Acts and Monuments Volume 1
Nabuchodouoser enquiring of Danyel said. Thinkest thou that thou canst truly declare me the dream that I have seen, and the meaning thereof. And Danyel said: As for the mistery whereof the king doth ask, neither the wise men, magitiens, southsayers, nor enchaunters can declare to the king: But there is a God in heaven, that discloseth mysteries, who will declare to thee (O king Nebuchadnezzar) what things shall come to pass in the last times of all. To me also is this sacrament or mystery disclosed (not for any wisdom that is in me more then in all men living) but to that the interpretatiō might be made manifest to the king, & that thou shouldest know the cogitagions of thy mind.
It was also said to Daniel, And thou Daniel, shut up the words, seal up the book, until the time appointed. Verily many people shall pass over, and many fold knowledge shall there be: And Daniel said to the man that was clothed with lynnen garments, who stood upon the waters of the flood: How long will it be before the end shall come of these marvelous things? And I heard the man that was clothed in linen apparel, who stood upon the waters of the floods, when he had lift up his right hand and his left hand into heaven, and had sworn by him that liveth for evermore: that for a time, times, and a half time. And when the scattering abroad of the hand of the holy people shall be accomplished: then shall all these things be finished. And I heard and understood not, and I said: O my Lord, what shall be after these things, and he said: Go thy ways Daniel, for this talk is shut & sealed up, until the time that is before appointed.
All these things have I written to show, that he that hath the key of David, who openeth and no man shutteth, shutteth and no man openeth: doth (when and how long it pleaseth him) hide the mysteries, and the hid secrets of the Scriptures, from the wise, prudent, and righteous: and other whiles at his pleasure, revealeth the same to sinners and lay persons. & simple souls, that he may have the honor & glory in all things. Wherefore as I have beforesaid, if you shall find any good thing in my writings, ascribe the same to God alone: If you shall find otherwise, think ye the same to be written of ignorance, and not of malice. And if any doubt or error be shown me in all my writings, I will humbly allow your information & fatherly correction.
But why that such manner of matters are moved touching the disclosing of Antichrist in this kingdom, more then in other kingdoms, and in this time also more then in time past: the answer, as concerning the time of the motion is, that it is the last conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter in the sign of the Twins, which is the house of Mercury, being the signifyer of y e Christian people: which conjunction seemeth to me to betoken the second coming of Christ, to reform his Church, and to call men again by the disclosing of Antichrist, to the per • ection of the Gospel, from their Hethenish rites and ways of the Gentiles. By whom the holy city was trampled under foot, for 42. months, even as the conjunction of the said two planets being enclosed in the sign of the Virgin, which is also the house of Mercury: did betoken the first coming of Christ, for the salvation of all people that were perished of the house of Israel, whereby to call thē through the same coming, to the full perfection of the Gospel. As touching this calling of the Heathen, speaketh Christ in the Gospel, I have also other sheep, that are not of this fold, and those must I bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one shepefolde, & one shepherd. For although the Gentiles be converted, from the infidelity, of their idolatry, to the faith of Christ: yet are they not converted to the perfection of the law of Christ, And therefore did the Apostles in the primitive Church, lay no burden upon the Gentiles, but that they should abstain from heinous things, as from things offered to idols, and from blood, and strangled, and fornicatyon. As touching this second coming, speaketh Isaiah: On that day the root of Jesse which standeth for a sign or mark to the people, to him shall the heathen make their homage and supplication, and his sepulcher shall be glorious: and in that day shall it come to pass, that the Lord shall the second time put to his hand, to possess the remnant of his people &c. And he shall lift up a token toward the nations, and he shall assemble the runagate people of Israel that were fled, and those that were dispersed of Judah shall he gather together from the four quarters of the earth. And the zealous emulation of Ephraim shall be broken to pieces, and the enemies of Judah shall come to naught. Paul to the Thessalonians saith: We beseech you brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of our gathering together before him: that you be not soon removed from your understanding, neither that you be put in fear, as though the day of the Lord were at hand, neither as it were by letter sent by us, neither by spirit, nor yet by talk. Let not any body by any means bring you out of the way, or seduce you: For except there shall first come a departing, and that the man of sin, the son of perdition shall be disclosed, which maketh resistance, and is advanced above all thing that is called God, or that is worshipped: so that he doth sit in the temple of God, showing himself as if he were God. Do ye not remember that whilst I was as yet with you, I told you of this: and now you know what keepeth him back, that he may be uttered in his due time: For even now doth he work the mystery of iniquity, only that he which holdeth, may hold still until he be come to light: and then shall that wicked one be disclosed, whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming, even him whose coming is according to the working of Satan, in all power, with signs and lying wonders, and in all deceipfull leading out of the truth towards those that do perish, because that they receive not heartily the love of truth, that they might be saved.
Christ being demanded of the Apostles, what should be the token of his coming, & of the end of the world: said unto them. There shall come many in my name, saying, I am Christ, and they shall seduce many. Also he telleth them of many other signs, of battayles, famine, pestilence, and earthquakes. But the geatest sign of all he teacheth to be this. When you shall see (saith he) the abomination of desolation stādyng in the holy place, he that readeth, let him understand. But Luke 21. in his Gospel speaketh more plainly hereof. When you therefore shall see Jerusalem to be compassed about with an army, then know ye that the desolation thereof shall draw nigh. And afterward it followeth: And they shall fall by the face of the sword, and shall be led away captive to all nations, and Jerusalem shall be trodden under foot of the heathen, until the times of the nations be fulfilled. Now in Daniel thus it is writ̄ of this matter. And after 72. weeks, shall Christ be slain, neither shall that be his people, that will deny him. And as for the Citye and Sanctuary, shall a people (with his captain that will come with them) destroy the said City and sanctuary, and his ende shall be to be wasted utterly, till it be brought to naught, and after the ende of the war, shall come the desolation appointed. In one week shall he confirm the covenant to many, and within half a week shall the offering and sacrifice cease. And in the temple shall there be the abomination of desolation, and even unto the end shall the desolation continue. And else where •• n Daniel, thus it is written. From the time that the continual sacrifice shall be offered, and that the abomination shall be placed in desolation, there shall be 1290. days.
Now, if any man will behold the Chronicles, he shall find, that after the destruction of Jerusalem was accomplished, and after the strong hand of the holy people was fully dispersed, and after the placing of the abhominatyon, that is to say, the Idol of desolation of Jerusalem, within the holy place, where the temple of God was before, there had passed 1290, days taking a day for a yere, as commonly it is taken in the Prophets. And the times of the heathen people are fulfilled, after whose rites and customs God suffered the holy City to be trampled under foot for 42. months. For although the Christyan Church, which is the holy City, contynued in the faith from the Ascension of Christ, even till this time: yet hath it not observed and kept the perfection of the faith all this whole season. For soon after the departure of the Apostles, the faith was kept with the obseruatyon of y t rites of the Gentiles, and not of the rites of Moses law, nor of the law of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Wherefore seeing that this time of the error of the Gentiles is fulfilled: it is likely that Christ shall call the Gentiles from the rites of their gentilitie, to the perfection of the Gospel, as he called the Jews frō the law of Moses to the same perfection, in his first coming: that there may be one shepefolde of the Jews and Gentiles, under one shepherd Seeing therefore that Antichrist is known which hath seduced the nations: then shall the elec • after that they have forsaken the errors of their Gentilitie, come through the light of God's word, to the perfection of the Gospel, & that same seducer shall be slain with the sword of gods word. So that by these things it doth partly appear unto me, why y t at this time rather then at another time, this matter of Antichrist is moved.
And why that this motiō is come to pass in this kingdom, rather then in other kingdoms: me thinks there is good reason, because that no nation of the Gentiles was so soon converted to Christ as were the Brytons the inhabitauntes of this kingdom: For to other places of the world there were sent preachers of the faith, who, by the working of miracles and continual preaching of y e word of God, and by grievous passion and death of the body, did convert the people of those places: But in this kingdom, in the time of Lucius king of the Brytons, and of Eleutherius Bishop of the Romaines did Lucius hear of the Romaines that were Infidels (by the way of rumors and tales) of the Christian faith, which was preached at Rome. Who believed straightways, and sent to Rome, to Eleutherius for men skillful to inform him more fully in the very faith it self: at whose coming he was joyful, and was baptized with his whole kingdom. And after the receiving of the faith, they never forsook it, neither for any manner false preaching of other, neither for any manner of torments, or yet assaults of the Paynims, as in other kindomes it hath come to pass. And thus it seemeth to me the Britons amongst other nations, have ben, as it were by the spiritual election of God, called & converted to the faith.
Of them as me seemeth, did Isaiah prophecy saying: For they did see to whō there was nothing told of him, & they did behold, that had not heard of him. And again, behold, thou shalt call a nation which thou knewest not: & natyons that have not known thee, shall run unto thee: for the lord thy God, & y e holy one of Israel, shall glorify thee.
Of this kingdom, did S. John in the Apocalypse prophecy (as me seemeth) where he said, The Dragō stood before the woman, which was about to be delivered of child, to the intent y t when she had brought it forth into y e world, he might devour up her sonne: & she brought forth her child which was a manchild, who should govern all nations with an iron rod. And the same son was taken up to God, & to his throne. And y e womā fled into the wilderness, whereas she had a place prepared of God, y t they may feed her. 1260. days. And again in the same chapter, after that the Dragon saw that he was cast out vpō y e earth, he did persecute the womā, which brought forth the manchild. And there were given to the womā two wings of a great Egle, that she might flee into the wilderness into her place, where as she is fostred up for a time, times, & a half time, from the face of the Serpent. And the Serpent did cast as it were a flood of water after the woman, to the intent that he might cause her to be drowned by y e flood: and the earth opening her mouth, did hear the woman, & did swallow up the flood which the Dragon did cast out of his mouth. Let us see how these sayings may be applied unto this kingdom rather then to other kingdoms. It is well known y t this kingdom is a wilderness or a desert place, because that the Philosophers & wisemen did not pass upon it, but did leave it for a wilderness and desert, because it is placed without the clymates.
Unto this place fled y e woman, that is to say, y e Church (which by faith did spiritually bring forth Christ into the world) where as she was fed with the heavenly bread, the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ, for 1260. days, seeing that for so many days, taking a day for a yere, the Brytons continued in y e faith of Christ, which thing cannot be found so of any Christian kingdom, but of this desert: and well is it said, that she flew to this place. For whom y e East came the faith into Brytaine, not by walking in journey, nor yet by sailing: for then should it have come by Rome, Italy, Almaine, France, which cannot be found: & therefore she flew over those places, & rested not in them, even as a birde flying over a place, resteth not in the same: but rested in this wilderness for a time, times, and half a time, that is, 1260. years from the first coming of the faith into Britain until this present.
In saying for a time, times, and half a time, there is a going forward from the greater to the less. The greatest time that we name, is a 1000. years, there is a time: and the next time that is less in the singular number, is one 100. yere. In the plural number, times signify that there be mo hundreds then one, at lest 200. years. Wherefore if they be put under a certain number, it must needs be that they be two, but the same two cannot fitly be called sometimes; except they be hundreds. For in that, that there is a going down from the greater to the less, when as it is said a time, times, and half a time, and that the number of a 1000. is likely assigned for a time: it must needs follow that times must be taken for hundreds, and half a time for 60. because it is the greater half of an hundredth years, though that 50. be the even half. And when that the serpent sent the water of the persecution after the woman to cause her to be drouned of the flood: then did the earth, that is to wit, y e stablenes of faith help the woman, by supping up the water of tribulation. For in the most cruel persecution of Dioclesian and Maximiane against the Christians, when as christianity was almost every where roted out: yet did they in this kingdom stand continually in the faith, unmovable. And so, considering that the Britons, were converted to y e faith of Christ, as you would say, by an election and piking out amongst all the nations of the heathen, and that after they had received the faith, they did never starte back from the faith for no manner of tribulation: It is not to be meruailed it in their place y • calling of the Gentiles, be made manifest to the profiting of the gospel of Jesus Christ, by the revealing of Antichrist.
But besides this, me seemeth that Ezekiel doth specially speak of them, whereas he speaketh of the fall of the prince of Tyre, saying: for as much as thy heart is lifted up as if it were the heart of God, therefore behold: I will bring upon thee, some of the strongest of the heathen, & they shall draw their naked swords upon the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy comeliness, and they shall slay thee, and pull thee out, and thou shalt die in the slaughter of the slain persons, in the heart of the sea.
This prince who saith, that he himself is God, & doth sit in God's chair in y e heart of the sea, doth signify (as most likely it seemeth to me) that Antichrist shall be destroyed by the most mighty persons of the Gentiles folk, through the sword of the word of God. Because that amongst the other Gentiles, there have been none more strong then the Britones, either in their body or their faith, & in their bodily wars there have been none more mighty then they. For never in wars have they been vanquished, but by their own sedition or treason. But how many kingdoms have they conquered? Yea, and nother by the most mighty city of Rome, could they be driven out of their kingdom, until that God sent upon them pestilence and famine: whereby they being wasted, were compelled to leave their country, which thing I have not hard of any other people. Now, in the faith, have they been amongst all the people, the strongest, as before is said, because that by no tribulation, could they be compelled to forsake the faith. Wherefore of them, this seemeth to me to be understanded. Thē I will bring upon thee, some of the most strongest people, & they shall draw their naked swords, &c. By these things it may plainly appear, why at this time (rather then in time past) this matter is stirred up: and why in this kingdom (rather then in other kingdoms) the calling of the Gentiles is entreated of, to the verifying of the Gospel, through the disclosing of Antichrist.
But forasmuch as many tales and fables are told of Antichrist and his coming, and many things which do rather seduce then instruct the hearers, are applied to him out of the scriptures of the prophets: we will briefly write those things which are spoken of him, and we will show that the same fable sprang from the error of people imagining, & from no truth of the scriptures prophesying. Now then they do say, that Antichrist shall be borne in Babylon of the tribe of Dan, & conceived of the mixture of man and woman in sin, because that Christ was borne of a virgin, and conceived of the holy ghost. They say, that he shall be an ill favored personage, because that it is written of Christ: comely and beautiful is he, beyond the sons of men. They say that he shall preach three years and an half where Christ preached, & that he shall circumcise himself, and say that he is Christ, and the Messias sent for the salvation of the Jews. And they say, that he shall 3. manner of ways seduce the people by false miracles, gifts, and torments. So that whom he shall not be able to overcome w t miracles nor with gifts, those shall he go about to overcome with diverse kinds of torments. And those that he shall seduce, will he mark with his tokens in their forehead or hands. He shall sit in the temple of God, and cause himself to be worshipped as God. He shall fight (as they say) with the 2. witnesses of Christ, Enoch & Hely, and shall kill thē, and he himself shall finally be slain with lightening. To this imagined man of their own imagination, but of none of the prophets foreshowed (at least in no such wise as this is) do they apply the Prophets, as this of Daniel: When y • cotinual sacrifice shall be taken away, & abomination shall be placed to desolation: That is (say they) when the worshipping of God shall be taken away, & desolation (to wit, Antichrist) shall abominably show forth himself to be worshipped, then shall there be 1290. days: that is to say, 3. years and a half. And this time do they say is the time, times, and half a time. And when it is said in Daniel: Blessed is he that looketh for, and cometh to a 1335. days. This do they say, is thus to be understanded. 45. days of repentance to such as have worshipped Antichrist: which 45. days added to the 1290. make 1335. days. Which days they that shall reach unto, shall be called blessed.
They apply also to this Antichrist, this saying of the Apocalypse: I saw a beast rising up out of the Sea, having 7. heads, and 10. horns, who had power givē him to make 42. months. Which months (as they say) do make 3. yere & a half, in which Antichrist shall reign. And many other things there are told, and applied unfitly to this imagined Antichrist, y t are not truly grounded upon the scriptures.
Now, let us show the errors of this fable. First of all, if there shall come such one (saying expressly that he is Christ) what Christian would be seduced by him, though he should do never so many miracles: neither shall he come after the manner of a seducer, which shall show himself an express adversary. Neither is it likely that the Jews can be seduced by such a one, seeing that Christ is not promised unto them of the stock of Dan by any of the Prophets, but of y e stock of Judah: nor yet is he promised to thē to be a king warlike, but peaceable, taking war away, & not making war. For of Christ saith Isaiah: And in the last days, shall there be prepared the mountain of the house of the Lord, in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills: and to it, shall all the nations have great recourse, and many people shall go and say: Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob, and he shall teache us his ways, and we shall walk in his paths. For out of Zion shall there go a law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem, and he shall judge the nations, & reprove much people. And they shall turn their swords into plowshares, and their spears into sithes. There shall not a nation lift up it self against another nation, nor yet shall they be anymore exercised to war. And again: A little babe is borne to us, and a son is given to us, and his Imperial kingdom upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called: The great counsailour: The mighty God: The father of the world to come: The Prince of peace. His Empire shall be multiplied, and there shall be no ende of his peace. He shall sit upon the seat of David, and upon his kingdom: that he may make it steadfast and strong in judgment, and in justice, from henceforth & for evermore. Zacharias doeth say of Christ: Rejoice thou greatly, O thou daughter Zion, be thou exceeding merye, O daughter Jerusalem: Behold thy king shall come a righteous person, and a Savior unto thee, and yet he a poor man, and getting up upon an asse, even upon a young colt of the she asse. And I will scatter abroad the chariot of Ephraim, and the horse of Jerusalem. And the bow of war shall be dispersed, and he shall speak peace to the nations, and his power shall be from the sea to the sea, and from the flood unto the borders of the earth.
By which things it is manifest, that the wise Jews knew well enough, Christ to be promised to them of the stock of Judah and not of the stock of Dan: & that he was given, all to peace & not to war: Therefore it is not likely, that they cā be seduced by such a one. But if there should have been in time to come some such singular Antichrist, then would Christ (seeing he loved his) have said somewhat unto thē of him. Now, of one singularly doth he not speak: but of many, saying. Many shall come in my name, & say, I am Christ: and they shall seduce many persons. But now let us see, how the prophecies in Daniel, & the Apocalypse (aforesaid) be falsely and erroneously applied to the same imagined Antichrist. For in Daniel the ix. chapter thus it is written. And after 72. weeks shall Christ be slain, and they which will deny him shall not be his people. And the City and sanctuary, shall a people, with their Captain that shall come with them destroy, whose end shall be utter desolation, and after the end of the war a determined destruction. Now, he shall in one week confirm his covenant towards many, and in the half week shall the offering and sacrifice cease, and in the temple shall there be an abomination of desolation, and evē to the fulfilling up of all, and to the end, shall the desolation continue. It is plain & manifest that this prophecy is now fulfilled. For the people of Rome with their Captain, destroyed Jerusalem even to the ground, and the people of the Jews was slain and scattered. And the abomination, that is, the Idol of desolation was placed of Adrian, in the last destruction in Jerusalem in the holy place, that is to say, in a place of the temple. And from that time hitherto have passed near about 1290. days, taking a day for a year, as Daniel takes it in his prophecies, and other prophets likewise. For Daniel speaking of 62. weeks, doeth not speak of the weeks of days but of years. So therefore when he saith: From the time that the continual sacrifice was taken away. &c. 1290. days must be taken for so many years, from the time of the desolation of Jerusalem, even unto the revealing of Antichrist: and not for 3. years and an half, which they say, Antichrist shall reign. And again, whereas Daniel said, How long till the ende of these marvelous matters? it was answered him. For a time, and times, and half a time. Behold also, how unfitly they did assign this time, by 3. years and a half, which they say, Antichrist shall reign. For when as it is said, a time, times, and half a time: there is a going downward from the greater to the less: from the whole to the part, because it is from a time to half time. If therefore, there be a going downward from the whole to the part, by the midst (which is greater then the whole it self) the going downewarde is not meet nor agreeing. And this is done when as it is said, that a time, times, and half a time is a year, two years, and half a year. Wherefore more fitly it is said, that a time, times and half a time, doth signify 1290. years, as is before said in the chapter preceding. Thus therefore is the prophecy of Daniel falsely applied to that imagined Antichrist.
Likewise is the process of the Apocalypse applied to the same imagined Antichrist, too much erroneously. Because that the same cruel beast which came up out of the sea, having 7. heads, and 10. horns, to whom there was power given over every tribe, people, and tongue, and the power given for the space of 42. months: Thys beast doth note thē Romaine Emperors, which most cruelly did persecute the people of God, as well Christians as Jews. For whē as the condēnatiō of the great whore sitting upon the many waters was shown to John: he saw the same woman sitting upon the purple coulored beast full of the names of blasphemy, having 7. heads, and 10. horns: and he saw a woman being drunken with the blood of the Saints and Martyrs of Jesus. And the angel expounding and telling him the mistery of the woman and the beast that carried her said: That 7. heads are 7. hills, and are 7. kings: Five are fallen, one is, the other is not yet come: & when he shall come, he must reign a short time. And y e 10. horns which thou sawest, are 10. kings, who have not yet taken their kingdom, but shall receive their power as it were in one hour, under the beast. And finally he saith, y • woman whō thou sawest, is the great Citty, which hath the kingdom over the kings of the earth. And it is manifest that the City of Rome, at the time of this prophecy, had the kingdom over the kings of the earth. And this City was borne up & upholden by her cruel & beastly Emperors: who by their cruelty and beastlynes did subdue unto thenselves in a manner, all the kingdoms of the world, of a zeal to have lordship over others, and not vertuouslye to govern the people that were their subjects, seeing that they thenselves did lack all virtue, and drew back others from the faith and from virtue.
Wherefore what cruel beast coming up out of the sea, doth rightly note the Romain Emperors, who had power over every language, people and country. And the power of this beast was for 42. months: because that from the first Emperor of Rome, that is to say, Julius Caesar, unto the ende of Frederick the last Emperor of Rome there were 42. months, taking a month for 30. days, as the months of the Hebrews and Grecians are, and taking a day always for a year, as commonly it is taken in the Prophets. By which things it may plainly appear, how unfitly this prophecy is applied to that imagined Antichrist, and the 42. months taken for three years and an half, which (they say) he shall reign in against the saying of the Prophets, because that days are taken for years. As in the 1. of the Apocal. They shall be troubled 10. days. Which do note the most cruel persecution of Dioclesian against the Christians that endured 10. years. And in another place of the Apocalypse, it is written of the smoke coming up out of the bottomless pit. Out of which pit there came forth Grashoppers into the earth: and to them was power given, as scorpions have power, to vex & to trouble men 5. months. Now it is manifest, that from the beginning of the Friers minours and preachers, to the time that Armachanus, began to disclose and uncover their hypocrisy, and their false foundation of valiant begging under the poverty of Christ, were 5. months, taking a month for 30. days, and a day for a year. And to Ezekiel were days given for years. Wherefore it is an unfit thing to assign the 42. months being appointed to the power of the beast, unto 3. years and a half, for the reign of that fantastical and imagined Antichrist: specially seeing that they do apply to his reign y • 1290. days in Daniel, which make 42. months, and in the Apocalypse they assign him 42. months. It is plain that the Psalterie and the harp agree not. And therefore seeing that it is sufficiently shown, that the same fabling tale of that imagined Antichrist to come, is a fable and erroneous: Let us go forward to declare whether Antichrist be already come, and yet is he hid from many, and must be opened and disclosed within a little while, according to the truth of the holy Scripture, for the salvation of the faithful.
And because that in the first conclusion of mine answer, I have conditionally put it, who is that Antichrist lying privy in the hid Scriptures of the Prophets: I will pass on the declaration of that conclusion, bringing to light those things, which lay hid in darkness, because nothing is hid which shall not be disclosed, and nothing covered that shall not be known: And therefore, the thing that was said in the darkness, let us say in the light: and the thing that we have heard in the ear, let us preach upon the house tops. I therefore as I have before said, so say, that if the high bishop of Rome, calling himself the servant of God, and the chief Vicare of Christ in this world, do make and justify many laws contrary to the gospel of Jesus Christ: then is he the chief of many, which coming in the name of Christ, have said, I am Christ, who have seduced many. Which is the first part of the first conclusion, and is manifest. For Christ is called of Hebrews the very same, that we call annointed. And amongst them there was a double sort of legal anointing by the law, the one of kings and the other of Priests. And as well were the kings, as the priests, called in the law, Christ's. The kings, as in the Psalm. The kings of the earth stood up together, and the Princes assembled them selves in one against the Lord and against his Christ or annointed. And in the books of the kings very often are the kings called Christ's. And our Savior was Christ, or annointed king, because he was a king for evermore upon the throne of David, as the Scriptures do very oftentimes witness. The Priests also were called annointed, as where it is written: Do not ye touch my Christ's, that is, mine annointed ones, and be not ye spiteful against my Prophets. And so was our Savior Christ, a Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
Seyng then, that the Bishops of Rome do say, that they are the high Priests: they say also therein that they are kings, because they say that they have the spiritual sword perteinyng to their Priesthode, and the corporal sword which agreeth for a kings state. So is it plain, that really & in very deed, they say that they are Christ's, albeit that expressly they be not called Christ's. Now that, they come in the name of Christ, it is manifest, because they say that they are his principal Vicares in this world, ordained of Christ specially for the government of the Christian Church. Therefore, seeing they say, that really and in very deed they are Christ's, and the chief friends of Christ: If they make and justify many laws contrary to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, then is it plain that they themselves in earth are the principal Antichrists, because there is no worse plague and pestilence, then a familiar enemy. And if in secret they be against Christ, and yet in open appearance they say that they are his friends: they are so much the more meet to seduce and deceive the Christiā people, because that a manifest enemy shall have much a do to deceive a man, because men trust him not: but a priuey enemy pretendyng outward frendshyp, may easily seduce, yea those that be wise.
But that this matter may the more fully be know̄, let us see what is the law & doctrine of Christ, that ought to be observed of all faithful people: which being known, it shall be an easy thing to see, if the bishop of Rome do make or maintain any laws, contrary to the law of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
I say then, that the law of Christ is charity, which is the perfect love of God and of Christ. This thing is plain and manifest. For Christ being demanded of a certain doctor of the law: What is the greatest commandment in the law▪ answered. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind: This is the principal & greatest commandment. And as for the second, it is like unto this: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thine own self. In these two commandments, doth the whole law and Prophets depend. And in another place Christ saith: All manner of things therefore, y t you would that men should do to you, the same also do ye unto them. For this is the law and the Prophets. And in John the 13. chap. saith Christ. And now do I say unto you, I give you a new commandment, y t you should love eche other: as I loved you, in like manner that you also should love one another. In this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you shall have love one towards another. And John 15. chapter: This is my commandment that you love together as I have loved you. Greater love then this, hath nobody, that a man should give his life for his friends. The Apostle Peter saith in his first Epistle 4. chapter: Above all things, having continually charity one towards another, for charitye covereth the multitude of sins. Be ye harborers, and entertain ye one another without grudging: everyone as he hath received grace, so let him bestow it upon another man, as the good stewards of the manifold graces of God. If any mā speak, let him speak as the word of God. If any man do ought for another, let it be don with singleness and unfeigned verity, ministered of God to us ward, that in all things God may be honored through Jesus Christ our Lord. James in his Epistle the 2. chapter. If ye perform the royal law accordingly to the Scriptures (thou shalt love thy neighbor) ye do well: But if ye be parcial in receiving and preferring men's personages, ye work wickedness being blamed of the law as transgressors. And again, so speak ye, and so do ye, as ye should now begin to be judged by the law of liberty. What shall it avail (my brethren) if a man say he have faith, and have no works? Never shall y t faith be able to save him. For if a brother or sister be naked, and have need of daily food, and some of you say to them, go ye in peace, be ye made warm and satisfied: and if ye shall not give those things that are necessary for the body, what shall it avail? Even so faith, if it have not works, is dead in it self.
John in his first epistle the 3. chap. This is the tidings which you have heard from the beginning, that you should love one another. And again, we know that we are tra • slated from death to life, if we love the brethren: He that loveth not, abideth in death. And again, herein do we know the love of God, because that he hath laid down his life for us, & we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. He that shall have the substance of this world, and shall see his brother have need, and shall shut up his bowels from him: howe abideth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word nor tongue, but in deed and truth. And again 4. chap. Most dearly beloved, let us love together. For love is of God, he y t loveth not, knoweth not God, for God is love. In this thing hath the love of God apeared in us, that God hath sent his only begotten son into the world, that we should live by him. Herein is love: not y t we have loved God, but that he hath first loved us, and hath sent his son an atonement for our sins. Most dearly beloved, if God have loved us: we so ought to love together. No mā hath seen God at any time: if we love together, God abideth in us, & his love is perfect in us. And again, let us love God, for he hath first loved us. If a man shall say, I love God, & do hate his brother, he is a liar. For he that loveth not his brother whom he seeth, how cā he love God whom he seeth not? And this commandment have we of God, y t who so loveth God, should love his brother also. Paul the Apostle in his epistle to the Rom. 13. chapter. O we ye nothing to nobody, saving that ye should love together, for he that loveth his brother hath fulfilled the law. For thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not murder, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear fall witness, thou shalt not covet thy neighbors good: and if there be any other commandment, it is plentifully fulfilled in this word: thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Wherefore the fulfilling of the law is love.
Paul to the Corinthes 5. saith: If I should speak with the tongues of men and angels, and yet have not charity, I am become as it were a piece of sounding metal or rinkling cimball. And if I shall have all prophecy, & know all mysteries, and all knowledge, and shall have all faith, so that I might remove mountains, and yet shall not have charity: I am nothing. And if I shall give abroad all my goods to feed the poor, and shall give up my body to be burned, and yet have not charity: it profits me nothing. To the Galatians 5. saith Paul: For you my brethren, are called into liberty: do ye not give your liberty for an occasion of the flesh, but by charity of the spirit, serve ye one another. For all y e law is fulfilled in one saying: thou shalt love thy neighbor as thine own self. To the Eph. 4. chap. he saith: I therefore that suffer bonds in the Lord, do beseech you, that you would walk worthy of the calling where w t ye are called, with all humbleness and mildness, with patience forbearing one another in love, being careful to keep the unity of the spirit, in the bond of peace: that you be one body, and one spirit, even as you be called in one hope of your calling. And again in the 5. chap. Be ye followers of me, as most dear children, and walk ye in love as Christ also hath loved us, and hath delivered up himself for us, an offering and sacrifice to God of a sweet favor, To the Phil. thus he speaketh in the 1. chap. Only let your conversation be worthy of the Gospel of Christ, that either when I shall come and see you, or else in mine absence. I may hear of you, that you stand steadfast in one spirit, laboring together with one accord for the faith of the Gospel. And in nothing be ye afraid of the adversaries, which is to them a cause of damnation, but to you of salvation, and y t of God. For to you it is given, not only that you should believe in him, but also that you should suffer with him, you having the like fight and battle that both you have seen in me, and also now do hear of me. If therefore there be any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of charity, if any fellowship of the spirit, if any bowels of compassion fulfill you my joy, that you may be of one judgment, having one and the self same charity, being of one accord, of one manner of judgment, doing nothing of contention, nor of vain glory, but in humbleness, accounting other amongst you, everyone better then yourselves, not everybody looking upon the things that be his own, but those that belong unto others. And to the Coloss. 3. chapter thus he writeth: You therefore as the elect of God, holy, and beloved, put upon you the bowels of mercy, gentleness, humbleness, lowliness, modesty, patience, bearing one with another, & giving place to yourselves (if any have a quarrel against anybody) even as the Lord forgave you, so do you also. Above all things have ye charity, which is the bond of perfection, and let the peace of Christ triumph in your hearts, in which peace you also are called in one body. And be ye kind & thankful. And to the Thessalonians thus Paul writeth in the 4. chapter. As concerning brotherly charity, we have no need to write unto you: for you yourselves have learned of God, that you should love one another. And the same thing ye do towards all y e brethren throughout all Macedonia.
Out of all these & many other places of the holy scripture it sufficiently appeareth, that the law of Christ is charity, neither is there any virtues commanded of Christ, or any of his Apostles to be observed of the faithful people, but that it cometh out of charity, or else doeth nourish charity.
The law is given by Moses, and the truth by Christ. Christ came not to vnlose the law and the Prophets, but to fulfill them. But yet many things were lawful & might have been observed in the time of the law, which in y • time of grace must not be observed. And many things wer unlawful to them that were under the law, which in the time of grace are lawful enough. After what sort then he did not loose the law, but did fulfill it, it is necessary to declare, for those things which hereafter must be said. For amongst Christians, many things are judged to be lawful, because in the former testament in the law, they were lawful: and yet they be expressly contrary to Christ's Gospel. But the authors of such things do argue and reason thus: Christ came not to loose the law of the prophets. Now after what sort he did not vnlose them, it is manifest by the holy scripture: that the law given by Moses, was written in tables of stone, to declare the hardness of y • people's heart towards the love of God, or of Christ. But Christ hath written his law in the harts and in the minds of his, that is to say, the law of perfect love of God & of Christ. Which law whosoever observeth, he doth observe the law of Moses, & doth much greater works of perfection, then were the works of y • law. Thus therefore were the morals of the old law fulfilled in the law of the charity of Christ, and not unloosed: because they are much more perfectly observed, then of the Jews. This I say, if the Christians do observe the commandments of Christ in such sort, as he commanded the same to be observed. Christ hath fulfilled the laws moral of the old testament, because that the morals and iudicials were ordained, that one person should not do injury to another, & that every man should have paid him that is his. Now, they that are in charity, will do no injury to others, neither do they take other men's goods away from them. Nay it seeketh not her own things. For charity seeketh not the things that be her own. Wherefore, much less by a stronger reason it ought not to seek for other men's goods. And whē as the iudicials & morals were ordained: Christ did not by y e works of the law justify the believers in him, but by grace justified them frō their sins. And so did Christ fulfill that by grace, that the law could not by justice.
Paul to the Romaines declareth in a godly discourse, and to the Galath. likewise: that none shall be justified by the works of the law, but by grace, in the faith of Jesus Christ. As for the morals & ceremonies of the law, as circumcision, sacrifices for offense and for sins, first fruits, tenths 〈◊〉 , diverse sortes of washings, the sprinkling of blood, the sprinkling of ashes, abstaining from unclean meats which are ordained for the sanctifying and cleansing of the people frō sin, no nor yet the prayers of the priests, neither the preachings of the prophets, could cleanse a man from his sin. For death reigned even from Adam to Moses, and sin from Moses to Christ, as Paul declareth to the Romaines in the 5. chapter. But Christ, willing to have mercy, and not sacrifice, being a Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek, & an high Priest of good things to come: did neither by the blood of goats or calves but by his own blood enter in once unto the holy places, when as everlasting redemption was found: neither did Jesus enter into the holy places that were made with hands, which are the examples of true things, but into the very heaven, y t now he may appear before the countenance of God for us. Nor yet he did so, y t he should offer up himself oftentimes, as the high Bishop entered into the holy place every year w t strange blood (for otherwise he must needs have suffered oftentimes sithens y e beginning of the world) but now in the latter end of the world hath he once appeared by his own sacrifice, for the destruction of sin. And like as it is decreed for men once to die, and after that cometh judgment: even so was Christ once offered up to cōsum away the sins of many. The second time shall he appear without sin, to the salvation of such as look for him. For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image or substance it self of the things: can never, by those sacrifices which they offer (of one self same sort continually yere by yere) make them perfect that come unto her. Otherwise men would leave of offering because that those worshyps being once cleansed, should have no more pr ••• e of conscience for sin afterwards. But in them is their remembrance made of sins every yere. For it is impossible, that by the blood of goats & bulls, sins should be taken away. Wherefore, he entering into y e world, doth say, as for sacrifice and offering thou wouldst not have, but a body hast thou framed unto me. And sacrifices for sin have not pleased thee, then said I, behold I come. In the head or principal part of the book it is written of me, that I should do thy will, O God. Wherefore he said before, that sacrifices, oblations and burnt offerings, and that for sin thou wouldest not have: neither were those things pleasant to thee which are offered according to the law: then said I, behold I come, that I may do thy will O God: He taketh away the first, that he may stablish that that followed. In which will, we are sanctified and made holy by the offering up of the body of Jesus Christ, ones. And verily every Priest, is ready every day ministering, & oftentimes offering the self same sacrifices, which never can take away sins. But this man offering one sacrifice for sins, doth forever and ever sit at God's right hand, looking for the rest to come till that his enemies be placed to be his footstool. For with one offering hath he forever made perfect those that be sanctified. By which things it plainly appeareth, y t Christ by one offering hath cleansed his from their sins: who could not be cleansed from the same, by all the ceremonies of the law, and so did fulfill that which the priesthood of the law could not. Wherefore only the morals and iudicials he fulfilled by the law of charity, and by grace: and the ceremonials, by one offering up of his body in the alter of the cross. And so it is plain, that Christ fulfilled the whole law.
Wherefore sithens that the holy things of the law, were a shadow of those things that were to come in the time of grace: it were meet that all those things should utterly cease amongst Christians, which should either be against charity, or the grace of Christ. Although in the time of the law, they were lawful, and not utterly contrary to it, but were figures of perfections in Christ's faith: yet it were meet that they should cease at y e coming of the perfection which they did prefigurate: as circumcision, the eating of the paschal lamb, and other ceremonial points of the law. Wherupon also Paul to the Hebrews the 7. chapter saith thus. If therefore the making up of y e perfection of all was by the Levitical priesthood (for the people received the law under him) why was it necessary besides, that another Priest should rise up after the order of Melchizedek, & not be called after the order of Aaron • For whē the Priesthode is removed, it must needs be, that the law also be removed. For he, in whom these things are spokē, is of another tribe, of which, none stood present at the altar. Because it is manifest that our Lord had his offspring of Judah: in which tribe Moses spake nothing of the Priests. And besides this, it is manifest: if according to the order of Melchizedek there do rise up another Priest, which was not made according to the law of the carnal commandment, but according to the power of the life that cannot be loosed. For thus he beareth witness, that thou art a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek: so that, the commandment, that went before, is disallowed for the weakness & unprofitableness thereof. For the law hath brought nobody to perfection. By which things it appeareth that Christ making an end of the priesthood of Aaron, doth also make up a full end of the law belonging to that Priesthode. Wherupon I marvel y t your learned men do say, that Christian folks are bound to this small ceremony of the payment of tithes, and care nothing at all for other as well the great as the small ceremonies of the law.
It is plain, that the tithes were given to the sons of Levi, for their serving in the tabernacle & in the temple of the Lord, as the first fruits were given to the priests, and also part of the sacrifices, & so were the vows for their ministry, as it appeareth in the book of Numbers the 22. chapter. But forasmuch as the labor of those sacrifices did cease at the coming of Christ: howe should those things be demanded, which were ordained for that labor? And seeing that the first fruits were not demanded of Christians, which first fruits were then rather and sooner demanded then the tithes: why must the tithes be demanded, except it be therefore peradventure because that the tithes be more worth in value then be the first fruits?
Secondly, why are the lay people bound to the payment of tithes, more then the Levites and the priests were to the not having of possessions of realties & Lordships amongst their brethren, seeing y t the self same law in the self same place (where he saith that the tithes ought to be given to Levites) saith also to the Levites, you shall be contented with the offering of the tithes, and have none other thing amongst your brethren. Wherefore seeing that the Priests be bound, to the not having of temporal Lordship’s: how are the lay people bound, by that law (of God he meaneth, and not of man) to the payment of tithes?
Thirdly, as touching circumcision, which is one of the greater ceremonies of the law, and was given before the law, & was an universal ceremony, concerning the covenant between God & his people, and was so much regarded in the law, that thereof it was said: The soul, whose flesh shall not be circumcised in the foreskin, shall pearysh from amongst his people: yet did this ceremony utterly cease at the coming of Christ, although that certain of the Jews did say in the primative Church, that the Christians must needs keep the commandment of circumcision with the faith: whom Paul reproveth writing thus to the Galatians the 4. chapter, where he speaketh of the children of the bondwoman & of the free woman, which do signify the two Testaments. But we (O brethren) are the children of the promise after Isaac, but like as at that time he that was borne after the flesh, did persecute him, which was after the spirit: even so it is now also. But what saith the scripture? Throw out the bondwoman and her son. The son of the bondwoman, shall not be heir with the son of the free woman. Wherefore brethrē, we are not the sons of the bondwoman, but of the free. S • ad ye steadfast in the liberty, wherewith Christ hath delivered you, and be not ye holden again under the yoke of slavery. Behold I Paul say unto you, if you be circumcised, Christ shall nothing profit you. For I testify again to every man that circumciseth himself, that he is bound to keep all the whole law. Ye are utterly void of Christ: whosoever will be justified in the law, are fallen from grace.
In like manner, we may reason, if we be bound to tything, we are debtors, & bound to keep all the whole law. For to say that men are bound to one ceremony of the law, & not to the others, is no reasonable saying. Either therefore we are bound to them all, or to none. Also, that by the same old law, men are not bound to pay tithes, it may be shown by many reasons, which we need not anymore to multiply & increase, because the things that be said, are sufficient. Whereupon some do say, that by the Gospel we are bound to pay tithes, because Christ said to the Pharisees, Math. 23. chapter: Woe be you Scribes and Pharisees, which pay your tithe of Mint, of Anets seed, and of commin: and leave judgment, mercy, and truth undone, being the weightier things of the law, both should ye have done these things, and also not have left the other undone. O ye blind guides, that strain out a gnat, and swallow up a camel. Thys word soundeth not as a commandment or manner of bidding, whereby Christ did command tithes to be given: but it is a word of disalowing the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, who of covetousness did rather weigh and esteem tithes, because of their own singular commodity, rather then other great and weighty commandments of the law. And me seemeth that our men are in the same predicament of the Pharisees, which do leave of all y e ceremonies of y e old law, keeping only the commandment of tything. It is manifest and plain enough by the premisses, and by other places of the scripture, that Christ was a priest after the order of Melchizedek, of the tribe of Judah, not of the tribe of Leuie: who gave no new commandment of tything of anything to him and to his priests whom he would place after him: but whē his Apostles said to him: Behold, we leave all things & have followed thee, what then shall we have, he did not answer them thus: Tithes shall be paid you, neither did he promise them a temporal, but an everlasting reward in heaven. For he, both for food, and also apparel taught his disciples not to be careful. Be ye not careful for your life, what ye shall eat, or for your body what ye shall put on. Is not the life of man more worth then the meat? and the body more worth then apparel? Behold ye the birds of heaven, which do not sow, nor reap, neither yet lay up in barns, and yet your heavenly father feedeth them. And as for apparel, why should you be careful? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow, they labor not, neither do they spin. &c. In conclusion he saith, be not ye careful, saying, what shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or wherwithall shall we be covered? For all these things do the Gentiles seek after. For your father knoweth, y t you have need of all these things. First therefore seek ye for the kingdom of God and the righteousness thereof, and all these things shall be cast unto you. And Paul right well remembering this doctrine, instructeth Timothy and saith thus. But we having food and wherewithal to be covered, let us therewyth be contented. And as the Acts of the Apostles do declare: In the first conversion of the Jews at Jerusalem, they had all things common, and to everyone was division made, as need required. Neither did the priests make the tithes their own proper goods. For like as it was not meet that the lay people being converted, should have propriety of goods: even so neither that priests should have propriety of tithes. So that if y e priests started back from fervent charity in challenging to themselves the propriety of tithes: it is no marvel of departing backward (as do the priests, frō the perfection of charity) also of the laity to be willing to appropriate to them selves the ix. partes remaining after tithes. Wherefore, seeing that neither Christ, nor any of the Apostles, commanded to pay tithes: it is manifest and plain, neither by the law of Moses, nor by Christ's law, Christian people are bound to pay the tithes: but by the tradition of men, they are bound.
By the premisses now it is plain, that Christ did not undo the law, but by grace did fulfil it. Notwithstanding, in the law many things were lawful, which in the time of grace are forbydden, and many things were then unlawful, which now are lawful enough. For nothing that is contrary to charity, is lawful to a Christian.
Let us now hear what manner of commandments Christ hath given us in the Gospel, without the observation of which commandments, charity shall not perfectly be kept. By which commandments, Christ did not undo the old law, but did fulfill it. By the observation also of which commandments, he teacheth us to pass and got beyond the righteousness of the Scribes & Pharisees, who most perfectly thought themselves to keep the law. This absolute and perfect righteousness, which we are bound to have beyond the righteousness of the Pharisees and the Scribes, he teacheth in Math. 5.6. and 7. chap. Whych being heard, and compared to the traditions made and commanded by the Roman prelates: it shall plainly appere, whether they be contrary or no. Christ therefore saith, you have heard, that it was said to them of the old time. Thou shalt not kill. For he that killeth shall be guilty of judgment. But I say unto you, that everyone that is angry with his brother, shall be in danger of judgment. In this he doeth teach, that we ought not to be angry with our brethren: not that he would undo this did commandment (thou shalt not kill) but that the same should be the more perfectly observed. Again he saith. You have heard that it was said, thou shalt love thy friend, and hate thine enemy: But I say unto you, Love your enemies, do well to them that hate you, pray for them that persecute & slander you, that you may be the children of your father which is in heaven: Which maketh his sun to arise upon the good and the evil people, and raineth upon the just and unjust. For if you love them which love you, what reward shall you have? Do not the Publican's thus? And if you shall salute your brethren only, what great thing do ye? Do not the heathen thus also? Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly father is perfect.
Again Christ saith, you have heard that it is said: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth: but I say unto you, see that you resist not evil. But if any man shall strike you upon the right cheek, give him the other to. And to him that will strive with thee for thy coat in judgment, let him have thy cloke also. And whosoever shall contstrain thee one mile, go with him also two other. He y • asketh of thee give him: and he that will borrow of thee, turn not thyself from him.
By these things it may plainly appear, howe that Christ the king of peace, the Savior of mankind, who came to save and not to destroy, who gave a law of charity to be observed of his faithful people: hath taught us not to be angry, not to hate our enemies, not to render evil for evil, nor to resist evil. For all these things do softer and nourish peace & charity, and do proceed and come forth of charity, & when they be not kept, charity is loosed, & peace is broken. But the bishop of Rome approveth and alloweth wars, and slaughters of mē in war, as well against our enemies, that is, the infidels, as also against the Christians for temporal goods. Now, these things are quite contrary to Christ's doctrine, and to charity, and to peace.
In the decrees 23. q. 1. cap. Paratus, it is taught, that the precepts of patience must always be retained in purpose of the heart, so that patience w t benevolence must be kept in the mind secrete. But apparently and manifestly, that thing should be done, which seemeth to do good to those, whom we ought to wish well unto. Wherein they give to understand, that a Christian may freely defend himself. And for confirmation of this saying, they do say: That Christ whē he was stricken in the face of the high bishops servant, did not fulfill (if we look upon the words) his own commandment: because he gave not to the smiter the other part, but rather did forbid him, that he should not do it, to double his injury. For he said, if I have spoken evil, bear witness of evil, but if well, why doest thou strike me? I do meruail of this saying: for first if those commandments of patience must be kept in secrete in the mind: and seeing the body doth work at the motion of the mind, and is and ought to be moved and ruled by the same: It must then needs be, that if patience be in the mind, it must appear also outwardly in the body.
Secondly I meruail that it is said, that Christ did not fulfill his own precept of patience. For it is manifest, that albeit he teaching always as a good scholemaster, those things which were fit for the salvation of souls, speaking the wholesome word of instruction to the high bishops servant, smiting him unjustly: did neither by word forbid another stroke to be given on the other cheke, neither did he defend himself bodily from striking on the same cheek: But speaking to him, it is likely y e he gave him the other cheek, he meaneth, y t he turned not the other cheek away. For a man tourneth not away from him whom he speaketh to, or whom he informeth, but layeth open before him all his face: Even so do I believe y t Christ did, that he might fulfill in very deed that, which before he had taught in word. Neither yet did Christ by his word or by his deed, show anything of defense, or of bodily resistance.
Thirdly, I meruail why wise men leaving the plain & manifest doctrine of Christ, whereby he teacheth patience: do seek corners of their imagining, to the intent they may approve fightings and wars. Why mark they not after what manner, Christ spake to Peter striking the high Bishops servant, saying: Put up thy sword into the sheath, for everyone that shall take the sword, shall perish with the sword. But in another case we must make resistance: which case may be so righteous, as it is for a man's Lord & master being a most righteous man, and yet suffering injury of mischievous persons.
Fourthly, I marvel seeing that we are bound of charity & by the law of Christ to give our lives for our brethren, how they can allow such manner of dissensions & resisting. For when thy brother shall maliciously strike thee, thou mayest be sure, that he is manifestly fallen from charity, into the snare of the devil. If thou shalt keep patience, he shall be ashamed of his doing, and thou mayest bow & bend him to repentance, and take him out from the snare of the devil, and cal him back again to charity. If thou resist, and perchance by resisting doest strike again, his fury shall be the more kindled, & he being stirred up to greater wrath, peradventure shall either slay thee, or thou him. Touching thyself, thou art uncertain, if thou go about to make resistance, whether thou shalt fall from charity, and then shalt thou go backwarde from the perfection of Christ's commandment: Neither doest thou know but that it may happen thee so greatly to be moved, as that by the heat & violence of wrath, thou shalt slay him. Whereas if thou wouldest dispose thyself to patience (as Christ teacheth) thou shouldest easily avoid all these mischieues, as well on the behalf of thy brother, as also of thine own parte. Wherefore, the observing of charity as the precept of patience is to be observed.
Fifthly, I do marvel why that for the alowing of this corporal resistance, he doth say in the same Chapter: that Paul did not fulfill the precept of the patience of Christ, when as he being stricken in the place of judgment by the commandment of the high Priest, did say, God strike thee, O thou painted wall: Doest thou sit to judge me according to the law, and doest thou command me to be stricken against the law? It is manifest that Paul made resistance in nothing, though he spake a word of instruction to the Priest, who against the law commanded him to be stricken. And if Paul had overpassed the bounds of patience, through the grief of the stroke: what of that? Must the deed of Paul's impaciencie for this cause be justified, and the commandment of patience taught by Christ, be left undone for Paul's deed, and corporal resistance be allowed? God forbid. For both Paul and Peter might err. But in the doctrine of Christ there may be found no error. Wherefore, we must give more credence & belief to Christ's sayings, then to any living man's doings. Wherefore, although Paul had resisted, which I do not perceive in that Scripture: it followeth not thereof, that corporal resistance must be approved, which is of Christ expressly forbidden. I much marvel that always they seek corners and shadows to justify their deeds. Why do they not mark what great things Paul reciteth himself to have suffered for Christ? And where I pray you have they found, that he after his conversion, stroke any man that did hurt him? Or where do they find that he in express word doth teach such a kind of corporal resistance? But as touching patience, he saith in plain words to the Romans: Be not wise in your own conceits : Render ill for ill to nobody: providing good things not only before God, but also before all men, if it be possible: Be at peace with all folks as much as in you lieth: not defending yourselves, my most dearly beloved, but give you place unto anger. For it is written, vengeance is mine, & I will recompense them, saith the Lord. But if thine enemy shall be an hungered, give him meat. If he be a thirst, give him drink For thus doing, thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head. Be not ouercomen of evil, but overcome thou evil with good.
To the Corinthians the 5. as touching judgment and contention, which are matters of less weight then are fightings, thus he writeth: Now verily there is great fault in you, that you be at law amongst yourselves. Why rather take ye not wrong? why rather suffer ye not deceit? And generally in all his Epistles he teacheth, that patience should be kept, and not corporal resistance by fighting, because charity is patient, it is courteous, it suffereth all things. I marvel howe they justify and make good the wars by Christians, saving only the wars against the devil and sin. For seeing that it is plain, that those things which were in the old Testament, were figures of things to be done in the New Testament: Therefore we must needs say, that the corporal wars being then done, were figures of the Christian wars against sin and the devil, for the heavenly country, which is our inheritance. It is plain that it was written thus of Christ. The mighty Lord, and of great power in battle, hath girded himself in force and manlynesse to the war: and he came not to send peace into the earth, but war. In this war ought Christian people to be soldiers according to that manner which Paul teacheth to the Ephesians the last. Put upon you the armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the deceits of the devil. For we have not to wrestle against flesh and blood, but against princes & potestates, against the rulers of these darkness of the world, against spiritual wickedness in heavenly things, which are the high places. Wherefore take ye the armor of God, that ye may be able to resist in the evil day, and to stand perfectly in all things. Stande you therefore girded about in truth upon your loins, having put upon you the breast plate of righteousness, and your feet shoed in a readiness to the Gospel of peace, in all things taking the shield of faith, wherewith you may quench all the firy darts of that wicked one. And take unto you the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God.
By these things it is plain, what are the wars of Christians, and what are the weapons of their warfare. And because it is manifest, that this Testament is of greater perfectiō then the former: we must now fight more perfectly then at that time. For now spiritually, then corporally: now for an heavenly everlasting inheritance: then for an earthly and temporal: now by patience, then by resistance. For Christ saith, blessed are they that suffer persecution for righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. He saith not, blessed are they that fight for righteousness. How can a man say, that they may lawfully make war, & kill their brethren for the temporal goods, which peradventure they unjustly occupy, or unjustly intend to occupy? For he that killeth another, to get these goods which another body unjustly occupieth: doeth love more the very goods, then his own brother. And then he falling from charity, doth kill himself spiritually. If he go forward without charity to make war: then doeth he evil, and to his own damnation. Wherefore he doth not lawfully nor justly in proceeding to the damnation of his own self & his brother, whom though he seem unjustly to occupy his goods, yet he doth intend to kill. And what if such kind of wars were lawful to the Jews: this argueth not, that now they are lawful to Christians, because that their deeds were in a shadow of imperfection, but the deeds of Christians in the light of perfection. It was not said unto them, All people that shall take the sword, shall perish with the sword. What if John the Baptist, disallowed corporal fightings, and corporal warfare, at such time as the soldiers asked him saying. And what shall we do? Who saith to them, See that you strike no man, neither pick ye quarrels against any, and be ye contented with your wages. Thys saying of John alloweth not corporal warfare amongst Christians. For John was of the Priests of the old Testament, and under the law, neither to him it appertaineth to follow the law, but to warn the people to the perfect observation of the law. For he being like wise demanded of the publicanes what they should do, said unto them, Do no other thing then is appointed unto you. But Christ the author of the new Testament and of greater perfection, then wa • the perfection of the old law, which gave new things, as it plainly appeareth by the Gospel. So that, Christians ought to receive information of Christ, not of John. For of John also doth Christ speak: Verily I say unto you, there hath not risen amongst the children of women, a greater then John the Baptist: but he that is less in the kingdom of heaven, is greater then he. In which saying Christ showeth that those that be least in the kingdom of heaven in the time of grace, are placed in greater perfection thē was John, which was one of them that were the elders, & he lived also in y t time of the law in greater perfection. And whē as certain of John's disciples said unto him, master, he that was beyond Jordan, to whō thou gavest witness, behold he baptizeth, and all people come unto him. John answered and said: A man cannot take anything upon him, unless it shall be given him from above. You yourselves do bear me record, that I said I am not Christ, but that I was sent before him. He that hath the bride, is the bridegroom, as for the bridegromes friend, who standeth and heareth him: rejoiceth with great joy to hear the voice of the bridegroom. Thys therefore my joy is fulfilled: he must increase, and I must be diminished. He that cometh from an hie is above all. He that is of the earth is earthy, and speaketh of the earth: He that cometh from heaven, is above all folks: that which he hath seen and heard, the same doth he witness, and yet his witnessing doth nobody receive. But he that receiveth his witnessing, hath put to his Seal, that God is true. For he whom God hath sent, speaketh the words of God.
By which things it plainly appeareth, that credence is to be given neither to John, nor yet to angel, if he teach anything that is not agreeable to Christ's doctrine. For Christ is above the Angels, because that God infinitely passeth them in wisdom. Now if Moses the servant of God a minister of the old testament was so much to be believed, y t nothing could be added, nor yet anything diminished from the commandments that were given by him, (for so Moses had said, the thing that I command thee, that do thou only to the Lord, neither add thou anything, nor diminish. ) How much more ought we not to add nor to take away from the commandments given by God himself, and also the son of God? In the primitive Church because the Christians had servant love and charity, they observed these precepts as they were givē: but their fervent charity afterward waxing luke warm, they invented glosses by drawing the commandments of God back to their own deeds, which they purposed to justify and mayntayn, that is to say, wars against the infidels. But that they by wars should be converted to the faith, is a fact faithless enough: because, that by violence or unwillingly, nobody can believe in Christ nor be made a Christian, neither did he come to destroy them by battle, that believed not in him: for he said to his disciples, you know not what spirit you are of. The son of man came not to destroy men's lives, but to save them. Then to grant pardons and forgiveness of sins, to those that kill the infidels, is to much an infidels fact, seducing many people For what greater seducing can there be, then to promise to a man forgiveness of sins, and afterward the joy of heaven, for setting himself against Christ's commandments in the killing of the Infidels, that would not be converted to the faith: where as Christ doth say, not everyone that saith to me Lord, Lord, shall enter into y e gidgdome of heaven: but he y t doth the will of my father which is in heaven, this person shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. Now the will of the father is, that we should believe in his only son Jesus Christ, and that we would obey him by observing of those things which he himself hath commanded. Wherefore Christ's precepts of patience must be fulfilled. Wars, fightinges, and contentions must be left, because they are contrary to charity.
But peradventure some man will thus reason against Christ: The saints by whom God hath wrought miracles, do allow wars as well against the faithful people, as also against the infidels. And the holy kings were warriors, for whose sakes also miracles have been shown, as well in their death as also in their life, yea in the very time wherein they were a warfare. Wherefore it seemeth that their facts were good and lawful. For otherwise, God would not have done miracles for them.
To •• is again I say, that we for no miracles must do contrary to the doctrine of Christ. For in it can there be no error, but in miracles there oftentimes chanceth error as it is plain as well by the old as by the new testament: God forbid then, that a Christian should for deceivable miracles, depart from the infallible doctrine of Christ. In Exodus the 7. chapter it is manifest, howe that the wicked wise men of the Egyptians, through the inchauntments of Egypt, and certain secret workinges, threw their wands upon the earth, which were turned into Dragons, evē as Aaron before time in y e prefēce of Pharaoh threw his wand upon the earth: which by the power of God was turned into a serpent. In the third of the kings the 22. chap. Micah did see the Lord sitting upon his throne, and all the host of heaven standing about him on the right hand, and on the left. And the Lord said, who shall deceive Ahab y e king of Israel, that he may go up and be slain in Ramoth Gilaad. And one said this way, and another otherwise: now, there went forth a spirit, and stood before the Lord & said, I will deceive him. To whō the Lord spake: by what means? And he said, I will go forth, and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And the Lord said thou shall deceive him and prevail, go thy ways forth, and do even so. Thus also is it written in Deuteronomium. If there shall arise a Prophet amongst you, or one that shall say he hath seen a dream, and shall foretell a sign and a wonder: & if that shall come to pass that he hath spoken, and he shall say unto thee: Let us go and follow strange God's (whom thou knowest not) and let us serve them: thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that Prophet or dreamer, for the Lord your God tempteth you, to make it known whether ye love him or no, with all your heart, and with all your soul.
In Jeremiah the 12. chap. Are not my words even like fire saith the Lord? and like an hammer, that breaketh the stone? Therefore behold, I will come against the Prophets which have dreamed a lie (saith the Lord) which have shown those things, and have seduced the people through their lies and their miracles, when as I sent thē not neither commanded them, which have brought no profit unto this people (saith the Lord. ) In Mark the 13. chapter saith Christ: For there shall arise false Christ's and false Prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders to deceive if it were possible even the very elect. Paul in his second Epistle to the Corinthians the xi. chap. Suche false Apostles are deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the Apostles of Christ, and no marvel: For even Satan transformeth himself into an angel of light therefore it is no great thing, though his ministers transform themselves, a • though they were the ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works.
In the Apocalypse the 13. chap. John saw a beast ascending up out of the earth and it had two horns like a lamb but he spake like the Dragon, and he did all that the first beast could do before him: and he caused the earth and the inhabitants thereof to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed, and did great wonders so that he made fire come down from heaven on the earth, in y e sight of men, and deceived thē that dwell on y e earth, by means of the signs which were permitted to him to do in y e sight of the beast.
By these things it is most manifest and plain, that in miracles this manifold error oftentimes happeneth thorough the working of the devil, to deceive the people w t all. Wherefore, we ought not for the working of miracles, to depart from the commandments of God: I would to God y t they which put confidence in miracles would give heed unto the word of Christ, in the 7. chap. of Math. thus speaking: Many shall say unto me in that day, Lord, Lord have we not in thy name prophesied? and in thy name cast out devils? and in thy name done many great works? &c. I will profess unto them, I never knew you, depart from me all ye which work iniquity.
By this saying it is most manifest, that the servants of Christ are not discerned by the working of miracles, but by the working of virtues, departing from iniquity, and obeying the commandments of God. Wherefore it is wonderful, that any in this life dare presume to prevent the day of the judgment of God, to judge by means of miracles, that some are Saints whom men ought to worship, whō peradventure God will in the last judgment condemn, saying: depart from me all ye which work iniquity. If any man could here on earth judge sinners to be condemned, then if this judgment were certain, Christ should not judge the 2. time, and whatsoever such judges bind in earth: the same ought to be bound in heaven. But if such a judgment be uncertain, then it is perilous and full of deceit, when as by it men on earth may in steed of saints worship such as are damned with the fellowship of the devils, and in prayer require their aid, who even like as the devils their companions are more ready and more of might to evil then to good, more to hurt then to profit. I wonder they mark not what Christ said, when his kinswoman came unto him, desiring and requiring something of him, and saying: Commaund that these my two sons may sit, one upon thy right hand and the other upon thy left hand, in thy kingdom. But Jesus answering, said: Ye know not what ye ask, can ye drink of the cup which I shall drink of? they said unto him, we cna. He said unto them. Of my cup in deed ye shall drink, but to sit at my right hand or at my left, it is not mine to give, but unto whom it is prepared for, of my father. Christ, being equal unto the father according to his God head, exceeding all manner of men, according to his manhood, namely in goodness and wisdom, said, to sit my right hand, or at my left, is not mine to give but unto whom it is prepared of my father. If it were none of his to give to sit at the right hand, or at the left &c. How then is it in the power of any sinful man to give unto any man, a seat either on the right hand, or on the left in the kingdom of God? which sinful man knoweth not whether such have any seat prepared for thē of the father in his kingdom. They much extol themselves which exercise this iudicial power in giving judgment: that there are some saints, which ought to be honored of men, by reason of y e euidency of dreams or of deceitful miracles, of which men they are ignorant whether God in his judgment will condemn them or not together with the devils forever to be tormented. Let them beware, for the infallible truth saith, that everyone that exalteth himself shall be brought low.
By these things is gathered, that the wars of Christians are not lawful, for that by the doctrine and life of Christ they are prohibited, by reason of the euidency of the deceitful miracles of those, which have made wars amongst the Christians, as well against the Christians, as also against the infidels. Because Christ could not err in his doctrine for as much as he was God: And forasmuch as heaven and earth shall pass away, but the words of Christ shall not pass away. He therefore: which establisheth his laws, allowing wars and the slaughter of mē in the war, as well of Christians, as of Infidels: doth he not ins •• ie those things which are contrary unto the gospel & law of Christ? Therefore in this he is against christ? and therefore Antichrist: seducing the people, making men believe that to be lawful & meritorious 〈◊〉 them, which is expressedly prohibited by Christ.
And thus much concerning the first parte touching peace and war, wherein he declareth Christ and the pope to be contrary, that is, the one to be given all to peace, the other all to war, and so to prove in conclusion the Pope to be Antichrist. Where in the mean time thou must understand (gentle reader) his meaning rightly: not that he so thinketh, no kind of wars among y e Christians in any case to be lawful, for he himself before hath openlie protested the contrary. But that his purpose is to prove, y e Pope in all his doings & teachings, more to be addicted to war, thē to peace, yea in such cases, where is no necessity of war. And therein proveth he y e Pope to be contrary to Christ, y e is to be Antichrist. Now he proceedeth further to y e second part which is of mercy.
In the which part he showeth how Christ teacheth us to be merciful, because mercy (as he saith) proceedeth frō charity, and nourisheth it. In which doctrine of mercy, he breaketh not y e law of righteousness, for he himself by mercy hath cleansed us from our sins, from which we could not by the righteousness of the law, be cleansed. But whom he hath made clean by mercy, undoubtedly it behooveth those same to be also merciful. For in y e v. chapiter of Matthew, he saith: Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. And again in y e 6. of Matthew: If ye forgive unto men their sins, your father will forgive unto you your sins. And again in the vii. chapter of Matthew: Judge not, & ye shall not be judged, condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned, & with what measure ye measure, with the same shall it be measured unto you again. In the xviij. chap. of Matthew, Peter asked the lord, saying: Lord how often shall my brother sin against me, and I shall forgive him, seven times? Jesus said unto him: I say not unto thee seven times, but seventy times seven times. Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reck̄, one was brought unto him which ought him ten thousand talents: And because he had nothing where withal to pay, his master commanded him to be sold, and his wife and his children, and all that he had, and the debt to be paid. The servant therefore fell down and besought him, saying: have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And the Lord had pity on that servant, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. But when the servant was departed, he found one of his fellow servants, which ought him an hundred pence, and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying: pay me that thou owest, and his fellow fell down, and besought him, saying: Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. But he would not, but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. And when his other fellows saw the things that were done, they were very sorry, and came & declared unto their master all y t was done: Then his master called him, and said unto him: O thou ungracious servant, I forgave thee all y t debt when thou desiredst me: Oughtest thou nor then also to have such pity on thy fellow, evē as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him unto the Iaylers, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly father do unto you, except ye forgive from your hearts eche one to his brother their trespasses.
By this doctrine it is most plain and manifest that every Christiā ought to be merciful unto his brother, how often soever he offendeth against him. Because we so often as we offend, do ask mercy of God. Wherefore, for as much as our offense against God is far more grievous then any offense of our brother against us: it is plain, that it behooveth us to be merciful unto our brethren, if we will have mercy at God's hand. But contrary to this doctrine of mercy. The Romish bishop maketh & confirmeth many laws, which punish offenders, even unto the death. As it is plain by y e process of y e decrees. Distin 23. quest. 5. It is declared and determined, that to kill men ex officio, that is, having authority and power so to do, is not sin. And again: the soldier which is obedient unto y e higher power, and so killeth a man, is not guilty of murder. And again, he is the minister of the Lord, which smiteth y e evil in that they are evil and killeth thē. And many other such like things are throughout the whole process of y e question determined. That for certain kinds of sins men ought by the rigor of the law, to be punished even unto death: But the foundation of their saying, they took out of the old law, in which for diverse transgressions were appointed diverse punishments. It is very much wonderful unto me, why that wise men being the authors & makers of laws, do always for the foundation of their sayings, look upon the shadow of the law, and not the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ, for they give not heed unto y e figure of perfection, nor yet unto the perfection figured. Is it not written in y t 3. of John▪ God sent not his sonne into the world to judge the world, but to save y e world by him. In John the 8. chap. The scribes and phariseis bring in a woman taken in adultery, and let her in the midst, and said unto Christ: Master even now this woman was taken in adultery. But in the law. Moses hath commanded us to stone such. What sayest thou therefore? This they said to tempt him, that they might accuse him. But Jesus stouped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground. And while they continued asking him: he lift himself up, and said unto them, let him that is among you without sin, cast the first stone at her. And again he stouped and wrote on the ground. And when they heard it, the went out one by one, beginning at the eldest: so Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had lift up himself again he said unto her: where be they which accused thee, hath no man condemned thee? She said, no man Lord. And Jesus said unto her: Neither do I condemn thee? Go thy way and sin now no more.
It is manifest by y e scriptures, y e Christ was promised he should be king of the Jews, & unto y e kings pertained the judgments of y e law: but because he came not to judge sinners according to the rigor of the law, but came according to grace, to save that which was lost, in calling y e sinner to repentance: it is most plain, that in the coming of the law of grace, he would have the judgment of the law of righteousness to cease: for otherwise he had dealt unjustly with y e foresaid woman, forasmuch as the witnesses of her adultery, bare witness against her. Wherefore seeing y e same king Christ was a judge, if it had been his will that the righteousness of the law should be observed, he ought to have adjudged the woman to death, according as the law commanded, which thing forasmuch as he did not, it is most evident that the judgments of the righteousness of the law are finished in the coming of the king, being king of the law of grace: even as the sacrifices of the priesthood of Aaron, are finished in the coming of the priest, according to the order of Melchizedek, who hath offered himself up for our sins. Because as it is before said, neither the righteousness of the law, nor sacrifices for sin, brought any man to perfection. Wherefore it was necessary that the same (by reason of their imperfection. And seeing amongst all the laws of the world, the law of Moses was most iustest, forasmuch as the author thereof was God, who is the most just judge: and by that law always look, what manner of injury one had done unto another, contrary to the commandment of the law, the like injury he should receive for his transgression, according to y e upright judgment of the law. As death for death, a blow for a blow, burning for burning, wound for wound, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, and most just punishments were ordained according to the quantity of the sins. But if this law of righteousness be clean taken away in the coming of the law of grace, how then shall the law of the Gentiles remain among Christians, which was never so just? Is not this true, that in them, which are converted unto the saith, there is no distinction between the Jew and the Grecian? For both are under sin, & are justified by grace in the saith of Christ, being called unto saith and unto the perfection of the Gospel.
If therefore y e gētiles converted, are not bound to play the Jews, to follow the law of the Jews: why should the Jews converted, follow the laws of the Gentiles which are not so good? Wherefore it is to be wondered, at, why thieves are among Christians, for theft put to death where after y e law of Moses they were not put to death. Chrystiās suffer adulterers to live, Sodomites, and they which curse father and mother, & many other horrible sinners: And they which according to the most just law of God were condemned to death, are not put to death: So we neither keep the law of righteousness given of God, nor the law of mercy taught by Christ.
Wherefore the law makers and Judges, do not give heed unto the aforesaid sentence of Christ unto y e Scribes and Phariscis, who said: He which amongst you is without sin, let him cast the first stone at her. What is he that dareth be so bold as to say he is without sin? Yea and without a grievous sin, when as the transgression of y e commandment of God is a grievous sin? And who can say that he never transgressed this commandment of God. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: Or the other commandment which is of greater force: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart. &c. Wherefore thou whatsoever thou art that judgest thy brother unto death, thinkest thou that thou shalt escape the judgment of God, which peradventure hast offended more grievously thē hath he whom thou judgest? How • ee •• thou a mote in thy brothers eye, & seest not a beam in thine own eye? Knowest than not that with what measure thou measurest, y e same shall be measured to you again? Doth not the scripture say: Unto me belongeth vengeance, and I will render again saith y • Lord? How can any man say that these men can with charity keep these judgments of death? Who is it that offendeth God, and desireth of God just judgment for his offense? He desireth nor judgment, but mercy. If he desire mercy for him self, why desireth he vengeance for his brother offending? Howe therefore loveth he his brother as himself? Or how doest thou show mercy unto thy brother (as thou art bound by the commandment of Christ) which seekest the greatest vengeance upon him that thou canst infer unto him? For death is the most terrible thing of all, and a more grievous vengeance then death, can no man infer. Wherefore, they which will keep charity, ought to observe the commandments of Christ touching mercy: and they which live in the law of charity ought to leave the law of vengeance and judgments. Ought we to believe, that Christ in his coming, by grace abrogated the most just law which he himself gave unto the Children of Israel by Moses his servant, and established the laws of the Gentiles being not so just to be observed of his faithful? Doth not Daniel expounding the dream of Nabuchodonozer the king concerning the image whose head was of gold, the breast and arms of silver, the belly & thies of brass, the legs of iron, one part of y e feet was of iron, and the other part of clay. Nabuchodonozer saw that a stone was cut out of a mountain w t out hands, and strake y e Image in his feet of iron and of clay, & brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver and gold broken altogether, and became like y e chaff of the summer flower, which is carried away by the wind and there was no place found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. He applieth therefore 4. kingdoms unto the 4. partes of the Image, namely: the kingdom of the Babylonians unto the head of the gold: The kingdom of the Medes and Persians unto the breast and arms of silver: The kingdom of the Grecians unto the belly and thighs or brass: But the fourth kingdom which is of the Romans, he applieth unto the feet and legs of iron. And Daniel addeth: In the days of their kingdoms, shall God raise up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed: And his kingdom shall not be delivered unto another, but it shall break and destroy those kingdoms: and it shall stand forever, according as thou sawest, that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and brake in pieces the clay and iron, brass silver and gold. Seeing therefore it is certain that this stone signifieth Christ whose kingdom is forever: it is also a thing most assured, that he ought to reign everywhere, and to break in pieces the other kingdoms of y e world. Wherefore it terrestrial kings and the terrestrial kingdom of the Jews, and their laws and judgments have ceased by Christ the king, calling the Jews unto the perfection of his gospel, namely, unto Faith and Charity: It is not to be doubted, but that the kingdom of the Gentiles which is more imperfect & their laws, ought to cease among the Gentiles, departing frō their Gentillitie unto the perfection of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For there is no distinction between the Jews and Gentiles being converted unto the faith of Christ, but all of them abiding in that eternal kingdom ought to be under one law of Charity and of virtue. Therefore they ought to have mercy, and to leave the judgments of death, and the desire of vengeance. Wherefore they which do make laws mark not the parable of Christ, saying: The kingdom of heaven is like unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: but when men were on sleep, the enemy came and sowed Tares in the midst of the wheat, & went his way. But when the herb was grown and brought forth fruit, then appeareth the Tares. And the servants came unto the good man of the house and said unto him, Lord didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? From whence then come these Tares? And he said unto them: The enemy hath done this. And the servants said unto him: wilt thou that we go and gather them up? And he said no: least peradventure gathering up the Tares ye pluck up the wheat by the roots: Suffer them both to grow until the harvest, and in the time of the harvest, I will say unto the harvest men, gather first the Tares and bind them in the bundels that they may be burnt, but gather the wheat into my barn. Christ himself only expoundeth this parable in the self same chapter, saying: He which soweth the good seed is the son of man, but the field is the world, and the good seed, those are the children of the kingdom. But the Tares are the naughty children. And the enemy which soweth them is the Devil, And the harvest is the end of the world and the harvest men are the Angels. Even as therefore the Tares are gathered and burnt with fire, so shall it be in the end of the world. The son of man shall send his Angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all offendoures, and those which commit iniquity, and shall put them into a furnace of fire, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teethe.
By which plain doctrine it is manifest, that Christ will have mercy shown unto sinners, even unto the ende of the world, and will have them to remain mingled with the good: Least peradventure when a man thinketh that he doth right well, to take away the tares, he taketh away y e wheat. For how great a sinner soever a mā be, we know not whether his end shall be good, and whether in the end he shall obtain mercy of God: Neither are we certain of the time, wherein God will by grace judge him whom we abhor as a sinner. And peradventure such a one shall more profit after his conversion in y e Church, then he who we think to be just, as it came to pass in Paul. And if god justifieth a man by grace (although at his ende) why darest thou be so bold to be his judge, and to condemn him? Yea, rather although a man seem to be obstinate and hardened in his evil, so that he is not corrected by a secret correction (correct him before one alone) if he do not receive open correction being done before two or three witnesses, neither passeth upon a manifest correction when his sin is made known unto the Church: Christ doth not teach to punish such a one with the punishment of death. Yea rather he saith, if he hearken not unto the church: let him be unto thee as an Ethnic and Publican. And Paul following this doctrine in the 1. Corin. 5. chapter saith: There goeth a common saying that there is fornication among you & such fornication as is not once named among y e gentiles that one should have his fathers wife. And ye are pufted up, and have not rather sorrowed, that he which hath done this deed, might be put from among you. For I verily as absent in body, but present in spirit, have already determined, as though I were present: that he which hath done this thing, whē ye are gathered together and my spirit, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that such one by the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, be delivered unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Paul teacheth not to kill this man (as some gather by this text) but to separate him from the other faithful, and so frō Christ, which is the head of the Church of the faithful, and so is he delivered unto Satan, which is separated from Christ: that the flesh may be killed, that is, that that carnal concupyscence, whereby he luxuriously lusted after y e wife of his father, may be destroyed in him, by such a separation, that y e spirit may be saved, & not that his body should be killed. as some say, as it is most manifest in the self same chapiter, where he saith: I wrote unto you in an Epile, that ye should not keep company with fornicators, and I meant not of all the fornicators of this world, either of the covetous, or extorcioners or Idolaters, for then must ye needs have gone out of the world. But now I have written unto you, that ye keep not company together, if any that is called a brother be a fonicatour, or covetous persō, or a worshipper of Images, either a cursed speaker, or dronkard, or an extorcioner: with him that is such, see that ye care not.
By which it is manifest, that Paul would have the foresaid fornicator separated from the fellowship of the faithful: that his carnal concupiscence might be mortified, for the health of the spirit, and not that the body should be killed. Wherefore, they do ill understand Paul, which by this saying, do cōfirm y e killing of mē. And forasmuch as heresy is one of y e most grievous sins (for an heretic leadeth men in errors, whereby they are made to stray frō faith, without which they cannot be saved) it doth most great hurt in the Church.
Further as concerning such a wicked man. Paul thus speaketh, fly from the man y t is an heretic after the first and second correction, knowing that such a one is subverted and sinneth, forasmuch as he is by his own judgment condemned. Behold Paul teacheth not to kill this man, but with Christ to separate him frō the fellowship of the faithful. But some say, that Peter in y e primitive Church slew Ananias and Saphyra for their sins, wherefore they say it is lawful for them, to condemn wicked men to death. We will declare in showing the whole process how falsely they speak in alleging of Peter, for to justify their error.
In the 4. chap. of the Acts it is written, that as many as were possessors of lands or houses, they sold them & offered the prices of that which they sold and laid it before the feet of the Apostles: & it was divided unto everyone as he had need thereof. But a certain man Ananias with Sapphira his wife sold a piece of land, and kept back a part of the price of the field, his wife being privy unto it, and bringing a certain part thereof, he laid it at the feet of the Apostles. But Peter said unto Ananias: Ananias, why hath Satan tempted thy heart that thou shouldest lie unto the holy ghost, to keep back a part of y e price of the land? Did it not whilst it remained, remain unto thee: and being sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? Thou hast not lied unto mē, but unto God. And whē Ananias heard these words, he fell down and gave up the ghost, & great fear came on all them that heard these things. And the young mē rose up and took him up, and carried him out and buried him. And it came to pass about the space of iii. hours after, that his wife came in being ignorant of that which was done. And Peter said unto her, Tel me womā, sold ye the land for so much? And she said, yea for so much. But Peter say unto her, why have ye agreed together to tēpt the spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of them which buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out, And straight way she fell down before his feet, and gave up the ghost, and the young men entering in, found her dead and they carried her out, and buried her by her husband. And great fear came on all the church, & all those which heard these things. It is marvel y t any man that is wise, will say that by this process Peter slue Ananias or his wife. For it was not his act but y e act of God, who made a wedding to his son, & sent his servant to cal them, that were bidden unto the wedding, and they would not come. The king then sent forth his servants, to the outcorners of the hie ways, to gather all that they could find, both good and evil. And so they did. And the marriage was full furnished with gestes. Then came in also the king to view and see them sitting. Among whom he perceived there one sitting having not a wedding garment, and saith unto him, friend how camest thou hither? And he being dumb, had not a word to speak. Then said the king to the seruitures, take and bind him hand and foot, and cast him into the outward darkness, there shall be weeping and gnashinge of teeth. Many there be called, but few chosen. &c.
It is manifest, that this wedding garment is charity, without which, because Ananias entered into the marriage of Christ, he was given to death, that by one many might be informed to learn & understand: that they which have faith & not charity, although they appear to men to have yet it cannot be privy to the spirit of God, that they do fain. Such there is no doubt, but they shall be excluded frō the marriage of christ, as we see this here exemplified in the death of Ananias & his wife by the hand of God, & not by the hand of Peter. And how should Peter thē have judged Ananias (albeit he had judged him) worthy of death by the rigor of the old law? For why, by the law he had not been guilty of death, for that part, which they fraudulently & dissemblingly did reserve to themselves. Yea and if they had stolen as much from another man, which was greater neither ye • for his lie committed, he had not therefore by y e law of justice been found gilty of death. Wherefore if he did not condemn him by y e law of justice, it appeared that he codēned him by the law of grace and mercy, which he learned of Christ. And so consequently it followeth much more apparent, that Peter could not put him to death: Furthermore to say that Peter put him to death by the mere motion of his own will, and not by authority of the old law, nor by the new, it were derogatory and slanderous to the good fame and name of Peter. But if Peter did kill him, why then doth the Bishop of Rome which pretendeth to be successor of Peter, excuse himself and his priests from the judgment of death against heretics and other offenders, although, they themselves be consēting to such judgments done by lay men? For that which was done of Peter without offense, may reasonably excuse him and his fellow Priests from the spot of crime. Acts. 5. It is manifest that there was another which did more grievously offend thē Ananias, and that Peter rebuked him with more sharp words: but yet he commanded him not so to he put to death. For Simon Magus also remaining at Samaria, after that he believed and was baptized, he joined himself with Phillip: And when he saw that the holy spirit was given by y e Apostles (laying their hands upon mē) he offered thē money, saying give unto me this power, that upon whom soever I shall lay my hand, he shall receive the holy Ghost. To whom Peter answered: Destroyed be thou and thy money together: And for that thou supposest the gift of GOD to be bought with money, thou shalt have neither part nor fellowship in this doctrine. Thy heart is not pure before god, therefore reap̄t thee of thy wi • kednesse, and pray unto God that this wicked thought of thy heart may be forgiven thee: for I perceive thou art evē in the bitter gall of wickedness and bande of iniquity. Behold here the grievous offense of Simon Peters hard & sharp rebuking of him, and yet thereupon he was not put to death. Whereby it appeareth that the death of Anamas aforesaid, proceeded of God and not of Peter. Of all these things it is to be gathered seeing the judgments of death are not grounded upon the express and plain scriptures, but only under the shadow of the old law: that they are not to be observed of Christians because they are contrary to charity. Ergo y e bishop of Rome approving such judgments, alloweth those that are contrary to the law & doctrine of Christ, as before is said of wars, where he approveth & justifieth that which is contrary to charity. The order of Priesthood, albeit it doth justify the judgments to death of the laity, whereby offenders are condemned to die, yet are they themselves forbidden to put in execution the same judgments. The priests of the old law being imperfect, whē Pylate said unto thē concerning Christ (whō they had accused worthy death) take him unto you and according to your law judge him, answered: that it was not lawful for them to put to death any man.
Whereby it appeareth that our priests being much more perfect, may not lawfully give judgment of death against any offenders: yet notwithstanding, they claim unto thē the power iudicial upon offenders: Because say they, it belongeth unto them to know the offenses by the auricular confession of the offenders, and to judge vpō the same being known, and to join diverse penances unto y e parties offending, according to the quantity of their offenses committed, to that y e sinner may make satisfactiō say they unto God for the offenses which he never committed. And to cōfirm unto thē this iudicial power, they allege y e scriptures in many places, wrasting it to serve their purpose.
First they say that the Bishop of Rome (who is the chief priest and judge among them) hath full power & authority to remit sins. Wherupon they say, that he is able fully & wholly to absolve a man a poena & culpa, so that if a man at the time of his death had this remission: he should straigtwaies fly unto heaven without any pain of Purgatory. The other Bishops (as they say) have not so great authority. The priests constituted under every Bishop, have power, say they, to absolve the sins of thē that are confessed, but not all kind of sins: because there are some grievous sins reserved to the absolutions of the Bishops, and some again to the absolution only of y e chief and high Bishop. They say also that it behooveth the offenders, for the necessity of their soul health, to call to remembrance their offenses, and to manifest the same with all the circumstances thereof, unto the priest in auricular cōfessiō, supplying the place of God, after the manner of a Judge: & afterward humbly to fulfill the penance enjoined unto him by the priest for his sins, except the said penance so enjoined, or any part thereof be released by the superior power. All these things (say they) are manifestly determined, as well in y e decrees, as decretals. And although these things have not expressly their foundation in the plain and manifest doctrine of Christ, nor any of y e Apostles: yet the authors of the decrees and decretals concerning this matter, have grounded the same upon diverse places of the scriptures, as in y e process of Christ in y e Gospel of Saint Matthew y e xvj. chapter. Wherupon they ground y t popes power iudicial, to surmount the powers of other priests, as where Christ said unto his disciples: whō do men say that I am? And they answered: some say that thou art John the Baptist, some Elias, & some Jeremiah, or one of the Prophets. To whom he said: but who say you that I am? Simon Peter making answer, said: Thou art Christ, the son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him: Blessed art thou Simon the son of Jonah, for flesh & blood hath not opened this unto thee: but my father which is in heaven. And I say unto thee: y t thou art Peter, & upon this rock will I build my church: and hell gates shall not prevail against it. And I will give thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, shall also be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt lose upon earth, shall be loosed also in heaven.
Out of this text of Christ, diverse expositions have drawn diverse errors. For when Christ said: And I say unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock will I build my Church: Some thereupon affirm, that Christ meant he would build his Church upon Peter by authority of that text, as it is writ̄ in y e first part of y e decrees, Dist. 19. cap. Ita dominus noster. The exposition hereof, is ascribed to Pope Leo, the error whereof is manifestly known. For the Church of Christ is not built upon Peter, but upon the rock of Peters confession, for that he said: Thou art Christ the son of the living God, and for that Christ said singularly unto Peter: I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind. &c. By this saying they affirm, that Christ gave unto Peter specially, as chief of the rest of the Apostles a larger power to bind and to lose, then he did unto the rest of the apostles, or disciples. And because Peter answered for himself & all the Apostles, not only confessing the faith which he had chiefly above the rest, but also y e faith which the rest of the Apostles had even as himself, by the revelation of the heavenly father: It appeareth that as the faith of all the Apostles was declared by the answer of one: so by this that Christ said unto Peter: whatsoever thou shalt bind. &c. is given unto the rest of the Apostles the same power & equallitie to bind & to lose, as unto Peter. Which Christ declareth in the Gospel of S. Matthew the 18. chapter, in these words: Verily I say unto you what things so ever you shall bind upon earth, shall be bound in heavē & whatsoever you shall lose upon earth, shall be also loosed in heavē, And further he addeth: And again I say unto you: that if two of you shall consent upon earth, and request whatsoever it be: it shall be granted unto you of my father which is in heaven. For when two or three be gathered together in my name, I am there in the midst of them. And in John the xx. chapter, he saith generally unto them: Receaue ye my spirit. Whose sins ye shall remit, shall be remitted unto them: and whose sins you shall retain, shall be retained.
By this it appeareth, that the power to bind and to loose is not specially granted to Peter as chief and head of the rest: and that by him the rest had their power to bind and to loose, for that the head of the body of the Church is one, which is Christ, and the head of Christ is God. Peter and the rest of the Apostles, are the good members of the body of Christ, receiving power & virtue of Christ: whereby they do confirm and glew together the other menbers (as well the strong & noble as the weak and unable) to a perfect composition and seemelines of the body of Christ: that all honor from all partes and members may be givē unto Christ as head and chief, by whom as head, all the members are governed. And therefore Paul. 1. Corinthians chap. 3. When any man saith, I hold of Paul, and another saith I hold of Apollo, are ye not carnal men? For what is Apollo? what is Paul? The minister of him in whom ye have believed, and he as God giveth unto every man. I have planted, Apollo hath watered, but God hath given the increase. Therefore neither he that plāteth is anything neither he y t watereth, but God that giveth the increase. And Paul to the Gal. chap. 2. God hath no respect of persons. Those that seemed to be great and to do much, auayled or profited me nothing at all: But contrariwise, when they saw that the Gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the circumcision unto Peter (for he that wrought with Peter in the Apostleship of the circumcision, wrought with me also among the Gentiles) and when they knew the grace which was given me Peter, James, and John straightways joined themselves with me and Barnabas: we among the Gentiles, and they in circumcision only, might be mindful of the poor, the which to do I was very careful. Hereby it appeareth, that Paul had not his authority of Peter to convert the Gentiles, to baptize them, and to remit their sins, but of him which said unto him Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me. It is hard for thee to kick against the prick. Hear is Paul the head of the Church and not Peter: By which head they say, that all the members are sustained and made lively.
The third error (which the authors of the canons cōceiueth in the said text of Christ) which was said to Peter Unto thee will I give the keys &c. is this. They say that in this sentence which was said to Peter of the authority to bind and loose was meant: that as Christ gave unto Peter above all the rest of the Apostles a special, and as it I were an excellent power above all the Apostles: even so say they, he gave unto the Bishops of Rome (whom they call Peters chief successors) the same special power and authority, exceeding the power of all other Bishops of the world.
The first part of this similitude and comparison, doth appear manifestly by y e premisses to be erroneous: wherein is plainly shown, that the other Apostles, had equal power with Peter to bind and lose. Wherefore consequently it followeth, the 2. part of the similitude, grounded upon the same text, to be also erroneous. But and if the first part of the said similitude were truth as it is not, yet the second part must needs be an error, wherein is said that y e Bishops of Rome are Peters chiefest successors. For although there be but one Catholic Christian Church, of all y e faithful sort converted: yet the first part thereof and first converted was of the Jews, the second of the Greeks, & the third part was of the Romans or Latins. Whereof, the first part was most perfectly converted unto the faith, for that they faithfully observed the perfectiō of charity, as appeareth in the Acts of the Apostses by the multitude of the believers. The were of one heart, and one soul neither called they anything that they possessed their own, but all was common amongst them.
Hereupon Paul to the Romans: Salutation to every beleuer, first to y e Jew, & to the Greeks after y e Jews The Greeks were the second, and after the Jews, best converted, and after them the Romans, taking their information of the Greeks as appeareth by the Chronicles although in deed some Romans were converted unto y e faith, by Peter and Paul. And as Christ said thrice unto Peter, feed my sheep, so Peter ruled these three Churches as witnesseth the Chronicles. But first he reformed the Church of the Jews in Jerusalem and Judea, as appeareth by the testimony of the Acts of y e Apostles: For Acts 1. It is manifest how Peter stonding up amongst his brethren spake unto them concerning the election of an Apostle in the place of Judas the traitor, alleging places unto thē out of the scripture, that another should take upon him his Apostleship. And so by lot was Mathias constituted in the 12. place of Judas, acts. 2. After y t the holy Ghost was come upon the Apostles, and that they spake with the tongues of all men, the hears were astonied at the miracle And some mocked them saying, these men are full of new wine: But Peter stood up & spake unto thē, saying, that it was fulfilled in thē that was prophesied by Ioell the prophet, and he preached Christ unto the people, whom they of ignorance had put to death. To them was Sauioure promised by the testimony of the Prophets. And whē they heard the words of Peter, they were pricked at the heart, saying unto him and the rest of the Apostles: What shall we then do? And Peter said unto them, repent: and let everyone of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, and ye shall receive y e holy ghost. And there were joined unto them the same day about three M. souls. And Acts 3.4.5. it appeareth, that Peter above the rest did those things which belonged to the ministry of the Apostleship, as well in preaching as in answering. Wherupon some Chronicles say, that Peter governed the church of the Jews at Jerusalem 4. years, before he governed Antioch. And by the testimony of Paul to y e Gal. as before is said: The Gospel of the vncircumsion is committed to Paul even as the circumcision to Peter. And he that wrought with Peter in the Apostleship of circumcisiō wrought with Paul amongst the Gentiles. Whereby it apreth that the Church of the Jews was commtted to the government of Peter And in the process of the Acts of the Apostles it appeareth, that Peter believed that the faith of Christ was not to be preached unto those Gentiles, which always lived in uncleanness of Idolatry. But whē Peter was at Ioppe, Cornelius a Gentile sent unto him, that he would come & show him the way of life: But Peter (a little before of the coming of the messengers of Cornelius) being in his chamber, after he had prayed, fell in a trance and saw heaven open, and a certain vessel descending even as a great sheet, letten down by four corners from heaven to earth. In the which were all manner of four footed beasts, serpentes of the earth, and fowls of the air. And a voice spake unto him saying, arise Peter, kill and eat, and Peter said, not so Lord, because I have never eaten any common or unclean thing: This was done thrice. And Peter descended (not knowing what the vision did signify) and found the messengers of Cornelius.
As concerning the authority iudicial of the clergy, many things are written thereof in the Canons of decrees, greatly to be marveled at, and far from the truth of the Scripture. The authors of the Canons say, that Christ gave unto the priests, power iudicial over sinners y t confessed their sins unto them. And this they ground upon the text of Christ: I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever thou loosest &c. And these keys of the kingdom of heaven they cal the knowledge to discern, and the power to judge, which they say only belongeth to the priests, except in case of necessity, then they say a lay man may absolve a man frō sin. And as touching absolution they say, there are three things to be required on the sinners part: first hearty cōtritiō, whereby the sinners ought to bewail their offēding of god thorough sins: the second is, auricular confession, whereby the sinner ought to show unto the Priest his sins, & the circumstances of them: The third is satisfaction, thorough penance enjoined unto him by the Priest for his sins committed. And of his part that giveth absolution, there are two things (say they) to be required that is to say: knowledge to discern one sin from another, whereby he ought to make a difference of sins, & appoint a convenient penance, according to the quantity of the sins: The second is authority to judge, whereby he ought to join penance to the offender. And further they say, that he y t is confessed, ought with all humility to submit himself to this authority, and wholly and voluntarily to do those penaunces which are commanded him by the priest, except the said penance be released by a superior power: for all priests (as they say) have not equal authority to absolve sins. The chief priest whom they call Peters successor hath power fully and wholly to absolve. But the inferior priests have power, some more some less. The more as they are near him in dignity: The less as they are farther from the degree of his dignity. All this is declared by process in the decrees, butnot by the express doctrine of Christ or any of his Apostles. For although Christ absolved men from their sins, I do not find that he did it after the manner of a judge, but of a savior. For Christ saith, God sent not his son into the world to judge sinners, but that the world should be saved by him. John chap. 3. Wherupon he spake unto him whom he healed of the palsy: Behold thou art made whole, go thy ways and sin no more. And to the woman taken in adultery Christ said, woman where be thy accusers, hath no man condemned thee? who said: No man Lord. To whom then Jesus thus said: No more will I condemn thee, go, and now sin no more.
By which words and deeds of Christ and many other places of the scripture, it appeareth he was not as a Judge at his first coming to punish sinners according to the quātitle of their offenses: but y t day shall come hereafter, where in he shall judge all men according to their works, as in Mat. 25. where he saith: When the son of man shall come in his majesty, and all his angels with him: then shall he sit upon the seat of his majesty, and all nations shall be gathered together before him, and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd seperateth the sheep from y e Goats. &c. Neither shall he judge alone, but his Saints also with him. For he saith, you that have followed me in this generation, when the son of man shall sit in the seat of his majesty, shall sit also upon 12. seats, and judge the 12. tribes of Israel. If then since Christ came not as a Judge, why do the Priests say that they supplye the room of Christ on earth, to judge sinners according to the quantity of their offenses? And yet not only this, but it is more to be marvelled at, how the Bishop of Rome dareth to take upon him to be a Judge before the day of judgment, and to prevent the time, judging some to be saints in heaven, & to be honored of men, and some again to be tormented in hell eternally w t the devils. Would God these men would wey the saying of S. Paul. Corin. 4. Judge ye not before the time, until the coming of the Lord, who shall make light the dark and secret places, and disclose the secretes of hearts, and then everyone shall have his praise. Let the Bishop of Rome take heed, lest that in Ezekiel be spoken by him: because thy heart is eleuate, and laydst unto thyself I am God, I have sitten in the seat of God, in the heart of the sea, when thou art but man and not God. It is manifest, that the remission of sins principallye belongeth to God, who through grace washeth away our sins. For it is said, the lamb of God taketh away the sins of the world. And unto Christians it belongeth as the Ministers of God. For in the 20. of John Christ saith: Receaue unto you y e holy Ghost, whose sins you shall remit, they are remitted unto them: and whose sins you shall retain they are retained. Seeing therefore, that all Christians that are baptized in the name of the Father, and of the son, & of the holy Ghost, receive the holy ghost: it appeareth, that they have power givē unto them of Christ, to remit sins ministerially. Hath not every Christian authority to baptize • and in the baptism all the sins of the baptized are remitted? Ergo, they that do baptize, do remit sins. And thus ministerially all such have power to remit sins. Therefore, to say that one man hath more authority to remit sins then all other Christians have, is to much to extol him & to place him even in God's seat. I pray you how are the sins remitted him that is baptized of the Prieste (yea although he were of the pope himself baptized) more then if he were baptized of another Christian? Surely I think no more. For seeing that before Baptism he remaineth a sinner and of the kingdom of the devil by sin, after baptism he entereth into y e kingdom of heaven: It appeareth, that he y t doeth baptize, openeth the gate of y e kingdom of heaven to him that is baptized: the which he cannot do, w t out the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Therefore everyone that both baptize: hath the keys of the kingdom of heaven, as well the in • eriour Priest as the Pope But these keys are not the knowledge to discern, & power to judge, because these do nothing anayle in baptism Ergo, there are other keys of the kingdom of heaven thē these: Wherefore it seemeth, that the authors of the Canons erred in mistaking the keys, whereupon they ground the authority judicial of the Clergy.
Now a little error in the beginning granted, groweth to great inconvenience in y e end. Wherefore in my judgment it seemeth, that the keys of the kingdom of heaven are saith and hope. For by faith in Jesus Christ, and hope in him for the remission of sins, we enter y e kingdom of heavē. This faith is a spiritual water, springing from Jesus Christ the fountain of wisdom, wherein the soul of the sinner is washed from sin. With this water were the faithful Patriarchs baptized before the law, and the faithful people of the Hebrews, and the faithful Christians after the law. Wherefore I greatly marvel of that saying in the decrees, which is ascribed unto Augustine: that little children that are not baptized, shall be tormented with eternal fire, although they were born of faithful parents that wished them with all their hearts to have been baptized: as though the sacrament of Baptism in water were simply necessary to salvation, when nevertheless many Christians are saved without this kind of Baptism, as Martyrs. If that kind of Sacrament be not necessary, to one of elder years, how thē is it necessary to an infant born of the faithful? Are not all baptized with the holy Ghost and with fire? But yet not with material fire, no more is the lotion of water corporally necessary to wash away sins, but only spiritual water, that is to say, the water of faith. Are not the quick baptized for them that are dead, as witnsseth Paul. 2. Corin. 15. If the dead arise not at all why are the living then baptized for them? If the living be baptized for the dead? Why then is not the infant saved by the baptism of his parents: seeing the infant it self is impotent at the time of death, and not able to require baptism? Christ saith, he that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved. He saith not, he that is not baptized: but he that believeth not shall be damned. Wherefore in the 12. chap. of John, Christ saith, I am the resurrection and life, he that believeth in me, yea although he were dead, shall line. The faith therefore is necessary which the infant hath in his faithful parents, although he be not washed with corporal water. How then is the infant damned and tormented with eternal fire? Were not they that were before the coming of Christ, and dead before his death by a thousand years saved also by his death and passion? All y t believed in him, were baptized in his blood, and so were saved and redeemed from sin and the bondage of the devil, and made partakers of the kingdom of heaven. How then in y e time of grace, shall the infant be damned that is borne of faithful parents, that do not despise, but rather desire to have their children baptized? I dare not consent to so hard a sentence of the decrees: but rather believe, that he is saved by virtue of the passion of Christ in faith of his faithful parents, and the hope which they have in Christ. Which faith and hope are the keys of the heavenly kingdom. God were not just and merciful, if he would condemn a man that believeth not in him, except he shown unto him the faith which he ought to believe. And therefore Christ saith: If I had not come and spokē unto them, sin could not have been laid unto their charge, but now they have no excuse of sin. Therefore seeing the faith of Christ is not manifest unto the infant departing before baptism, neither hath he denied it: how thē shall he be damned for the same? But if God speaketh inwardly by way of illumination of the intelligence of the infant, as he speaketh unto Angels: who then knoweth (save God alone) whether the infant receiveth or not receiveth the faith of Christ?
What is he therefore that so rashly dare take vpō him to judge the infants begot̄ of faithful parents, dying without baptism, to be tormented with eternal fire? Now let us consider the 3. things which y e canons of decrees affirm to be requisite for the remission of y e sins of those that sin after baptism: that is to say, contrition of heart, auricular confession, and satisfaction of the deed through penance enjoined by the priest for the sins committed. I cannot find in any place in the Gospel, where Christ commanded that this kind of confession should be done unto y t priest: nor I cannot find that Christ assigned any penance unto sinners for their sins, but that he willed thē to sin no more. If a sinner confess that he hath offended God through sin, & soroweth heartily for his offenses, minding no more hereafter to sin: then is he truly repentant for his sin, & then is he converted unto the Lord. If he shall then humbly and with good hope crane mercy at God & remission of his sins: what is he that can let God to absolve that sinner from his sin? And as God absolveth a sinner from his sin, so hath Christ absolved many, although they confessed not their sins unto the priests, and although they received not due penance for their sins. And if Christ could after y t manner once absolve sinners: how is he become now not able to absolve? Except some man will say, that he is above Christ, and that his power is minished by y e ordinances of his own laws? How were sinners absolved of god in the time of the Apostles, and always heretofore, unto y • time that these Canons were made? I speak not these things as though confession to priests were wicked, but that it is not of necessity requisite unto salvation. I believe verily that the confession of sins unto good priests, and likewise to other faithful Christians, is good, as witnesseth S. James the Apostle: Cōfesse ye yourselves one to another, & pray ye one for another, that ye may be saved: for the continual prayer of the just availeth much. Helias was a man that suffered many things like unto you, and he prayed that it should not rain upon the earth, & it rained not in 3. years & 6. months. And again he prayed, and it rained from heaven, and the earth yielded forth her fruit. This kind of confession is good, profitable and expedient: for if God peradventure heareth not a man's own prayer, he is helped with the intercession of others: Yet nevertheless y e prayers of the priests seemeth to much to be extolled in the decrees, where it treateth of penitēce, and that saying is ascribed unto Pope Leo. Cap. multiplex misericordia Dei. &c. And it followeth: So is it ordained by the providence of God's divine will, that y e mercy of God cannot be obtained but by the prayer of y e priests. &c. The prayer of a good priest doth much avail a sinner confessing his faults unto him. The counsel of a discreet priest is very profitable for a sinner, to give the sinner counsel to beware hereafter to sin, and to instruct him how he shall punish his body by fasting by watching, and such like acts of repentance, that hereafter he may be better preserved from sin.
After this manner I esteem confessiō to priests very expedient and profitable to a sinner. But to confess sins unto the priest as unto a judge, & to receive of him corporal penance for a satisfaction unto God for his sins committed, I see not how this can be founded vpō the truth of the scripture. For before the coming of Christ, no man was sufficient or able to make satisfactiō unto God for his sins, although he suffered never so much penance for his sins. And therefore it was needful, that he that was without sin should be punished for sins, as witnesseth Isayas. chap. 53. where he saith: he took our griefs upon him, and our sorrows he bare. And again: He was wounded for our iniquities, and vexed for our wickedness. And again: The Lord put upon him our iniquity. And again: for the wickedness of my people have I strikē him. It therefore, Christ through his passion hath made satisfaction for our sins, whereas we our selves were unable to do it, then through him have we grace & remission of sins. How can we say now, that we are sufficient to make satisfaction unto God by any penance enjoined unto us by man's authority? seeing that our sins are more grievous after Baptism: thē they were before the coming of Christ. Therefore, as in Baptism the pain of Christ in his passion was a full satisfaction for our sins: even so after Baptism if we confess that we have offended, & be hearty sorry for our sins, and mind not to sin again ofterwardes.
Hereupon John writeth in his first epistle. ca. 1. If we say we have no sin, we deceive our selves, & the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just, he will remit them, and cleanse us from all our iniquities. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not us. My well-beloved children, this I write unto you that ye sin not: but if any man sin, we have an advocate with the father Jesus Christ the righteous, and he is the propitiation for our sins, and not for our sins only, but for y e sins of y e whole world. Therefore, we ought to confess our selves chiefly unto God even frō the heart, for that he chiefly doth remit sins, without whose absolution little availeth the absolutiō of man. This kind of confession is profitable and good. The authors of the Canons say, that although auricular confession made unto the Priest, be not expressly taught by Christ, yet, say they, it is taught in that saying, which Christ said unto them diseased of the leprosy, whom he commanded: Go your ways, & show yourselves unto the Priests, because as they say, the law of cleansing lepers, which was given by Moses, signified the confession of sins unto the Priest. And whereas Christ commanded the lepers to show themselves unto the Priests, they say that Christ meant, that those y t were unclean with the leper of sin, should show their sins unto the Priests by auricular confession. I marvel much at the authors of the Canons, for even from the beginning of their decres unto the end, they ground their sayings vpō the old law, which was the law of sin and death, and not (as witnesseth Paul) upon the words of Christ, which are spirit & life. Christ saith, the word • s which I speak unto you, are y e spirit and life. They groū • their sayings in the shadow of the law, and not in the light of Christ. For every evil doer hateth the light, & comm • th not into it, that his deeds be not reproved: but he that doth the truth, cometh into the light, that his works may be openly seen, because they are done in God. Joh. 3.
Now let us pass to the words that Christ spake to the leper. Lord if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus stretching forth his hand, touched him, saying: I will, be thou clean: and straight ways he was cleansed of his leper. And Jesus said unto him: See thou tell no man, but go and show thyself to the Priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded for a witness of these things. This Gospel witnesseth plainly that y e diseased of lepers were cleansed only by Christ, and not by the Priests, neither did Christ command the leper to show himself unto the priests, for any help of cleansing that he should receive of the Priests: but to fulfill the law of Moses, in offering a sacrifice for his cleansing, & for a testimony unto the Priests, who always of envy accused Christ as a transgressor of the law. For if Christ after he had cleansed the leper, had licensed him to communicate with others that were clean, before he had shown himself cleansed unto the Priests, thē might the Priests have accused Christ, as a transgressor of the law: Because it was a precept of the law, that the leper after he was cleansed, should show himself unto the Priests. And they had signs in the book of law, whereby they might judge whether he were truly clēsed or no. And if he were cleansed, then would the Priests offer a gift for his cleansing. And if he were not cleansed, then would they segregate him, frō the company of others that were clean. Seeing every figure, ought to be assimuled unto the thing that is figured: I pray you then, what agreement is there between the cleansing of lepers by the law, & the confession of sins? By that law the Priest knew better whether he were leprouse then he himself that had the leper. In confession the priest knew not the sins of him that was confessed, but by his own confession. In that law the Priest did not clēse the leprouse: How now therefore ought the priests to cleanse sinners from their sin, & that without thē they cannot be cleansed? In this law y e Priest had certain signs, by the which he could certainly know, whether a mā were cleansed frō his leper or not. In confession, the Priest is not certain of the cleansing of sins, because he is ignorant of his contrition: He knoweth not also whether he will not sin anymore, without the which contrition and granting to sin no more, God hath not absolved any sinner. And if God hath not absolved a man, without doubt then is he not made clean. And how then is confession figured under that law? Doubtless so it seemeth to me (under the correction of them that can judge better in the matter) that this law beareth rather a figure of excommunication, & reconciliation of him, that hath been obstinate in his sin, & is reconciled again. For so it appeareth by the process of the Gospel, that when as the sinner doth not amend for the private correction of his brother, nor for the correction of two or three, neither yet for the public correction of the whole Church: Then is he to be counted as an Ethnike, & a Publican & as a certain Leper to be avoided out of the company of all men. Which sinner notwithstanding, if he shall yet repent, is then to be reconciled, because he is then cleansed from his obstinacy.
But he which pretendeth himself to be the chief vicar of Christ, and the high Priest, saith: that he hath power to absolve A poena & culpa: Which I do not find how it is founded in the scripture, but that of his own authority, he enjoineth to sinners, penance for their sins. And grant y t frō their sins he may well absolve them, yet frō the pain (which they call a poena ) he doth not simply absolve, as in his indulgences he promiseth. But if he were in charitye, and had such power, as he pretēdeath, he would suffer none to lie in Purgatory for sin, forsomuch as that pain doth far exceed all other pain which here we suffer. What mā is there being in charity, but if he see his brother to be tormented in this world, if he may, he will help him, and deliver him? Much more ought the Pope thē, to deliver out of pains of Purgatorye, indifferently as well rich as poor. And if he sel to the rich his indulgences, double wife, yea triple wise he seduceth them. First in promising to deliver thē out of the pain from whence he doth not, neither is able to deliver thē: And so maketh thē falsely to believe that, which they ought not to believe. Secondly, he deceiveth thē of their money, which he taketh for his indulgence. Thirdly, he seduceth them in this, that he promising to deliver them frō pain, doth induce thē into grievous punishment in deed, for y e heresy of simony, which both of thē do commit, & therefore are worthy both of great pain to fall upon thē: for so we read, that Jesus cast out buyers and sellers out of his temple. Also Peter said unto Simon y e first author of this heresy. Thy money, said he, with thee be destroyed, for that thou hast thought, the gift of God to be possessed for money. Moreover, whereas Christ saith, freely you have received, freely give, and whereas contrary the Pope doth sell that thing, which he hath taken: what doubt is there, but that he doth grievously deserve to be punished, both he that selleth, & he that buyeth, for the crime of simonye, which they commit. Ouer and besides, by many reasons and authorities of the Scripture it may be proved, that he doth not absolve a man, contrite for his sin, although he do absolve him from the guilt.
But this marueileth me, that he in his indulgences promiseth to absolve men from all manner of deadly sins: & yet cannot absolve a man from debt: forasmuch as the debt which we owe to god, is of much more greater importance, then is the debt of our brother. Wherefore, if he be able to remit the debt due to God, much more it should seme, that he is able to forgive the debt of our brother.
An other thing there is, that I marvel at: for that the pope showeth himself more strait in absolving a priest for not saying, or negligently saying his matins: thē for trāsgressing the commandment of God: considering that the transgression of the commandment of God, is much more grievous then the breach of man's commandment.
For these and many other errors concurring, and in this matter of the Popes absolutions, blessed be God, & honor be unto him for the remission of our sins And let us firmly believe and know, that he doth and will absolve us from our sins, if we be sory frō the bottom of our harts that we have offended him having a good purpose and will to offend him no more. And let us be bold to resort unto good and discreet Priests, who with wholesome discretion and sound counsel can instruct us, how to auoad the corruption of sin hereafter. And which, because they are better then we, may pray to God for us: whereby we may both obtain more sooner the remission of our sins past, and also may learn better how to avoid the danger of sin to come. Ex Registro Latino Episc. Hereford.
And thus much concerning the judgment and doctrine of this Walter, for Christian patience, charity and mercy, which as they be true and infallible notes and marks of true Christianity, so the said Walter Brute making comparison herein between Christ and the Pope, goeth about purposely to declare and manifest, whereby all men may see, what contrariety there is between the rule of Christ's teaching, and the proceedings of the Pope: between the examples and life of the one, and the examples of the other. Of which two as one is altogether given to peace: so is the other on the contrary side as much disposed to wars, murder, and bloodshed, as is easy to be seen, who so looking not upon the outward shows and pretensed words of these Romish Popes, but advising and considering the inward practices, and secret works of them, shall easily espy, under their visour of peace what discord and debate they work. Who bearing outwardly the meek horns of the Lamb mentioned in the Apocalippes, within do bear the bowels of a Wolf, full of cruelty, murder, and bloodshed which if any do think to be spoken of me contumeliously, would God that man could prove as well the same to be spoken of me not truly. But truth it is, I speak it sincerely, without affection of blind partiality, according to the truth of histories both old and new. Thus under in Dei nomine. Amen, how unmercifully doeth the Pope condemn his brother: And while he pretendeth not to be lawful for him to kill any man, what thousands hath he killed of men? And likewise in this sentence, pretending, in visceribus Jesus Christi, as though he would be a mediator to the magistrate for the party: yet in deed will he be sure to excommunicate the Magistrate, if he execute not the sentence given. Who be true heretics, the Lord when he cometh shall judge: but give them • o be heretics, whom he condemneth for heretics. Yet what bowels of mercy is here, where is nothing, but burning, faggoting, drowning prisoning, chaining, famishing racking, hanging, tormenting, threatening, reviling, cursing and oppressing, and no instructing, nor yet indifferent hearing of thē, what they can say. The like cruelty also may in their wars appear, if we consider how Pope Urbane 5. beside the racking and murdering of 7. or 8. Cardinals, set up Henry Spencer Bishoppe of Norwich to fight against the French Pope. Innocentius 4. was in war himself against the Apulians. Likewise Alexander. 4. his sucessour stirred up the son of king Henry 3. to fight against the son of Frederick. 2. Emperor, for Apulia. Boniface 8. moved Albertus (which stood to be Emperor) to drive Philip the freēch King out of his Realm Gregorius. 9 excited Ludouike the French king 3. sundry times, to mortal war against the Earl Raimundus and City of of Toulouse, and Avigno, where Louis the said Frence king died. Honorius 3. by strength of war many ways resisted Frederick 2. and sent out 35. Gallyes against the coasts of the Emperors dominions. The same Pope also besieged Ferraria, to pass over the war at Ticinum, with many other battayles and conflicts of Popes, against the Romans, Venetians, and diverse other nations. Innocentius 3. set up Philip the French king to war against king John. What stir Pope Gregory the 7. otherwise named Hildebrand, kept against the Emperor Henricus 4. it is not unknown. And who is able to recite all the wars, battayles, and fields fought by the stirring up of the Pope? These with many other like examples considered, did cause this Walter Brute to write in this matter so as he did, making yet thereof no universal proposition: but that Christian Magistrates, in case of necessity, might make resistance, in defense of public right. Now he proceedeth further to other matter of the Sacrament.
Touching the matter (saith he) of the Sacrament of the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, diverse men have diverse opinions, as the learned do know As concerning my judgment upon the same, I firmly believe whatsoever the lord Christ Jesus taught implicitly or expressly to his Disciples and faithful people to be believed: for he is (as I believe and know) the true bread of God, which descended from heaven, and giveth life to the world. Of which bread whosoever eateth, shall live forever, as it is in the 6. of S. John declared. Before the coming of christ in the flesh, although men did live in body, yet in spirit they did not live, because all men were then under sin, whose souls thereby were dead: from the which death, no man by law, nor with the law was justified: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. Galat. 2. And again in the same epistle cap. 3. that by the law no man is justified before God it is manifest: for the just man shall live by his faith, the law is not of faith: but whosoever hath y e works thereof, shall live in them. And again in y e same chap. If the law had been given, which might have justified, then our righteousness had come by the law. But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise might be sure by the faith of Jesus Christ to all believers. Moreover, before that faith came, they were kept and concluded all under the law, until the coming of that faith which was to be revealed. For the law was our schoolemaister in Christ Jesus, that we should be justified by faith. Also the said Paul Rom. 5. saith: that the law entered in the mean time, whereby that sin might more abound. Where then sin hath more abounded there hath also grace superaboūded, that like as sin hath reigned unto death: so that grace might reign also by righteousness unto eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Whereby it is manifest, that by the faith which we have in Christ, believing him to be the true son of God, which came down from heaven to redeem us from sin: we are justified from sin, and so do live by him, which is the true bread and meat of the soul. And the bread which Christ gave, is his flesh given for the life of the world. John. 6. For he being God, came down from heaven, and being true carnal man, did suffer in the flesh for our sins, which in his divinity he could not suffer. Wherefore like as we believe by our faith that he is true God: so must we also believe, that he is a true man. And then do we eat the bread of heaven, and the flesh of Christ. And if we believe that he did voluntarily shed his blood for our redemption, then do we drink his blood.
And thus, except we eat the flesh of the son of man, and shall drink his blood: we have not eternal life in us. Because the flesh of Christ verily is meat, and his blood is drink in deed: and whosoever eateth the flesh of Christ and drinketh his blood, abideth in Christ & Christ in him. John. ca. 6. And as in this world y t souls of y e faithful live, and are refreshed spiritually with this heavenly bread, and with the flesh and blood of christ: So in the world to come, the same shall live eternally in heaven, refreshed with the deity of Jesus Christ, as touching the most principal part thereof, that is to wit, intellectū : For as much as this bread of heavē, in that it is God, hath in it self all delectable pleasātnes. And as touching the intelligible powers of y e same (as well exterior as interior) they are refreshed with the flesh (that is to say) with the humanity of Jesus Christ: which is, as a queen standing on the right hand of God, decked w t a golden robe of diverse colors: for this queen of heaven alone by the word of God, is exalted above the company of all the angels: that by her, all our corporal power intellectiue, may fully be refreshed as is our spiritual intelligence, with the beholding of y e deity of Jesus Christ, and even as the Angels, shall we be fully satisfied. And in the memory of this double refectiō, present in this world and in the world to come: hath Christ given unto us (for eternal blessedness) the Sacrament of his body and blood, in the substance of bread and wine, as it appeareth in Matthew. chapter. 26. As the disciples sat at supper, Jesus took bread and blessed it, brake it, & gave it unto his disciples, and said: Take, eat, this is my body. And he took the cup, and thanked, and gave it them, saying: Drink ye all of this, this is my blood of the New Testament, which shall be shed for many, for y e remission of sins. And Luke in his Gospel chap. 22. or this matter thus writeth. And after he had taken the bread, he gave thanks, he brake it, and gave it unto them, saying: Thys is my body which shall be given for you: do you this in my remembrance. In like manner he took the cup after supper, saying: Thys is the cup of the new testament in my blood, which shall be shed for you. That Christ said, this is my body, in showing to them the bread, I firmly believe & know that it is true: That Christ (for so much as he is God) is the very truth it self: and by consequence, all that he saith is true. And I believe that the very same was his body, in such wise as he willed it to be his body: for in y t he is almighty, he hath done what so ever pleased him. And as in Cane of Galilee, he changed the water into wine, really, so that after the transubstantiation it was wine and not water: so when he said, This is my body: If he would have had the bread really to be transubstātiated into his very body, so that after this changing it should have been his natural body, & not bread as it was before: I know, that it must needs have been so. But I find not in the Scripture, that his will was to have any such real transubstantiation or mutation.
And as the Lord God omnipotent in his perfectiō essential being the son of God, doth exceed the most purest creature, and yet when it pleased him, he took vpō him our nature, remaining really God as he was before, & was really made man: so y t after this assumpting of our substance he was really very God & very man: Evē so if he would, when he said: This is my body: He could make this to be his body really, the bread still really remaining as it was before. For less is y e difference of the essence, between bread and the body of a man, then between the deity & humanity: because that of the bread, is naturally made the body of a man. Of the bread is made blood: of the blood, natural seed: and of natural seed, the natural substance of man is engendered. But in that that God became man: This is an action supernatural. Wherefore he that could make one man to be very God and very mā: could if he would make one thing to be really very bread, & his very body. But I do not find it expressly in the Scripture, that he would any such Identitye or conjunction to be made. And as Christ said, I am very bread, not changing his essence or being, into the essence or substance of bread: but was the said Christ, which he was before really, and yet bread by a similitude or figurative speech: So if he would, it might be, y t when he said: This is my body: That this should really have been the bread as it was before, and Sacramentally or memorially to be his body. And this seemeth unto me, most nearest to agree to the meaning of Christ, forasmuch as he said: do this in the remembrance of me. Then for as much as in the supper it is manifest, that Christ gave unto his Disciples the bread of his body which he brake, to that intent to eat with their mouths: in which bread, he gave himself also unto them as one in whō they should believe (as to be the food of the soul) and by that faith they should believe him to be their savior which took his body, wherein also he would it to be manifest, that he would redeem them from death: So was the bread eaten with the Disciples mouths, that he being the true bread of the soul, might be in spirit received and eaten spiritually, by their faith, which believed in him.
The bread which in the disciples mouths was chewed, from the mouth passed to the stomach: For as Christ saith: whatsoever cometh to the mouth, goeth into the belly, & from thence into the privy. Matthew. chap. 15. But that true and very bread of the soul, was eaten of the spirit of the Disciples, and by faith entered their minds, and abode in their intralles through love. And so the bread broken, seemeth unto me to be really y e meat of the body, & the bread which it was before: but Sacramentally to be the body of Christ, as Paul. 1. Cor. 10. The bread which we break, is it not the participation of the body of the Lord? So, the bread which we break, is the participation of the Lord's body. And it is manifest, that the heavenly bread is not broken neither yet is subject to such breaking: Therefore, Paul calleth the material bread, which is broken, the body of Christ which the faithful are partakers of. The bread therefore changeth not his essence, but is bread really, and is the body of Christ sacramentally. Even as Christ is the very vine, abiding really and figuratively the vine: So, the temple of Jerusalem was really the material temple: & figuratively it was the body of Christ: Because he said, destroy you this temple, and in three days I will repair the same again. And this spake he of the temple of his body, whereas others understood it to be the material temple, as appeared by their answer: For said they 47. years hath this temple been in building, and wilt thou build it up in three days?
Even so, may the consecrated bread be really bread as it was before, and yet figuratively the body of Christ. And if therefore, Christ would this bread to be only sacramentally his body and would not have the same bread really to be transubstantiated into his body, & so ordained his Priests to make this Sacrament as a memorial of his passion: Thē do the Priests grievously offend, which beseech Christ in their holy Mass, that the bread which lieth upon the alter may be made really the body of Christ, if he would not have the same to be but a Sacrament of his body. And then both be they greatly deceived themselves, and also do greatly deceive others. But whether the bread be really transubstantiated into the body of Christ, or is only y e body of Christ sacramentally: No doubt, but that the people are marvelously deceived. For the people believe that they see the body of Christ, nay rather Christ himself between the hands of the Priests (for so is the common oath they swear.) By him whō I saw this day between the priests hands. And the people believe that they eat not the body of Christ but at Easter, or else when they lie upon their death bed, and receive with their bodily mouth the Sacrament of the body of Christ. But the body of Christ (admit the bread be transubstantiated really into the body) is in the Sacrament, indiuisibiliter, that is, not able to be divided, and so immensurabiliter, that is, not able to be measured: Ergo, inuisibiliter, that is, not able to be seen. To believe therefore that he may be seen corporally in the Sacrament, is erroneous. And forasmuch as the body of Christ, is the souls food and not the food of the body in this world, for that whosoever believeth, doth eat spiritually, and really, at any time when he so believeth: It is manifest, that they do greatly err which believe that they eat not the body of Christ, but when they eat with their teeth the Sacrament of the body of Christ.
And although it should be to the great honor of priests that the bread really were changed into the body of christ, by the virtue of the Sacramental words pronounced: yet if Christ would not have it to be so, then they desiring to do this contrary to the will of Christ, and informing the people, that is to be done, so contrary to the will of Christ: are in great peril, most daūgerously seducing both themselves and the people. And then, although that hereby they get a little worldly and transitory honor for a short time: It is to be feared, least perpetual shame finally shall follow and insue upon the same. For Christ saith, everyone that exalteth himself, shall be brought low. Let them therefore take heed, least they extolling themselves for this Sacrament, above the company of Angels which never sinned, for the error which they be in, for evermore be placed with the sinful angels under the earth.
Let every man therefore think lowly of himself in what state or degree soever he be, neither let him presume to do that which he is not able to do: Neither desire to have that thing done, which God would not have done.
I greatly marvel at those which were the makers of the Canons, how variably & contrary one to another they write of this Sacrament of the body of Christ. In the last part of the decrees where this matter is touched: not only in the text, but also in the process of the matter, diverse do diversely write, and one contrary to another. For in the chapter that thus beginneth Prima inquit haeresis, it is thus written: You shall not eat this body which you see, nor shall drink this blood which they shall shed, which shall crucify me: I will commend unto you a certain Sacrament spiritually understood y t quickeneth you, for the flesh profiteth you nothing at all. And in the end of the same chapter, it is thus written: Till the world shall have an end, the Lord's place is in heaven: yet notwithstanding, the verity of the Lord is here abiding with us. For the body wherewith he rose, ought to be in one place, but his verity is in every place diffused & spread abroad. And in y e chapter following which thus beginneth, Omnia quaecun{que} voluit. &c. it is written: Although the figure of the bread & wine seem to be nothing: yet notwithstanding they must after y • words of consecration be believed, to be none other thing then the very flesh of Christ and his blood. Whereupon, the veritye himself said unto his Disciples: This is saith he, my flesh, which is given for the life of the world: and to speak yet more marvelously, this is none other flesh, thē that which was borne of the virgin Mary, & suffered upon the cross, and rose out of the sepulcher.
See how far this chapter differeth from the first. And in the chapter which beginneth Ego Berengarius. &c. This is the confession which Berengarius, himself confessed touching this Sacrament, and his confession is of the church allowed. I confess (saith Berengarius) that the bread and wine which is laid upon the alter after the consecration, is not only a Sacrament: but also that it is the very body & blood of our Lord Jesus Christ: And the same not only sensually to be a Sacrament, but also verily to be handled with the Priests hands and to be broken, and chewed with the teeth of faithful men. This confession doubtless is heretical: for why if the body of Christ be in the Sacrament, as of the Church it is so determined: it is there then Multiplicatiue, and so indiuisibiliter, wherefor not sensualiter. And if it be there indiuisibiliter, that is, in such sort as it cannot be divided or separated, then can it not be touched, felt, broken nor with the teeth of men chewed.
The writers of this time and age do affirm: that if by the negligence of the Priest, the Sacrament be so negligētly left, that a Mouse or any other beast or vermin eat the same: then they say, that the Sacrament returneth again into the nature and substance of bread. Whereby, they must needs confess, that a miracle is as well wrought by y e negligence of the Priest, as first there was made by the consecration of the Priest in making the Sacrament. For either by the eating of the Mouse, the body of Christ is transubstantiated into the nature of bread, which is a transubstantiatiō supernatural: Or else of nothing by creation is this bread produced. And therefore, either of these operations is miraculous & to be marvelled at. Now considering the disagreing opinions of the Doctors, and for the absurdities which follow, I believe with Paul, that the bread which we break, is the participation of the body of Christ: and as Christ saith, that the bread is made the body of Christ for a memorial and remembrance of him. And in such sort as Christ willed the same to be his body, in the same manner & sort do I believe it to be his body.
But whether women may make the body of Christ, & minister unto the people: or whether that Priests be divided frō the lay people, for their knowledge, preeminence, & sanctity of life, or else by external signs only: Also whether the sign of consure and other external signs of holiness in Priests, be signs of Antichrist and his charecters, or else introduced & taught by our Lord Jesus Christ: consequently it remaineth next to speak of unto the faithful sort (according to the process of the holy Scripture) first of the three kinds of the Priests. I remember that I have read, the first of them to be Aaronicall, legal, & temporal: The second to be eternal and regal according to the order of Melchizedek: The third to be a Christian. The first of these ceased at the coming of Christ: for that as S. Paul to the Hebrews saith. The Priesthood of Aaron was translated to the Priesthood of the order of Melchizedek. The legal sort of Priests of Aaron, were separate from the rest of the people, by kindred, office, and inheritance. By kindred, for that the children of Aaron only were Priests. By office, for that it only pertained to them to offer sacrifice, for the sins of the people, and to instruct the people in y e precepts and ceremonies of the law. By inheritance, because the Lord was their portiō of inheritaūce: neither had they any other inheritance amongst their brethren, but those things which were offered unto the Lord, as the first fruits, parts of the sacrifices, and vows, except places for their mansion houses for them and theirs, as appeareth by the process of Moses law. The Priesthood of Christ, did much differ from this Priesthood, as Paul doth witness to the Hebrews chapter. 1.8.9.10.
First, in kindred, because that our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ, came of the stock and tribe of Judah: of which tribe none had to do with the alter and in which tribe nothing at all was spoken of the Priests of Moses.
The second, for that other were made Priests without their oath taken but he by an oath, by him which said: The Lord swore, and it shall not repent him: Thou art a Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
Thirdly, by durability, for that many of thē were made Priests but during the term of their lives: but he for that he remaineth forever, hath an eternal Priesthood. Wherefore he is able to save us forever having by himself access unto God, which ever liveth to make intercession for us.
The law made also such men Priests as had infirmities, but Sermo (that is, the word which according to the law is the eternal son and perfect) by an oath.
The Priesthood of Christ also did differ frō the Priesthood of Aaron and the law, in the matter of the sacrifice: & in the place of sacrificing. In the matter of the sacrifice: because they did use in their sacrifices strange bodies of the matter of their sacrifices, and did shed strange blood for the expiation of sins: But he, offering himself unto God his father for us, shed his own blood, for the remission of our sins. In the place of sacrificing: because that they did offer their sacrifice in the tabernacle or temple: But Christ suffering death without the gates of the City, offered himself upon the alter of the cross to God his father, & there shed his precious blood. In his supping chamber also he blessed the bread and consecrated the same for his body, & the wine which was in y e cup, he also consecrated for his blood: delivering the same to his Apostles to be done, for a commemoration and remembrance of his incarnation & passion. Neither did Jesus enter into the sāctuary made with man's hands, which be examples & figures of true things: but entered into heavē it self, that he might appear before the majesty of God for us. Neither doth he offer himself oftentimes, as the chief priest in the sanctuary did every year with strange blood (for then should he often times have suffered from the beginning) but now once for all, in y e latter end of the world, to destroy sin by his peace offering, hath he entered. And even as it is decreed, that mā once shall die and then cometh the judgment: so Christ hath been once offered to take away the sins of many. The second time he shall appear without sin to them that look for him, to their salvation. For the law having a shadow of good things to come, can never by the Image it self of things (which every year without ceasing they offer by such sacrifices) make those perfect that come thereunto, for otherwise that offering should have ceased: Because that such worshippers being once cleansed from their sins, should have no more conscience of sin. But in these, commemoratiō is made every yere of sin: for it is impossible that by the blood of Goats and Calves, sins should be purged and taken away. Therefore coming into y e world he said: Sacrifice and oblation thou wouldst not have, but a body hast thou given me, peace offerings for sin have not pleased thee: Then said I, behold I come. In the volume of the book it is written of me, that I should do thy will O God: Saying as above, because thou wouldest have no sacrifices, nor burnt offerings for sin, neither doest thou take pleasure in those things that are offered according to y e law. Then said I, behold I come, that I may do thy will O God. He taketh away the first, to stablishe that which followeth. In which will, we are sanctified by the oblation of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all. And every priest is ready daily ministering, and oftentimes affering like sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Jesus offering one sacrifice for sin, sitteth for evermore on the right hand of God, expecting the time till his enemies be made his footstool. For by his own only oblation, hath he consummated for evermore those that are sanctified.
All these places have I recited which Paul writeth, for the better understanding and declaration of those things I mean to speak. By all which it appeareth manifestly, how the Priesthood of Christ, differeth from the legal priesthood of Aaron: and by the same also appeareth, how the same differeth from all other priesthood Christian, that immitateth Christ. For the properties of the priesthood of Christ above recited, are found in no other Priest, but in Christ alone. Of the third priesthood, that is, the Christian priesthood: Christ by express words speaketh but little, to make any difference between the priests and the rest of the people, neither yet doth use this name of Sacerdos or praesbiter in y e Gospel. But some he calleth disciples, some apostles, whom he sent to baptize & to preach, & in his name to do miracles. He calleth them y e salt of the earth, in which y e name of wisdom is meant: and he calleth them the light of the world, by which, good living is signified. For he saith, So let your light so shine before mē, that they may see your good works, and glorify your father which is in heaven. And Paul speaking of the Priests to Timothy, and Titus, seemeth not to me to make any diversity betwixt the Priests and the other people, but in that he would have them to surmount other in knowledge and perfection of life. But the fourth priesthood, is the Romaine priesthood, brought in by the Church of Rome: which Church maketh a distinction between the clergy and the lay people: & after that the clergy is divided into sundry degrees, as appeareth in the decretals.
This distinction of the clergy from the laitye, with the consure of clerks, began in the time of * Anacletus, as it doth appear in the Chronicles. The degrees of the clergy were afterward inuedted & distincted by their offices, and there was no ascentiō to the degree of the priesthood, but by inferior orders and degrees. But in the primitive church it was not so: for immediately after tht conversion of some of thē to the faith & baptism received: they were priests & bishops made, as appeareth by Ananias, whom Marcus made of a taylor or shomaker, to be a bishop. And of many others it was in like case done, according to the traditions of the church of Rome. Priests are ordained to offer sacrifices, to make supplication and prayers, and to bless & sanctify. The oblation of the priesthood, only to Priests (as they say) is congruent: whose duties are, upon the alter to offer for the sins of the people the Lord's body, which is consecrated of bread. Of which saying I have great marvel, considering S. Paul his words to the Hebrews before recited. If Christ offering for our sins one oblation for evermore, sitteth on the right hand of God, and with that one oblation hath cōsūmated for evermore, those that are sanctified? If Christ evermore sitteth on the right hand of God, to make intercession for us, what need he to leave here any sacrifice for our sins, of the Priests to be daily offered? I do not find in the scriptures of God nor of his Apostles, that the body of Christ ought to be made a sacrifice for sin: but only as a Sacrament and commemoration of the sacrifice passed, which Christ offered upon the alter of the cross for our sins. For it is an absurditye to say, that Christ is now every day really offered as a sacrifice upon the alter by the Priests: for then the Priests should really crucify him vpō the alter, which is a thing of no Christian to be believed. But even as in his supper, his body & his blood he delivered to his Disciples, in memorial of his body that should be crucified on the morrow for our sins: So after his ascētion, did his Apostles use the same (when they brake bread in every house) for a Sacrament, and not for a sacrifice, of the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. And by this means were they put in remembrance of the great love of Christ, who so entirelye loved us, that willingly he suffered the death for us, & for the remission of our sins. And thus did they offer thenselves to God by love, being ready to suffer death for the confession of his name, and for the saving health of their brethren fulfilling the new commandment of Christ, which said unto them: A new commandment do I give unto you that you love one another, as I have loved you. But whē love began to wax cold or rather to be frosen for cold, thorough the anguish & anxiety of persecution for the name of Christ: then Priests did use the flesh and blood of Christ, in •• tad of a sacrifice. And because many of them feared death, some of them fled into solitarye places, not daring to give themselves a sacrifice by death unto God through the confession of his name, & saving health of their brethrē: Some other worshipped Idols fearing death, as did also y e chief Bishop of Rome, and many other mo in diverse places of the world. And thus it came to pass, as that which was ordained and instituted for a memorial of the one & only sacrifice, was altered (for want of love) into the realitye of the sacrifice it self.
After these things thus discussed, he inferreth consequently upon the same, another brief tractation of women and lay men, whether in defect of the other, they may exercise the action of prayer, and administration of Sacraments belonging to Priests: wherein he declareth the use received in the Popes Church, for women to Raptise, which, saith he, cannot be without remission of sins, wherefore seeing that women have power by the Pope to remit sin, and to baptize, why may they not as well be admitted to minister the Lord's Supper, in like case of necessity? Wherein also he maketh relation of Pope John. 8. a woman Pope, moving certain Questions of her. All which for breuitye I pretermitte, proceeding to the ministration of prayer, and blessing or sanctification, appropriate to the office of Priests as followeth.
Furthermore, as touching the fūction & office of praying and blessing, whereunto Priests seme to be ordained (to omit here the question whether women may pray in Churches, in lack of other meet persons) it remaineth now also to prosecute. Christ being desired of his Disciples to teach them to pray, gave them the common prayer both to men and women, to the which prayer in my estimation, no other is to be compared. For in that first, the whole honor due unto the deity is comprehended. Secondly, whatsoever is necessary for us, both for the time present, or past, or for time to come, is there desired & prayed for. He informeth us besides to pray secretly, and also briefly: secretly to enter into our close chamber, and there in secrecy he willeth us to pray unto his father. And saith moreover, when ye pray, use not much babbling, or many words as doth y e heathen. For they think in their long and prolixe praying to be heard. Therefore be you not like to thē. By the which doctrine he calleth us away frō the errors of the health̄ Gentiles: frō whom proceed these superstitious manner of acts (or rather of ignoraunces) as Necromancy, the art of diuinatiō, & other spises of coniuratiō, not unknown to them, that be learned: for these Necromansers believe, one place to be of greater virtue then another, there to be heard sooner, then in another. Like as Balaam being hired to curse y e people of God, by his art of southsaying, or cherming, when he could not accomplish his purpose in one place, he removed to another, but he in y e end, was deceived of his desire. For he intending first to curse them, was not able to accurse thē whom the Lord blessed, so that his curse could not hurt any of all y t people. After like sort the Nicromancers turn their face to the East, as to a place more apt for their prayers. Also y e Necromāsers believe, that the virtue of y e words of the prayer, & the curiosity thereof, causeth thē to bring to y e effect, which they seek after, which is also another point of infidelity, used much of Charmers, Sorcerers, Inchaūters, Soothsayers & such like. Out of y e same art (I fear) proceedeth the practice of exorcising, whereby devils & spirits be conjured to do that, whereunto they are enforced by the Exorcist. Also whereby other creatures likewise are exorcised or conjured, so that by the virtue of their exorcism, they may have their power and strength exceeding all natural operation.
In the Church of Rome, many such exorcisms & coniurations be practiced, & are called of them benedictions, or halowings. But here I ask of these Exorcisers, whether they believe the things and creatures so exorcised and hallowed, have that operation and efficacy givē them, which they pretend? If they so believe, every child may see that they are far beguiled. For holy water being of them exorcised or cōiured: hath no such power in it, neither cā have which they in their exorcism do command. For there they inioyn and command, that wheresoerver that water is sprinkled, all vexatiō or infestatiō of the unclean spirit, should avoid, and that no pestilent spirit there should abide. &c. But most plain it is, that no water, be it never so holy, can have any such power so to do, as it is commanded, to wit, to be an universal remedy to expel all diseases.
This I would ask of these Exorcistes: whether in their commanding, they do conjure or adjure the things conuired, to be of an higher virtue and operation, thē their own nature doth give: Or else whether they in their prayers desire of God, that he will infude into them that virtue, which they require? If they in their commanding do so believe, thē do they believe that they have that power in thē to the which the inferior power of the thing exorcised must obey, in receiving that which is commanded. And so doing, are much more deceived, forasmuch as they see themselves, that they which are so authorised to the office of exorcising, say to the devil being conjured: Go, & he goeth not: And to another come, and he cometh not, & many things else they command the inferior spirit their subject, to do, & he doth not. So in like case, when they pray to God to make the water to be of such virtue, that it may be to them health of mind and body, and that it may be able to expulse every unclean spirit, & to chase away all manner of distemperature and pestilence of the air (being an unreasonable petition asked, & sore displeasing to God) it is to be feared least their benediction, their halowing & blessing is changed into cursing, according to that saying that followeth. And now O you priests, I have a message to say unto you: If you will not hear and bear well away in your minds, to give the glory unto my name saith the Lord God of hosts, I will send scarcety amongst you, and I will curse your blessings. What things and how many are blessed, or hallowed in the Church, that in halowing thereof displease God, and are accursed? And therefore according to the saying of S. James, they ask & are not heard, because the ask not as they should, that they in their own dsires may perish, Let a man behold the blessing or halowing of their fire, water, incense, wax, bread, wine, the church, the alter the Churchyard, ashes, belies, copes, pallmes, oil, candles, salt, the hallowing of the ring, the bed, the staff, & of many such like things: & I believe that a man shall find out many errors of the hethē Magicians, Witches, southsayers and charmers. And notwithstanding the ancient and old Magicians in their books, command those that be conjurers that they in any wise live devoutly (for otherwise as they say the spirits will not obey their cōmaūdements, and coniuratiōs) yet the Roman cōiurers do impute it to the virtue of the holy words, because they be they, which work, and not the holiness of the conjurers. How cometh it to pass that they say, the things consecrated of a cursed and vicious Iauell, should have so great virtue in pronouncing (as they say) the holy and mystical words: as if they were pronounced of a Priest never so holy. But I marvel that they say so, reading this saying in the Acts of the Apostles: because the charmers pronouncing the name of Jesus (that is above all names) would have healed those that were possessed with devils, and said. In the name of Jesus whom Paul preacheth, go ye out of the men. And the possessed with devils answered, Jesus we know, and Paul we know, but what are ye: and they all to be beat the conjurers.
And now considering this and many such like things, I marvel wherefor the vicious Priests, do sell their prayers and blessings dearer (as also their Masses & Trentals of Masses) then those that be devout lay mē, and holy women: which with all their heart desire do flee from vices, & take hold of virtue. For as much as God in diverse places of the Scripture doth promise, that he will not hear sinners & wicked persons: Neither should he seme to be just, if he should sooner hear the prayers of his enemies, then of his faithful friend. How I pray you shall a sinful priest deliver another man from sin by his prayers, or else frō the punishment of sin: whē he is not able to deliver him self by his prayer frō sin? What then doth God so much accept in the Mass of a vicious Priest: that for his mass, his prayer or oblatiō, he might deliver any man either frō sin, or from the pain due for sin? No, but for that that Christ hath once offered himself for our sins, & now sitteth on the right hand of God the father, always showing unto him what and how great things he hath suffered for us. And every priest always maketh mention in his mass of this oblation: Neither do we this, that we might bring the same oblation into the remembrance of God: because that he always in his presence seeth the same. But that we should have in remembrance this so great love of God, that he would give his own son to death for our sins, that he might cleanse & purify us frō all our sins. What doth it please God, that the remembrance of so great love is made by a pressed, which more loveth sin then God? Or how can any prayer of such a priest please God, in what holy place soever he be, or what holy vestimēts soever he put on, or what holy prayers soever he maketh? And where as Christ and his Apostles do command the preaching of the word of God: the Priests be now more bound to celebrate the Mass, and more straitly bound to say the Canonical hours: whereat I cannot but greatly marvel. For why, to obey the precepts of men, more then the cōmaūdements of God, is in effect to honor mā as God, and to bestow the sacrifice upon man, which is due unto God, and this is also spiritual fornication. How therefore are Priests bound at the commandment of man to leave the preaching of y e word of God, at whose commandment they are not bound to leave the celebration of the Mass, or singing of Matines? Therefore as it seemeth, Priests ought not at the commandment of any man to leave the preaching of the word of God, unto the which they are bound both by divine and Apostolical precepts. With whom agreeth the writing of Jerome upon the Decretals, saying in this wise: Let none of the Bishops swell with the envy of deuilishe temptation, let none be angry, if the Priests do sometime exhort the people, if they preach in their Church. &c. for to him that forbiddeth me these things I will say, that he is unwilling that Priests should do those things, which be commanded of God. What thing is there above Christ? or what may be preferred before his body and his blood &c.
Do Priests therefore sin or not, which bargayne for money to pray for the soul of any dead man? It is well known that Jesus did whip those that were buyers and sellers out of the temple, saying: My house shall be called the house of prayer, but you have made the same adenne of theenes. Truly he cast not out such Marchaunts frō out of the Church, but because of their sins. Wherupon Jerome upon this text saith. Let the Priests be diligent and take good heed in this Church, that they turn not the house of God into a den of thieves. He doubtless is a thief which seeketh gain by Religion, & by a show of holiness studieth to find occasion of marchaundise. Hereupon, the holy Canons do make accursed, Symoniacal heresy, & do command that those should be deprived of the priesthood, which for the passing or marvelous spiritual grace, do seek gain or money. Peter the Apostle said to Simon Magus, Let thy money and thou go both to the devil, which thinkest that the gifts of God may be bought for money. Therefore, the spiritual gifts of God ought not to be sold.
Verily prayer is the spiritual gift of God, as is also y e preaching of y e word of God, or the saying on of hands, or the administration of other Sacraments. Christ sending forth his Disciples to preach, said unto them: Heale ye the sick, cast out devils, raise the dead, freely have ye received freely give ye again. If the Priests have power by their prayers to deliver souls being in Purgatory, from grievous pains: without doubt, he hath received that power freely from God. How therefore can he sell his act, unless he resist the commandments of God, of whom he hath received that authority? This truly cannot be done without sin, which is against the commandment of God.
How plainly spake Christ to the Pharisees, & Priests saying, woe be unto you Scribes & Pharisees hypocrites, because ye have eaten the whole houses, of such as be widows, by making long prayers, and therefore have you received greater damnation. Wherein I pray you do our Pharisees and Priests differ from them? Do not our Priests devour widows houses and possessions, that by their long prayers they might deliver the souls of their husbands frō the grievous pains of purgatory? How many Lordships I pray you, have been bestowed upon the religious mē & womē to pray for the dead, that they by their prayer might deliver those dead men from the pain (as they said) that they suffer in purgatory, grievously tormented and vexed? If their prayers and speaking of holy words, shall not be able to deliver themselves frō pain, unless they have good works: How shall other men be delivered from pain, by their prayers, which whilst they lived here, they gave over themselves to sin? Yea peraduētUre those Lordships or lands which they gave unto the priests to pray for them, they themselves have gotten by might from other faithful men, unjust, and violently. And the Canous do say, that sin is not forgivē, till y e thing taken away wrongfully, be restored. How thē shall they be able (which do unjustly possess such Lordship’s or lands) to deliver them by their prayers from pain, which have given to them these lordships or lands, seeing God from the beginning hath hated all extortion in his burnt sacrifices? Not everyone that saith unto me Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he which doth the will of my father which is in heavē. And again, not the hearers of the law, but the doers of the law shall be justified.
If therefore the words of him that prayth, do not deliver himself from sin, nor frō the pain of sin: how do they deliver other men from sin or frō the pain of sin when no man prayth more earnestly for another man thē for himself? Therefore many are deceived in buying or selling of prayers, as in y e buying of pardons that they might be delivered from pain: whē as commonly they pay dearer for the prayers of the proud & vicious prelates, thenfor the prayers of devout women and devout men of the lay people. But out of doubt, God doth not regard the person of him that prayth, neither the place in which he praith, nor his apparel, nor the curiousnes of his prayer, but y e humility and godly affection of him that prayeth. Did not the Pharisy and the Publican go up into the temple to pray? The Publicans prayer for his humility and godly affection is heard. But the Pharisees prayer for his pride & arrogancy is contempned. Cōsider that neither the person, nor the place, nor y e state, nor the curiousnes of his prayer doth help the Pharisye: Because the Publican not thinking himself worthy to lift up his eyes unto heaven, for y e multitude of his sins, saying (O God be merciful unto me a sinner) is justified dy his humility, and his prayer is heart. But the Pharisy boasting in his righteousness is despised, because God thrusteth down the proud, and exalteth the humble and those that be meek. The rich glotton also, that was clothed with purple and silk, & fared every day daintely, prayed unto Abraham, and is not heard, but is buried in pains and torments of hell fire. But Lazarus which lay begging at his gate (being full of sores) is placed in the bosom of Abraham. Behold y t neither the riches of his apparel, nor the deliciousnesse of his banquets, or the gorgiousnes of his estate, neither the abundance of his riches, doth help anything to prefer the prayers or petitions of the rich glotten, nor yet diminishe his torments, because that mighty men in their mightines shall suffer torments mightily. How dare any man by cōposition demand or receive anything of another man for his prayers? If he believe y t he can by his prayer deliver his brother frō grievous pain, he is bound by charity to relieve his brother with his prayers although he be not hired thereunto, but and if he will not pray unless he be hired, thē hath he no love at all. What therefore helpeth his prayer, which abideth not in charity? Therefore let him first take compassion of himself by prayer, that he may come into charity, and then he shall be the better able to help others. If he believe not, or y t he standeth in doubt to be able to deliver his brother by his prayer: wherefor doth he make with him an assured bargayn, & taketh his money, and yet knoweth not whether he shall relieve him ever a whit the more or not, from his pain? I fear least the words of the Prophet are fulfilled, saying: From the least to the most all mē apply themselves to covetousness, and from the Prophet to the Priest all work deceitfully. For the poor priests excuse themselves, of such bargaining and selling of their prayers, saying: The young cock learneth to crow of the old cock. For saith he, thou mayest see that the Pope himself in stalling of Bishops & Abbots, taketh the first fruits: In y e placing or bestowing of benefices, he always taketh somewhat, & specially if the benefices be great. Also he selleth pardons or bulls, and to speak more plain, he taketh money for them. Bishops in giving orders, in hallowing churches & churchyards, do take money: In ecclesiastical correction they take money for the mitigation of penance: In the grievous offenses of convict persons, money is required, & caused to be paid, Abbots, Monks, & other religious men that have possessiō, will receive no mā into their fraternity, or make thē partakers of their spiritual suffrages, unless he bestow somewhat upon them, or promise them somewhat. Curates & vicars having sufficient livings, by the tithes of their paryshioners, yet in dirges and years minds, in hearing confessions, in weddinges & buryings, do require & have money. The Friars also of the four orders of beggars, which think thenselves to be the most perfitest men of the Church, do take money for their prayers, confessions, & buryings of the dead: and when they preach, they believe that they shall have either money or some other thing worthy money. Wherefore then be the poor priests blamed? ought not they to be held excused, although they take money for their prayers by cōpositiō? Truly (me thinketh) that this excuse by other men's sins, doth not excuse thē: forasmuch, as to heap one mischief upon another's head, is no sufficient discharge. I would to God that all the buyers & sellers of spiritual suffrages, would with the eyes of their heart behold the ruin of the great City, and the fall of Babylon, and that which they shall say after that fall. Doth not the Prophet say: And the merchaunts of the earth shall weep and mourn for her, because no man shall buy any more their merchandise, that is, their merchandise of gold and silver, and of precious stone and of pearl, and of silk and purple : And again he saith. And the marchaunts which were made riche by her, shall stand alouse for fear of her torments, weeping, mourning, and saying, Alas, Alas, that City Babylon; that great City which was wont to wear purple, whitesilke, crim sin, gold, pearl, and precious stone, because that in one hour all those riches are come to naught : And again: And they cast dust upon their heads and cried out weeping and mourning and saying, Alas, Alas, that great and mighty City Babylon, by whom all such as had ships upon the sea were made riche by her rewards: Because that in one hour she is become desolate.
This Babylon, this great City, is the City of Rome, as it appeareth by the process of the Apostle. Because the aungel which shown unto Saint John the destructiō of the mighty harlot sitting upon many waters, with whō the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and all they which dwell upon the earth are made drunk with y e wyne of her whoredom, said unto him: And the woman which thou sawest, is the great city which hath dominion above kings &c. And in deed in y e days of Saint John the whole world was subject to the temporal Empire of the City of Rome, and afterwards it was subject to the spiritual Empire or dominion of the same. But touching the temporal government of the City of Rome, it is fallen already: and so that the other also, for the multitude of her spiritual fornications shall fall. The Emperors of this city gave themselves to Idolatry, and would have that mē should honor them as God's, & put all those to death that refused such idolatry, & by the cruelty of their torments, all infidels gate the upper hand.
Hereupon, by the image of Nebuchadnezzar, y e empire of the Romaines is likened to iron, which beateth together, and hath the mastery of all mortals. And in the visiō of Daniel, wherein he saw the four winds of heaven to fight in the main sea, and four great beasts coming out of the sea: The kingdom of the Romans is lykened to the fourth terrible and marvelous beast, the which had great iron teeth: eating & destroying, and treading the rest under his feet: & this beast had ten horues, & as Danyell saith, he shall speak words against the most highest, and shall tear with his teeth the Saynts of the most highest: and he shall think, that he may be able to change times and laws, and they shall be delivered into his power, until a time, times, and half a time. In the Apocalypse, Saine John saw a beast coming out of the sea, having 7. heads and 10. horns, and power was given to him to make months 42. So long time endured the Empire of the Romans, that is to say, from the beginning of Julius Caesar, which was the first Emperor of y e Romans, unto the ende of Fridericus, which was the last Emperor of the Romaines. Under this empire Christ suffered, & other Martyrs also suffered for his name sake. And here is fallen Rome as Babylon (which is all one) according to the manner of speaking in the Apocalypse as touching the temporal and corporal power of governing. And thus shall she fall, also touching the spiritual power of governing, for the multitude of the iniquities and spiritual fornication and merchaundise that are committed by her in the Church.
The feet of y e image which Nabuchodonezor saw, did betoken the Empire of Rome, & part of them were of iron, and part of clay & earth. The part that was of iron fell, and y e power thereof vanished away, because y e power thereof was at an end after certain months. That part of clay and earth yet endureth, but it shall vanish away by the testimony of the Prophets: whereupon saint John in the Apocalypse: After that, he saw the part made of iron rising out of the sea, to which eche people, tribe, and tongue submitted themselves. And he saw another beast coming out of the earth, which had two horns, like to the horns of a Lamb, and he spake like a Dragon, and he vanquyshed the first beast in his sight.
This beast as seemeth me, doth betoken the claye and earth̄ part of the feet of y e image, because he came out of y e earth. For y e by terrene help he is made the high & chief priest of the Romaines, in the church of Christ, & so from alow he ascended on high. But Christ from heaven descended, because that he which was God & author of every creature became man: and he that was Lord of Lord's, was made in the shape of a servant. And although that in the heavens the company of angels minister unto him, he himself ministered or served in earth, that he might teache us humility, by which a man ascendeth into heaven, even as by pride a man goeth down into the bottomless pyt. This beast hath two horns most like a Lamb, because y t he challengeth to himself both y e priestlye & kingly power, above all other here in earth. The Lamb that is Christ which is a king forever vpō y e kingly seat of David, & he is a Priest forever after y e order of Melchizedek: but his kingdom is not of this world, but the kingdom of this beast is of this world, because those y t be under him, fight for him. And as Jesus is Christ two manner of ways, because that Christus is as much to say as Vnctus. He verily was annointed king, & anointed priest: so this beast saith that he is chief king & priest. Wherefore doth he call himself Christ? because that Christ knowing that afore, said: Many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ, and shall decyue many. And thus because that he is both king & priest, he challengeth to himself the double sword, that is the corporal sword and the spiritual sword. The corporal sword is in his right hand, and y e spiritual sword is in his right eye, by the testimony of Zacharias. But he speaketh subtly like a Dragon, because that by the testymony of Christ he shall deceive many, as the Apoc. witnesseth. He did great wonders, that also he might make more fire to come from heaven into the earth in the sight of mē, that he might deceive those that dwell upon the earth, because of the wonders that are permitted him to do in the sight of the beast, & he overcame the first beast which ascended out of the sea. For that beast challenged unto himself authority of government of y t whole world. He hath put to death & tormented those that resist his commandments, and would be honored as a God upon the earth. The bishop of Rome saith, that y t whole world ought to be in subiectiō unto him, those that be disobedient unto his commandments, he putteth in prison, and to death if he can: If he cannot, he excommunicateth them, and commandeth them to be cast into the devils dūgeon. But he that hath no power over y • body, much less hath he power over y e soul. And truly his excommunicatiō, nor the excommunication of any priest under him, shall at that time little hurt him that is excommunicate, so that the person of him that is excommunicate, be not first excommunicate of God through sin.
And thus it seemeth a truth unto me, that God thus turneth their blessings into cursinges, because they give not due glory unto his name. So when y t they vniusty excommunicate & curse, he turneth their cursings into blessings. Also the bishop of Rome doth make me to worship him as God, because that y e special sacrifice that God doth require of us, is to be obedient unto him in keeping of his commandments. But now y e Popes commandments be commanded to be kept, and be kept in very deed, but the commandments of Christ are contemned and rejected. Thus sitteth the Bishop of Rome in the Temple of God, showing himself as God, and extolleth himself above all that which is called God, or worshipped as God. But in his fall he shall be revealed, because that every kingdom divided in itself, shall be made desolate. He teaching a truth, is the head of the Church, but the Prophet teaching a lie, is the tail of the Dragon. He seducyng the world, shall be acknowledged to be the verity of the doctrine of Christ, but after he is known, he shall be rejected and naught esteemed. He giveth to small and great, riche and poor, free and bond, marks in their right hands, & in their foreheads: that no man should buy or sell, but those that shall have the marks of the name of the beast, or that looketh to have of him some recompense, small, mean, or great, or else the number of his name, which number is 300. The Pope saith that in y e administration of every sacrament, he doth imprint a certain charecter or mark into the soul of him that receiveth. In baptism he saith that he doth imprint into the soul of him that is baptized, a mark that cannot be wiped out, and so likewise in other sacraments. And I know that in a Sacrament are two things, that is, the sacramental sign, & spiritual grace represented by the same sign: the sacramental sign is givē to man of man, but the spiritual grace is given of Christ.
Wherefore, although a vicious or naughty Priest doth baptize any man, if he that is baptized or his parents (if he be a child) do ask with faithful meaning baptism, & do mean faithfully hereafter to observe the words of baptism: is as well baptized, as if he were baptized of never so virtuous a priest. So also the sinner which with all his heart is sory for his sins, and doth ask faithfully mercy of God, is as well absolved of a vicious priest, as of a virtuous. Because the Lamb of god which taketh away the sins of the word, wipeth away inwardly our sins by his grace, because that he is y e bishop & pastor of our souls. All other priests do outwardly work absolution, which know not for a certaintye whether they have absolved or not. So also is it in y e other, because y t the grace of y e sacrament is given of God, and the sacramental sign, of man. In giving of orders, the chief bishop doth imprint y e corporal marks, but of the spiritual marks, I know none: unless a man will say, that by receiving the order he hath some belief that he may work some things pertayniug to that order, the which before the receiving of the order he could not. But this one thing is, that none in the church ought to sell spiritual merchandise (of which things we have spoken before) unless he have the mark of the beast. My counsel is, let the buyer beware of those marks: because that after the fall of Babylon, if any man hath worshipped the beast and her image, & hath reciued the mark upon his forehead, & upon his hand, he shall drink of the wine of gods wrath, which is mixed with the wyne in the cup of his anger, and he shall be tormented in fire & brimstone in the sight of the holy angels, and in the sight of the Lamb: and the smoke of their torments shall ever more ascend, although he look for a recompense, small, mean, or great, of the beast, or else the mumber of his name. The beast doubtless doth recompense his friends, with his small reward, that is, with great gifts and benefices corporal: with a mean reward, that is, with great spiritual gifts, in authority of blessing, losing, binding, praying, & exercising other spiritual works: & with his greatest reward, which after that they be dead, maketh them to be honored in earth among the saints. The number of his name according to y e opinion of some men, is Dux Cleri, the captain of the clergy, because by that name he is named, & maketh his name known, and that name is 666.
This is my opinion of the beast ascending out of the earth, and shall until such time as I shall be of the same beast better instructed. And although that this beast doth signify the Romaine bishops: yet the other cruel beast ascending out of the sea, doth signify the Roman Emperors. And although that the Dragon being a cruel beast, and the false Prophet giving the mark, must be thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone to be tormented forever: I would have no man to judge, but I leave such things altogether to the final judgment of Christ to be detemined. But Martin the Popes confessor which maketh the Chronicle of the Emperors and Popes, recyteth many errors of the Popes, more horrible and abhomynabl then of the Emperors. For he speaketh of the idolatrous Popes, heretical, simoniacal, and Popes y e were murderers, that used nigromancie, and wytchcraft, that were fornicators, and defiled with all kind of vice. But I have partly declared how that the Popes law is contrary to Christ's law, and howe that he saith, that he is the chief vicar of Christ in earth: and in his deeds is contrary to Christ, and doth forsake both his doctrine & life. I cannot see who else may be so well Antichrist, and a seducer of the people. For there is not a greater pestilence, then a familiar enemy.
As concerning idols, and the worshipping of them, I think of them as Moses, Solomon, Isayas, Jeremiah, and the rest of the Prophets, which all spake against the making of Images, as also y e worshipping of Images. And faithful David full of the spirit of God, saith: Let all those be confounded y t worship Images, and that rejoice in Idols: And again he saith: Let thē be made like unto them y t make them, & all such as put their trust in them. Wherefore I pray god that this evil come not upon me, which is the curse of God pronounced by David the prophet. Nor I will be by God's grace, neither a maker, nor else a woorshipper of Images.
As concerning oaths, I believe and obey the doctrine of the almighty God, & my master Jesus Christ, which teacheth: that Christian men in affirmation of a truth, should pass the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees of the old Testament, or else he excludeth thē from the kingdom of heaven. For he saith: Unles your righteousness exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye cannot enter into y e kingdom of heavē. And as concerning oaths he saith. It hath been said to them of old time, thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord those things which y u vowest. But I say unto you thou shalt not swear at all, neither by the heavē nor yet by the earth. &c. But let your communication be yea, yea, nay, nay, for whatsoever shall be more then this, proceedeth of evil. Therefore, as the perfection of the ancient men of the Old Testament was, not to forswear themselves: so the perfection of Christian men is not to swear at all, because they are so commanded of Christ, whose commandment must in no case be broke • : although that y e City of Rome is contrary to this d •• ctryne of Christ even as in many things she is found contrary to her self.
As touching the taking away of temporal goods from those that are ecclesiastical persons offendyng habitualiter : by such as are temporal Lord's, I will not affirm any thing to be lawful in this matter (as in other matters before) that is not agreeable to charity: And that for because it is a hard matter for a man to take another man's goods from him without breaking of charity, because peradventure he that taketh away, is the more moved to such manner of taking away be reason of the desire he hath to those goods, which he endeavoreth to take away: or else, because of some displeasure or hatred to the person, from whom he goeth about to take away those goods, then that he from whom those goods be taken, should be amended. Therefore, unless he that taketh away, be only moved of charity to the taking away of such goods, I dare not affirm that such taking is lawful. And if such taking away proceed of charity, I dare not judge it unlawful: because that the Bishop of Rome which received his temporal dominion of the Emperor, when the Emperor rebelled and was not obedient unto him, he deprived him frō his temporal jurisdictions: Howe much more then may temporal Lord's do the same which have bestowed upon them many temporal dominions and lordships, only to the intent that they might the better intend to serve God and keep his commandments. Howe if they perceive that they be against the laws of God, and that they be over busily occupied about worldly matters: I cannot see but y t they may well enough take frō them those temporal goods, which to a good purpose they gave them. But if in time to come after this, those that be temporal lords shall take from ecclesiastical persons such temporalties: let him that desireth to understand this, read the prophet Ezekiel in the chapiter of the shepeherds of Israel, which fed themselves instead of their flock: and also let him read the Apocalypse of the fall of Babylon. Let him also read the Popes decretalles against heretics, and in those he shall find, that the taking away of the temporaltyes from the Clergy, shall come to pass for the multitude of their sins.
Thus reverend father, have I made mine answer of the matter whereof I am accused: beseching you, that as I have been obedient to your desire, and that even as a sonne declaring unto you the secrets of my heart in plain words (although rudely) so I desire to know your opinion, and crave your fatherly benevolence: that now your labor may be for my instruction and amendment, & not to accusation and condemnation. For like as in the beginning I have promised you, y t if any man of what state, sect, or condition soever he be, can show me any error many of my writings by the authority of holy scripture, or by any probable reason grounded in the scriptures: I will receive his information willingly and humbly.
After that all the foresaid things were exhibited & given by the foresaid Walter Brute, unto the foresaid B. of Herford: he further appointed to the same Walter, y t third day of the month of October, at Herforde, with y e continuance of the days following to hear his opinion. Which third day now at hand, being Friday in the year of our Lord God 1393. the said Walter Brute, appeared before him, sitting in Commission in the Cathedral Church of Hereford, at six a clock or thereabout: having for his assistentes in the same place, diverse Prelates and Abbotes, and xx. Bachelers of Divinity, whereof xii. were Monks, and two Doctors of the law. Amongst these was Nicholas Hereford, accompanied with many other Prelates and worshipful men & wise Graduates in sundry faculties. Now was the foresaid Walter apposed of his writings aforesaid, & the contents therein. Earnest were they in pycking out of those writings, his heresies, & in showing his schisms, sundry errors, and diverse other things. Now, after that they had continued all that day and the two days following (that is Friday, Saturday, & Sunday) in their informations & examinations against the same Walter Brute. The same Walter Brute submitted him self to the determination of the church, & to the correction of the said John Bishop, as it appeareth word for word in a scroule written in the English tongue: The tenor of which scroul, is as followeth.
I Walter Brute submit myself principally to the Euangely of Jesus Christ, and to the determination of holy kirke, and to the general Counsels of holy kirke. And to the sentence and determination of the four Doctors of holy write, that is Agustine, Ambrose, Jerome, and Gregory. And I meekly submie me to your correction, as a subject ought to his Bishop.
Which scroule as afore is recited in y e English tongue, the foresaid Walter Brute read, with a loud and intellible voice, at the Cross in the churchyard on Monday, that is to say, the 6. day of the said month of October, before the sermon made unto the people in presence of y e said bishop of Herford & other above written, as also other Barons, knights and noble men & clergy, and also a great multitude of people. After which reading of the scroule, the foresaid Tho. Crawlay bacheler of divinity, made y e Sermon unto the people, & toke for his theme the words of y e Apostle to the Rom. the xi. chap. that is as followeth. Be not over wise in your own conceits but stand in fear &c.
Out of these declarations and writings of Walter Brute, the Bishop with the Monks and doctors above rehearsed, did gather and draw out certain articles, to the number of 37. which they sent to the University of Cambridge to be confuted, unto two learned men. M. Colwill, & M. Newton, Bachelors of divinity. Which M. Colwil, & Newton did both labor in the matter, to the uttermost of their cunning, in replying and answering to the said 37. articles.
* Besides them also W. Woodforde a Frier (who wrote likewise against the articles of Wycliffe) laboring in the same cause, made a solemn & a long tractation, compiling the articles of the said Brute, to the mumber of 29. All which treatises, as I wish to come to the readers hand, that the slendernes of them might be known: so it may happen perease, y t the same being in my hands may hereafter be further published, with other like tractations moe, as convenient time for the prolixity thereof may hereafter, better serve then now.
What after this became to this Walter Brute, orwhat end he had, I find it not registered: but like it is, that he for this time escaped. Certain other writings I find moreover, which albeit they bear no name of this Walter, nor of any certain anthor: yet because they are in y e same register adjoined to y e history of him, I thoght therefore most fit here to be inserted. Of y e which y e one was a letter sent to Nicholas Hereford a little above specified: who being at y e first a great folower of John Wicklif, as appeareth before pag. 438. was now in the number of thē which sat upon this Walter, as is in y e next page above recorded. The copy of this letter, bering no name of any special author, but only as sent by a certain Lollard (as y e register doth term him) is written in manner and forine as followeth.
Here followeth the Copy of a letter sent to master Nicholas Hereford, by a Lollard, as in the Register it is said.
FOr as much as no man that putteth his hand to the plough and looketh back, is meet for the kingdom of God, as our Savior Christ saith: What marvel is it, although master Nicholas Herford, which at the first (by the visitatió of the spirit of god peradventure) put his hand, that is, gave his diligence, unto the plough, that is, to the sowing of the word of God and holy scripture, as well in preaching as in doing good works: is now so blind and unskillful to expound the scripture, that he knoweth not what is understood by the kingdom of heaven. Truly it is no marvel, O thou that art master of the Nicholitanes, which like Nicholas the moste false deacon, hast left or forsaken the infallible knowledge of the holy scripture. For the true knowledge of the Theological verity is shut up as well from thee as from all the other Nicholitanes following thy conditions, for as much as thou goest not in by the door to expound the same Evēgelical verity. Therefore whē thou didst recite this other day, first, the pharisaycal and hypocritical woe (nothing at all to any purpose) thou shouldest have said justly in this sort, both of thyself, and other thy followers and religious Antichrists: Woe be unto us Scribes and Pharisees, which shut up the kingdom of heaven, that is to say, the true knowledge of the holy Scripture, before men by our false glofes and crooked similitudes: and neither we our selves enter into the same kingdom or knowledge, nor suffer other to enter into it. Wherefore, it seemeth unto the faithful sort, that wrongfully, falsy, & without any reverence, ye have expounded that text of Gregory. 1, q. 1. that is to say. Quicunque studet. &c. For this is the true understanding of the same. Knowing first that there be some priests after the thing, and name only; and doth show that this is true: that whosoever studieth to receive the holy order by giving of money: He is not a priest, secundum rem, & nomē: But to say the truth, he desireth to be called a priest, that is to be a priest Secundum nomen tantùm. And such a priest which is a priest in name only, is no priest. No more then S. Mary painted is S. Mary: Nor a false doctor a doctor, but no doctor: And a man painted is not a man, but no mā. And thus such a priest in name only, is not a priest. Because that all faithful men do firmly believe with S. Gregory that no man buying the holy orders, may then be called a priest as he saith. 1. q. 1. They that buy or sell holy orders can be no priests. Whereupon̄ is written, Anathema dandi, & Anathema accipiendi. That is Simoniacal heresy. And it followeth, how therefore, if they be accursed and not blessed, can they make others blessed▪ And whē that they be not in the body of Christ, howe can they either receive or deliver the body of Christ? He that is accursed, how can he bless? as though he would say. It is impossible. As Pope Urbanus saith. 1. q. 1. Si qui a Simoniacis. &c. Where he saith thus. They that willingly know & suffer thenselves to be consecrated, nay rather execrated of those that are infected with Simony: we judge that their consecration is altogether void. Also Pope Leo in 2. q. 1. saith in this wise. Grace, if it be not freely given or received, is not grace Spiritual userers do not receive freely: Therefore, they receive not the spiritual grace, which specially worketh in the ecclesiastical orders. If they receive it not, they have it not: if they have it not freely, they cannot give it freely. And by this it is more clearer then the light that they which know so much and receive orders by spiritual usury or simonye, are neither priests nor deacōs, neither after the manner nor charecter. For if such carecter or mark were otherwise given in giving orders, it were requisite always that there should be a certain grace imprinted in the man, but there is no such grace given or imprinted as afore is manifest: Therefore there is no such Character to be sayned. Therefore, such Character or mark abideth not in him, for as much as he never had nor hath the same. And yet furthermore in the same place. What then do the simonycall prelates give? And he maketh answer truly even that which they have, as the spirit of lying. How prove we this? Because that if it be the spirit of verity, as the same verity doth testify from whō it cometh, it is freely received. And it followeth for the whole purpose no doubt: It is convicted to be the spirit of lying, which is not freely received.
By this it appeareth manifestly to the faithful sort, that those which weetingly and simonically are made priests, for as much as they receive not the Character of the Lord but only the spirit of lying and the mark of Simon Magus, and of Judas the traitor, that they be not priests neither according to the mark nor manners. Nor such do no more make the sacraments of the Church, then other lay men may in the time of necessity, nor yet so truly, during their heretical naughtynesse. And yet in deed (brother mine,) vniuoce natura, but yet aequiuoce in moribus. I do not write thus sharply unto you, through anger, or any imperfect hate: but through the perfect hate of your horrible heresy, and denying the faith of Christ, that I may say with David in the Psalm. Perfecto odlo oderam &c. And I am very sorry for you, that you which in times past have excellētly well, and fruitfully preached the Gospel in the pulpit, do now as well fail in the congruity of the Latin tongue, as in the other science natural. For as it was heard thrice in one lecture you said appetitis, that is to say, pronouncyng the myddle syllable longe, which thing not only the masters, but also the young scholars understood. And many other faults there in your Grammar, which for shame I dare not recite. I send unto you these five conclusions.
The first conclusion. It is an infallible verity that the words of the four chief doctors, expounding the holy scripture according to the verity which the words do pretend, are to be holden and kept.
The second: He which importeth any equiuocatiō out of any of the Doctors expounding, for the coulouring of his text, his equivocation is always to be left.
The third: No perversion of any reprobate is able to turn the congregation of the elect from the faith, because all things y t shall come to pass, are eternally in God deuysed & ordained for the best, unto the elect Christians.
The fourth: Like as the mystical body of Christ is the congregation of all the Electiso Antichrist mystically is the church of the wicked & of all the reprobates.
The fifth: The conclusions of Swinderby, be agreeable to the faith in every part.
This letter was thus subscribed. By the spirit of God, sometime visityng you.
Besides this epistle above prefixed, there is also found annexed with the same, a devise of another certain letter coūterfeited under the name of Lucifer prince of darkness: writing to the Pope and all popish Prelates, persecuting the true and right Church (with all might and main) to maintayn their pride and domination in this earth, under a coulourable pretence & visor of the catholic church, & succession Apostolical. Which letter although it seemeth in some authors to be ascribed to Dekam, above mentioned: yet because I find it in the same Register of the church of Herford cōteyned, & inserted among y • tractations of Walter Brute, and devised (as y • Register said) by y t Lollards: I thought no meeter place, then here to annex the same, the tenor whereof thus proceedeth in words as follow.
The devise or counterfayt of a certain letter feigned under the name of Lucifer Prince of darkness, writing to the persecuting prelates of the popish clergy.
I Lucifer prince of darkness and profound heaviness, Emperor of the high mysteries of the Kyng of Acharont, Captain of the dungeon, Erebus king of hell, and comptroller of the infernal fire: To all our children of pride, and companions of our kingdom, and especially to our Prynces of the Church of this latter age and time (of which our adversary Jesus Christ, according to the Prophet, saith: I hate the church or congregation of the wicked) send greeting, & wish prosperity to all that obey our commandments, as also to those that be obedient to the laws of Satan already enacted, & that are diligent observers of our behestes, and the precepts of our decree. Know ye that in times past certain vicars or vicegerents of Christ, following his steppes in miracles and virtues, living and continuing in a beggarly life, converted (in a manner) the whole world from the yoke of our tyranny unto their doctrine & manner of life: To the great derision and contempt of our prison house and kingdom: and also to the no little prejudice and hurt of our jurisdiction and authorytie, nor fearing to hurt our fortified power ond to offend the majesty of our estate. For then received we no tribute of the world, neither did the miserable sort of common people, rushe at the gates of our deep dungeon as they were wont to do with continual pealyng and rappyng, but then the easy, pleasant, & broad way, which leadeth to death, lay still without great noyce of trāpelyng trauaylers, neither yet was trode with the feet of miserable men. And when all our courts were without sutets, Hell then began to howl: And thus continuing in great heaviness & anguish, was robbed and spoiled. Which thing considered, the impacient rage of our stomach could no longer suffer, neither the ougle retchelous negligence of our great Captayne general could any longer endure it. But we, seeking remedy for the time that should come after, have provided us of a very trim shift: For instead of these Apostles and other their adherents which draw by the same line of theirs, as well in manners as doctrine, & are odious enemis unto us: We have caused you to be their successors, & put you in their place, which be Prelates of the church in these latter times, by our great might and subtlety, as Christ hath said of you they have reigned but not by me. Once we promised unto him all the kingdom of the world if he would fall down and worships us, but he would not, saying: my kingdom is not of this would, and went his way, when the multitude would have made him a temporal king. But to you truly which are fallen from the state of grace, and that serve us in the earth: is that my promise fulfilled, and all terrene things be our means which we have bestowed upon you, are under government. For he hath said of us as ye know: The prince of the world cometh &c. and hath made us to reign over all children of unbelief Therefore our adversaries before recited, did pacientlye submit themselves unto the Princes of the world, and did teache that men should do so, saying. Be ye subject to every creature for God's cause, whether it be to the Kyng as moste chiefest. And again: Obey ye them that are made rulers over you &c. For so their master commanded them saying: The kings of the heathen have dominion over them &c. But I think it long til we have poured our poison vpō the earth, and therefore fill yourselves full. And now be ye not only unlike those fathers, but also contrary unto them in your life and conditions, and extol yourselves above all other men. Neither do ye give to God that which belongeth to him, nor yet to Caesar that which is his: But exercise you the power of both the swords, according to our decrees, making yourselves doers in worldly matters, fighting in our quarrel, entangled with secular labors and business. And clyme ye by little & little from the miserable state of poverty, unto the highest seats of all honors, & the most princely places of dignity by your devised practices, & false and deceitful wyles and subtlety: that is, by hypocrisy, flattery, lying, perjury, treasons, deceits, simonye, and other greater wickedness then which our infernal furies may devise. For after that ye have by us been advanced thither where ye would be: yet that doth not suffice you, but as gready staruelings more hungry then ye were before, ye suppress the poor, scratch and rack together all that comes to hand, perverting and turninge everything topsie toruey: so swollen, that ready ye are to burst for pride living like Lechers in all corporal delicatenes, and by fraud dyrecting all your doings. You challenge to yourselves names of honor in the earth, calling yourselves Lord's, holy, yea and most holy persons.
Thus, either by violence ye rauen, or else by ambition, subtly ye pilfer away, and wrongfully wraft, and by false title possess those goods which for the sustentation of the poor members of Christ (whom frō our first fall we have hated) were bestowed and given: consuming them as ye yourselves liest, & therewith ye cherish and maintain an innumerable sort of whores, strumpets, and bauds, with whom ye ride pompously like mighty Prynces, far otherwise going, then those poor beggarly priests of the primative Church. For I would ye should build yourselves rich and gorgeous palacies, ye fare like Prynces, eating and drinking the most daintiest meats, and pleasauntest wi • es that may be gotten: ye hoard and heepe together an infynite deal of treasure, not like to him that said, gold and silver I have none, ye serve and fight for us according to your wages O most acceptable society or fellowship, promised unto us by the Prophet, and of those fathers long ago reproved: Whilest that Christ called thee the Synagogue of Satan, and lykened thee to the mighty whore which committed fornicatiō with the kings of the earth, the adulterous spouse of Christ, and of a chaste person made a strompet. Thou hast left thy first love and hast cleaved unto us, O our beloved Babylon, O our citizens, which from the transmigration of Jerusalem, come hither: we love you for your deserts, we rejoice over you, which contemn the laws of Simon Peter, and embrace the laws of Simon Magus our friend, and have them at your fingers ends, and exercise the same publicly, buying and selling spiritual things in the Church of God, and against the commandment of God. Ye give benefices and honors by petition, or else for money, for favor, or else for filthy service. And refusing to admit those that be worthy to ecclesiastical dignities, & perferring those that are unworthy, you call unto the inheritance of gods sanctuary, baudes, liars, flatterers, your nephues, and your own children, & to a childish boy, ye give many prebends: the least whereof ye deny to bestow vpō a poor good man: ye esteem the person of a man and receive gifts, ye regard money and have no regard of souls. Ye have made the house of God a den of thieves. Al abuse, all extortiō, is more exercised, a hundredth fold in your judgment seats, then with any secular tyrant. Ye make laws & keep not the same, & ye dispence with your dispensations as it pleaseth you, you iustifye the wicked for rewards, and ye take away the just mans desert frō him. And briefly ye perpetrate or commit all kind of mischief, even as it is our will ye should. And ye take much pain for lucres sake in our service, and especially to destroy the Christian faith. For now the lay people are almost in doubt what they may believe, because if ye preach anything to them at sometimes (although it be but seldom seen, & that negligently enough, even as we would have it) yet notwithstanding they believe you not, because they se manifestly that ye do clean contrary, to that ye say. Wherupon, the common people, doing as ye do, which have the government of them, & should be an example to them of well doing: • ow many of them leaning to your rules, do run hedlong into a whole sea of vices: And so continually a very great multitude flocketh at the strong and well fenced gates of our dungeon. And doubtless, ye send us so many day by day of every sort and kind of people, that we should not be able to entertain them, but that our insatiable Chaos with her thoūsand ravening laws is sufficient to devour an infinite number of souls. And thus the souerayntie of our Empire, by you hath been reformed, and our intolerable loss restored. Wherefore, most specially we commend you, & give you most hearty thanks: Exhorting all you, that in any wise ye persevere and continue, as hitherto ye have done: neither that you slack henceforth your enterprice. For why, by your helps we purpose to bring the whole world again under our power & dominion. Ouer and besides this, we commit unto you no small authority, to supply our places in the betraying of your brethren, and we mak and ordain you our vicares, & the ministers of Antichrist our son, now hard at hand, for whō ye have made a very trim way and passage. Furthermore, we counsel you which occupy the highest rooms of all other, that you work subtly, and that ye (faynedly) procure peace between the princes of the world, and that ye cherish and procure secret causes of discord. And like as craftily ye have destroyed and subverted the Romain Empire: so suffer ye no kingdom to be overmuch enlarged or enriched by tranquility and peace. Least perhaps in so great trāquilitie (all desire of peace set aside) they dyspose themselves to vew and consider your most wicked works, suppressing on every side your estate: and from your treasures take away such substance, as we have caused to be reserved and kept in your hands, until the coming of our well-beloved son Antichrist. We would ye should do our comēdations to our entierly beloved daughters, pride, deceit, wrath, avarice, bellichere, and lechery, & to all other my daughters: and especially to Lady Simony, which hath made you men, and enryched you, and hath given you suck with her own breasts, & weaned you, and therefore in no wise see that you cal her sin. And be ye lofty and proud, because that the most high dignity of your estate doth require such magnificence. And also be ye covetous, for whatsoever ye get and gather into your fardell, it is for Saint Peter, for the peace of the church, and for the defense of your patrimony and the Crucifix, and therefore ye may lawfully do it. Ye may promote your Cardinals to the highest seat of dignities without any let in all the world, in stopping the mouth of our adversary Jesus Christ, and alleging again: that he preferred his kinsfolks (being but of poor and base degree) unto the Apostleship, but do not you so, but rather call, as ye do, those that live in arrogancy, in hawtines of mind, and filthy lechery, unto the state of wealthy riches and pride, and those rewards & promotions, which the followers of Christ forsook, do ye distribute unto your friends. Therefore as ye shall have better understanding, prepare ye vices cloaked under the similitude of virtues. Alleadge for yourselves the glosses of the holy scripture, and wrest them, directly to serve for your purpose. And if any man preach or teache otherwise then ye will, oppress ye them violently with the sentence of excommunication, & by your censures heaped one upon another, by the consent of your brethren. Let him be condemned, as an heretic, and let him be kept in most straight prison, and there tormented till he die, for a terrible example to all such as confess Christ. And setting all favor apart, cast him out of your temple: least peradventure the engraffed word may save your souls, which word I abhor, as I do the souls of other faithful mē. And do your indeuor, that ye may deserve to have the place which we have prepared for you, under the most wicked foundatiō of our dwelling place. Fare ye well, with such felicity as we desire and intend finally to reward and recompense you with.
Who was the true author of this poesie or epistle above writ̄ it is not evidently know̄: neither yet doth it greatly skill. The matter being well considered of their part, which here be noted: may minister unto them sufficient occasion of wholesome admonition, either to remember themselves what is amiss, or to be think with thenselves what is to be amended. Divers other writings of like argument both before & since, have been devised: as one bearinge the title Luciferi ad malos principes Ecclesiasticos, imprinted first at Paris in Latin. And under the writing thereof, bearing this date. Anno a palatij nostri fractione, consortium{que} nostrorum subtractione. 1351. Which if ye count from the Passion of the Lord: reacheth well to y • time of Wycliffe 1385. which was above vi. years before y • examination of this Walter Brute.
There is also another epistle of Lucifer, prince of darkness, ad praelatos, mentioned in the Epistle of the school of Prague, to the university of Oxford, set forth by Huldericus Huttenus, about the year of our Lord (as is there dated) 1370. which seemeth to be written before this epistle.
Also Vincētius in Speculo histo. lib. 25. cap. 89. inferreth like mention of a letter of the fiendes infernal, unto the clergy men as in a vision represēted before 400. years. In which the devils give thanks to the spiritual men, for that by their silence and not preaching the Gospel, they send infynite souls to hell. &c.
Divers other letters also of like devise, have ben written, & also recorded in authors. Whereunto may be added, that one Jacobus Cartusiensis, wrytinge to the Bishop of Wormace, allegeth out of the prophecy of Hildegardis in these words: Ideo et diabolus in semetipso de vobis sacerdotibus ait: Escas epulantium, conuiuia et omnes voluptates in istis inuenio, sed et oculi, et aures, et venter meus, et venae meae, de spumis illorum plenae sunt, et vbera mea plena sunt diuicijs illorum &c. 1. Therefore saith he, y • devil may say of you priests in himself: The meats of banketting dishes, and feasts of all kind of pleasure, I find in these men: Yea also, mine eyes, mine ears, my belly, & all my veins be full of their froathing, and my breasts be full stuffed with their riches. &c. Furthermore, saith he, they labor every day to rise up higher with Lucifer, but every day they fall w t him more deeply.
Hereunto also appertaineth a story written, & commonly found in many old written books. In the year of our Lord. 1228. at Paris in a Synod of the clergy, there was one appointed to make a Sermō. Who being much careful in his mind, & solicitous what to say, the devil came to him, and asking why he was so careful for his matter, what he should preach to y • clergy, say thus, quod he: The princes of hell salute you (Oh you princes of the Church) & gladly give you thanks, because through your default and negligence, it cometh to pass, that all souls go down to hell. Adding moreover, that he was also enforced by the commandment of God to declare the same, yea and that a certain token moreover was given to the said clerk for a sign, whereby the sinode might evidently see, that he did not lie. Ex catall. Illyr. Fol. 546.
The Bull of Pope Boniface the ix. against the Lollards.
BOnifacius Bishop, servant of the seuants of God: To the reverend brother John Bishop of Hereford, sendeth greeting & Apostolical benediction. We mean to write unto our well-beloved son in Christ (Richard the renowned king of England) in form enclosed within these presents. Therefore we will and command your brotherhood, that as much as ye may, ye study and endeavor yourself to exhort and induce the same king, to do those things which we have written unto him, as it is said before. And notwithstanding, that now many a day you ought to have done it of yourself, & not to loke that we should persuade you to that effect by us written: you may proceed as well by our authority, as by your own, for as much as it was given you before: that here after we may know effectually by your diligence, what zeal your devotion beareth unto the Catholic faith, and to the conseruing of the ecclesiastical honor, and also to the execution of your pastoral office.
Geuen at Rome, at S. Peters the xv. Kalendes of October, the 6. year of our bishoplike dignity.
The tenor of the Bull, to the renowned prince Richard by the grace of God king of England & of France: whereof mention is made above, as followeth, and is thus much in effect.
TO our well-beloved son in Christ, Richard the noble king of England, we send greetinge &c. It grieveth us from the bottom of our hearts, and our holy mother the Church in all places through Christendom lamenteth. We understand that there be certain heresies sprong, and do without any condign restraynt raunge at their own liberty, to the seducynge of the faithful people, and do every day with overmuch liberty enlarge their indiscreet bounds. But howe much the more carefullye we labor for the preservation both of you & your famous kingdom, and also the sincerity of the faith: and do with much more ardent desire covet, that the prosperous state of the same should be preserved and ēlarged the sting of greater sorrow doth so much the more penetrate and molest us, for as much as we see (alas the while) in our time, and under the regal presidence of your moste Christyan government: a certain crafty and hairebraine sect of false Christians, in the same your kingdom, to grow and increase: which call themselves the poor men of the treasury of Christ and his disciples, and whom the common people by a more sounder name call Lollards (as a man would say withered darnel) according as their sins require: and perceive, that they wax strong, & as it were prevail against the diocesās of some places, and other governors as they meet together not courageously addressing themselves against them as they ought to do (whereof chiefly and not undeservedly I give them admonition) for that they take thereby the more bolder presumption and stomach among the unlearned people. And for as much as those whom we cannot call men, but the damnable shadows or ghosts of men, do rise up against the sound faith, & holy universal church of Rome: and that very many of them being indifferently learned, which (to the confusion & eternal damnation of some of them) they got sitting upon their mothers lap the said Church of Rome, do rise up or inueye against the determination of the holy fathers, with too much presumptuous boldness, to the subversion of the whole ecclesiastical order and estate: Have not been afraid, nor are not yet afraid, publicly to preach, very many erroneous detestable, and heretical articles, for that they are not put to silence, reproved, driven out, rooted out or otherwise punished, by any that hath authority and the fear and love of God. And also they are not afraid, openly to write the same articles, and so being written to deliver thē to your kinglye parliament, and obstinately to affirm the same. The venomous and disdainful recital of which articles, upon good advisement at this present we pass over: lest the sufferance of such sensuality, might fortune to renew the wound that reason may heal. Yet notwithstanding, least so great and contagious an evil should escape unpunished, and that without deserved vexation, and also that it might not get more heart and wax stronger: we therefore (according to that our office and duty is, where such negligence and sluggishness of our prelates being present, where this thing is) do commit and give in commandment to our reverend brethren, Canterbury,