stes wordes we myght alwaye frely vse them. ¶Thyrdlye, this errour is also by this reproued, that the Papystes sounde forth with full mouthes, that is, that the Churche cōmaūded vnder payne of deedly synne to be necessarye, that we shulde faste in .iiii. tymes of the yere, in the euys of the apostels, and certayne other sayntꝭ all whiche thynges this sayeng of chryste confoundeth. ¶What soeuer entryth in through the mouth defyleth not the man. Veryly, fastynge ought to be fre and voluntarye, so that without chose of dayes or meates euery man after his appetyte, shulde faste or not faste. ¶Fourthly, the Bn̄dictynes, the Bernardynes, y ^e Char­tusyans, and all other, whiche for mens Tradycyōs abstayne from egges, flesshe and such lyke repugne as aduersaryes to chryste. For why theyr doctryne contraryeth Chrystes doctryne / after this maner. What soeuer entryth in through y ^e mouth defoyleth, by whiche sayeng they reproue Chryste as a lyar, whiche sayth. what so euer entryth in through the mouthe defoylyth [Page] not. And so thou mayste perceyue by this sayeng of Chryste that all the sectes of Monkes. yea & all that hole spyrytuall ordynauncꝭ (as they call it) are dystroyed & condempned. For yf that, that entryth through the mouth defoyleth not the man howe moche lesse than, shall the thynges / whiche couer the bodye, as the cowle, the coote, the shert, the hose, the shoo, the gow̄ ne, the cloke, grene coloure, yelowe, redde whyte / dyuers colour, besyde this, the place, the temple, y ^e howse, the cell, y ^e chambre defoyle y ^e man? By this it foloweth that they agayne reproue Chryst of a lye / whiche holde it for synne, yf a monke be clo­thed besyde y ^e maner of his ordre. Veryly what chryst reakenyth for no synne, that boldly affyrme they to be synne. What o­ther thynge therfore I praye you is that, that this sorte of men do, than to saye to chryste. Yea, euyn at his face? thou lyest chryste. For therin is synne, wherin thou seyst that none is. Neyther veryly shall it any thynge auayle them although they lay forthe for them Gregory, Bernarde, [Page 5] Benedicte, or Frauncys. For we shulde more attende to Chrystes sayenges, whi­che onely in the mounte of Thabor was created a teacher by his heuenly father, as Mathew testyfyeth in his .xvii. chapytre This is (sayth he) my dere beloued sone / in whom I haue delyte, hem here ye. Ve­ryly the father sayd not in this place, here Bernarde, bn̄dicte, frauncꝭ / but this, this, this, my welbeloued sone here ye. Ferther more who knoweth whether these holye men in these doyngꝭ wrought well, or of fendyd. For vndoutedlye they obserued these thynges without conpulsyon, or els for some precept, now yf they so obserued them / they are not yet so moche to be folo­wed that Chryste shulde vtterly be forsaken all these thynges Chryste in the same chapytre of Mathewe confyrmeth with y ^e sayeng that foloweth. That (saythe he) whiche cōmeth forth from the mouthe de­foyleth the man. For by it all yll adfectes breke forth from the herte, as bawdry, ad­uoultrye, thefte, lesynges, backebytyngꝭ, & suche lyke / these thynges defyle a man. [Page] Here I aske (for as moche as that is one­ly synne, whiche wellyth from y ^e herte, as Chryste playnly concludeth) by what meanes doth butter, chefe, mylke, egges defyle a man / whyle they come not forth from the mouth, but from the Cowes wombe / and from the henne? what man (I praye you) euer sawe flesshe, shauynges (which they call the preestes crownes) places, heary garmentes procede from the mouthe? The kyen perchaunce synne whyle they brynge vs forthe mylke, butter, & calues. Moreouer the dreames and Imagynacyons of monkes, yea and all the humayne tradycyons of maner of lyfe, of clothes, of places / and of all suche outwarde thynges not onely derogateth y ^e glory of god / and deceyue the people / but also are lyke to the tryfelynge mowes / and lyghtcastꝭ of tomlyng apes. Neuerthelesse of trueth some man couyteth to haue deyntye fare, and to weare fyne and ryche clothes / but this desyre and appetyte procedeth from the herte. And some man can as gready­ly eate fysshe as flesshe. A man shall also [Page 6] fynde some that wyll be as prowde in a cote of yelowe clothe, as another wyll be in a cote of sylke, in conclusyon. Chryste deceyuyth vs not whan he sayth. Whatsoeuer entryth through the mouthe pollu­tyth not a man / but y ^t that cōmeth forthe from the mouthe defyleth the man. Nowe yf it be trewe that a man is not defoyled nor synneth in settynge asyde the humayne tradycyons, it must nedes folowe that no man is made cleane or deseruyth any thynge yf he kepe and obserue them specyally whyle that is onely cleane and wor­thy of rewarde, whiche is contrary to syn & fylthynes. Wherfore in all the hole lyfe of monkꝭ, there is nothyng pure nor wor­thy of rewarde, whiche thynge Chryste also affyrmeth by Mathew, the .xv. chapy­tre. In vayne (sayth he) worship they me with the tradycyons of men. Why saythe he in vayne? veryly for that that in not regardynge those tradycyons nothyng is synned, and in obseruynge them nothyn­ge is deserued, for surely they are but meane thyngꝭ, and by this the spyrytulte sut­telly [Page] deceyue them self, whyle they reaken a rewarde where none is, & suppose that they offēde where no synne can be so that this sayenge of the Prophete / in the .xiii. Psalme may very well agre with theyr actꝭ. They feare (sayth he) where nothyn­ge is to be feared.

¶The fourthe place is / of Paule in his fyrste pystle / the 4 chapytre.

THe fourth place is / of Paule in his fyrst pystle / the .iiii. chapyt (er) to Thymothe. The spyryte (saythe he) spe­kyth euydentlye, that in the later tymes some shall departe from the fayth, & shall gyue hede to spyrytes of errour and to de­uyllysshe doctryne, whiche are false spe­kers through fayned showe of holynesse hauynge theyr conscyences marked with a hote yron, forbydynge to mary and cō ­maundynge to absteyne fro meates, whi­che god hathe created to be receyued with thankes gyuynge, of them whiche beleue and haue knowen the treuth, that whatsoeuer god creatyd is good, and nothyng to be refused, so that it be receyued with [Page 7] gyuynge thankes for it, is sanctyfyed by the worde of god and prayer / of these yf thou shalte gyue knowlege and counsell to the bretherne / thou shalte than showe thy selfe a good mynyster of Chryste, as one broughte vp in the wordes of faythe and good doctryne / whiche doctryne thou haste at all tymes folowed. But caste a­waye from the vnghostly & olde wyues fables. O immortall god, w ^t howe great sounde of wordes / euyn as it were with thondre. Dothe the apostell inuade and ouerthrowe the workꝭ, doctrynes, & sectes of men. Fyrste whyle these tradycyona­ryes here after shall take pryde that they haue receyued theyr tradycyons of the Pope and other holy fathers. What iud­gement (I pray you) shall Chryste gyue vpon this mater? Shall he not saye on this maner? Paule was my apostell and chosen vessyll (as Luke lefte it mencyo­ned in thapostels actes). Why than gaue ye not more credence to them than to the Pope & the fathers / seynge that ye haue no suertye whether they be the instrumentes [Page] of god or of y ^e deuyll? What shall they answere than trowe ye? ¶Secondarely, I aske these tradycionaries, whether that egges, butter, chese, mylke, flesshe, & other meates / fro whiche they abstayne on fas­tyngdayes & by theyr ordres / be the good creatures of god? Whiche yf they wyll graunt (other wyse wyll they not dare saye) than are they vndoutedly euyn the same / of whome thapostell speketh, that is. That they shulde forbyde meates whiche god hath creatyd for y ^e vse of the true beleuers / that they also shulde forbyde to mary. And so yet shall they not wynne out / but shall be twyched somwhat more on the quycke with this texte of Paule. Nowe harke what Paule saythe of them and by what fassyons he rolleth them frō one place to another. ¶Fyrst (saythe he) they are departed from the faythe. For it were impossyble for thē to teche the ryght wysenes of workes, oneles they rekened thē selfe therby to be iustyfyed. And this Synyon of theyrs is a very sure token y ^t they are departed from the faythe. For [Page 8] they applye, iustefyenge to workes / whi­che iustyfyenge shulde be gyuen onely to faythe. ¶Secondarely, they gyue hede to spirytes of errour, (he sayeth not to mē of errour) but to spirytes, that is. That they boste them selfe of spirytualytie / re­ioysynge to be called spirytuall. And say that all theyr actes are done, by the ayde and mayntenaunce of the spiryte. But whyle they ar bareyne of fayth / it can no otherwyse be, but that they be blynded in spirytuall thynges. These two therfore folowe on the other, to departe from the faythe / and to gyue hede to spirytes of er­rour and disceyte. ¶Thyrdly, thapostell saythe / that theyr doctryne spryngeth of the deuyll theyr authour / whiche thynge must also nedes folowe. For veryly whe­re faythe and the doctryne of Chryste is not / there Satanas the wonderfull wor­keman of suche thynges, leadeth these er­ronyous spirytes with paynted doctry­nes and wordes / so blyndly, madly, and prowdly, that they reaken them selfes e­uyn the most spirytuall men. But for as [Page] moch as that doctryne spryngeth not out of the scryptures / it can not be otherwyse named but deuelysshe doctryn. ¶Fourthly, they are false spekers / for they peruerte holy scrypture & the sayenges of fathers to theyr owne ymagynacyons and drea­mes, as we dayly se. That they peruerte scrypture, it is euydent by this. For theyr doctrynes & holy scryptures in nothynge agree. ¶Fyftly, theyr lyuynge is very hypocrysye / whiche thynge is so clere and opyn, that it neadeth no interpretacyon: what is theyr hoole lyfe, but a monster & hypocrysye in outwarde thyngꝭ / as mea­tes & clothes. ¶Syxtly, they haue theyr conscyence marked with a hote yron, that is / theyr conscyence is clene alyenat from the humayne nature. For of truthe other reken they synne & are grudgyd in theyr cōscyence where no parte (as we sayd before) of synne can be / euyn as we percey­ue the prynte or marke of one wounde in the body, farre vnlyke other corrupte fuysters. ¶Seuenthly, they forbed to mary & that is bycause they wolde brynge ma­ny [Page 9] in to theyr peruerse state of theyr rely­gyon, as we daylye se bothe preestes and monkes, chanons, and freres, leade that lyfe most impurely. Wherfore dylygently away and loke for the iudgement of god vpon suche doctrynes and such maner of lyfe. As vpon doctrynes whiche sprynge of y ^e deuyl erronyous / false without faith and full of hypocrysye. Good lorde what man wyll contynewe in that lyfe, and applye to suche doctrynes, syns god thre­teneth so fearefull iudgemēt vpon them? It shall make no matter with howe ma­ny vowes a man promyse these doctry­nes for the more strayte vowe and othe, that in this behalfe shall be made, y ^e more soone shulde it be broken of & let at large. For that that it was made by the deuyll, and agayne god. But harke, how crafte­ly they go aboute to vnfolde them selfes from this knot, trāsferrynge this saynge of Paule to the tatyans heretykes, whi­che vtterly cōdempne matrymony. But surelye Paule spekyth not here of theym, whiche vtterly condempne matrymony. [Page] but of those whiche vnder a maner of holynes, and to seme the more holy forbede to mary. But be it, that these wordes were spoken agayne the tatyans, may they not therfore also be spoken by the Pope? Yes moste of all, for yf the pope do those thyngꝭ which the tatyans dyd, why than shuld not these wordꝭ agre with his actꝭ? For surely Paule in this place condemp­neth the workes notwithstandyng the respecte of the person. Nowe he that forbe­dyth matrymonye (as the sygnyfyeng of the wordes playnly openyth) is the dyscyple of Satan and his messanger. Than for as moche as the Pope workyth lyke workes, it muste nedes folowe that he & all his hole flocke of Sophysters, are the dysciples and messanges of the deuyll, or els Paule lyeth. ¶Eyghtly, many dayes they forbede to eate certayne meates: whiche god hathe created to be receyued with gyuynge thankes. Where agayne thou mayst se the tradycyons of men to be ap­plyed to Satan euyn by god thorow the sayeng of Paule, as through goddes Instument. [Page 10] Tell on (I praye you) what more what more abhomynable thynge can thou here of y ^e humayne tradycyons than that they departe fro the fayth, erronyous false, deuyllyshe / and full of hypocrysye. And yf this one place be not suffycyent to confounde the doctrynes of men, what than shall suffyce? Moreouer yf these tra­dycyons of abstaynynge from meates be deuyllyshe & fer from a chrysten acte, vn­doutedly the tradycyons of clothes, sha­uynges, places and other outwarde con­uersacyons are also euyn as nye kynne to the deuyll & as fer from the trewe fayth of chryste. But here agayne they wyll answere and say that Paule dyd speke these wordes by the manychees. Yet shall they not so escape. For Paule in this place spekyth of them, whiche forbede to eate mea­tes, whiche thynge the pope & his doynge. Nowe whether thou call y ^e pope a tatyan or a manyche, I force not. Veryly the a­postle spekyth here agayne y ^t worke, whi­che the pope is gylty in. Ferthermore this place very well appertayneth to theym. [Page] For yf a man wolde forbede the eatynge of those meates to morowe, or .ii. dayes folowynge, shulde not this place serue hym well, al though he were not named a manyche? For shuld a man lawfully by that meanes do this thynge whiche Paule he­re forbedyth, and saye that these wordes were not ment by hym, but by y ^e olde ma­nychees? God forbede, but whether y ^e po­pe and his monkꝭ, and preestes be many­chees or not, that refer I to other mens iugementes. Howbeit I wyll this fer not feare to say, that he so moche contraryeth Paules doctryne, y ^t I can scarsely know whether any manyche haue more contra­ryed it or not. ¶Nynethly, they are vn­thankefull. For god hath created meates for that entent (as Paule sayth) that they shuld be receyued with gyuynge thankes Nowe they for this purpose gyue in com­maundement to absteyne fro them y ^t god shuld not be lawded for the receyuyng of them. The well and orygynall of al, whiche thynges is Infydelyte, and lacke of the trewth of god. For the apostle saythe [Page 11] that those meates were created for theym that trewely byleue & knowe the trewth that they shuld receyue them with gyuynge thankes. And nowe for as moche as they be false byleuers & ignoraunt of the treweth (as thapostle in this place callyth them) vndoutedly they are also hethens, fer fro chrysten men, blynde and without trewe knowlege. So this is the Elogye of the pope, prestes, and monkes, whiche is gyuen to them by Paule. ¶Tenthly, They are myscheuous and peryllous mynysters, whiche in the same place of Pau­le is proued, where he sayth that Thymothe is a trew mynyster and norysshed vp in the wordes of fayth, and good doctry­ne. Yf he shall shewe these thynges to the brethrene. Nowe of the other parte, they without doute are false mynysters, and broughte vp in wordes of false byleue & peruerse doctryne, whiche teche clene con­trary to y ^e doctryne of Paule. ¶Eleuēth­ly, the apostle callyth theyr doctrynes vnghostly and tryfelynge fables, than whi­che I pray you what can be sayd more cō temptely, [Page] that so many doctours shuld be so occupyed aboute suche tryfles, whiche the olde wyues are wonte to sporte them selfes with, whan they were gatheryd to­gyther to theyr butteryd cakes, to theyr clensyng bolles, or to theyr wassynge sto­les. And that theyr doctryne are vnghostly, lyes, and fer from any holynes, altho­ughe they boste that they were wryten by the ayde & cause of the holy ghoste. What man euer herde the humayne tradycyons so ernestly spoken agayne and rebuked, For that that they be bareyne of faythe, hethenysshe erronyous, deuyllysshe, false, counterfayted deuourers of cōscyences contrarye to the glorye of god, and his creatures, pernycyous fa­bles, and olde wyues lyes, Let hym nowe that can auoyde so fearefull Iugement of god auoyde it.

¶The fyfth place / is of Paule in the seconde chapytre.

THe fyfte place, is of Paule in the seconde chapytre, to the Collossyans Let no man (sayth he) trouble your conscyence for meate and drynke, or for a pece of a holy day, as the holy daye of the newe moone or of the saboth day, whiche ar but shodowes of thynges to come / but the body is of chryste. Let no man mysca­rye you from the trewe pathe, whiche af­ter his owne Imagynacyon walketh in the humblenesse and holynes of Angles, thynges, whiche he neuer sawe vaynely blowen vp with his carnall mynde not holdynge the hede of whom all the bodye by ioyntes and couples takyth norysshe­ment and is knyt togyther, and groweth with the encreasynge y ^t cōmeth from god Wherfore yf ye be deed with chryste from the doctrynes of the worlde, why than as though ye yet lyued in the worlde are ye led with the tradycyons of them, that say towche not, tast not, handle not, all whi­che perysshe with the abusynge of them, after preceptꝭ and doctrynes of men, whiche thynges veryly haue the symylytude [Page] of wysdom by chosen holynes / and hum­blenes of the mynde, and weykynge of y ^e body, & not by any worshyp for y ^e mayn­tenaūce of y ^e flesshe to his nede. Spekyth Paule nowe agayne of the Manychees? and Tatyans. Or can any man excuse the Papystes of thyse sayeng? No, for the apostle spekyth here of those that entan­gle the wretchyd conscyencꝭ with humayne preceptes and doctrynes that they cause them to dyscerne meate fro meate, drynke fro drynke, cloth fro clothe, & other out­warde thynges. Nowe it is openly kno­wen that the Pope, preestes, and monkꝭ, do these thynges. For it is ordayned by theyr Decrees, that certayne dayes men shulde abstayne from flesshe, egges, but­ter, chese, mylke, & other creatures of god. And they haue also for them selfes pecu­lyer garmentes fascyoned fer from other mēnes, agayne all whiche thynges Paule boldly fyghteth. Fyrste whan he sayth let no man trouble your conscyences for meate, drynke, cloth, or day. Whiche thynge what is it other (I praye you) than to [Page 13] saye. Be ye not preestes, monkes, freers, neyther obserue ye the popes Decretals, nor byleue ye y ^t to be synne whiche he cha­lengeth and holdeth for synne. Now here a man maye perceyue that god cōmaun­deth by Paule his electe vessell that we shuld not regarde the Decrees of the pope preestꝭ, monkꝭ, & freers, or at lest way we shulde reaken them to be free, & take them as meane thyngꝭ, whiche of them selfe be nor expedyent nor preiudycyall, lest happely they myght trouble and stere our cō ­scyences. Yf we take not good hede / whi­che thyng is no other to say / but be ye not preestes, monkꝭ, nor freers. And they that all ready haue entred in to the Papystes holy relygyon, shuld eyther ryd them selfe from it, or this wyse obserue the papystes Decretals, that yf at any tyme they lette passe or transgresse in any of them, they shuld not reaken it to be synne, but coūte them as lawfully to be let slypped as re­tayned. For all though these wordes we­re spoken by the Iewes, whiche obserued them after the lawe of Moyses (and Paule [Page] here saith that they were but shadowes and fygures of thynges to come, but the body is in chryste.) Yet neuerthelesse they moche more agre with the decrees of y ^e po­pe, preestꝭ, & monkꝭ. For yf that be sessyd whiche god Instytuted, and shuld nomore bynde the cōscyence. Howe moche more than ought nothynge to be Instytuted & cōmaunded by men, whiche myght byn­de the cōscyence? Whiche thynge hereafter shalbe more playnly shewed. ¶Secondarylye, Paule saythe, let no man defraude you, or malycyously shewe you a wrong marke, to lede you fro the trewe prycke, & begyle you of the rewarde, as who wold say. Take hede to your selfe that no man mysguyde you from fayth (whiche is the onelye waye to purchase the rewarde of helthe) in to the truste of workes, that ye shulde wyll to be Iustyfyed, and attay­ne to the reward of helth by a meane whiche the Papystes haue prescrybed. What way and meane they haue prescrybed. ye shall nowe openly perceyue by that, that foloweth. ¶Thyrdely, he saythe, let no [Page 14] man deceyue you in voluntary and cho­sen humblenes and holynes of aungels. Peynteth not Paule here, euyn w ^t theyr coloures the sectes of monkes and all the Popes holy flocke? Countyth not the po­pe and all the papystes all theyr beluyn­ges, rorynges, and cryengꝭ in the temple, and theyr obedyence of beckꝭ & duegardes euyn for the hyest vertues and workes? So this is the honourable and deuoute humble holynesse of the Papystes. But nowe of whom had they theyr preceptes and tradycyons? They them selfes haue chosen them, and haue soughte theym out euyn for theyr owne myschefes. For by this meanes they haue withdrawen them self from the cōmune humblenes and obedyence of men, of whiche thynges we ha­ue by goddes cōmaundemēt y ^t one shulde submyt hym selfe agayne the other, & the one shuld obaye the other, whiche thynge they neuer do. For they ar not subiecte to a tēporall ruler (to whom Paule cōmaū ­ded to obaye) but haue shaken them selfe from that yoke, & haue begon a peculyer [Page] obedyence and humblenes of theyr owne Inuencyons, neuertheles they boste that theyr obedyence (in whiche are many sha­mefull thynges) fer excellyth the obedyence of the laye men. Yea & that theyrs is perfyte, & lyke to the obedyence of aungels / whan yet throughout all the hole worlde a man can fynde no sorte of people more dysobedyēt or blowen vp with more pryde. They haue also auowed chastyte, and pouerte, neyther labour they as other mē do, but after y ^e maner of heuenly aungels they laude god nyghte and daye in often prayers and songes. And to be short they wolde haue men thynke that they lede a heuenly lyfe, whan yet no man is more gylty of horryble pleasures, no man more ryche in Iniquyte: no man lesse truely holy, no man more proude herted than they whiche name them selfe spyrytuall. Yet transfer they vnder colour of theyr ghostly lyfe, the prycke of faythe from all mor­tall men / and dysceyue them vpon y ^e ho­pe and Iustyfyeng of workes. All these thyngꝭ (as I gesse) were not spoken one­ly [Page 15] by the Manychees, and Tatyans, but also by the papystes, whiche thyngꝭ theyr workes full well declare. ¶Fourthlye, walkynge (sayth he) in thynges whiche he neuer sawe, whiche thynge is most prouycions in the humane doctrynes & fascyon of lyfe. As who sayth, that they whi­che lyue after those tradycyons, & doctry­nes stycke to no foundacyon nor exam­ple of trewe scrypture, neyther are they of any certayntie, whether they doo well or not. For all theyr laboure is vncertayne in so moche that yf a mā requyre whether theyr maner of lyf please god or not, they must answere. We knowe not, yea & that all theyr good workes be cast in the wynde, and ar of no accompte. Whiche thyng they ar constrayned by force to confesse. For why, they lacke fayth, whiche fayth onely assertayneth vs, that all dedes be acceptable to god, and that without any occasyon of our desertes, but onely by the very grace & power of god. So all theyr obedyence and holynes, euyn whan they seme best, are vncertayne and of no va­lewe. [Page] ¶Fyftely, Vaynely (sayth he) they are swollen with pryde, that is although they can haue no occasyon of presumpsy­on (for they are vnstable, and false bele­uers, and lede a cursed lyfe,) Neuertheles yet cast they vp theyr noses in the wynde and boste that theyr maner lyfe is y ^e beste and moste sure way to purchase helth, so ferforth, that they repute all other mēnes condycyons as vyle and of no valewe, in Regarde of theyr owne. For trewely those wretches perceyue not theyr prou­de hye carnall mynde, bycause of theyr o­uermoche angelyke humblenes and obe­dyence. O abhomynable frute of the hu­mane doctryne. ¶Syxtly, They shal departe (sayth he) and varye from chryste, which is our hed. Truely it is impossyble that the tradycyons of men & chryste shulde be in one sentence. For the one exclu­dyth the other, for yf the conscyence gyue credence to Chryste, the truste of humane tradycyons and workes takyth a fall. But yf the conscyence put truste in wor­kes, than hath chryste loste his place. For [Page 16] it can not be brought to passe that y ^e herte can be groūded vpon a double foūdacion the one must nedes fayle, lykewyse se we openly that the Papystes truste onely to theyr cerymonyes & tradycyons, for oon­les they had truste in theym, truelye they wolde sette them at nought and forsake them, or els at lestwaye they wolde vse them freely, & whan tyme requyred. But yf no ferther daunger were in them, this (Alas) were to moche, y ^t whyle they put truste in the abhomynablenes of humane doctrynes, they forsake god, and clene de­parte from hym, whiche thynge Peter also testyfyeth in his fyrste pystle, in which he dyscryueth the orders of Monkes with horryble wordes. They are (sayth he) the sectes of dampnacyon, whiche denye chryste, and in the latter pystle the secōde cha­pytre he sayth on this maner. There shal be false mynysters amonge you, whiche shall inuent & brynge in dampnable sectꝭ And shall denye the lorde whiche bought them with his blode. ¶Seuenthlye, It may be openly thought by this sayeng of [Page] Paule that our spyrytualtie ar twyched in the quycke where he sayth. Yf ye be ded with Chryst why than yet suffre ye your selfes, as thoughe ye were yet lyuynge in the worlde to be troubled and led aboute the busshe with humane tradycyons, as thou shalte not twyche that, thou shalte not eate that, thou shalt not handle that, Neyther can any mā denye but that god in this place of Paule forbade to teche & to here the doctrynes of men, yf by them the conscyence of men shulde be bounde & endaungered. Noo man therfore can be with salue conscyence, a monke, a preest, a freer, or suche lyke. For all they (wyll they or not, are compelled to confesse that theyr conscyences ar entangled and bon­de to the foresayde tradycyons. A man may perceyue nowe howe effectuall this sayeng of Paule is agayne the tradycy­ons of men. And how horryble it is to be herde that they haue forsaken chryste whiche is our hed: that they haue depted from the fayth, and that they ar made so very hethens, whyle yet they suppose that all [Page 17] the world hangyth & is maynteyned, thorowly by theyr holynesse, whiche is euyn so trewe as heuen is vpholden, & stōdyth on the sholders of Atlas y ^e maurytane.

¶The syxte place is / also of Paule in the fyrste chapytre.

THe syxte place is / also of Paule in the fyrst chapytre / to the Galathyans. Yf we (sayth he) or the aungle of heuen teache any other thynge to you than that whiche we haue taught, holde it accursed as we afore haue sayd, so now saye I agayne. Yf any man shall teache you any other thynge, than that whiche ye haue receyued & ar lerned of, holde it accursed. Beholde nowe the Iugement of god vpon the doctrynes of the Pope & other men, that is that shulde be accur­sed. But thynke thou not that this curse is lyke to the papystꝭ thretenynges of ex­cōmunycacions and curses / but that it is eternall / whiche also separateth a man from god, chryste, helth / and all goodnes, [Page] & byndeth hym to Sathanas. O y ^e feare­full Iugement of god. By this therfore it aperyth whether the pope, preestes, and monkes can teache any other thynge, or any thynge more than that that chryste & his apostles haue taught. For it is spokē afore that chryst taught after this maner What soeuer entryth through the mouthe defyleth not the man, whiche thynge the pope, preestes, and monkes openlye Im­proue sayeng / Chryste thou lyest. For the Charthusians ar polluted and dampned for eatynge of flesshe. Lykewyse thynke they that ar lyke to this secte. But is not this euyn to stryke chryste in the face and to detecte hym of a lye, to speke yll of hym and to teache an other thynge than euer he taughte? Moreouer this Iugement of perpetuall cursynge is brought, euyn as it shulde be, vpon the blasphemers of the glorye of god, that is, that they shulde pe­rysshe and be condempned in theyr royall holynesse.

¶The .7. place is / of Paule in the fyrste chapytre.

THe seuenth place is / of Paule in y ^e fyrste chapytre to Thymothe. Teache them (sayth he) that they gyue no hede to vntrewe Fables and mēnes tradycyons, whiche thynges withdrawe from the trueth. Here agayne thou mayst perceyue how the apostle playnly cōmaū ded, that we shulde not attende to mēnes Doctrynes and Decrees semyth not this vnto the as a very hell, or at lest way an occasyon to dryue the to hell whan Pau­le sayth, that y ^e preceptes and tradycyons of men ar fer from y ^e trueth, yea and they leade a man so fer from the trueth that he can not be able to knowe the trewe thyn­ge from y ^e false, but call good yll, and yll good, the day nyght, and the nyght daye. For mānes herte (as we afore haue sho­wed) can not haue truste both in chrystes doctryne, and also in the doctrynes & workes of men. For as soone as the herte be­gynneth to applye to mēnes tradycyons it wexeth straunge to the trueth, and no­thynge regardyth it. Of the other parte, after that that the herte begynneth to put [Page] hole truste in chryste / it can not chuse but set at nought all mēnes tradycyons. By this thou mayst ꝑceyue whether the curse of chryst, or of y ^e pope is more to be feared. The Pope and his complyces, curse the with theyr cruell excōmunycacions euyn to the pyt of helle. Yf thou applye not to theyr cōmaundementes. But chryste thretenyth and forbedyth the on payne of his euerlastyng curse y ^t thou gyue no hede to theyr tradycyons & curses. Now auyse y ^e to whiche of y ^e both thou shuldest obaye.

¶The eyght Place is / of saynt Peter in the .ii. chapytre.

THe eyght Place is / of saynt Peter in the seconde chapytre of his laste pystle. There shalbe (sayth he) fal­se teachers amonge you, whiche pryuely shall brynge in dampnable sectes, & shall denye y ^e Lorde whiche bought them bryn­gynge on theyr owne hedes swyfte dam­pnacyon. And many shall folowe theyr poysonable wayes, by whom the way of [Page 19] treweth shall be yll spoken of, & throughe couytousnes shall they with fayned wor­des make marchaundyse of you. Here is it playnly openyd why the dyuerse sortes of monkes, chanons, and freres / be called dampnable sectes, veryly for that y ^t they denye chryste, and falsely lye on the way of treweth. By what meane, surely in y ^e that chryste ordayned no iustyfyeng to be in meate and drynke, clothes, placꝭ, and humane workes / but they styfly affyrme by theyr doctryne and lyuynge that iusty fyeng, and not iustyfyeng restyth in tho­se thynges. Moreouer chryste is by these wretches inuaded & rebuked of a lye, yea and all the doctryne of chryste, and fayth is reputed as vyle, and vtterly denayed Yet for all that by theyr glosynge & paynted wordes vnder coloure of obedyence, and of the deuyne mynysters, they haue kepte preuye theyr insacyable hunger of couytousnes, and so ferforth for y ^e mayn­tenaunce of theyr abhomynable lustes & wanton pleasures haue they made mar­chaundyse of vs, that they haue almoste [Page] shauen the laye people of all theyr goodes and landes euyn with this subtyltie, for they booste & make men byleue that who soeuer haue done any benefyte to them, or gyue them any parte of theyr goodꝭ, shall deserue to haue heuen by theyr prayers & cerymonyes. Wherfore al theyr ordynaunces and doctrynes ar euyn trewely called of Peter. sectes of dampnacyon and blasphemyes of god.

¶The nynthe Place is / of Mathewe in the .xxiiii. chapytre.

THe nynth place is / of Mathewe in the .xxiiii. chapytre. Whan (saythe he) they shall say to you. Lo this is Chryste, byleue them not. For there shall aryse false chrystes, and false prophetes, whiche shall showe great sygnes & won­ders, in so moche yf it were possyble they shuld deceyue the very electe. Lo I show all these thynges to you. And whan they shall saye to you. Lo chryste is in wylder­nes, go ye not forth, also yf they shall say [Page 20] to you, chryst is in the secrete placꝭ byleue them not. ¶Nowe showe me I pray you what monke or frete shall be saued. For euery one rekenyth his helth and saluacy­on to be accepted in that place, whiche he byndeth and auoweth hym selfe to. And sayth, here is my chryste for onles I tary­ed here, I shulde perysshe & be dampned. But chryste answeryth and sayth, I am not there, who than shall make these two sayenges acorde? Verylye (as I thynke) no man. Wherfore it aperyth by this say­eng of chryste, that all doctrynes whiche bynde and dedycate the cōscyence to any place ar clene contrary to chryst. Now yf chryste wyll not y ^t the conscyence be bounde to any place, surely than of ryght the conscyence oughte to be free fro meates, drynkes, clothes, tradycyons, and other outwarde thynges. Moreouer for as mo­che as we se the Pope and his spyritualyte do this, it is not to be doubted, but this sayeng of Mathewe makyth extremely agayne them. Ferthermore Chryste hym selfe by this sayenge ryddeth and assoy­leth [Page] all prestes, and monkes, from theyr promysed vowes for that that he cōdem­pnyth all suche orders and monasteryes, whan he sayth, byleue them not. Go ye not thyther. Euen for the same purpose Luke in his .xvii. chapytre sayth. The kyngdom of god shall not come with the obseruyng of outwarde rytes and trady­cyons of men, neyther shall it be sayd. Lo here, lo there. For the kyngdom of god is within you / Is not this sayeng also cle­re and effectuall ynoughe to confounde mēnes tradycyons?

¶The doctrynes of men can teache or ordayne no other thyng but outward thynges. Seynge nowe that the kyngdom of god restyth not in outwarde thyngꝭ, but in the inwarde, it can no otherwyse be, but that bothe the teachers and lerners of mēnes tradycyons (whiche onely teache outwarde thyngꝭ) ar blynde and fer wy­de from the prycke of treweth. They say we gyue hede and folowe the steppes of our holy fathers, which Instytuted these ordres of monkes, and freres. But they [Page 21] shall not escape with playeng of that pa­geaunt, for Chryste pluckyth from them that cloke of false colour, whan he sayth. The chosen men also, yf it coulde be bro­ughte to passe, shall be led out of the way y ^t is the electe shalbe blynded, but shal not contynewe in errour. For there shulde no notable errour come (as chryste hath fore­showed to come) oneles y ^e electe had erryd and erre. What soeuer the doctryne and examples of the holy Fathers be, the wordes of Chryste be certayne and playne, to whom therfore we shulde more obaye than to the holye Fathers, bycause theyr doctrynes and workꝭ be of no certaynte, bycause also that that, whiche was before spo­ken maketh agayne theyr tradycyons that is. The kyngdome of god is within you, and not without you, neyther here, nor there?

¶The tenth Place is / of Salomon the .xxx. chapytre.

THe tenth Place is / of Salomon in the .xxx. chapytre Of his Prouer bys The wordes of god (sayth he) are fyred & ar a defence for all them y ^t stycke to them, and beleue them. Adde thou nothynge to the wordes of hym, left he ponysshe the, and left thou be founde cul­pable of a lye. Suffyce y ^e thou reader for this tyme with that that hathe ben sayd, howbeit many other places myghte haue be founde thorowly amonges the prophetes whiche wold very wel serue this purpose, namelye in Heremye, whiche in his seuenth chapytre sayth. Here ye not that whiche semyth ryghtfull and iust to you, but that that I cōmaūde you. And wal­ke ye in euery waye whiche I haue com­maūded you, that it myght be well with you. And in the .ix. chapytre, he sayth by­cause they haue forsaken my lawe which I gaue to them, and haue not herde my voyce, nor haue walked in it, but haue [Page 22] gone from it after y ^e frowardnes of theyr hertes, and after Bailym whiche thynge they haue lerned of theyr Fathers. Ther­fore sayth the Lorde god of the congrega­cyon of Israell these thynges. Lo I shall feade this people with worme wode and gyue them water of gall for theyr drynke and shall dyspercle them amonge nacyōs whiche they nor theyr Fathers neuer kne­we. And I shall sende my swerde after them vntyll they be dystroyed. And Ezechyell in his .xxxiiii. chapytre, sayth woo be to the herdes of Israell, whiche haue fed them selfes. Ar the shepe not fed of the herdes? ye haue eaten the mylke, and ha­ue coueryd your selfe with the wolle, and that that was fatte ye haue slayne, but ye haue not fed my flocke. And in the se­conde chapytre of Malachie it is sayde. And nowe this cōmaūdement is to you ye preestes, yf ye wyll not here, and yf ye wyll not sette it on your hertes to gyue glory to my name sayth the Lorde of the cōgregacyon. I wyll send pouerte vpon you, and I wyll curse your blyssynges, [Page] and I wyll curse them bycause ye sette it not in your hertes. Then wyll they crye (as Mycheas sayth in his thyrde chapyt) to the Lorde, but he shall not here them, and he shall hyde his face from them at y ^e tyme, bycause they haue wyc­kedly led theyr lynes ī theyr owne Inuencyons. And for the mys­chefe of those Inuencyons (as O see in his .ix. cha­pytre wytnesseth) god shall caste them out of his howse, and in his .xx. chapytre He saythe god shall rewarde them after theyr way­es, and after theyr In­uency­ons. ✚