ALbeit / there are verye mani iust causes which mighte suffycyently sa­tisfy the myndes of christen mē / and perswade them to take awaye images out of theire churches: yet no man wyll deny this cause to be without dout chefe and princypall / bycause it is forbydden in the fyrste of goddes cōmaundementes / that any maner of images shulde be had amonge his peple. For thus we rede in the scrypture: Ex. 20 ‘I am that euerlastyng god. I am thy god which haue delyuered the frō Aegypt / the house of thraldom and bondage. Thou shalt haue no straunge goddes in my syght. Thou shalt make vnto [Page] thy selfe no grauen or karuen image / nor the symylytude of any ma­ner thinge which is aboue in heuē or beneth in the erth: nor of those thynges whiche are in the waters vnder the erth. Thou shalte nat bowe thy selfe before them / nether worship them: for I am thy lorde god euerlastyng / stronge & migh­ty / punysshinge the fautes of the fathers in the chyldren / euen vnto the thyrd generatyon of thē which do hate me. & powringe forthe my goodnes / euen vnto the thousanth generation of them which do loue me / and do obserue & kepe my commaundementes.’ Lo / here are .ii. lawes of the lord set forth vnto the whiche nat withoute good cause amonge other / do chalenge vnto them selues the fyrste place. the fyrst cōmaundement. The fyrst of them requyreth of vs / that we do take this eternall and euer [Page] beinge god (so as he is in very de­de) for our god. The .ii. cōmaundement. The later doth nat only forbyd straunge goddes / but also it forbyddeth bothe the y­mages of them & also of all other thynges / to be hadde amonge the people of god / vnto which people doutlesse / that is to wytte vnto all true beleuers / all such maner pre­ceptes do appertayne. For these ar the trewe Israelyties / as it appe­reth in the scryptures. Rom 2 iiii.ix. Gala. 3 iiij. Mat. [...] For Christ came nat to breke the lawe: but to fulfyll it fyrst of any man. Nowe in veri dede they ar annexed to the lawe of god / & also enclosed and conteyned in it / whatsoeuer thingꝭ do brīge any cause or occasyon vnto the loue of god or of the neygh­boure / to shewe or put forth it selfe more and more.

¶ In dede god cōmaunded very many thynges to his olde people [Page] whiche were greatly aueylable & helpynge to the princypall poynte and ende of his lawe. But after that christ was ones exalted to the right hande of his father / and the holi ghost was sent all abrode into the worlde / we ar delyuered & free from a gret ꝑte of such maner ceremonyes of the law of Moses. Deu 7 As for exāple it was goddꝭ wyl & commaūdemēt / that y ^e iues shuld lyue togyther by thēselues / abstainyng frō cōpanyēg & dealyng w ^t the gē ­tyles (for he dyd nat yet vouchsafe that y ^e gentyles shuld haue know­lege of his doctryne) to the entent no dout of it / The gē ­tyls wer nat than called to the faith y ^t they shuld by so moche be the more obedyent to his cō ­maūdemēt / by how moch they wer the lesse corrupted & infected with the cōpany of the gentyles / wor­shippīge false goddꝭ. As swalo [...] hed­ge dyui­dīg two gardens or hou­ses bro­kē down maketh of twayne one / so dydde the ta­kynge a­waye of the cere­monies by Chri­stes deth makethe Iewes & vs al one churche. Colo. 2 But after y ^t the wall of y ^e heuy burden of so many rites & ceremonyes of the Iues [Page] (which nat only deꝑted y ^e one people frō the other / but also made thē enemys) was throwē downe. eph. 2 & both the gentiles & also the iues grewe togyther into one people. This lawe which forfēded the Is­raelytꝭ / companyēg with y ^e gētyls could do no seruyce nor ꝓfet at all. Wherfore it was conuenyēt that y ^e seyd lawe shuld be abrogated & takē away. such another lyke thīge is circumcision / & also the rytes & ceremonyes of purifycations / the choyse of metes / the diuersyteis of places & persones: & whatsoeuer besides these is red to haue bē commaunded in the olde lawe / concer­nynge outwarde sacrifyces. For these thynges in as moche as nei­ther fayth nor charytie doth nowe requyre them: it shalbe lawfull & free for vs either to obserue & kepe them / or els to leue them vndone. For the trewe honoure & worship­pynge [Page] of god / which hath ben by the preachynge of the apostels in­differētly publysshed to the whole worlde / wyll in no wyse suffre it selfe to be thruste so narowly in to suche maner streyghtes of places / dayes / meates / and persons.

Images ar forbedē bi the secōd cō maundement.¶ But as concernynge ymages / the thyng is farre otherwyse: For these beynge ones forbydden must nedes stande alwayes styll forbydden / specyally for this cause. Bycause the trewe honouryng of god can nat be / but either minisshed or els dyuerse wayes letted: as sone as we shall suffre the sayde yma­ges / contrary to the cōmaūdemēt of god in churches / or in other places / where they be honoured or els maye be honoured. Faith is the most substan­ciall and ꝑfet ho­noure of god. Ro. 4. For substan­cyall & parfeyt fayth / & the parfeyt honouryng of god / requyreth that we shulde do our dilygēce to cause [Page] this only god to be knowen in all places / that we shulde drede and honour him: that we shulde in all places and at all tymes with full mouth / prayse & magnify the wor­kes of him alone. So may we wor­ship non other but god alone. mat. 4. Deu. 6 10. But ymages ar so farre from helpynge vnto thys thynge / that the same do dyuerse wayes hyndre & let euery man frō the trewe honouryng of god. For who is he (I beseche you) whom ymages set vp in churches / or in other more narowe places / haue nat rather made neglygent about the trewe honouryng of god / than holpen him any whyt to honoure god trewly. Ye / moreouer (if it be lawfull to speke the truth) the true honour of god beynge subuerted and ouerthrowen / they haue quite blotted out of mennes myndes the remembrance of those thynges / for whose cause it is fayned / that they [Page] were fyrst set vp. & though it be so that otherwhiles ꝑauēture by the occasyō of these goodly gay admonytours / some slypper thought & trāsytory remēbrance of god doth come sodenly ī to our mynde: Deade Images are but dombe teachers and can teach vs no lyue­ly ne yet fruteful knolege of god yet y ^e same thought is soner vanysshed away / thā that it can gader sufficiēt rotes ī the brestes or myndꝭ of mē: for as it is but a thyng of mans deuysyng / & receyued without the cō maūdement of god: euē so was it neuer able to moue or stere our hertes & myndes with the quicke & ly­uely ꝑceyuyng / either of y ^e workes or of y ^e benefytes of god. If the lyuely spi­rite of god / do­th teache vs al thī ges by his worde what is than lett to be taught vs by dombe Images By y ^e re­son of which thīge it hath come to passe / y ^t no place hath bē left to the lyuely admonition / which is by y ^e creatures of god: natw ^tstāding y ^t these seyd creatures / bicause in all places we do se them & handle thē / ought also in all places to styre vp [Page] and renew in vs the remembrance of goddes infynyte goodnesse. Breifly there is no cause / why we may more rightfully & iustly im­pute (shal I say neglygence / or els our own contēpt towardꝭ the true honor which is acceptable to god) vnto any other thīge than vnto y­mages. Images haue stolen awai goddes glorie frō him & taught vs to neglecte & contēpne him. For after that these began to be worshipped ī certayne places forthwith flowed an vnmesurable see of all euyls: for though we pasouer / that god by reasō herof / was many ways greuously offended & displeased / bicause the contrary to his open & euydent cōmaūdement nat only we haue worshipped thē: but also puttyng our trust in suche maner worshippīg / haue ꝑswaded vnto ourselues / that herw ^t we do wyn to ourselues the fauor of god & trustyng vnto these vayne & tryflynge workꝭ / haue either vtterly [Page] nat mynded / or at the lest wyse ha­ue lothsomly & disdaynefully done those workes / with which onely a christen mynde may be pleasynge & acceptable to god. and who is he but he knoweth that by the reason herof / very many men haue ben so tyckled w ^t a meruelouse vayne hope / to gette of the lorde I wot nat what gret hepes & tresures of me­rytꝭ: that if they had nat thought these maner tryfles to be moste ac­ceptable to god. Pitho the god­desse of eloquēce No / nat y ^e goddes Pitho herself / w ^t all her swete elo­quence / shuld haue bē able to haue brought thē in mynde / beyng slow ynough: yea / & to moch vnto all o­ther workes of charyte besydes / to haue pleasure to lasshe out so gret rychesse / partly vpon the makyng and partly vpon the payntynge / gyldynge / or otherwyse garnys­shynge and deckynge of ymages. [Page] ¶ Besydes all this I say (which is a thīge more to be sorowed for) this vayne honouryng of ymages hath engendred such a confydence and trust in a greate sorte of men / Images haue gy­uen vs a licentius libertie to all vngodlines that those workes which ar in ve­ry dede good & godly / layde clene asyde: they haue taken occasyon to lyue a gret dele the more at lar­ge and more lycencyously / bycause they ar perswaded & in stedfast be­lefe / that with these workes they haue so gotten the fauour of god / that at all other synnes & vycyouse lyuynge / he doth wynke and wyll nat se them / & as though hauynge lybertie graunted to synne vnpu­nysshed / they might gyue themsel­ues at large to all maner vyces / e­uen as they lyst thēselues. If this thynge were nat well inough knowen vnto all men by experyence: we could proue it with such many­fest [Page] examples & proufes / that euen he that were blynde shuld percey­ue playnly / that ther hath nat lyghtely any other more perilouse mis­chefe cropen in to the churche / thā this of honourynge ymages.

Who is he thā that doth nat here somewhat smell & ꝑceyue the false wyly craftes of our olde enemye / The craftye sug­gestiō of the diuel brought in Ima­ges to depue god of his honour, which hath neuer cessed to driue y ^e worlde vnto suche madnesse / that puttyng away the true honour of god / men shuld rereyue & embrace this honour / which maketh thē to go the cleane cōtrary way frō god disceyuyng all maner mē with the vayne apparance & outward sight of ymages / as though (god wote) men by thē were put in remēbrāce of godly thingꝭ / whā in very dede by thē nothīge els hath bē brought in / but an innumerable hepe of all euyls. Moreouer / that man whō [Page] heuen / erth / & whatsoeuer is cōteyned in them / & most specyally man whiche is created to the ymage of god: fynally whō god hī selfe / the worker of al these thingꝭ / doth nat wakē & stire vp to loue hī & praise him: Let the beholdīg of the lyuely creatures / in whō the goodnes of god so shineth & is repre­sented excite & stir thy mīde to god / rather than the dombe ymages No mā / oules he be madder thā a man of Bedlem / wyll beleue that this mā wylbe moued gretly w ^t deed & vnsensyble ymages / if so many workes of god / if so many creatures / no les ꝓfytable thā meruelouse / which set the goodnesse of god before thyne eyes / can nat en­flame the / thou art doutles to vnsē syble for to be admonysshed & sty­red euer of vnsēsyble ymages. For whā he which is onely good had all thin­ges, he alowed thē al to be good. the goodnes of god shyneth & apꝑith in all his creatures, There is no­thīge but it expresseth god hīselfe. All the world is full of thingꝭ whiche do nat cesse to put vs in remē ­brance of our duty: that is to wyt / [Page] that we shuld contynue to be vnto other mē as god is vnto vs / & that we shuld resemble hī by a certaine endles goodnesse. But verily that this thīge hath the lesse easely ben brought to passe hitherto / we may thāke images for a gret ꝑte therof for suche expenses which ought to haue ben made vpō poore nedy folke (whō as beynge the very lyuely images of god / it was conuenyent to haue socoured & made our fren­des with our lyberalitie) we haue wastfully bestowed vpon stockes and stones. ye see therfore that the trew honour / & that which only is accepted to god / hath ben by none other thīg so moch backed & hīdred as it hath by the vayne suꝑstition of images: & that the deuyl bi these craftes hath brought ī the contēpte of god / the ouerthrowīg of faith / a more large lybertie to do whatso­euer [Page] me lyst vnpunysshed / false cō fydence in merytes / lothfulnesse to exercyse charite towardes our neybours: brefly an excedynge greate hepe of all maner euyls hathe ben brought in: & to make an ende / a wyndowe opened to all maner vyce & synne: which thinge although it might be esely ꝓued by exāples out of nōbre: For the worshypping and sufferīge the ymages to stāde / were so many vn­godly kī ges no­ted & re­preued. And for the de­stroyeng of yma­ges wer some kī ­ges so hyghlye cōmēded yet at this p̄sent tyme let one exāple of the kyngꝭ of Israell suffyce. Fo ^r howe many soeuer of these kyngꝭ thistorie of the By­ble doth nombre amonge so many wicked & vngodly ꝑsons / the same kyngꝭ it doth recorde to haue bē also idolaters & worshippers of images: on y ^e other syde agayne / whosoeuer ar cōmended for their loue and exercyse of vertue & godlynes they wolde gyue euydent testimo­nye & wytnesse by distroyeng and rydding images shortly out of the [Page] way / that they were ruled by the holy ghoste / & coulde nat but hate all maner thynges whiche are ab­homynable in the syght of god.

The bo­kes of the heuē ly worde of god haue ben brente, & blynde ymages haue bē set vp in their ste­de / but now we trust our bright bokes shall be resto­red to vs & their blīde bo­kes shall be brent.And as for that which some men do fayne that images ar the bokes of lay men (for so they say) it is nat only a weke reson / but also a folish as who shuld saye that god / of all most wysest / & which is very wys­dom it selfe / either dyd nat knowe these bokes / or els through malyce dyd witholde frō his owne people such maner bokes & monumentes / wherby they might be put in remē brance of godly thingꝭ. Forsoth it is a wycked thīg / euē ones to thīke that god (which accordyng to his goodnes towardꝭ vs / lefte none of these thinges vnshewed: & as they say / poynted w ^t his fynger which might helpe to further & encrease y ^e knowlege of hīself / & to stire vs vp [Page] also to the loue of hīself. I can nat tell of what euyl wyl & hatred had kepte this worshippīg of ymages frō his owne people. For nat only he dyd nat tech the worshippynge of images / but also he dyd with expresse & playne wordes vtterly for­bede it: as it apꝑith euydently by the first table of y ^e law. Now what is more vnresonable & vnlykly thā if the vse of images be so ꝓfytable as these men do fayne it to be / that god dyd nothing esteme thē: seing that in the meane season he had begon to tech his people / beynge yet but yonge begīners / hauynge but small knowlege w ^t so many out­ward thinges / euē as one shuld enduce a chylde: Seyng also that he wold his workes & benefytes to be openly knowen by so many won­derfull myracles / & by so manyfold ceremonyes. Besydes this dyd en­duce [Page] the people with holydayes Holye daies mo than be necessary / & other rytes innumerable, Fynally he left nothīg behinde to the shadowynge & fyguryng of hīselfe largely vnto them. How fortuned it (I say) if images be so ꝓfytable that god for all this insomoche dyd no­thyng esteme thē / y ^t he wolde in no wise suffre thē to be amōge his pe­ple. Sith than it is so / that it was nat lawfull for the people whiche was yet rude & ignorant to haue any maner images / although y ^e lord dyd by many other dyuers ceremonyes by lytell & lytell teche & facyō the same people. How moche lesse shall it be laufull for vs / whō (the truth now succeded & folowed in y ^e place of shadowes) hath now ma­de free from outward ceremonyes requyrynge none other honoure or seruyce of vs / than that whiche standeth in spiryte and truth.

¶ Let vs therfore haue ymages / nat of stone / nat of wood / nat gra­uen / or cast in any moulde (al whi­che god hath ones foreuer forbyd­den / aswell to vs as to the Iewes) But let vs rather consyder the ve­rye worde of god / let vs occupye and busye oure selues in it bothe night and daye: In the stede of Images let vs loke vpon goddes worde▪ Besydes this / let all the whole frame of this worlde be a monumente and token to put vs in remembraunce of god / that whatsoeuer true godlynesse is re­maynynge in vs: Psal. 1. it may nat by the workes of men / but by the workes of god well & after a godly facyon cōsydered / enflame / and kyndle vs to the praisynge & louynge of him. ¶ Nowe as touchyng to this reason / that some men do make for to excuse the vse of images / bycause (as they say) after that god takīge the nature of man vpon him / had [Page] vouchedsafe to lyue amonge mē / & to be nayled fast to the crosse / and wylled the knowlege of hīself to be egally publysshed & declared vnto all men: There is no cause why it shuld nat be lawfull to vse images but yet most specyally of christ crucifyed / to thētent y ^t we might often tymes be put in remēbrance / howe by his deth we haue gotten redēp­tion & saluation. Verily we do nat deny whatsoeuer holsom & profytable thinge hath come to vs by the deth of Christ / which he suffrynge whan he was conuersant amonge men / reconcyled mākinde to his father: yet that natwithstādynge the same Christ dyd playnly wytnesse that his bodily presence was no­thynge ꝓfytable. Io. 6. It is the spiryte (sayth he) that quyckeneth. it was therfore for our ꝓfyt / that he shuld bodily depart frō vs. Io. 16, And for that [Page] cause after his resurrectiō he ascended vp into heuē to the right hāde of his father / to the ende that he might cary vs also vp to the same place / if it be so that we haue rysē with him in fayth. 2 Cor 5 Besydes this / whā Paul / accordyng to the same sentence doth opēly say / that albeit we know Christ as cōcernyng his flesshe / yet now we knowe hī so no more: he sygnifyeth that another maner of worshippīge therfore is requyred of vs: that is to wyt / a spūall honour & suche one / whiche may effectually & strongly trans­forme o ^r hertes / which thinge syth it can nat be done by the benefyte & helpe of images. let vs say adue & farewel for euer to these triflyng & vnꝓfitable helpes which ar rather hīderers of true fayth & godly ly­uyng / thā monumētes & tokens to put vs in remembrance of godly [Page] thinges. It is vndoutedly starke madnes to desyre to be put in remē brance of y ^e benefytes of Christ by images / whan Christ hīself ought to worke the same in our myndes / whiche in vs & all creatures wor­keth all thingꝭ. Lu. 22. 1 Cor 11 Dyd nat christ in­stitute & leue vnto vs the blessed sacramēt of his body in his holy supper / as a sufficiēt memoriall to put vs in remēbrance of his body cru­cifyed / & his precyouse blode shed for our redēption: sayeng / how oft soeuer ye do this thinge / do it in y ^e remēbrance of me / shewynge / pre­chyng / & gyuynge thankes for my deth vntyll I come agayne. And wherfore thā haue we inuēted (as though we had forgotē goddꝭ own īstitucion of his holy sacramēt) of our owne folysh fantastical braine an image of christ crucifyed to put vs in mynde of hī / contrary to his [Page] cōmaūdemēt? Let ds (I say) haue this Iesus nailed fast vpō y ^e crosse set vp before the eyes of our mynd as often tymes as he tryeth vs / & layeth his crosse vpō vs / by paciēs of trybulations & aduersytie. Let Christ so possesse & fyll y ^e brest of a christen mā / of whō he hath his name / that there be nothyng but it do put hī in remēbrance of his lorde / the creatour & maker / y ^e gouernour & the sauyour & preseruer of all thī ges. Wherfore so oftē tymes as he loketh vp towardꝭ the skye / he can nat chuse but remēbre forthw ^t his sauyour Christ / which reygneth aboue all heuens on the right hāde of his father. Assone as he behol­deth the sōne / by & by he thīketh v­pon Christ the son of rightwisnes Christ is the sōne of right­wysnes, & the lyght of y ^e world / which with his beames lyghteneth his herte. whan he seith a man / he remēbreth [Page] that Christ was made mā for oure sake. Christ is man. If he do mete w ^t a kyng or a prince / anon Christ the kyng of kiges / & lorde of lordꝭ is in his remē ­brance / whā he hereth any preche or techer: Lo / streight wayes hi mynde is vpon Christ the heuenly doctor & maister: Christ is our tea­cher. as the garment done vpō the body / doth the body both ꝓfyte & honesty: euen so doth a godly mynde thīke that christ is the very weddyng garment / whō all those ꝑsons haue done on thēselues / how many soeuer haue bē baptysed. Christ is the wed­ding garment. Gala. 3 Christ is our heuē ly meate & drinke. A christen mā neuer eteth & drinketh / but forthw ^t he is put in remēbrance that christ is y ^e only & the very meate / which fedeth & no­rissheth vs into eternall lyfe. Christ is the fountayne of lyfe. Iere. 2 104.7 If at any tyme he dothe occupye water / forthwith it cometh to his mīde y ^e Christ is the foūtayne / out of whi­che we may drawe drinke agaynst [Page] vnsacyable thyrst. Christ is the lam­be / the herdinā / the dore / the way &c. Brefly / so often tymes as he shall se / either a shepe or a shepherde / a gate / a waye / a vynetree / or a stone / forthwith he conceyueth an image & similytude of his lorde Chrrist / Io 1.10 14.15. whiche wyl­lyngly suffred hī selfe to be slayne and offered vp / for the reconsylya­cyon of the worlde / Io. 10. Io. 14. which bosteth him selfe to be a good shepherde / which is the waye and the yate / by which men go and entre into heuē which wytnesseth him selfe to be the true vynetre / the corner stone / and set for a foundation: Io. 15. Ps 118. Esa. 28 1. Pe. 2 A goodly frutefull lesson / a presēt cō solation for the troubled mynde, Fynally if thou be sore vexed with aduer­sytie / or els seest any other man to be in afflyctyon and calamytie. Besydes this / if thou be troubled with passyons and noughty affec­tyons and desyres / forthewith (if ther be any percel of Christ in the) sette before the eyes of thy mynde [Page] both the deth & the resurrection of Christ / that the syck soule go on pilgrimage vnto Christes deth. & stedfastly & depely consy­der thē / bi the meanes wherof thou maist in such wise arme & fence thi mynde with complete harnesse / so sure & so full of most effettuall consolacyons / that thou shalte be able easely to abyde & ouercome what soeuer aduersite shal fall vnto the. So that if after this maner & fa­cyon we wold haue lust & pleasure to learne Christe perfytely in all thinges / & his workes with a cer­tayne lyuely felyng & iugement of the mynde / which shuld trāsforme & change vs: without dout the lo­ue of god shuld be meruelously augmented & encreased in vs / & we shulde also (as it were in a glasse) see / with what comelynes / & after what maner and facyon the course of this lyfe oughte to be passed o­uer and brought to an ende / whi­che [Page] no ymages canne euer be a­ble to teache vs. Es. 44. For these (of what so euer maner they be) can nat sette before thyne eyes any sy­milytude of god / but rather with a vayne imagynation / whan thou wenest that thou art warme with a certayne hote loue and desyre to consyder and thynke vpon godly thynges / sodenly thys heate and feruentnesse vanyssheth a waye / and it shall make the more negly­gente to all true workes semelye for a Christē man / than euer thou wast before. We do therefore py­tuousely deceyue our owne selues with this flieng deuotion / as they call it. For whā we haue thought our selues to be fed and full of better thynges: winde is vayn do­ctryne of men. we fynde by expery­ence / sooner than we wol [...] haue thoughte / that we haue ben fedde with mynde (as it is sayde in the [Page] prouerbe) and that we ar emptye and voyde of meate / whiche doth nourysshe and make fatte in ver­tue and godly lyuynge.

But as for these persones whi­che trustynge and berynge theym selues bolde vpon the lawe of christen lybertye / do excuse ymages / sayenge: That for this cause they ar nat vnlawfull / bycause we may vse them lawfully at our owne plesure / aswell as we may other out­warde thynges / and therfore that it is better that there be images of Christe / than to haue ymages of prophane thynges. The honour gyuen to y­mages▪ may nat be rekened amō ge outeward thī ges. I wolde that these men shulde fyrst learne / that whatsoeuer ymages ar honoured or may be honoured / are nat to be accompted in the nombre of oute­warde thynges / and therfore they are vsed both to the iniurye of the diuyne maiesty / which only ought [Page] to be honoured / and also to the la­befactacion and dekay of the faith There is no cause therfore / why the consyderation of christen lybertye / maye suffre in any wyse suche maner images. For the lyberty of a christen man The ly­bertie of a christē man. is nat a lycence to do whatsoeuer he lyst / but it is ra­ther a voluntary execution of ver­tuouse workes / which are done by the motyon of charitie / and nat by the commaundement and compul­syon of the lawe.

Nowe as touchynge the obie­ction of some men The ob­iections of some men. / that there is no cause why it maye nat be lawfull for vs to vse pictures & standynge images. For lykewise as men and those persons which haue ben suf­fycyentely instructed in the trewe doctryne and fayth of Christ / are nothynge offended nor do take a­ny hurte by images: euen so weke [Page] persons / & suche as be nat yet well skylled ī godly thingꝭ / eyther whā they haue better instruction / & are taught the truthe / shalbe nothing hurt by the reason of images / or if they be sturdy / & suche as wyll nat be taughte / they shalbe nothynge the better / though al images were clene takē away. So than neither for the weke ꝑsons cause / neyther for their cause which ar perfect. it is necessary to take away images Doutlesse / whosoeuer with suche forked reasons do coueyte to de­fende and mayntaygne ymages: They haue nat verye well consy­dered nor wayed the counsell and entent of Paule / whan he saythe:

‘All thynges are lawfull for me: But all thynges are nat expedy­ent nor profytable. [...] Co 10’

‘All thynges are laufull to me: but all thynges do nat edifye.’

And agayne in another place: ‘Knowlege maketh a man proude: but charytie dothe edifye. 1 Cor 8’

‘Also there is none that wyll vn­derstande and seke god. Ps. 14.’

And agayne: ‘take hede that your lybertye be nat an occasyon of of­fence and hurte to theym whiche are weake. 1 Cor 8’

‘We do nat saye / but images may be hadde / but yet in no place to be worshipped. Soluciō’

We do graunt also that karuers & paynters craftes / are craftes both gyuen by god / and also lawfull. But syth it is so / that in churches euerywhere / ymages are honou­red & namely Roodes. It is nat possyble / though thou prech neuer so ofte / or neuer so ernestly vnto the people / that ymages are nat to be honoured: but that there wyl [Page] be some / which wyll holde on styll to put of their cappes vnto them / or els to lowte and make curtesye to them: yea / to kysse their feete / to praye to them / to aske of theym helthe / and to commytte their vo­wes and desyres vnto them: For suche is the strength of an olde ro­ted rotten custome / and the deuyll agayne exercyseth & putteth forthe his craftes and disceytes so busely that they which be ones snarled in his bondes / wyll neuer refrayne from worshippynge of ymages. Nowe bothe the occasyons & also the prouocatyons and entysemen­tes of all suche maner euyls / must nedes be taken a way / if Images were ones put down: And albeit truth it is / which they say comen­ly / that where this vayne perswa­syon of images is nat plucked out of mennes myndes by the worde [Page] of god / there can nat the same be taken awaye: no / nat by the put­tynge downe of ymages: yet is it nat generally true / so that we may thynke it to be trewly sayde by all maner men indyfferently / asmoch by one as by another. For by wic­ked men ye maye well and trewly saye the same / whiche contynue al­wayes lyke to theym selues / and change nat their mynde / whether thou dost w ^t wordes make playne the abhomynatyon of ymages / or els dost in very dede ryd all yma­ges quyte oute of syght. But to them that are weke / and in whom there is remaynynge any / be it ne­uer so lytell sparke of godlye loue and reuerence: it shall nat be vn­profytable nor in vayne to wytnes and confyrme their doctryne with their dede: that is for to saye / after that thou hast discrybed & paīted [Page] ymages so as they ought to be w ^t their owne colours / borowed of y ^e scrypture / than dilygently to pro­uyde that the same also be ryd out of mennes syght. For by that dede weke men shalbe confermed / as in other thynges: so lykewyse in this For thy teching shalbe al in vaine onlesse the example of thy dede do forthwith folow / which shal cause thy doctryne to be of strength and auctorite. Paule doutles thought it nat suffycyente that the Corin­thyans knewe an ydole or ymage to haue nothynge correspondente thervnto: 1 Cor 8 But he wolde also that the same people shulde in any wy­se abstayne frome eatynge of the meates offered to ymages / and that for the weake persones sake / to whome full knowlege of suche maner thynges was natte yet gy­uen. Therfore he bade the Corin­thyans [Page] to confyrme & fortifye this doctryne withe the auctoritye of their dede / & to refrayne / nat only from eatynge of the flesshe offered vp in sacrifyce to ydoles and ima­ges / but also from all maner thin­ges that might appere euyll / or a­nye maner waye myght offende weake persones.

For albeit he gaue them leaue to eate all maner flesshe: 1 Cor 9 euen that also which was offred to ymages / if it were solde in the flesshe mar­ket: yet in the churches where they were offred vp to images / he wol­de in no wyse graunte them lyber­tye to eate suche meates.

Euē lykewyse do we iuge / that it is to be thought of images (whiche likewyse / as peraduēture some man maye haue at home within his owne house / so that it be done without offendyng of his neygh­boure: [Page] euen so the vse of theym in churches or in other places / wher [...] eyther they maye be worshypped or offende and hurte their neybou [...] is in no wyse longer to be suffred. 1 Cor 8 ¶ Paule doutles had leuer neuer to haue eaten flesshe in all his lyfe than to gyue his brother occasyon to be offended. And shall we all careles wynke at so many occasyons bothe of offencyons and also of i­dolatry? Mat. 5 If Christe doth byd the eye to be plucked oute of the heed / which is an obstacle / and impedy­ment to vs. Howe moch more thā ought pictures and ymages to be plucked out of churches / by which we do nat only offende weke per­sons / but also do set forthe our re­lygyon to be scorned & euyll spo­ken of amonge the Turkes and iewes which do conuynce vs / that in this behalfe we do agaynst the [Page] princypall poyntes of the christen [...]ayth. Wold god that with this su [...]ersticyon and vayne honouryng of images / we dyd nat stoppe and kepe awaye a great meny / both of [...]he Iewes and also of the Tur­kes / from receyuynge and takyng of the christen fayth vpon them.

Obiecti∣on. Nowe if any man wyll obiecte that for the abuse (which peraduenture no man wyll denye) ymages ar nat altogyther to be takē away (for elles the supper of the lorde / & baptysme / with many other thyn­ges whiche are encombred with dyuers abuses / ought also in lyke maner to be abrogated and taken away) Suliciō. This answere do we ma­ke vnto him: That christen men shulde nat wynke at any abuse / & therefore whatsoeuer is brought into the churche / contrary to scripture / it is to be amended / and to be [Page] tryed by the squyer & rule of god­des worde / if any thynge do nat agre with it / it is to be cutte away [...] with all the spede that may be. and onely that thynge whiche is righ [...] and which is holesom / is to be re­stored to his owne place / and ta­ken in his owne place specyally in the souper of the lorde / in baptym and other thynges also / which ha­ue ben instytuted by the lorde.

But images ar vtterly to be taken away / nat only for the abuses / but moche more for the worde of god / to the whiche they are playne con­trary and repugnaunte. For we can nat ymagen any maner vtilite whiche may be sayd to haue come by the reason of ymages. On the other syde / that the supersticyon of ymages dothe drawe with it an heape of all euylles / we haue heretofore declared.

¶ To make shorte / god neuer for bad any of these thynges / wherof any cōmodyte or profyte might a­ryse: but rather what soeuer thīge is profytable & may make vs bet­ter / he taught full largely as wit­nesseth Paule very euydently.

¶ But if any folysshe wyse man doth thynke that images ar there­fore nat to be taken away / bycause he fereth that those weke persones which nowe suꝑsticyously do worshippe images / wolde be offended with the puttynge downe of ima­ges: 2 Tim 3 this man doutles whyles he goth aboute to auoyde frome the smoke (as it is sayde in the pro­uerbe) is fallen into the flamynge fyre. For whyles he fereth to offende desperate ꝑsons / with hurtfull offēcyōs of ymages he holdeth backe & hīdreth better mē / which haue begon to ronne the way of the lord [Page] without any turnynge agayne. Whosoeuer doth this shalbe gilty of that cryme / of which Paule ac­cuseth Peter in the epystle to the Galatians. Gala 2 For Peter whyles he was afrayde to offende certayne iewes of Ierusalem at Antioch / & for that cause wolde nat vse the ly­bertie of eatyng all maner meates as he was wonte to do before: Paule withstode him to his face ī the presēce of the whole multitude bycause he walked nat the ryght way / according to the truthe of the gospell. For asmoch as was ī him with his vnwyse desyre to auoyde offendyng of the iewes / he febled the right faithe / & also norisshed y ^e incredulyte and vnbelefe of them / whom he studyed to please in the meane season. Brefely he dyd no thynge els / than whyles he went aboute vnwysely to auoyde one ieoꝑdy [Page] he did cast hī self into twayn. Doutles after this maner to desyre to auoyde occasyons of sclan­ders and offensyons / is the full cause of offensyons. And wolde god it wer nat of so gret strength as it is amonge very manye men nowe in these dayes. For a man shall se very many / which bicause they wolde imagyne some honest cloke and colour of their vnbelefe do fayne them selues bothe to do & also to eschew very many thinges lest they might gyue any man oc­casyon to be offended / whan in ve­ry dede they do it rather to kepe y ^e crosse of Christ from themselues. For w ^t this fayned desyre to wyn certayne curable ꝑsons / they shifte well for themselues / that they may neither haue the euyll wyll of des­perate persons / neyther any displeasure or hurt done vnto thē by the [Page] same. We do nat deny verily / that suche maner of doctryne and ly­uynge is most to be enbraced and folowed / whiche is an obstacle or lettynge to no man / whiche doth purposely angre no man / whiche doth turne no mans mynde away from the truthe: yet neuerthelesse great dilygence ought to be giuen in the meane season / that none of those thyngꝭ be let of and omytted wherby the glorye of god and the helth of our neyghtbours / may be furthered and encreased. ‘Christe him selfe is the stomblynge stone vnto the vnbeleuers: but he is a precyouse stone / vnto them which are fore ordeyned to lyfe.’

1. Pe. 2After y ^t we our selues do know the wyll & pleasure of the lorde / we must dilygently labour that other men also may lyke and prayse the same. & that other men also maye [Page] haue luste & pleasure to confyrme them selues vnto the same. If we can nat obteyne this / than oughte we rather to forsake father & mo­ther / & all our goodes: yea / more­ouer to renounce our owne selues than to resyst or gruge against the wyll & pleasure of god. But most comēly we se it come to passe / that a great parte of mē had leuer both to get / to maynteyne & kepe the fa­uour of men with the minysshing of goddes honour: Albeit / yet it were better to wyn both y ^e fauour of god & also of men / with honest maners & honest lyuynge / & with redy desyre & wyl to do good vnto all mē / if we wold begyn this ma­ner of wynnynge the fauour of mē and in other thinges wold lyue in this worlde fautelesse / as nere as we coulde / doutlesse there shulde be no mā so parcyall in iugement [Page] but he wolde by and by gather in mynde / that he wolde neither pre­sumptuously nor w ^tout good cau­se done of vs / that we haue banys­shed pictures and ymages cleane out of churches. But wherto shulde we make many wordes / syth it is euydent ynough nowe / that y­mages do diminysshe the true ho­nour of god / and that it is nat possyble / but that weke men be gretly offended / and do take moch hurte by them. For they (I meane weke persons) wolde passe lytell vpon the takynge awaye of ymages / if they wer taught playnly for what consyderation and skyll they were taken awaye. On the other syde if they be nat taken awaye / forth­with they conceyue an opinion / as though it were nat laufull to put them away. Nowe after obstinate and vncurable persons / nat onely [Page] we can nat with permyttyng / and wynkyng at images / bringe them to goodnesse: but also with oure sufferaunce and slacknesse we shal confyrme and establysshe them the more in idolatrye.

Brefely / if thou haste so great desyre and loue / to wynne many men to thy lorde / ordre thy selfe so that other men maye in very dede see and perceyue experyence and proufe that Christ is a lyue in the / and that all thy dedes and sayngꝭ do breth and sauour of him. With out doute / if thou wylte ordre thy selfe in this wyse / thou shalt cause euen wycked men also / that they can nat chuse but at the least wyse closly in their hertꝭ confesse (their conscyēce driuyng them thervnto) that thou waste nat onely moued / but also compelled by the zele of god to put awaye ymages. And [Page] though in the meane season many thynges be wantynge in vs: yet that natwithstandynge we ought to be neuerthelesse dilygent / to prouyde that all such maner thynges be put awaye / which soeuer ar re­pugnant to the worde of god. Let vs take no thought for any maner thynge which may cast vs out any maner way of the fauour of men. Let vs go streyght forth and take the nexte waye to fulfyll the rule of a christen mannes lyfe: For a true christen man / although he doth in many thinges aknowlege him self to be a synner (as he is in very de­de) yet doth he neither alowe nor excuse any maner thyng / whiche doth minysshe or deface the honor of his lorde and maister Christ.

Of the abuse of ymages we ha­ue spoken somewhat here tofore. But if anye man do somewhat di­lygētely [Page] consydre & way the mater he shall perceyue vndoutedly / that imagis ar fallē into a farre gretter abuse amōge Christē men / than e­uer was amōge any heathen men. Images haue gyuen answeres w ^t vs / they haue wept / one of thē hath bē thought more holy & of more power thā another. One more louely and more gratious than another: a man shal fynde some / which in a certayne place haue shewed forthe their power in workīg of miracles whan they haue ben translated & remoued into another place: And yet was it satan that thus strō gly delu­ded vs / with ly­eng my­racles for oure hatynge of the truth / & for oure misbele­ue, 2 thes 2 they haue cessed to do the same. Of the ymage at Lauretum / and dyuers other: syth the matter is knowen well inough / we nede nat to saye any thynge at all. And I praye you / how moch richesse in the meane season hath this superstition of ymages gathered togyther / nat [Page] withoute plentuouse occasyon of sclanderouse offences: wolde god the miracles of the y­magis of walsyn­gham / cā torbury / pppeswiche / hap­les / wor­cester, & chestre, & suche o­ther wer well try­ed bi scripture to see what article of our faith they ha­ue confirmed. which sayd ryches / the glotony and pompe of a sort of vnthrifty idle belyes hath destroyed and wastfully cōsumed. In as moche therfore as true / full and perfyte faith can nat suffre so great abhomynatyon: and syth it can nat be plucked vp by the rotes with the worde alone (for with the goodly and gloriouse apparaūce of holynesse / and also by the reasō of long custome and contynuance it hath gotten so great auctoritye and estimatyon to it selfe) it is to be put awaye by the dede selfe.

And wherto nedeth it to suffre those thynges amonge Christen men whiche as they can nat but engen­dre euylles oute of nombre: so can they cause no hope nor lokynge of any maner profyte to come by thē vnto any man / vnlesse it be to the [Page] ydle viciouse belyes that receyuen the offrynges. It dyd become vs christen men most of all to be mo­ued and styred with the worde of god / which doth so playnly and so expresly forbyde all maner of ima­ges. Whatsoeuer is reed concer­nynge ymages in the lawe / in the Prophetes / in the Psalmes / doth moche more iustly apperteyne vn­to vs whiche ar taught by Christ / that god is to be worshipped ī spi­ryte & truth / and that Christe also is nat to be worshipped ī ymages of wood / of stone / of syluer / or of other metall: Io. 4▪ Colo. 3 but that he is to be worshypped rather syttyng on the right hande of his father / and that all the membres of the seyd Christ that is to wyt our neybours are to be socoured with dedes of charite.

And these fewe thinges amōge many / it hath lyked vs to borowe [Page] of the scryptures agaynst pictures & images / which scrypture alone / a christen hathe regarded vnto / as vnto the shote ankre in all thinges both which ar to be desyred / & also which ar to be eschewed. But yet bycause it can nat be but pleasure and conforte to the same Christen man / whatsoeuer eyther doctryne or examples he shall fynde in the sayntes of god / which is consonāt and agreynge to the scryptures. Nat in saites of the Busshops of Romes makyng [...] canoni [...]ynge. We haue thought it expedyente to bringe forth a fewe thynges of the writyngꝭ of the fathers / by which the godly reder shall easely perceyue that the apostles / martyrs / and all the best lerned & most auncyent fathers taughte the same thynge / which is ordeyned & cōmaūded by the word of god / vntyll such tyme as by the Gothyans & the Vanda­lyans / the chrysten faythe and the [Page] more pure knowlege of the truthe began to be gretly minysshed and brought in dekay. For in the tyme of saynte Hierome / and certayne yeres after him / we doo nat rede / that anye bysshop beynge of wyse iugement / dyd suffre pictures or images in the churches of christen men. Of the which thyng Epiphanius Epiphanius. / the moost holy bysshoppe of Salamine / in the yle of Cyprus / sheweth an euident example in his epystle to Iohan the bysshoppe of Hierusalem / which epystle saynte Hierome translated into Latyne. For this he writeth: Whan we went togyther to the holye place / which is called Bethell / to make a collectyon there for poore people with the / accordīge to the custome and maner of the churche: and I was come vnto the vyllage which is called Anablatha / & as I passed [Page] by dyd see a burnynge lampe / and I had asked what place it was / & had lerned that it was a churche / and had entred into it to praye. I dyd fynde there a vayle hangynge in the churche dores / coloured and paynted / & hauyng as it were the image of Christ / or of some saynt (for I do nat well remembre who­se ymage it was) I saye / whan I had sene that in the church of christ there dyd hange the ymage of a man / agaynst the auctoritie of the scryptures. It is a­gaynste the auc­toritie of scriptu­re any y­mage to be in the churche. I dyd cutte it / & gaue counsel to the kepers of that place that they shuld rather wynde som poore man that were deed / & bury him in it. And they agayne grud­gynge / sayde by me: If he hadde mynded to cutte it / it was reason and right that he shuld gyue ano­ther vayle and change this: which thynge whan I had herde / I promysed [Page] that I wolde gyue one / and sende it forthwith. Howbeit I de­ferred the sendynge of it somwhat the longer / by the reason that I entended for to sende a very good vayle in the sted of it. & I thought y ^t I shulde haue had one sent vnto me oute of Ciprus. Now I haue sent suche one as I coulde gette / & I pray you that you wyll byd the prestes of the same place to receiue this vayle of the bringer whiche we haue sent / & afterwardꝭ to com­maunde that no mo suche maner vayles / which are contrary to our relygion / be hangen vp in y ^e chur­che of Christ.

Lo / here the sentence of the most vertuous bisshoppe / in whiche he gyueth iugement / by expresse and playne wordes / that it is agaynst scripture & oure relygion / that y­mages of christ ar had in the chur­ches [Page] of christen men / whereof we may gather euidently that in this mater / bothe Ierome & also other bisshops were of the same mynde that Epiphanius was of. Herfore Eusebius Eusebiꝰ also reherseeh / as a strā ge & an vnwonte thing / that in Cesarea Philippe (in which cyte the woman was borne / whom Christ healed from the fluxe of blode) He dyd see two images of brasse / the one of y ^e woman / thother of christ our sauyour / whiche ymages yet were set vp at churche dores / nat in the churche selfe / as the same Eusebius recordeth. Ma [...]. 5. And at the last he sayth thus: It is no mer­ueyle if those persones of the gen­tyles which dyd beleue / were sene for suche benefytes as they had re­ceyued of the sauyour / to offre / as you wolde saye / suche a maner re­warde or recompence / syth it is so [Page] that we do see ymages & tables of the apostles Peter & Paule / & also of Christ our sauyour to be karuē and paynted: euen these dates also We haue sene moreouer olde yma­ges of them kepte of certayne persones / which thynge me thinke is obserued / accordyng to the custom of the gentyles without any dyfference / bycause they ar wont in su­che wyse to honoure them / whom they thought worthye of honoure. The makynge & honorīge of yma­ges, cam fyrst frō the gen­tyles to the iew­es / and so vnto vs. For that the armes or ymages of olde men are reserued and kepte for a remembraunce to theym that shall come after: it is a sygne and token both of theyr honoure / and also of those mennes loue towar­des them. The vii. boke the xiiii. ca. Thus sayth Eusebius in the ecclesyasticall historie.

Hereof we do easely perceyue / that the ymages which Eusebius dyd se / were set vp / nat within the [Page] churches / but at the church dores.

Agayne / nat to thēcent that they shulde be honored / but rather that they shulde be a testimony & recor­de howe great & valiaunt mē they were sōtyme / & therfore worthy to be had in ꝑpetuall memorie / who­se ymages were reserued & kepte: All whiche thynges neuerthelesse Eusebius dothe not hyde / to haue taken their begynning of the gen­tyles & heathen people. But what thynke ye that he wolde haue sayd if he hadde seen ymages set vp in churches / and no lesse worshyped of christen mē / thā euer they were of any gentyles / whiche thynge (a lacke for petye) it is vndoubted both than to haue be done: yea / & to be done euen now ī these dayes also. Of these thynges therfore we may gather what is y ^e cause / why the old fathers dyd write nothyng [Page] agaynst suche maner of images: for there was no man at that tyme whiche dyd so moche as ones dre­me / that euer so gret a multytude of images shulde crepe into chur­ches as hath cropen in: for asmoch as they knowe it to be forbydden with so open and euydent wordes of god / and playne testimonyes of the scrypture. But agaynst the y­mages of the gentyles / a man shal fynde many thinges writtē by the fathers / very connyngly and elo­quently / bycause the supersticyon of theym dyd reygne euerywhere euen at the same tyme / in whiche those holy men were lyuynge. yea and was defended of the gentyles with the same wepens / with whi­che both in oure tyme / and also in the tyme of our fathers / certayne christen men haue gone aboute to defēde & maynteyn their images. [...] we [...]e [...] wh­ [...]eur [...]mage is [Page] What so euer thynge Lactancius Lactāt [...]ꝰ wrot against the idoles & images of the gentyles / we maye by very good right apply the same agaīste our images: albeit in his tyme (as we haue sayde) they were nat yet vsed amōge cristen men. Amonge many places it lyketh me at this tyme to allege one: for thus he de­maūdeth of the gētyls: Libro. ii. ca. iii. If you do therfore fere & worship yo ^r god­des by suche images / bycause you do iuge thē to be in heuen: why do you nat than lyfte vp your eyes in to heuen? why do you rather loke to walles / to stockes & stones / than to that place where you do beleue that they be? This same question in lyke maner may we demaunde of our supersticyouse christē men: If they do beleue that god & sayn­tes are in heuen / why do they nat rather lyfte vp theire eyes to that [Page] place / than to the deed ymages? But let vs here also Athanase Athana­sius. / writyng in this wyse agaynst the gē ­tyles. It is impossyble that any image cā nowe re­presente either mā or womā deꝑted: for the bodye is erth, and the soule is a spi­rituall thīge vnable to be repre­sented bi any sen­syble ex­terme y­mage. wherfor Paule saith / we knowe that wh­atsoeur ymage is in this world / it is a vain thing nothyng represētīg nothing signify­eng. Let thē say (I besech you) howe or after what maner god is knowen by images / whether is it by the mater & stuffe put rounde about them: orels is it by the shape and facyon brought ī to the stuffe? If it be by the stuffe of the images that he is knowen / than what ne­deth any shape or facion to be bro­ught in by the workeman? & why is nat god shewed and knowen as well by al maner of stuffe before y ^t any images be made / syth all thin­ges do witnes & declare his glori? But if the shape & facyon brought in to the stuffe be the cause of the knowlege of god: what nedeth than any payntynge or any other stuffe at all? and why is natte god knowen rather by the very lyuely [Page] creature / whose shapes or ymagꝭ be so perfectly knowen? for dout­lesse y ^e glorie of god shuld be more clerely and euydently knowen / if it were shewed by the lyuely crea­tures both reasonable & vnreaso­nable / than by the deed and vnmo­uable creatures. God is knowen sayth Paule. Ro. i. by the crea­tion of this worlde. Therfore whan you do graue or paynte ymages / for the entent to haue vnderstan­dynge and knowlege of god: for­soth you do an vnworthy & an vn­mete thynge. &c. Nowe Athana­sius wolde neuer haue purposed in his mynde / to write any suche maner thynge agaynst the genty­les / if he had sene the christen men of his tyme entangled & wrapped in such superstityon of images / as we do see a gret parte of y ^e worlde to be pytuousely snarled nowe in our tyme: but he wolde rather ha­ue exercised his penne against christen [Page] men / if they had ben lyke our christen men nowe a dayes. But nothynge letteth / but that we may very accordingly applye the same thynge against our supersticyous christen men: For they pretende y ^e same cause of hauynge ymages / with the which Athanasius reher­seth that the gentyles were moued that is to wit / that by images they maye be put in remembraunce of god: which thynge syth the crea­tures of god (whether we do con­sydre the stuffe or the shape / and facyon of thē) may do it moche more effectually (as Athanasius iugeth full well) there is no nede that we shulde ronne vnto the workes of men / which do represent but onely I wote nat what false and vayne image vnto vs. For whom soeuer trees / stones / syluer / golde / & other stuffe / wherof images are made: [Page] fynally whom the syght of man / to whom god hath giuen lyfe & reasō can natte styre nor put in remem­brance of god: surely images shal natte styre vp that man with anye frute or profyte: for they (as Ori­gen writeth agaynste Selsus) do rather plucke away the memori & mynde of man frō god / & do turne the eyes of the mīde bacwardes / to behold & consydre erthly thinges. For euery man knoweth / that the more nere that one thynge resem­bleth another in nature and pro­pertie / so moche the more strong­ly it doth renew the remembraunce in vs of that thynge / to whom it is lyke. For trees or stones do more surely and lyuely putte vs in remembraunce of god / whan they are cōsydered of vs / hauyng their owne naturall shape & facyon / so as they were fyrst created of god: [Page] than whan by the worke and craft of men beynge beryued of theire owne naturall shape / they doo ex­presse & resemble vnto vs the ima­ge and lykenesse of man / or of any other thynge. For soner shall the remembraunce come to thy mynde of the Karuer or Paynter / whose workmanship thou dost merueyle at / than the remembrance of god / the creatour & maker of all thingꝭ. It is therefore nothynge els but a pure disceyte of the deuyll / which calleth vs from the praisynge and charitable louynge of the lyuely i­mages of god / vnto deed ymages of wood or stone / which some mā a folysshe coūterfaiter of god / hath folysshly karuen or paynted. We coulde also allege many other te­stymonyes oute of the writynges of the fathers: but it shulde be all in vayne / to recyte any mo to him [Page] whiche is natte moued with these which we haue alredy rehersed.

Here we haue thought it verye expedient and necessary to declare and make playne / according to the truthe of hystories / whan and by what begynners images began to come vp amonge christen men: & who againe on the other syde did their endeuoure to put thē downe and with howe moche busynesse / and howe great ieoperdy / good & well dysposed mē haue attempted this thinge / vntyl the church was brought into this present cōdition and state of thynges fallynge incessantly to worse & worse. Very y­delnes / & ydle neglygence of Bys­shoppes▪ suffred first this idolatry of wor­shipping images [...]o entre in to the churche / and their gredye & insacia­ble coue­tousnes holdeth yet stylle this ido­latrye. Vndou­tedly the lawes / aswell of the chri­sten emperours / as of the christen counsels / made agaynste images / came than first forth / whā through the slouthfulnesse & neglygence of bysshops / & their vayne curyouse [Page] desyres to wyn the fauour of god / nat only images & pictures crepte into the churches / but also (which is wonte comenly to chaunce) they began to be worshipped of the pe­ple. We rede that Serenus / the bysshop of Massilia Serenꝰ bysshop of Mas­silia. / a very holy man / was so displeased / & toke it so greuousely (as reasō was) that images were sette vp in churches: that he dyd cast downe all the images atones which wer in his churche: did breke them / and at the last dyd also burne theym. We do nat deny / but that this dede of Sere­nus was sore rebuked of Gregory which was called Gregorius ma­gnus Gregorius Ma­gnus. / and that the seyd Serenus was admonysshed & counselled of the sayd Gregorye Gret gregory be­gan first to teache his floc­ke with these bilde bokes / that he shulde nat forbyd or let images to be had but that he shulde teche the honou­rynge of them in any wyse to be a­uoyded. [Page] But what other thynge shuld the stāderdberer of relygiō and vertue fallyng in decay / do in this mater / as well as in many o­ther? By this maner of doctrine, mai yei [...] ge what a shepard this gre­at doctor was. For about y ^t tyme the church of Rome began to threten / ꝓnosti­cate & giue lykelyhod of gret ruyn of the faith afterwardꝭ to folowe.

But amonge the Grekes / Leo Leo Emperoure of the Grekes. themperour / the .iii. of that name a man both well lerned / & also vertuous & godly (he raygned in the yere of our lorde .vii.C.lxxxiiii) distroyed all images vniuersally / and cōmaunded Gregorie the .iii. here may [...]e smell what a sheperde Gregory the third was. of that name by his letters / that he shuld do the same thinge lykewise at Rome. But this Gregorie nat onely refused to be obedyent to the emperours cōmaūdemēt / Before he wolde nat haue them honored, & nowe in despite of them­peroure he decre­ed them to be in high ho­nour. but also at Rauenna was the authour & be gynner of sedition / to which cytie he called a certayne meyny of bys­shoppes [Page] & made a counsel / in whi­che he decreed agaynste thempe­rours cōmaūdement / that images ought to be had in moche more honoure than euer they were before.

And to the entent that he might the moore boldely instytute thys thynge agaynst themperour with oute any punysshement: Cōstāti­ne the v. Here thē peroure called a counsell without the cōsēt of the bisshop of Rome / yea, & corrected the for­mer erroniꝰ & scismatike counsell of the bisshop of Rome bi the scriptures, nat very longe before / he had gone aboute traitourously to forsake thēperour and to fall vnto the part of the frē ­che kynge. After the deth of Leo / Constantyne his sonne / the fyfth of that name / wyllyng to conferme his fathers cōmaūdemēt & decree / called togyther all the lerned men and bysshoppes oute of all Grece lande / beyng in nōbre. CCC.xxx. which comparynge the scriptures to the reasons of the coūsell / which we spake of before / called by Gre­gori: determyned with one cōsent [Page] That it is nat laufull to them whiche by Christ do beleue in god / to haue any images either of the cre­atoure or the creatures to honour them: but rather of the ieoperdyes of offensyons or hurtes that they were all to be taken away atones So that from the begynnynge of Leo / Constantyne his sonne / and all his successours dyd cleue to / & abyde by it / vntyll suche tyme that the cruell woman Hirene Hiren. went a­bout that horryble and excedynge wycked tragedy / wherof we shall speke nat longe herafter. But the decrees of that wycked woman / were vertuousely abrogated and suppressed by Cōstantins sōne the syxte of that name. There cometh nowe happely to my mynde / the decree of Theodosius Theodosius. & Valens Valens. / which Petrus Crinitꝰ Petrus Crinitꝰ. / a mā that had red many thīges / doth recyte [Page] in the nynth boke / De honesta dis­ciplina: his owne verye wordes. I shall faythfully & truly reherse:

Valens & Theodosius The de­cree of Theodosius and Valens. the noble emperours wrot to y ^e officer called Prefectus pretorius: Forasmoche as our dilygent study & care is / in all thingꝭ to maynteyne & vphold the faith & honour of god: we for­byd any maner mā to graue or make the image of christ our sauyour of stone / of wood / or of any other stuffe / or els to paynte y ^e same with colours. yea / and whersoeuer any such image be foūde / we cōmaūde that it be taken awaye / and they sore punysshed / who soeuer shall attempte any thynge contrarye to our decrees and commaūdement / in whiche thynge if any man doo requyre an authour / let him rede the decrees and commaundemen­tes of Emperours / whiche haue [Page] ben collected and gathered by a sa­tyre of the righte connynge men / Tribunianus / Basylydes / Theophilus / Discorus / and other / at the commaundement of the moost noble Emperour Iustinian.

Thus farre sayth Crinitus.

It is therfore euydent and ma­nyfest / that themperours also whiche were before the tyme of Leo / dydde dilygentlye prouyde / that the supersticyon of Images shul­de nat by any maner meanes pol­lute and defyle the churches of crysten men. The fyrst of all other (as farre as we can gather of hy­stories) which dyd cause Images to be paynted in churches: Was Pontius Paulinus bysshoppe of Nola Pontiꝰ paulinꝰ bysshop of Nola the fyrste causer that images wer paynted. / about the yere of our lorde ccccl. For he solemnisynge yerely the byrth daye of saynt Felix / was wonte to make a great and a cost­ly [Page] fest vnto the churche / & to then­tent that thei which sate at the seid fest / shulde be the soner and more easely prouoked to temperaunce / & to the cōsyderatyon of godly thin­ges: he paynted on the churche walles / ymages of the histories of the olde testament / that they shul­de haue somwhat also wherewith they mighte fede and delyte theire eyes frutefully. Afore this Pau­linus you shall nat lyghtly fynde that any such thinges was attempted by any man / at the leastwyse / beyng of any famouse memorie. For in suche wyse by lytell and ly­tell / this supersticyon must nedes crepe in: lykewyse as other thyn­ges did / which haue corrupted the puryte & prefection of the churche. Nowe who is he / that dothe nat perceyue and see / that Paulinus dyd two maner waies offende? for [Page] fyrst agaynste the cōmaundement of saynte Paule / he was bolde / & toke vpon him selfe to make open festes in the churche. And (which agayne was as greate an offence / and suche as can nat be excluded) he begane with images to exhorte men vnto the loue & exercisynge of temperaunce / whan he beynge a christen man / ought rather to haue gone aboute to do the same / with holesom doctryne & good example Wherfore it doth euydētly appere that this bysshop dyd in no wyse begyn that thynge of a pure godly spirit: but if a mā wyll do well cō sydre & way euerythynge / he shall fynde y ^t with the same spirite / that is to wytte / most recheles & dispy­syng of godly thynges: other men also haue taken vpon them to de­fēde ymages. For the popes & bis­shops (I wotte nat whether tho­rowe [Page] euyll wyll / or els thorowe a certayne pride) began with tothe and nayle to defende the vse / or rather the abuse of ymages against the Greke emperours: vntyll such tyme as by the labour and helpe of Hyrenes Hirene Emp̄sse. (which after the deceasse of Leo her husbande / had the rule and gouernance of thempyer ma­ny yeres) a coūsell was assembled at Nice Here mai ye se what rule this wycked woman bare in the counsell of Nece. / in which counsell she caused to be abrogated & dysadnulled whatsoeuer was before decreed bi Constantyne / concernyng the puttynge awaye of images. Neither coulde this wyckednesse suffyce & content her mynde: but she did cause the bodye of Constantyne to be digged vp againe out of the groū de to be brent to asshes / and last of all to be throwen into the see.

This very same Hyrene / after that she was by her sonne deposed [Page] from her tyrannouse empery / lefte nothynge vnassayed nor neuer re­sted vntyll by abhominable & traytorous craftes she wan againe the empier vnto her selfe: which thing whan she had brought to passe / ac­cordynge to her owne mynde / she dyd cast her sōne into prison / pluc­ked oute his eyes / & in conclusyon slewe hī also. here mai ye see by what a wycked Bysshop of Rome consede­red with a wicked woman / the Im­pery was craftely trāslat [...]d from the Grekes to the frē che men. But whan she fered that her tyrāny shuld nat continue nor last longe / she made labours (the pope of Rome beynge broker and spokesman) to be maried vnto Charles the gret / otherwise called Charlemayne / kyng of Fraunce: and for this cause she gaue lycence to the bysshop of Rome to transla­te the crowne of thempier of Ro­me vnto Charles / hopynge verily that her owne tyrannye shulde be safe / if by translatyng thempier of the Grekes traytorousely vnto the [Page] Frenchemen / she dyd bynde / nat only Charles / but also the bisshop of Rome: and make them her frendes with this great benefyte.

But whan Nicephorus Nicephorus. / which than was capitaine of the army of the Grekes perceyued these traytorouse disceytes / forthewith in all hast he dyd cast Hirene into prisō / as she had discerued / in which she made a wretched ende / & changed this lyfe with deth / worthy & mete for suche goodlye actes as she had done. O cruell woman, This same Hyrene whiche dygged vp the deed bodye of her father in lawe and brent it. Which put out her owne sōnes eyes / and slewe hī in prison: which betraied themperour of the Grekes: & this same bysshop of Rome / the coūsel­ler and helper of the most wicked and vngracyouse womans purposes & enforcemētes: which bisshop [Page] toke awaye from the right & lau­full emperoure his empyer / & dyd put in another ī to the empier whō it pleased him selfe: but yet vpon this condicyon / that he hīself shul­de haue Rome and Italye for his parte: This worshipfull couple (I say) aduaūced imagꝭ vnto this estimatyon & honour. For whatsoeuer imagꝭ or pictures ar ī estima­tion: they maye nat without good cause thanke these two: for it / as their fyrst beginners / howbeit the successours also of Charles / dyd afterwardes their dilygent ende­uoure to maynteyne and vpholde these abhominatyons: lest the foū dation and ground worke of idolatrye which charles had layde / shulde haue lacked buyldynge to gar­nysshe it full of all impyetie and wyckednesse. Howbeit these men in tymes passed / dyd neuer than [Page] pollute and defyle temples & chur­ches with so many images / & she­wynge so manyfest apparance of idolatry (whiche thynge we maye perceyue and see euen yet by those whiche they buylde) as haue ben sette vp euerywhere in these laste v. hundreth yeres / to the occasyon of most vayne honour: which ho­nour to thentent to make it y ^e more accepted with false and lyeng wonders / he styred vp & moued super­sticyouse persones in euery place / to begynne pylgrymages to suche images to their great hynderance both of god / of fayth / and of god­lynesse. For (I praye you) tell me what other thīge shal a man fynde in such maner churches of the blessed virgin: than certayne fylthye and smoky images? for god (such is his excedynge goodnesse) lest any occasyon of ydolatrye shulde [Page] be lefte vnto men / he wolde that the body of the blessed vyrgin shulde nat be knowen wher it became, Lykewise as he did by the body of Moses. And yet as nomā cā expres an angel by any sensyble images so is ther nothyng [...]depted represē ­ted by th [...]se y­mages of sayntes. We wyl say nothing here of the ymages of saynte Anne / of sayntes / nor of the images of An­gels: which men with lyke super­sticyon haue begon to set vp / wel­nere in euery corner / & to worship them. And (which is as gret a fo­lysshnes as may be) whan there ar so many images oftētymes in one church: to one they do gyue I wot nat what power of workynge my­racles / to the great hynderaunce & contempte of all the resydue. Brefly / so gret is the vanyte of images that though ī very dede thei could put vs in remēbrance of god: yet neuerthelesse for dyuerse occasy­ons of offencyons and idolatry / it were expedient & necessary to haue [Page] them taken away in all the hast / accordyng to the exāple of Esechias the most holy kyng / which did cast downe & breke the brasen serpent / which was set vp by the cōmaūde­ment of god: whan he had percey­ued that it was worshipped con­trary to the cōmaundemēt of god. In the xviii. cha of the iiii. boke of the kinges.

These thinges which we haue hytherto recyted / if he that fauou­reth the glori of Christ / wyll dily­gently way & consydre ī his minde he shall vndoutedly perceyue / that whatsoeuer ymages ar honoured in churches / or any maner waye maye be honoured / neither ought neyther maye be suffred amonge christen men / vnlesse we wyll doo agaynste the manyfest precepte of god / and dispise and set at nought both the faythe and also the exam­ples of the apostles / martyrs / and of also of holye fathers. Fynally [Page] excepte we can fynde in our herte in the stede of the lawes / whiche haue ben made bothe by Christen emperours / & also counsels to re­ceyue the traditions of the bisshop of Rome / & of the most wicked woman / whose delyte & pleasure both of them was in trayson / roberyes / and contynuall studye / to deuyde and distroye the empyer.

¶ Fynally as concernynge the takynge downe and puttyng awaye of alters / erecte and dedycate vnto images or sayntes / they which haue knowē the wicked abusyons of the masse / may & wyll be sone satisfyed & contented without any gret busynesse: but they whiche do nat knowe the sayde abuses / can nat be lightly pacifyed: vnlesse thei be fyrst taught howe gret the abuses of the masse ar in the syght of god.

Therfore this one thyng we de­syre [Page] to be consydered of them that fere / drede / and loue god / in what maner and for what ende / purpose and entent / christ our sauyour did institute his holy supper. Truly to thentent that his discyples (that is to saye / they whiche wyll lyue accordynglye to his doctryne and cōmaundemente) assemblynge togyther / The supꝑ of our lord was come to mani mē celebra­ted at his table / & nat a priuate ea­tyng and drinkīge of one a­lone at the auter shulde take that misticall breed / and misticall drinke in co­men / and eueryone put other in remembrance of that incomparable charytie of Christe / by whiche he suffred deth for their saluatyon: & by the reason therof / their fayth & trust in god beyng encreased / shulde be inflamed both with the hate­red of synnes / and also with loue of all vertues / professynge theym selues to be one bodye & one breed in Christ. the firste of the Corī. the x, capi. By this meanes onely holy mē ar nourysshed with christ [Page] the meate of lyfe. Nowe compare vnto these thynges / that which is comenly done in masses. Masses of the popysshe preestes most spe­cyally are done for their owne be­lyes sake: or els at the lestwyse to purchase some meryte afore god / which thynge nat onely declareth the abuses therof / but also that thei thus abused ar displesant & abho­mynable to god. Besydes this there ar saide and done many thinges / whiche do turne awaye oure myndes frō christ which reygneth in heuen / vnto the worke of the preest. The congregatyon hereth no doctryne or exhortacyon ī their mother tonge / that they might be edifyed therby. There is no com­munyon had / althoughe the wor­des whiche the preest reherseth do make mention of it. And whyles the preest alone dothe receyue the [Page] breed and the cuppe of the lorde: there is nat celebrated that same supper that Paule speketh of. for in the fyrst epystle to the Corinth. The .xi. chapiter / he speketh of no priuate supper / but of a comen supper of many togyther. There are sayde also many thinges which ar playne repugnant to the scripture for they do teache to trust vnto the merytes and intercessyon of sayn­tes. And (whiche thinge is moost hyghlye to be abhorred) where as the onely one oblatyon of Christe (by which only ones done vpō the crosse / we ar assoyled & sanctifyed for euermore) ought to be preched: the prest bosteth / that as ofte times as he doth his masse / so ofte tymes he doth offre Christe to his father / and therfore doth by it obteyne the puttynge away of all euyls / and a hepe of all good thynges to them [Page] onely / whiche by gyuynge anye thynge to the preeste / doo make theym selues partetakers of the masse / by the reason whereof it is come to passe / that so many men / all care of innocency layde a parte do hope that heuen shalbe opened vnto them euē by such maner mas­ses alone. Whosoeuer recogniseth and knowlegeth the lorde Iesus as our onely sauyour & sanctifyer. If he do consyder these thynges dilygently / and with the same do compare these thynges which our lorde both sayde & dyd / & besydes that dyd betake to vs for to be rei­terated and often tymes put in vse he shall easely perceyue & see / that there was neuer any supersticyon in tymes passed / whiche had in it self so gret impietye & wickednes / so great contempte of god / so gret distructyon of all vertues / as hath [Page] y ^e detestable & abhominable abuse of the masse / so as it hath ben abu­sed these certayne yeres. And her­of whan he knoweth / that nothing is so moche to be hated and abhor­red of christen men: he shall per­ceyue that all remembrance of this abuse is vtterly to be taken away. And therfore thabused alters / the very open shoppes of so great idolatrye / and the ryches of these sa­crifyces / euen the pernicyouse sūp­tuouse wyues to all christen peple no rulers in anye condityon wyl­lynge their offyce to be approued only of Christ ought in no wyse to suffre them. Let christen mē know the truthe of the mater / and than afterwardes let them iudge.

Last of all / this thynge also is to be obserued ī this mater / though neuer so gret offēcyons & occasiōs of euyls come through pictures [Page] and Images / It belongeth to the chefe rulers to reforme these a­buses. abused masses / and false & vayn worshyppyng of sayntes / that yet for all that / it is nat laufull for any priuate man / but the heed offycer & ruler to caste thē out / namely oute of open & cōmen places. For in asmoche as they ar outwarde thynges / no man ought to take vpō him more power ouer theym than the condition and sta­te of euery man shall require / that is to wytte / that euery man priuatly banyshe theym out of his owne mynde / reiectynge the folyshe estimation of them. Nowe to an householder it belongeth / accordynge to thexample of Iames the patri­arche Iames the patriarche. / to clense and rydde his hou­se of theym. But to caste theym out of churches and comen places it is the duetye of the heed offycer and gouerner / which duety (than­kes be to Christe) our gouernour [Page] hath knowen / and hath executed with christē grauite. And one thinge it is to be eschewed in this bu­synesse / lykewyse as in all other / whiche it belongeth to Chrysten mennes charge for to do (and it is the counsell of Saynte Paule) that we do nat set forth our good­nes to the euyll wordes of men: & that the thynge whiche was insty­tuted to the helth and saluation of many men / be nat an occasyon of hurte to any man. Wherfore if a­ny man in destroyeng of ymages / shulde do any thīg presūptuousely outragiously / & passe the measure of charite / he shulde bynde hī selfe by so moche to the more greuouse synne / by howmoch the thynge is more holy / in whiche he foloweth his owne sensuall lust / & the officer ought (nat withoute good cause) [Page] to punysshe hi for brekyng of loue and charytie. Also it ought nat to be ascribed to anye ourtragyous­nesse / though vnsensyble & dombe images be nat so softly & so tenderly handled / as certayne men (tho­rowe a folysshe imaginatyon / Images haue hā ­des & fele nat / eyes & see nat, eares & heare nat &c. & yet wyll we ryde and go many a mile to worshyp thē with praier, cā delles, cotes / sho­es / and money. as though w ^t the fygure & symilitude of mā / they had also mās wyttes & reason) ar wont to haue compassyon / & to sorowe some what whan they ar broken. For if we were disposed to take away images / after such maner & facion as scripture techeth & cōmaūdeth / whiche facion doutlesse must nedes be best: we oughte to breke them / yea / & that all to powder / that they might ne­uer be made whole agayne / nor be restored in to so wycked an abuse in whiche we ought nat to haue so greatly regarded the laboure and crafte of man / syth it is our dutye [Page] to offre euen our owne selues also to the crosse / & to all maner affly­ction / rather than to be wyllynge to gyue occasyon of fallynge / & of idolatry to any mā y ^t walketh in y ^e way of vertue & godlynesse. And wolde god there were in all men asmoche care & dilygence to make moche of / & to be ware of offendīg or hurting the very lyuely images which god hīself hath made to his owne lykenesse: as we do see to be in very many men / that these deed and dombe images shulde nat be hardly / nor vnreuerently entrea­ted. To conclude / shortly to pluck downe images & pictures / and to rid thē quyte out of churches is an holye thynge / & ought to be begon accordyng to the cōmaūdement of god. It is conuenyent therfore & mete / that it be ꝑformed & fulfylled in suche wyse / that it may be accepted [Page] and alowed of almightye god. That is to wit / that they be so ta­ken away / that there be no whit of them remaynīg / namely to lyke a­buse / & also yet neuertheles / nothīg be done presūptuously / nor outra­giously / nothīge that may gyue a­ny man good cause to be troubled but that all thynges be done charytably of pure & perfecte loue / & de­syre to do ꝓfyte to all men. & after this facyon god graūte y ^t his peo­ple may be delyuered from idols & images through the whole world frō the one ende to thother. Amen.