uer the pope, that he myght ordre all thinges accordyng to coūseyl and polycye of the olde serpente, dyd assemble one counseyl after another, in whiche counseylles he dyd constytute and decree what so euer thynge made for his pur­pose: and what so euer thyng did not lyke hȳ, or dyd make against his purpose, that he dyd forbed vnder payne of y^e thunderbolt of excommunycation. Thus were the pryuyleges of the chyrche of [Page] Rome inuented, and afterwar­des obteyned by the confyrmati­on of the Romane emperours, and dylygently gathered to ge­ther into the canon lawe / but yet if any thing had ben forgoten by theyr necligence strayght wayes they patched to an extrauagant, with this lawe y^e pope hath well armed and fenced hym selfe, that there shold be no mā at ony tyme whiche myghte be bolde in ony thynge to gayne say hym,Here the pope settith his seate e­gall to god. or to reproue hym, constytutyng and exalting hym selfe aboue all men in the whole worlde, as it is wri­ten in y^e same lawe in y^e .ix. cause & the thyrde question. Nemo. &c. with many other vayne tryfles / and he dyd not onely reiecte men from hym selfe or his owne ꝑson, but also he hathe drawen bothe the verye gospell, yea and all the [Page] hole scrypture, in to captyuite no man darynge ones to vse it, but as farforthe as his consent and fauour shall permitte and suffre. Be sydes y^t he hathe decreed that no man shall either teache, or vn­derstonde y^e scrypture, otherwise then as the Pope hathe gyuen sentence and iudgemēt vnpon it. Also y^t no man shall either truste or gyue faste and sure credence to the vertue and auctoryte of the holy scriptures: yf the Pope wyl not consente therto, in the .xvij. cause and in the fourth question. Nemini. &c. & in the .xxiiij. cause and the fyrst questiō. Quotiens / and so cōsequētly in diuers other chapiters. But what other thȳg is the scrypture then the word of goddes mouthe? as the .lxxxvj. psalme doth wytnes saing Do­minus narrabit in scripturis. &c. [Page] The lord shall speke or tell in the scryptures. The scrypture ther­fore is the speache of god, which is the verye truthe selfe / and his speache is truthe, in the .xvij. of Iohn̄. Moreouer Chryst sayth, I am the waye, veryte, and lyfe / Yf chryste then is the truthe and the scrypture (as is sayd before) is also the same truthe: now then seynge scrypture (as is afore de­clared) is y^e popes captiue which maketh of it what he wyll, it fo­loweth necessaryly that chryste y^e eternal god is the popes captyue also & presoner. Oh serpent Lu­cyfer what maner a newe god doest thou here brynge forthe to vs, & what maner a newe fayth? it lacketh not moche, but that I do thynke hym to be, that beaste, with .vij. heddes and .x. hornes, of which Iohn̄ speakith in y^e .xiij. [Page] chapiter of y^e apocalypse / of these thynges dothe folowe this pro­posytion, that it were as profitable, (yea I had well neare sayd more profytable also) that all the hole scrypture & the holy gospell were abrogate and cleane put a­waye, then y^t it sholde contynew in suche state and captyuyte / Yf this holsom message ought to be preached, and shewed to no man more largly (as they do say) then as moche as the pope / wyll con­fyrme and alowe. Be sydes this we do se openly before our yeis that the pope dothe in some pla­ces moost openly and playnly re­iecte y^e scripture, and mynyshe the auctorite of it, settyng his owne lawes in egall degree of honour, and makyng theym egall vnto it in reuerence and strenghte and vertue: whiche thyng that thou [Page] mayste perceyue to be trewe rede the canon lawe in y^e .xix. distinc­tion Sic omnes. &c. But wher­fore serueth the holy scrypture, or what nedeth vs to haue it: if y^e pope hym selfe be to vs y^e scrip­ture? Oh wretched man how farre doeth thy madnes procede, whiche doeste make thy seate e­quall to thy lorde god? whiche did not suffre neither Lucyfer in heuen, neither Adam in paradi­se, so longe as he doeth patiently suffer y^t in earthe. But suche ma­ner blasphemyes agaynste god, doeth the olde serpēt bryng forth by Aristotelycall & Thomisticall diuynite. Freers, and the subtyll ymagynation of the Scotistes, do rayse vp suche maner goddes: lykewyse as the lorde god hathe sygnyfyed by his holy prophete Ezechiel in the .viij. chapytre do [Page] you not thynke that the walles of our herte and the vsage of the chirche doeth conteine the moste greatest parte of the pyctures & the ymages of abhomynations, which are mentioned in the sayd chapyter? and vnder a good and religious semblaunce, euen suche goldē calues also as hieroboam dyd make in the olde tyme?The pope a new god. euen lykewyse as yf he dyd say in that place you christen men loke well vpon the Pope, whiche is your god, whiche hathe in his power heuē and hell you do beleue him,iii Regū xii. what soeuer he doethe is ryght­wyse neyther do you nede to re­quyre ony more of hierusalem, tary you styll in Bethell, ther to offre your brent sacrifices. Many thynges myght be wrytē of this boystous newe god: but who so­euer list to know his newe faith, [Page] his lyfe and his gouernaūce, let hym rede the canon lawe whiche he hath made / and let hym com­pare it to the holy scrypture, and to the olde faythe of Christ: and it shall appere to him more clerly then the sonne, that he is a newe god and a newe faythe / let ony man searche thoroughe out the cronycles, and hystoryes, and he shall fynde in a maner y^t not y^e de­uyl hȳself was euer so ꝑsūptuoꝰ so filthy, & so synful & mischeuoꝰ. Now he that hath ben at Rome,Pope Alex­andre the vi. & pope Iuly the ii. in the tyme of Pope Alexandre y^e vi. or of Pope Iuly the seconde: he shall not nede to reade manye hystories / I put it to his Iudge­ment, wether euer ony of the pay nyms or of the Turkes dyd euer leade suche a life, as did these our most holy popes. And albeit per­aduenture that I do ouermoche [Page] touche the fundation & do medle to moche w^t this matier / whiche may turne me to dyspleasure: yet that not withstondynge, it is profytable & verye necessarye, that the trouth be assysted & defended leaste that ony man do preferre or make egal the Imaginations and inuentions of man, vnto the euerlastynge ryghtuous, moost good, & most greate and myghty god, & least man do put his trust and confydence in man, and so by the reason therof be condempned aeternally.The greattest plage & punyshmēt in earthe. This I do saye, god coulde neuer haue suffred a greatter nor a sorer punyshement and plage to falle in to this worlde, then blyndenes, ygnoraunce and vnbeleefe: for the scrypture sayth mooste euydently, who so euer doeth not beleue: (vnderstande y^u the holy scryptures) he is alredy [Page] iudged. Therfore when we will by no meane gyue credence to the holy scrypture, but we will with roten gloses expoūde it, & turne it in to all facions after our psea­sure, as it were a peace of wexe: the god of his ryghtuousenes doeth permit and suffre, that we can none otherwyse iudge nor o­therwise knowe, but that in so doyng we do all ryght and well. In suche, maner and incredulyte we do continue, and in our owne carnall and wordely wysedome we do contynually procede and go forwarde, and so we do rayse vp a newe faythe / we do set vp a newe god / of whome we shall also receyue the rewarde of our merytes and deseruynges. O. wo. wo. be to this rewarde e­ternally. O moste tender & dear­ly beloued chrysten men, plucke [Page] backe your fote, gyue your selues to Christ the most good & gentill lorde, that he maye gouerne you, whiche may helpe vs for euer­more.The cause of the exal­tation of y^e pope, and of sayntes. So then the olde serpente Lucyfer hathe broughte to the worlde, this excellent & straunge new god no lesse craftely, then in the olde tyme they whiche wrote tha fable of transformatyon as Ouide amonge latine mē by she­wyng of Homere (as I suppose) in which sayd fable men are tur­ned in to wolues, into asses, in to gotes / in to byrdes / in to herbes / in to stones / whiche thynge the goddes and goddesses Iupyter, Pallas, Iuno, Appollo, Venꝰ. &c dyd work by theyr power, which after theyr deth were made gods of mē. For ī y^e olde tyme as euery man or woman was excellent & notable, whiche had syngularly [Page] either inuented, or elles done ony thynge whiche the people knewe not before: so was he or she mag­nyfyed and exalted for a god or goddesse: as Hercules an excel­lent strong, & hardy man, a stout enemy of vayne men / and a defē ­der of al innocent ꝑsones beynge oppressed of tyrannous men / of whome he was a very valyaunt cōquerour and queller: this her­cules (I saye) beyng so good, so wyse so strong & valiaunt a man (beynge moche like to Samson, whiles he was liuīg, in his time) after that he had done so excellēt and noble actes, was of all men magnyfied & lyfted vp w^t laudes and prayses euen to y^e skye / was worshypped and after his death also was deyfied. For y^e olde ser­pente instructed and armed with his deceypte and craft, exepte to, [Page] puttynge men in the mynde, that of moost valyaunt hercules they sholde make a demonyake. Lykewyse in a maner came it to passe in Christe / in peter / in benedycte and fraunciske / whiche all were most vertuous and most parfyte chrysten men / but the posteryte & successours of them dyd onely kepe styll the tytle, and dyd hyghly exalte and magnifie the goodnes and holynes of these persones a­fore rehersed, and settynge theim selues in to theyr roumes do chalenge lyke titles vnto thē selues / & vnder y^e pretence and clooke of suche holy names, thei do occupy the tyranny of y^e whole worlde / they do rule & reygne / yet is their lyuynge nothyng at all agreyng to theyr titles, but they do al thinges clene cōtrary therto, & y^t openly, & w^tout ony maner shame in y^e [Page] world. And if ony man do speake ony whyt of theyr maners and lyuyng, or do rebuke them, or w^t ­stōde thē: what do they? straight wayes they do cast forth agaynst vs holy men,The comen oration & speache of relygyous persones to the laye people. as it were a certeyn shelde to defend theym selues w^t all, Christ our lorde / the power & auctoryte of Peter / the moste weyghty auctoryte of y^e workes of Thomas of Aquyne, y^e woun­des of saynt Fraūcyske / the tem­peraunce of Benedicte / y^e charyte of Augustynne: behynde whom stondethe this cursed hypocryte and new god w^t his tyrannycall and new faythe, pretendyng and makyng the people beleue, that blasphemy is cōmytted agaynste god & his sayntes / and agaynst y^e catholyque chyrche, sedytions to be moened / inobdedience to be brought in / y^e peace of christēdom [Page] to be dysturbed / and with suche and other lyke false reportes, they do blynde and deceyue prin­ces, & lordes, so that a man can­not lyghtly rydde out hym selfe therfro, neyther knowe what is ryght, and what is contrary to ryght / and so thus we do walke forth on in our blȳdnes our chil­dren haue lerned this thynge of vs and theyr chyldren of them / and so by this meanes it doeth & hath contynually growen and encreased by the space of manye hundreth yeres / Be sydes this, yf at ony tyme god pytyenge our blindnes, doeth electe som good, wel learned, and vertuous man, whiche wyll restore yeis agyne vnto oure vnderstondynge, and whiche wyll god aboute to tea­che what dyfference is betwene precious thynges, and thynges [Page] of smalle value, betwene leade, & pure golde / betwene y^e true fayth of christ, & the newe superstition, betwene the doctrine or lawe of men and the heuenly and dyuyne scripture: then do these brethren fall to theyr vttermoste defence & shyfte / fyrst come forth the Rely­gyous men / the burthaynes of chyrches,The malingnite of prestes. with mischeuous wordes hatefully accusnyg hym and informynge the newe goddes, y^t there is a certeyn felowe spronge vp whiche wolde put them oute of place / and dryue them out of y^e worlde. All the new goddes then assemblen theym selues togyther & do take, theyr coūseyll agaynst hym / couerynge some vngratioꝰ and wycked person with the in­nocent garment of christ our lord and so beyng instructed and pre­payred do go vp in to the pulpet [Page] of theyr vnshamfastnes, coūtre­faytynge an holy & godly worke and gesture, in suche wise that an ygnoraunt persone wold swere / that there stode in y^e place eyther saynt peter / or domynyk or fraū ­cyske his owne selfe / & there they begin to syng theyr forged song: but sodeynly forgettynge theyr matier / when they ought to shew theym selues as Christ taughte: thei do shew thēselues to be none other maner ones, then was Be­lyall in the olde tyme / they raue / they rage / & rayle as it were mad men / w^tout scrypture, w^tout rea­son / lewdely & shamfully: whose chef doctryne & wisdome is this, he is an heretike / a sedicioꝰ ꝑsone he wresteth y^e scripture to a ꝑuer­se & wronge sense / he wyll preche & teache to vs a new faythe. Oh good god, the sely comen people [Page] doeth inwardly sorow, by reason y^t this pharysaye doeth so boldly & presumptuously inuey, rage, & feircely speake agaynste the true doctryne beynge offred and put forthe vnto theym: Also folyshe freers do walke a bout amonge y^e comen people, bablyng in this wyse / frēdes, how thinke you by this newe doctrine? what thinke you wyll folowe therupon? we ought not to vysyte the chyrche / we ought not to offre vnto y^e al­tre / we ought not to make our confessyon and shrift, the preestes ought to be spoyled of all theyr goodes / (yet they do falsly & sha­mefully ymagin all these thīges, for there is no mā, y^t doth so teach w^tout diffrence) what is your best coūcel ī this matier? Noli Noli. To y^e fier, w^t y^e knaue / suppose ye y^t al our forfathers were foles? or [Page] that thei were dampned eche one of theym? what meanethe this heretyke to brynge in newe thyn­ges? I wyll stycke to myn olde god (that is to wete, to the canon lawe, to y^e rules and ceremonies and to y^e boke of rentes and pen­tions) I wyll a byde by the olde faythe (which that is / lyke wyse which is y^e newe: you shall heare a lytel hereafter) to what so euer place my fore fathers haue gone after theyr deathe: thyther wyll I also w^t a good will. The sȳple vnlearned comen people, when they do heare so goodly narrati­tiōs, do thinke this in their myn­des / seing that the preestes do so strongely resyst & stryue agaynst this doctrine: what hast thou to do with it? thou shalte enclyne to the more part / and so euen nowe a dayes is that sayenge of christ [Page] fulfylled, if one blȳde mā be guyd to another blynde man bothe of theym shall fall in to the dytche. Euen lykewyse dyd y^e mynisters of the alter of y^e newe god Beliall,Examples of y^e [...] of true [...] ­ten me. in Babilon, vnto the good ꝓphet Danyell, and semblably was in­nocent Susanna entreated of y^e two vngratyous preestes / and Hieremie,Danyells. whiche was sanctified from his mothers wombe, was none otherwyse handled of the false goddes & theyr mynysters / & after y^e same maner was Iesu Christ dealed with all, of y^e newe goddes in hierusalem and of the preestes thorough out all Iury / and after suche facyon also was y^e excellēt martyre saynt Stephē handled of the newe god Annas, and of the mynysters of the tem­ple. In lyke maner was saynte Peter & saynte Iohn̄ entreated / [Page] what nede mani word? alwayes the hole councell / y^e chief prestes / the doctours / the pharyseys / the relygyous / the senyours / haue thought & iudged the contrary, yea and also in theyr counselles haue decreed what soeuer these afore named holy and ryghtuoꝰ men dyd teache, to be heresy and blasphemy agaynst god, putting forthe and layenge afore theym y^e olde faythe / y^e olde councelles / the olde statutes / the olde vsage and custume: and therfore they dyd dryue out the sayd holy men out of their cyties / they did beate theym with scourges / they dyd stone theym and slee theym also: but do you wene y^t Chryste was therfore an heretyke / that Hiere­mye, y^t Esaye, and all y^e apostles, were heretikes:Take hede you prestes because the pree­stes of the temples w^t theyr newe [Page] goddes, did rage & rayle agaynst theym? that is nothynge so / for the trouthe is trouthe and shall euermore endure / althoughe the moste wreched preestes of the tē ­ples w^t theyr newe goddes wyll go downe to y^e deuylles, let that moue the nothynge at all: for to hell they do belonge, onles they wyll amend and be hartely repē ­taunt & sory for their blindnes & tyrannie: for it chaūseth scantly otherwise, but y^t to whom soeuer many thinges / haue be cōmitted and betaken,Luc. xij. of the same is also a great reckening & large acompte requyred. But thou wylt saye,A questyon concernyng goddes ser­uyce. what is it that thou sayeste? are the ceremonyes, and the rytes & vsage of the chyrches, suꝑstition: as thou doeste shewe? for thou doeste in mockage name religioꝰ men, & preestes, the seruaūtes of [Page] the temples / thou doest (I say) name theym the mynisters of the newe goddes / of the princes and doctours: did not god hym selfe cōmaūde & appoynt vnto Moy­ses many ceremonyes to be vsed in makynge of sacryfyce to hym selfe? I make aunswere / if I do speake after y^e comen vsuall ma­ner of speakyng, which is found in the scrypture: I truste I haue done none iniury.Mymnys­ters of the temples. The name of ministers of the temples is most openly noted in y^e fyrst chapytre of y^e prophet Iohel. Now whe­ther he be pope, or bishop, or per­son, curate doctor, religious man, or who soeuer he be, that doethe not his offyce & dutye, according to the most simple and pure sence of holy scrypture with out any addition, which y^e scripture ney­ther hath in vse, nor can beare: or [Page] elles which doeth abuse the scrip­ture to his owne aduantage: or elles doeth forsake his shepe, and doeth not fede them w^t the moste swete fode of holy scrypture, but doeth caste afore them thystelles, and stinking and filthy doctrine, & fodder of vile wedes, y^e doctrȳe of men repugnaūte the one to the other / that man (I say) may well be called a newe god, or ydoll, as y^e scripture witneseth to me most openly, in the .xi. chapitre to za­charie. And where as they bring in mētiō of y^e ceremonies, whiche Moyses taught: we will at this tyme let those passe. For all these thinges were fygures and signi­ficatiōs of grace to come, which the heuēly father promised to vs vnder suche maner shadows, and hathe now fulfilled his promise, & hathe geuen the sayde grace by [Page] Iesu Christe his dearely beloued sonne, to whome be prayse worl­des without ende Amen.

BUt for as moche as we christen men do hold and kepe many ceremonyes & rytes in the chyrches, and dayly do ymagyne and decre mo & mo newe: I do fyrste say, that cere­monies are not euyll, but good, if euery man did well and wisely vnderstonde, why and wherfore this or that ryte and ceremonye was brought in, & what thynge were sygnifyed by it,How cere­monyes ar to be suf­fred. for ceremo­nyes of them selues are nothyng at all, neyther are they necessary to be done. Now the simple men do thynke, that the more prowde the mynysters of the temple are namely religious men, y^e greater by so moche is the honour and [Page] worshyp of god: and yet in very dede all the ceremonies that are, be nothyng elles but certeyne ex­amples & sygnyfications / when the masse is in syngynge in great and cathedrall chyrches, then is the brente frankensēce in the sen­cer, & it makethe a smoke a bonte all the altre / & this day the preest hath a redde vestimēt, to morow he shall haue vppon hym a whyt one, and an other tyme a grene one, and when he syngeth masse of requiem, he hath on a blacke vestiment. There is also ioyned to him deacon and subdeacō, and one to synge the epystle, and the other to synge the gospell. But although none of all these thyn­ges were done at all, (as it hap­peneth oftētimes in vilages) yet shold there neuertheles be done a lawfull masse. The thing which [Page] y^e ceremonies do betokē, is good / yf there were also a good herte & minde: peraduentur the sacrifice shold not be vnpleasaunt to god. The monke goeth well nere smo­the,Monkes. hauing all his heare in a ma­ner quite shauen of / and couered also with a great cowll that no­thyng may be sene / his garment is syde downe to y^e fote, his hose eyther beynge grey or whyte do touche his kne: when he passeth by the alter, or by his superyour, then he lowteth & maketh lowly reuerence / he casteth his hoode farre at his backe, & so afterwar­des with a tremblynge heed he goeth a part in to his owne place: although none of y^e sayd thinges were done at all, so y^t they were endued other wayes with good maners and with honest opera­tion of y^e body, it were very well [Page] done: & thei shold reserue so great lowtyng & reuerence to y^e humy­lyte, beneuolence, and charite to­ward their neighbour. The pope wryteth hym selfe, seruū seruo (rum). that is to say the seruaūte of ser­uauntes, and by this meane he weneth him selfe to be conforma­ble and lyke to Chryste, whiche called hym selfe the mynyster of his disciples,Math .xx. and did teache that who soeuer of theym wolde be greatest, he sholde be leaste, and y^e seruaunte of all y^e other. Ther­fore it is instytuted, that vpon maundy thursday the superyour doeth washe the feate of y^e inferyours, for exāple as y^e pope doeth wasshe the fete of y^e cardynalles, and so lykwyse of other / if this thynge be done vnfaynedly with the harte, y^e deuyll fetche me out of the worlde / for in stede of this [Page] wasshing of feate, they are all the whole yere besyde lordly and ty­rannous, and they wolde not so moche as ones sharpe a prycke to theyr neyghbour. But wherfore serueth this hypocrisy their wor­kes, beyng so farre contrary? yea it is rather a mocking & scorning of the humble & meke lorde Iesu Christe / what if this sayd wasshyng of fete were layde asyde and lefte vndone, and the prelate all the yere besyde did suffre gentyly & paciently shame & ignoraunce of his subiectes, dyd with myld­nes instruct wretched and blynd synners / dyd w^t a lyberall hande succour & releue poore mē, whom y^e bysshops for y^e moste ꝑte now adayes do deuoure euen quycke, and do destroy them / did in tyme mynistre iustyce to poore men, as well as to the ryche / dyd rebuke [Page] sharply, with y^e swerd of goddes worde did holde vnder, open and obstynate blaspemers agaynste god / and dyd not so cruelly sucke the sely preestes of the countrey euen to y^e very bone, nor dyd fley theyr subiectes out of theyr skin­nes, to whom they neuer vouched safe to speake any louing worde? These were the very workes of wasshynge fete, by whiche euery man shold easily learne & ꝑceyue, how humble the prelate were & the seruaunt of seruauntes. But oh good lorde, how is the pure golde tourned in to copre. That ceremonies ar nat of y^e substaūce of the true honourynge and very seruyse of god, I may perceyue euen hereof, seynge that eyther none or elles very fewe ceremo­nyes are prescrybed in the bookes of y^e newe testamēt.The pōpes of ceremo­nyes ar not necessary. Secūdaryly [Page] I fynde the saide ceremonies on euery syde sūdry & vnlike among theym selues. Thyrdly they be excedyngly mutable / wherfore it were good, in asmoche as there are so many men, whiche do so hyghly regarde ceremonies, that there were somtyme declaration & instruction gyuen to the comen people, concernyng the same: but in suche wise y^t they might learne and knowe y^e dyfference betwene the very worshyp and seruyce of god, and y^e ryte and vsage of the chyrches. For if a man do come to masse, and doeth here it, he we­neth that he hath done his duety gayly well: and he doeth not yet knowe what the masse is. But in our tymes ceremonies haue gotē this name of y^e goddesse Ceres: for they do gyue or bring in bread and vytaylles by a good fyere. [Page] And therfore we do not suffre,Wherof they are called by this name ceremonies y^t any man shall speake euill of that maner of worshipping god. Let no man be angry nor micsontent, if I shall some what speake and gyue sygnyfycacyon of them: for ceremonyes after this maner are in a maner ydolatry / & that thou mayste perceyue and vnderstond what they are consydre & marke well these thynges folowynge. Yf we wyll at ony time do y^e offi­ces and workes of y^e chirche, and kepe diuyne seruyce and honour: what do we? do on a whyte linē surples: which ought to sygnyfy our innocēcy and chastite of lyfe, and also the clere vnderstonding of the holy scriptures, which same thyng whyte & pure syluer doeth represent and signyfy in the holy scripture: but in our iudgement, we are no lesse of weyghte and [Page] auctorite, nor lesse wyse, then the very scrypture of god, besydes this,The amyce of furre what it sig­nyfyeth. we do on vs a calabere a­myce of deade beastes skynnes, which doeth betoken mortalitie: for if we shold be onely cladde in a lynen garment, and that same also beynge whyte, we myghte perhappes consideryng y^t thyng which it signyfieth, y^t is to wete, y^t we were so greatly ennocētes / of so chaste lyfe / and so excellētly learned in holy scryptures: we myght (I say) by y^e reason therof fall in to pryde: for connyng and knowlyge oftentymes maketh a man prowde. Therfore we do loke vpon the ouermost amyce of gray skynnes, whiche may put vs in remembraunce of our mor­talyte, by the reason wherof we fall in to humylyte and meknes / and so beynge full of clennesse / of [Page] innocent lyfe of greate knowlyge of the scryptures / and most depe humylite: we do go forth into y^e tēple to giue vnto god his honour & seruyce / what say ye my neigh­bours, are not this gay goddes?The seuen houres ca­nonycall. So then prime (as we call it) is begon / ī some coūtreis ther must one com forthe armed w^t a bagge fulle of money, to confort suche humble and heuye hartes which same thynge is lykewyse done at Tertia, Sexta, and Nona / who wolde, were not this: do the dy­uyne seruice? here are heaped to­gether īnumerable psalmes, An­temnes / Collects / many praiers, although they do nothyng at all agre one of them with another: & makynge haste, as it were hun­ters in a wodde we do mumble together and make a busszynge none otherwyse thē do waspes or [Page] gadde bees in an olde stocke of a wyllowe tree, at whiche noyses bothe of them, it is pleasaunt and swate slepyng beyonde measure. For we do synge so easely & ten­derly, that euen in pryme alone, we are faine to chaung our tune, and to take it higher, twyes or thries often tymes euen hole .iiij. ꝑtes. ad totam quartam.Canons or lordes of the close. After­wardes do come in our masters & lordes of the close couered with gray amyces, and hauynge on a very white surples, but not suche one as the forsayde chaplaynes do weare, but of moste fyne ray­nes or sylke, brefly so fyne and thynne y^t a man may se thorughe it, in token of moste hyghe and perfecte excellency in holynes / in chastyte in innocencie / & in pro­foūde vnderstandinge of y^e scrip­ture / namely in the epystles of [Page] Paule, and in the gospell. For albeit that they be very excellent in other thinges yet in these thin­ges they are excellent, as who is most excellēt. These mē beholdīg theyr amice to furre, which hath in other coūtryes a great gyrdle of grene colour hangyng downe (as thycke as y^e corde wherwith the mynorities are gyrded) with many tasselles, & wretched sylken thredes very thicke as are y^e brus­shes of drapers or taylers: then is theyr harte stryken as it were with a knife, when they are thus put in remembraunce of teryble deth: wherfore for passing great heuines they compasse their heed rownd about with a purple tiara and they are nothyng so prowde as they, whiche do synge in the quier, which do continually rūne in to y^e chyrch cladde in a garmēt [Page] gnawen and eaten of wormes & mothes, but they haue thre or fiue seruaūtes waiting vpon thē & two chaplayns, whiche folow harde at theyr masters heeles, to thentent forsothe that they also myght drynke in so great contē ­placyon, & so might learne well to consydre and remēbre death / but they are of a very high mīde / they honour y^e chapleins, neither do thei trouble them in labours / they syng eyther nothyng at all / or elles very lytle, because y^e other shold not be letred, they haue also but comen or course brestes: but yet they resorte to the quyer very worshypfully / they doo hyghly honour to y^e lampe / thei do make greate reuerence to the sayntes / and so after that they haue ones presēted and shewed them selues in the chyrche / anone after they [Page] desyre frendly and louing depar­tinge / they go forth of the quyer, cōmyttyng the resydue of the dy­uyne seruyce to the chapleynes / but yet theyr mynde is moche set vpon hym which walketh about w^t the bagge of money / to whom after that they haue humbly put forthe theyr hande, then is there no lenger ony cause of taryenge: for they are exemted, and the byr­des do leape vp at home fastyng y^e whelpes do teare one another / y^e olde cokesse & the yonge cokesse do braule and fyght / they muste neades be commaunded to kepe peace. But least the chapleynes myght say, whyles these men are ydle and do nought / we must be fayne to synge continually in the queare: they are wyse / they do part and deuyde y^e labours with theym, so that the chapleyns do [Page] synge myghtely, and them selues do myghtely receyue money / to thende that all thynges may be brought to egalyte yet neuerthe­les thei do giue to these mē .iiij.d. But if masse be begon & the tyme of offring doeth drawe nere,Oblatyon. here also is dyuersyte: for y^e chapleins armed euery one of theym with an ob. do cast theyr ob. in to the basen kyssyng y^e sudary. But the masters theym selues do come w^t a very depe conscyence / & when thei are comen nere vnto y^e basen, they do thynke in theyr myndes / peraduenture thy money may be a possessyon or goodes vntruly and wrongfully goten: they will not therfore offende ony thynge at all / and doo touche the basen ryght well with an emty hande / very honorably drawyng backe agayne their armes / kyssing also [Page] the sudary / and makyng curtesy very goodly tournynge rownde aboute / and so fayre and softely they go agayne to theyr place / who wolde call these thynges / tryfles / when they do so honou­rabli make their oblation to god? Oh how goodly mynysters and seruice are daily don to almighty god? how goodly shryll songes do sounde daili? here y^e musicions do synge songes of fyue partes / accordyng to y^e .xc.ij. distynction Cantātes.The songe vsed in the chyrche &c. Otherwhiles they do so strayne theyr voyce aboue theyr reache / as thoughe they wolde be strāgled, with in a litle while after they do let their voice fall so lowe / that thou woldeste wene / y^t they dyd wepe / one man singeth on this part, an other sin gethe on another parte / & by and by afterward they waxe dumbe: [Page] anon after one begȳneth to crowe as it were a henne, which wolde lay egges / and then foloweth a sounde of a full voyce, as it were the soūde of a drone or of a ledder pype: insomoche y^t often tymes in so great a stryfe & dyuersytyes of manyfold voices it doeth seme necessary to crye peace peace / they do howle so pytyously, that we haue in very dede pyte & cōpassy­on vpon them: moche lyke to the houling of cattes ī Marche. But what shall I saye of the gospell? when it is song? Oh how good­ly ceremonies are then done? (it is moche lyke to y^e faciō, which y^e Iewes did vse ī olde tyme about y^e sepulcres of y^e ꝓphetes, whereof it is mēcioned ī y^e .xxiij. of Math) Ther is borne a bāner of sylke & garnyshed with a goodly crosse,The cere­monyes v­sed at the reading of the gospell. in token of y^e victorious & blessed [Page] tryumphe whiche Iesu Chryste made of subduing y^e worlde vnto hym selfe by the doctryne of the gospell Iohn̄ the .xvi. And also because in baptisme all we did be come sworne to christ vndre this sygne of the crosse, and also in to­ken y^t y^e worlde is to be ouercomē by the gospel / besydes that there are borne aboute two brennyng tapers in sygnification and beto­kenyng y^t the gospell is the very heuenly doctryne, by the whiche all men are illumynated & saued, and not by ony other thynge / to thentent y^t we sholde kepe fyrme & stedfast faith in y^e gospel, Iohā y^e .viij. chapitre. Then afterwar­des a preest beareth a sēcer of sil­uer makȳg a fumigatiō & sauour of ensence, as long as y^e gospell is in readynge to syngnyfy our in­warde affection toward christ w^t [Page] deuoute prayers to hym, to the laude of hym / for his grace and doctryne gyuen vnto vs. There is also borne aboute the gospell boke rychely couered with golde and syluer, garnyshed with precyous stones: in y^e sygne and token of our great estymation that we haue towardes the gospel, and y^t in our iudgement it is y^e hyghest treasure, whiche of feruente loue enclosed within our breest w^t many vertues & chrysten lyfe doeth breake oute in to workes, whiche thing we do se a maner dayly. Afterwardes there thundreth a great bell / by which we do sygnyfy our chrysten preestly & aposto­lycall offyce / y^t it is well done and executed of vs lykewyse as christ hath commytted and gyuen commaundemente to vs preelates, in the .xij. of luke / and in the laste of [Page] Marke / last of all the gospell is borne aboute to euery person in the quyer, and offered forth to be kyssed, in the sygnyfication of the greate feruent charite y^t we haue towardes Chryst & his doctrine, where we do openly shewe, that we wyll be perpetually the fren­des and folowers of the gospell: for y^t othe, whiche we dyd make at the receyuynge of y^e sacrament of baptisme, y^e same we then con­fyrme with a kysse / and we do go aboute to gette that glorie in the syght of y^e lay people, to whome y^e gospell is not in lyke maner of­fered to be kyssed. Oh how great honourynge and seruyce of god is this? for yf this be not hyghe honour to god then wote I not what is honour to god. Now y^e Lutheranes do alwaies come a­gaynst vs w^t the gospell making [Page] Iewes and phariseis of vs / how shold we otherwise worshyp the gospel? is not this reuerēce grete ynoughe and ynough agayn? for euen whiles the gospell is in syn­gynge, we do put of our cappes, we do ryse vp on our fete / we do wake out of our slepe / we do spyt & reatche strongly / which thyng doeth helpe well / althoughe our mynde in the meane season be in another place occupied aboute o­ther maters / whiche thynge can not hurte for as moche as we do stonde there present / as it is had in the .x. distinction fixū strosack. Anone after these thynges done / we do go in to the chapitre house (as they cal it) and there we take greate care, and do take weighty counseyles / by what meanes the seruyce of god may be mayntay­ned / where the lettres of the pen­syons [Page] do ly hyd / how moch trea­sure is in the treasurehouse / how they may lende money to brynge in encrease y^t our canonshyppes myght be made the more fatte: & we do also make a newe statute, how longe season a newe chap­leyne or chanon shall receyue no frutes, at the begynnynge, that y^e buyldyng myght go forwarde by the pensyons / for this entente thei do giue charge to y^e preacher vnder an othe giuen, that he shall make no sermon in which he shall not proclayme & declare a greate buyldyng to be in hande, & great costes and charges / wherfore he must exhorte the people very dy­lygently to gyue money promy­synge manye a thowsande yeres of pardone / besyde I wote not what lētes & he saieth y^t all thin­ges do not belong to pore folkes, [Page] for almesdede maye be well done also vpon chyrches. But yf god doeth nomore desyre of vs / then this outwarde garnishynge and pompe it is a verye easy excuse: but I feare greatly my welbelo­ued lordes leaste those thynges may be layd to your charge, whiche are writen in the fyrst chapy­ter of the ꝓphete Esaye / Our bysshops haue theyr name of consy­derynge & ouersyght,Episcopi bysshops. as y^e which oughte to be watche men, kepers and ouerlokers among y^e people, y^t yf at ony tyme the sayed people do erre & go out of the right way fro the lawe of god, they may by the byshop be called and brought again in to y^e waye / be monished, be thaughte & rebuked: wherfore Hieremie in the fyrst & second chapyter doth by a true name cal thē pastours & herdesmen, which by [Page] knowlege & y^e doctrīe of y^e gospell do teache faythe to y^e people. But now the bysshops haue turned theyr eyis an other wey, and not one of them preacheth ony worde, yea they do moreouer thynke it an vnsemely thyng for theym to preach, albeit yet y^t it did beseme / saint Nycholas saint Martyne / Vlryche & was very conuenient and semely and also worshypfull to the appostles yea and Chryste Iesus hym selfe also dyd walke aboute on his feate in dyuerse re­gyons preachyng the kyngdome of heuens. Yf to preache y^t worde of god were a shame, if it did my­nyshe and appayre the honour of Bysshops: then myght Chryste haue rested in Bethanye with la­zarus, and haue cōmytted that offyce to y^e apostles, whose mas­ter he was in good peace & reste [Page] lyuyng his owne selfe pleasaūtly & easely in all kynde of pleasures, as our bisshops do now a dayes.Actorum .i. But he began fyrst to worke, and afterwardes to teache. But now a dayes the bysshops do begynne stryues and sutes for benefyces / pensyons / castelles / cytyes / these matiers they take in hande / these thinges they doo wene to be ho­nour vnto thē: but thei are assha­med of y^t thynge, wherof and by which they haue goten theyr na­me and possessyon. I saye to you bysshops, that your dygnyte is greate, and it is worthely gyuen to you for the honour of Chryst, yf you do folow his steppes / but who soeuer of you doeth not euery sunday in his own ꝑson teach the gospell in that place? where he is abydynge: surely he is no pastor, and he shall be compelled [Page] to giue a sore accompte and reke­ning of his dede accordyng to the word of y^e lorde in y^e .xxiij. chapi­tre of Hyeremye. Also if he doo preache his owne lawe, and the doctryne of men / in the stede of y^e word of god: he shall gyue an accompte for all y^e harmes growīg therupon, so is it writen Esaye xxiiij. Yf you be the vycars & suc­cessours of the apostles: execute y^e offyce of apostles, in your own parson, in that place where you ar resydente and abydynge / how greatly shold y^e gospell be regar­ded & had in hygh estimatiō: yf y^e fathers y^e bysshops dyd teache it theyr own selues: for thā y^e ꝑsōs & parish prestes wold dispyse thē selues lyke wyse w^t good truste & boldnes, to folow thē. But nowe you al for y^e most ꝑte are very des­pisers of thē which do faythfully [Page] teache and preache y^e gospell. Oh lorde, saue me from that terryble Iudgment whiche you bysshops shall receyue / your vycars / your offycialles / notaries / your aduo­cates,Offycialles Notaryes. and proctours are very ty­raūtes / they do regarde one per­son afore another with great percyalytye / they loue brybes / they vexe pore men and desolate persones / they suffre symple sely men to ꝑishe: thei thynke in this wise / I am out of all ieoperdy, what so euer I do, it belongeth to the bisshop, and he shall abyde all the daunger / all the synnes therfore of them / all y^e bloude of innocen­tes oppressed, doeth cry vp to he­uen for vengeaūce vpon you bis­shops / for you ought dylygently to loke vpon these thynges / and to enquyer & serache out of suche men as are not suspected, what [Page] is y^e state of all thynges: & not to gyue credence to your flatterers. This blode was commytted to your handes, of whom it shall be requyred agayne by the iustice of the strayght iudge, euen vnto the least farthynge / whiche thynges I do speke to you for your ꝓfete. And yf you do not thus: ye are ydolles, accordynge to the testy­monye of the dyuyne scripture in the .xi. chapitre of zacharye. Also in the second cause, and the .vij. questyon Non omnes. &c. yf you do say that it is not the vsage & maner of y^e chyrche, that you bis­shops sholde teache the gospell: then I say to you that you haue none other auctoryte or offyce of god then in the worde of god, in whiche all thynges are compre­hended, as Paule sayth writyng to Tyte in the fyrst chapitre, and [Page] to Tymothe in the thirde chapy­tre of y^e seconde epystle / wherfore if you will not execute your office, lay from you your bysshopryche: but yet considre, what this name doeth conteyne within it selfe, in the thyrde chapytre of Ezechyel. Yf you be asshamed to make a ser­mon:Nota. be you also asshamed to re­ceyue & take the rewarde whiche you haue not deserued / we might moche more profytably sette in your place a mā made of strawe: which if he did nothīg labour, he shold agayne also nothyng eate, who soeuer doeth not labour: let him not eate, accordyng to y^e doc­trine of saint Paule. These thin­ges haue we spokē to your vtyli­te & profet / for in open sermons no man dare tell you one worde of y^e trouthe / wherfore it is nede­full, y^t we do sende those thynges [Page] in to your houses which we wold haue you know, that your offyce and duetye may come in to your remembraunce, and also y^e iudge Chryste Iesus, in the .xxiiij. cha­pytre of Mathue. Now let vs set vpon the very mischeuous ꝑ­sones, by whom spiritualli aboue measure the greatest honour and seruyce of god is dayly done by syxe hundreth diuerse fashons a­monge theym selues in all poyn­tes vnlike: for euery one ordre of them hath set vp a speciall ydoll, holy Helyas, the prophet called by surname Thesbis, in the olde tyme afore y^e natyuyte of Christ, certeine hūdreth yeres, did dwell nere the ryuer Iordane aboute the Mounte Carmelus, but not perpetually / to y^e same Mounte came the mother of saynte Anne, yea & also saynte Anne her selfe, [Page] & last of all blessyd Mary Chry­stes mother was broughte thy­ther, (as they say) to y^e dedicatiō of the temple. In this Mounte (I say) of Carmelus, rose vp the holy ordre of theym,The carmelytes comē ­ly called y^e whyte fry­ers. whiche are called Carmelytes. I cannot tell what came in to theyr myndes, thei haue made them selues a bet­ter name now a daies, & they are called the fryers of saynt Marye our lady: I maruayll greatly, in asmoche as our lady saint Mary was neuer Nunne, nor neuer did make ony relygyous man: why thei do cal them selues our ladies fryers: they sholde moche better & more rightfulli be called Helies fryers, of Helie / from this begin­nynge hath so greate dyuyne ho­nour come forth of greate holy­nes, from so olde an orygynall of that ordre, euen from Helye [Page] (if it be true) But if a holy place,Nota. and longe tyme may make good and vertuous men: then sholde the deuyll be very good and holy, whose ordre began in heuē before the creation of man. But the sol­dane consydered the thynge the ryght wey for after y^t they chaū ­ged theyr orygenall, he droue thē out of his londe, to whom before he had ben very often benefycyall. Dominik was a good mā,Fryers pre­chers comē ly called y^e blakce fry­res & of a good mynd he did inuent a mean waye, after whiche, men myght lyue better accordyng to the gos­pell, at suche tyme as he was yet a chanon regulare. Now thei do a scrybe to hym, that he was cal­led by goddes owne selfe to that so hyghe and excellent ordre and y^t god had put hȳ in to it, & that the blessed vyrgyn the mother of god did vpon hym his religious [Page] habyte: I neuer knewe that our lady saynt Marye dyd make fre­ers. que certe rē quasi acu tetigit. for y^e dominicanes do gyue great honour and reuerēce to our lady, as in Berna, & Senis, laudably and gloryously / and lykewyse in other places, as we haue often tymes harde saye / I maruayll greatly, y^t you also are not called our Ladyes freers, syth it is so y^e you haue receiued your habite of her. But ꝑaduētur y^e Carmelites haue gotē this name from you at rome, of y^e pope, which adourned theym with suche a name. Yf y^t another man sholde doo this: we wolde saye that he dyd renye his owne name.Thomas of aquyne. Afterwardes Tho­mas of Aquine lyked well the ly­fe of Domynyk, and therfore he toke it vpon hym & so continued: this sayd Thomas / when at the [Page] begynnyng he dyd loue naturall artes and wysdome, in processe of tyme, he fell to the study of dy­uynyte, wherin he bestowed all labour and dylygence to get the vnderstondyng of the holy scryptures / and accordyng to the olde vsage & custom of philosophers, he began to compare the philosophies to y^e scrypture of god, & by y^e philosophers he dyd measure & iudge it / howbeit yet it was ne­uer his mynde, y^t those thynges, whiche he had wryten sholde be accompted & taken for artycles of the fayth: for he doeth submyt all his workes to the prymates of the chryche, and to the iudge­ment of wyse men, which thynge may be suffered / but what thyn­ges haue spronge afterwardes therof? In lyke maner as I sayd here to fore of hercules / saturnꝰ, [Page] & of other wyse men whiche after theyr deathe were set vp for god­des: euen so also do y^e freers prea­chers, now extoll and magnyfy their Thomas / holye Thomas / a holy doctor of y^e chyrche a holy doctor approued by y^e see aposto­lique: moche after y^e same fashion as the prophet sayth / the temple of the lord / the tempell of y^e lord / the temple of the lorde / they saye also, that Chryste from the crosse spake with thomas: and sayd O Thomas thou hast wryten well of me. They do fashyon to hym a greate dyadeame, and do set a dooue vpon his sholdre / whiche doeth loke in to his eares, and doethe whysper somewhat in to theym: make a gose on the other syde which may betoken his gret dyuynyte and godhed / when we doo entre in to theyr chyrches, all [Page] the tables are full of freers pain­ted lyenge in beddes, to whome doeth come golden beames from they wyndowes by these beames god doeth wonderfully talke w^t theym from aboue, one myracle vpon another. Besydes this thei do crye saint Thomas is y^e grea­teste and chefe of all doctors and teachers of holy dyuynyte: nere at his hande they doo paynte an Instrument of y^e body of Christ, as though he had excellently writen therof. Saint paule y^e apostle dyd neuer boste, y^t hym selfe was aboue all teachers: but he called hym selfe leaste of the apostles, & vnwyse, and yet to hym god had gyuen testymonye of wysdome. But you freers preachers haue made good saint Paule inferyor to Thomas: and do you wene y^t you haue done a greate pleasure [Page] to your Thomas, that you haue exalted hym for a god? veryly it is no pleasure to hym at all / who so euer doeth not hold saint Thomas, y^t man is susspected in his doctryne: who so euer doeth my­nyshe y^e auctorite of hym, he doth greatly hurte the tendre eares of the Thomistes: and who so euer doeth reiecte Thomas, that man immedyately is an heretyke, and worthy to be caste in to the fyre. Now I do knowe, yf Thomas be conferred to the scrypture: he doeth halte greatly / yea he hath defyned manye thynges falsely, whiche thynge neyther hym selfe nor ony of his fryers dyd euer vnderstond or perceyue. My coū ­ceyll therfore shall be / that Tho­mas sholde contynew Thomas, he is a good and sufficyent defen­der of his owne selfe, where he [Page] wrote well / but in suche thinges wherin he dyd erre, in those you cannot helpe him, though you do magnify and exalte him neuer so hygh, contrary to his owne will / for Thomas is nothynge elles but Thomas, when you haue all done that euer you can / be contēt and suffre that he may abyde one in the nombre and sorte of other good felowes. Do not cast your selues within euery gate & dore, then shall you not be pressed and thrunge: who so hath eares to here: let hym here / last of all, you do hange forthe a greate table a brode in syght, in which table do stond froth dyuers of your freers goodly paynted, one a cardinall / another a bysshop / the thyrde a doctor / y^e fourthe an astronomer / one holdeth a lylye in his hande an other a shepehoke / and manye [Page] relygyous women, leaues of bo­kes are mēgled among, cleauing fast in the braūches of a paynted tree to and fro, as it were doues, couered with greate diadeames / which of y^e deuylles hath shewed by reuelation vnto you y^t al these are in heuen? do you suppose, y^t the pope maye make sayntes? yf I had money: euen my seruaunt shold be made a saīt hipocritical­ly / you do wandre from one place to another as it were pies / (I do tell you a thynge as true as an oracle you are knowen) neyther wyll ye euer rest vntyll the same thinge do chaunce to you, which in the olde tyme dyd chaunce to the relygyons of the templaries.Saynte Fraunciske Take now forewarning / where is our good franciske lefte which was y^e sonne of the very myghty and ryche marchaunte, borne in [Page] a stable, & layed in a crybbe, euen likwise as Christ him selfe was: yea peraduenture he dyd also flee in to Aegipte for feare of Herode. I doo not beleue that there is in ony hystoryes mention made of ony saynt, which hath ben so fa­mous in workynge of so many myracles as franucyske. And yt is noo maruaylle in asmoche as he hathe also bene crucyfyed and hath receyued woundes I mar­uaile greatli where you kept him in the meane season, vntyll suche time as he was fastenid to Cryst vpon the crosse, now fyrst within these .iiij. yeres why haue you not set vp a specyall crosse in y^e honor of him? least homly rusticall par­sons myght mystake, & be ygno­rāt / which were Chrystes crosse, & which the crosse of Fraunciske. But ꝑaduenture it is otherwyse [Page] red in the olde hystorye, then in y^e newe. Saynt Barnardyne lyke­wyse stondeth among other sayntes set forth to the shewe, beynge garnyshed with many myters & bisshops crosses, which do lye on this syde and that syde rounde a­boute hym. whereto neadethe or wherfore serueth this gloriation and braggynge of the contempte of worldly honors? seynge that ye do now adayes with all dyly­gence, labour to get the proude & most hyghe dygnytyes of Cardynalles, and do obteyne theim not without great sōmes of monye / seynge also y^t you do entremedle with the greatest matyers of the worlde, & do determyne and ende theym: ye do make greate booste of your vowes, & of kepynge the counsayles & rules of the gospell: but yf a man do behold & cōsydre [Page] well the thing nere vnto y^e lyght, then haue you well nere dyspen­sed agaynst theym all, spendyng all your life in ceremonies onely, as it were wylde horses, eatynge onely straw & chaffe, for asmoche as y^e true graines & good corne is vtterly vnknowen to you. There are many of your .v. or .vi. sectes, most pestylent and poysened dis­pysers (but yet vnder a good co­lour and semblaunce) of the most holy gospell of Chyrste / if a man wolde brenne you all (I meane ceremoniall ꝑsones) in an heape: (I swere y^e truthe) you could not tell what is the gospell, you are rather a certeyn glitteryng, then frutes of y^e gospell. But yet you haue a prerogatyue that none of you shal go downe to hell, oneles peraduenture it shold fortune so that onye man goynge to heuen [Page] did fall by the way, at the sounde of that excellent and credyble re­uelation, which the holy aungell did brynge to Fraunciske, as his brother Ruffyne, Leo and peter, haue shewed in y^e chapytre. Ne­uertheles to say the truthe, there are som (though very fewe) reue­rend & good fathers, & brethern / in y^t ordre: which haue the ryght and true vnderstondynge of the scrypture, and also the clere dyf­ference betwene the fleshe and the spiryte. wherfore I hope it will ones come to passe, that these old seruauntes of the temple shall a­wake and shall forsake y^e lawe of Moyses, & come to y^e true lyberty of Chryste.The fryers augustyny­ans. The Augustynyans do make vnto theyr Augustyne a Herte, whiche he holdeth in his handes stryken thorughe w^t two arowes: verely I do not ꝑceyue, what [Page] this thyng doeth meane, excepte the one doeth belonge to Augus­tyne, betokening his loue towar­des god, and y^e other to his friers betokenyng theyr brennyng loue towardes Margeret other why­les when they be inamoured and burne in loue, as we do se dayly, and do perceyue also by y^e comen fame and rumour.Abbottes. Yf greate ab­bottes wolde take my salutation in good worthe: it sholde be redy for theym / your house is called a cloyster, because it oughte too be shytte and close: you haue a syde garment euen downe to the fote, eyther blacke or whyte, and this is nedefull aboue whiche you do on a scapuler (as you cal it) whe­ther it be of lynen or elles of wol­len clothe, it doeth signify y^e yoke of Chryste crucyfyed, obedyence, the exyle and mysery of this lyfe [Page] patiently to be suffred for goddes sake.The cowll or hode. Besydes this you beare a rounde hode which couereth your hed well in sygne and token, that your fyue wyttes haue renoun­sed the worlde with all worldely affections, & that they are deade to the worlde, your hedde is well nere altogether shauen & smothe, a lytell garlonde & rundell onely beynge left to signify your mynd to be erected and lyfted vp vnto god:The garlōd of heare vpō y^e heed. and y^e garlonde betokeneth the passyon of Chryst with this apparayle you doo appere to all men. Some are apparailed with black wynges hangynge downe frō their armes: to betoken their inwarde loue to be verye feruent and boilyng towardes god / The mon­kes of saint Blase. and also y^t by hymylyte they do fly vp an high afore the face of god / but vnder these tytles you conuente [Page] vs vpon all our goodes, as be­longyng vnto the temple of god: your monasteryes are made free and y^e abbottes also are made fre & without all charges. By what reason can suche lybertye stonde w^t you, whiche haue offered your selues to the lorde god, in all obe­dyence and aduersyte of this lyfe to beare y^e yoke of Christe, which can not stond togider with suche seculer lybertie, excepte you wyll beholde and consydre the papale immunityes, in y^e .xvj. cause & the fyrst questiō placuit. Moreouer also there must be som ducale Ab­bottes, and that by the donatiōs & grauntes of the pope / how can the pope contrarye to the ꝓpriete of your name gyue to you immu­nytyes or lybertyes:The lyber­ties of monkes. seyng y^t you are called monachi, which ought to be solitari / shit vp close, & destytute, [Page] & to be accōted as a baraine tree, as saynte Hyerome sayth, which asketh this question. In­terprete y^u (sayth he) this worde Monarchus, that is to wete thy name: what doest y^u in the preace & multytude, which by thy name arte alone & solytarye? cyties are not y^e habytations of heremytes and dwellers in wyldernes / but of the multytude & people, wher­of it hath that name / what aun­swer doest y^u now make to saynt Hierome? wylte thou defend the by the pope? then prouyde that he may chaunge thy name and thyne habyte / and thou shalt be no lenger a Monke: for he may make of y^e a laūce man of Fraūce. Yf thou art not a Monke / for what cause and vnder what title or name doest thou conuent vs vpon our pensyons and goodes [Page] belongyng (as thou sayst) to the Chrich? yf contrarywyse ye haue a dyspensatiō? then do y^e laye mē well also to dyspense with you, & gyue you euen as you are / that is to wete, nothing at all / you do also beare (which god wote is very nedeful) a bisshops mytre garnyshed with golde and precyous stones / bearyng also in your handes a shepehoke of syluer & gold: coulde ye not els rule your mon­kes / althoughe you had none of these thynges? wherfore doo you beare y^e ornamentes of pastores / when you ar no pastores? nor do fede your shepe / as saint hierome wryteth to Helyodorus / but doo caste forthe afore your shepe for their fodder the rule of y^e ordre? & what is y^e rule? to be cladde in a blacke or a whyte coule / to synge matēs, to kepe sylēce two houres [Page] daily at dyner & souꝑ to quaft of two cannes or tākardes of wine / also to fast from myghelmas to Christemas / not to go out of the Monastery without lycence / lay men do none of all these thinges: and yet that notwithstondynge they also are good chrysten men. But the canon lawe (I say) is y^e very fode of chrysten men: what fode had y^e people of Hierusalē? whiche by the space of certeyne hundreth yeres were very good chrysten men / and yet had neuer y^t lawe canonycall? supose you that you shall winne heuen with you cowles and your owne sta­tutes & ordenaūces? nay verely / y^t wyll not be / neuertheles ryght welebloued abbottes with your garlondes your mytre with two hornes / & your shepehoke doeth shewe you an other lesson / and [Page] an hygher albam (as they call it) with swete smellynge spyke, it is in nowyse of that rede growyng in the marshe ground, which you do greatly set by / & what a mon­stre is this? where as you ought to were a cowle with an hoode / you take a dyspensation therfore and do vpon you the ornamentes of a bysshop / you garnyshe y^e one hande with a goodly shepehoke / the other you do arme with a na­ked swerde / and that is in dayely vse: somtyme also besydes al this you haue a Cardinals hatre hangynge downe syde at your back. whervnto neade you a swerde? is not that swerde stronge ynough whiche Paule doeth shewe in the vj. chapytre to the Ephesyans: but that it is also neadefull too borowe the swerde the shedder of bloude, of emperours & kynges?[Page] remember and thynke vpon your scapuler / & let Ceaser alone with his owne swerde, what wycked deuyll hath possessed you prestes and bysshops: that you sholde be wyllynge all of you to be secular prynces & kynges?The secu­lar swerde of preestes is agaynste god. either Paule and Chryste do lye: or elles you do possesse the worldely swerde, agaynst god & agaynste ryght / you bragge and boste of your re­lygyous state, vnto which (yf you did rede Paule in the second chapytre of the seconde epystle to Timothe, and Iohan in the xv. chapytre) you are vnmete, do you what so euer you wyll and busy your selues to the vttermost that you can. But one errour en­gendereth an other / lykewyse as a chaunge was made from the good holy apostle Peter, & euer after contynually, y^e popes haue [Page] tourned them selues away from y^e fyrst fountayne of whom there hathe broken in a clene contrary forme / as it hathe ben clerely de­clared heretofore, vntill of a shepe sprange vp a roryng wolfe / of a preacher of euangelycall peace, a lawe maker of all tyranny / of a preest a man of warre / of a pore apostle the moste myghty Cesar and emperour of the worlde / are not these wōderfull actes? wher­fore the state of relygyous men doeth very well make theym sel­ues lyke vnto theyr capytayne. Suche as the hedde is: suche is the body. The pope is tourned in to a worldely emperour / and hath his preestes and relygyous men soldyers and men of warre. As y^e pope doeth folowe Chryst:As y^e pope is so are re­lygious mē euen so doeth the bysshops / pree­stes, and relygyous men folow [Page] theyr professyon. The pope facy­oneth of Chryst the most patient lord, what so euer hȳ selfe listeth: for he alone doeth gyue strenght and auctoryte to the scrypture / he doeth interprete it / he doeth graunte the vse of it / in whiche Chryst doeth rest, after his plea­sure. So lykewyse chyrches and monkes do make ofte theyr pa­trones and professyons / what so euer they lyste. The pope in pro­cesse of tyme hath put forthe and exalted him selfe for a god, wher­fore chyrches & religious ꝑsones do extoll & magnify their saintes and statutes also for a god. The pope gyueth to them imunytyes and lybertyes: and they agayne of theyr parte do therfore wor­shyp hym in stede of a god, for so is the facyon, helpe me then / and I shall helpe y^e. Of those thinges [Page] it cōmeth to passe, that euery one of the popes partes do without shame spytte out blasphemies a­gaynst the blessed Trinyte,In praising of y^e pope is blasphemy of Chryste. ascri­byng and gyuyng that vnto the power of the pope, which belon­geth onely to almyghty god / for verely I my selfe herd with myne owne eares, when it was openly preached in a certayn monastery, of one which, did proclayme and declare indulgences / now foure yeres a go: that y^e pope hath the same power, that hath the blessed Trynyte in heuen. Oh straunge and wonderfull blasphemy / let ony man rede the bokes, whiche are made and put forth agaynste suche as they call heretykes: he shall fynd in them great blasphe­minations agaynst god, suche as one may wonder to rede thē. The gospelles they do name tryfles. [Page] Moreouer the pope doeth con­fyrme / what so euer thynge we wyll desire / if money only be pre­sent, he gyueth to the relygyous men saintes, he canonizeth accor­dynge to theyr pleasure / and so are newe goddes exalted with­out nombre. Go to what mona­stery thou lyst, thou shalt fynde a very great multytude of holy re­lygyous men made fatte on the walles / & tables adourned with goodly dyadeames, and eche one of them holdynge a singular and specyall ape in his handes. Also euery company and felyshyp of artyfycers haue propre sayntes of theyr owne, holdyng y^e instru­mentes of theyr craftes in theyr handes, one a shoo / and other a twyble / the thyrde a fysshe / the fourth a swyne / the .v. a smythes hammer. I truste strongely that [Page] dysars and pryuy traytours also shall within a whil haue a saint of theyr owne / who in y^e mischefe hathe graunted vnto you this so hygh and so diuyne offyce of ma­kynge sayntes, whiche doeth ap­perteyne onely to god? wherfore it is not without a cause,A ꝓuerbe y^e olde god. y^t many men doo speake of the olde god, and y^e olde doctryne & fayth, and of the newe god / and the newe doctryne and faithe. But this is a poynte of crafte / to vnderstond euery one of these thīges a right: that no man do take the one for y^e other. Often tymes some man taketh a rauen for a popyngaye or a pecoke: if he neuer sawe ony before that tyme / other whyles we do by the fysshe called Nasus in y^e stede of y^e noble fysshe Ascha: but when he is comen home and hath opened and boweld y^e sayde [Page] fysshe, then doeth y^e fyrst perceiue the fraude and gyle / for the fisshe Nasus is blacke within, and the fysshe Astha is whyte and full of goodly fatnes.Chrystē mē are admo­nyshed. Now whyles we do lyue in this worlde, in the precious time of grace, if we will not open the eyes of our vnder­stondyng, but wyll be content in the outewarde vsage & custome wenynge that we haue hytte the right nayle on the hed, and in the meane season do not regarde the true kernell & inwarde thynges: we shall perceyue afterwardes (but to our moost and perpetuall losse and harme) our errour and iorney out of the wey, & that we dyd by and take the fisshe Nasus in stede of the noble fisshe Asta / but then y^e market shall be passed when the spouse shall be entred in and shall haue shytte the yate [Page] after hym,And excusa­tyon. wherfore most wel­beloued and good chrysten men, do not take otherwise then well, this my showyng & declaratiō of your errour, although it be some­what harde and sharpe: for the body is of more value then the cote, & y^e soule of more value then the body: all lordshyp peryssheth and forsaketh vs in the extreme artycle of deathe. There folo­weth no man but our owne wor­kes to accompany vs vnto the strayghte and heuy. Iudgement of y^e very rightuous god: where bothe a kyng and a shepard shall be egally regarded, and the pope and a symple preest, bothe moche lyke reputed, we wyll be chry­sten men, go we then, and let vs not thus banishe our most gentle and most mercyful redemer Iesu Christ altogether ī to wildernes, [Page] let vs suffre that he may reuyue agayne by holy scrypture: nor let vs not so rage and play y^e cruell tyrauntes agaynst him vpon his membres, y^t that psalme be not sayde of vs to our perpetuall in­famy & shame, Ouare fremuerūt gentes .&c. In that noble psalme we se what harde & sore iudge­mentes god hath gyuen.

NOwe wil I adde a cer­teyn litle & brief instru­ctiō, & as it were a rule or marke by whiche, ony man what soeuer he be, of y^e symple comē people, (for y^e great doctours, and laboryours mar­tires y^e saruauntes of y^e temples, peraduenture haue no nede at all of it, beyng certayne and assured [Page] of them, that they may perceyue their owne dysseases, and so shall they haue helpe, orelles neuer) I may easely perceyue and iudge in the dayly custum of our faythe / and in the vsage adn ryghtes of y^e chyrches, which we do se daily to encreace, what is the olde god, the olde faith, & the olde doctrine, and on the contrary parte also, what is the newe god, the newe faythe / and the newe doctryne, that many good men be not so myserably seduced / and suffred to remayne in dyffydence & mys­beleue of all their workes and re­warde concernynge god & theyr neighbour wherof doeth ne­uer grow or come forth ony good thynge.

VIVE LE ROI.