Know yee that in times past certain Vi­cars or Vicegerents of Christ, following his steps in Miracles and Vertues, living and continuing in a beggerly life, converted (in a manner) the whole World from the yoke of our tyranny, unto their Doctrine and manner of life, to the great derision and con­tempt of our prison-house and Kingdome, and also to the no little hurt and prejudice of our jurisdiction and authority; nor fearing to hurt our fortified power, and to offend the Majesty of our Estate. For then received we no tribute of the world, neither did the miserable sort of common people rush at the gates of our deep dungeon as they were wont to do, with continuall pealing and rap­ping, but then the easie, pleasant, and broad way which leadeth to death lay still without great noyse of trampling travailers; neither yet was trod with the feet of miserable men: And when all our Courts were without sutors, Hell then began to houle. And thus continuing in great heavinesse and anguish, was robbed and spoi­led. Which thing considered, the impatient rage of our Stomack could no longer suffer, neither the ougly wretchlesse negligence of our great Captain generall, could longer endure it; but we, seeking [Page] remedy for the time that should come after, have provided us of a very trim shift: for instead of those Apostles and other their ad­herents, which draw by the same line of theirs, as well in manner as Doctrine, and are odious enemies unto us; we have caused you to be their Successors, and put you into their places, which be Prelats of the Church in these latter times, by our great might and subtiltie, as Christ hath said of you, They have reigned, but not by me. Once we promised unto him all the Kingdomes of the world, if he would fall down and worship us, but he would not, saying, My Kingdom is not of this World: and went his way, when the multitude would have made him King. But to you truely, which are fallen from the State of Grace, and that serve us in the Earth, is that my promise fulfilled, and all terrene things by our meanes which we have bestowed upon you, are under government. For he hath said of us (as ye know) The Prince of this world cometh, &c. and hath made us to raigne over all the children of unbeliefe: therefore our adversaries before mentioned did patiently submit themselves unto the Princes of the world, and did teach that men should doe so, saying, Be ye subject to every creature for Gods cause, whether it be to the King as most chiefest. And againe, Obey ye them that are made rulers over you, &c. for so their Master comman­ded them, saying, The Kings of the heathen have dominion ouer them, &c.

But I thinke it long till we have poured our poyson upon the earth, and therefore fill your selves full. And now be ye not onely unlike those fathers, but also contrary unto them in your life and conditions, and extoll your selves above all other men. Neither doe ye give to God that which is Gods, nor yet to Coe­sar that which is his, but exercise ye the power of both the swords, according to our decrees, making your selves doers in worldly matters, fighting in our quarrell, intangled with secular la­bours and businesse, and clime ye by little and little from the mi­serable estate of poverty unto the highest feats of all honours and the princely places of dignity by your devised practises, and false deceitfull wiles and subtilties; that is, by hypocrisie, flattery, lying [Page] perjury, treasons, deceits, symony, and other greater wickednesse then which our infernall furies may devise: for after that you be by us advanced thither where ye would be, yet that must not con­tent you, nor suffize you, but as greedy starulings more hungry then before, ye must suppresse the poore, scratch and rake together all that comes to hand, perverting and turning every thing topsi-tur­vey; so swolne, that ready to burst for pride, living like leachers in all corporall delicatenesse, and by fraud directing all your do­ings, you challenge to your selves names of honour in the earth, calling your selves Lords, holy, yea and most holy persons.

Thus either by violence ye raven, or else by ambition and subtil­ty ye pilfer away, and wrongfully wrast, and by false title possesse those goods which for the sustentation of the poore members of Christ (whom from our first fall we have hated) were bestowed aud given, consuming them, as ye our selves list and therewith ye che­rish and maintain an innumerable sort of Whores, strumpets, and Bauds, with whom ye ride pompously like mighty Princes; farre otherwise going, than those poore beggerly Priests of the Primi­tive Church. For I would ye should build your selves rich and gorgeous pallaces, fare like Princes, eating and drinking the most daintiest meats and pleasantest wine that may be gotten, and hoard and heap together an infinite deale of treasure, not like to him that said, Gold and silver have I none: yea, ye serve and fight for us ac­cording to your wages. O most exceptable society and fellowship promised unto us by the Prophets, and of those Fathers long agoe reproved. Whilest that Christ called thee the Sinagogue of Sa­than and likened thee to the mighty Whore which committed Fornication with the Kings of the Earth, the adulterous Spouse of Christ; and of a chaste person made a Strumpet; Thou hast left thy first love and cleaved unto Us, O our beloved Baby­lon, oh our Citizens, which from the transmigration of Jerusa­lem come hither: We love you for your deserts, We rejoyce over you, which contemne the Lawes of Symon Peter, and em­brace the Lawes of Symon Magus our friend, and have them at your fingers end, and exercise the same publikely, buying and [Page] selling spirituall things in the Church of God, and against the Commandement of God; ye give benefices and honours by Petiti­on, or else for mony, for favour or else for filthy service: And refu­sing to admit those, that be worthy, to Ecclesiasticall dignities, and referring those that be unworthy: you call into the inheritance of Gods Sanctuary, Bauds, lyars, flatterers, your Nephewes and your own Children, and to a childish Boy, ye give many Prebends, the least whereof ye deny to bestow on a poore good Man, and receive gifts; ye regard mony, and have no regard of Soules; ye have made the House of God, a Den of Theeves. All abuse, all extortion is more exercised an hundreth fold in your Judgement-Seats, then with any secular Tyrant. Ye make Lawes and keep not the same, and ye dispence with your dispensations as it pleaseth you; ye ju­stifie the wicked for reward, and ye take away the just mans desert from him. And briefely, ye perpetrate or commit all kind of mis­chiefe, even as it is our will ye should: and ye take much paine for lucresse sake in our service, especially to destroy the Christian Faith. For now the Lay people are almost in doubt what they may believe, because if ye Preach any things, at sometimes (al­thouh it be but seldome seen, and that negligently enough, even as one would have it) yet notwithstanding they believe you not, be­cause they see manifestly that ye do clean contrary to that which ye say: whereupon the common People doing as ye do which have the Government of them, and should be an example of well do­ing; now many of them leaning to your Rules, do run headlong in­to a Sea of vices. And so continually a very great multitude knocketh at the strong and well fenced gates of our dungeon. And doubtlesse ye send us so many day by day of every sort and kinde of People that we should not be able to entertaine them, but that our insatiable Chaos with her thousand ravening jawes, is suffi­cient to devoure an infinate number of Soules. And thus the So­veraignty of our Empire by you hath been reformed, and our in­tollerable losse restored; wherefore we most specially commend you, and give you most hearty thanks, exhorting all you, that in [Page] any wise ye persevere and continue, as hitherto ye have done; nei­ther that ye slacke henceforth your enterprises. For why, by your helpe we purpose to bring the whole World again, under our power and dominion. Over and besides this, we commit unto you no small authority to supply our places in the betraying of your Brethren; and we make and ordaine you our Vicars and the Ministers of Anti-christ our Son now hard at hand, for whom ye have made a very trim way and passage. Furthermore, we coun­cell you which occupy the highest names of all other, that yee worke subtilly, and that ye (faynedly) procure peace betweene the Princes of the World, and that ye cherish and procure secret cause of discord: And like as craftily ye have destroyed and sub­verted the Roman Empire; so suffer ye no Kingdome to be over­much enlarged, and enriched by tranquility and peace least per­haps in so great tranquility (all desire of Peace set aside) they dis­pose themselves to view, and consider your most wicked workes, suppressing on every side your estate, and from your treasures take away your substance, which we have caused to be kept and reser­ved in your hands untill the comming of our welbeloved Son Antichrist.

We would ye should do our Commendations to our entirely beloved Daughters, Pride, Deceit, Wrath, avarice, Belly-Cheere, and Leachery, and to all other my Daughters, and especially to Lady Symony, which hath made you men, and enriched you, and hath given you Sacke with her own Brests, and weaned you, and therefore in no wise see that you degenerate from her. And be you lofty and proud, because that the most high dignity of your estate doth require such magnificency: And also be ye covetous, for whatsoever ye get and gather into your Fardell, it is for Saint Peter, for the peace of the Church, and for the defence of your Patrimony and the Crucifix, and therefore ye may lawfully do it; ye may promote your Cardinalls to the highest seat of Dignity, without any let in the World in stopping the mouth of our Ad­versary Jesus Christ; and alledging againe, that he preferred his [Page] kinsfolke (being but of the poore and base degree) unto the Apo­stleship; but do not you so, but rather call, as ye doe, those that live in arrogancy, in haughtinesse of minde, and filthy lechery, unto the state of wealthy, riches, and pride, and those rewards and promoti­ons which the followers of Christ forsooke, do ye distribute unto your friends: Therefore as ye shall have better understanding, pre­pare ye vices cloked under the similitude of vertues. Alledge for your selves the glosses of the Holy Scripture, and wrest them di­rectly, serve for your purpose. And if any man preach or teach otherwise, then ye will; oppresse ye them violently with the sen­tence of excommunication, and by your censures heaped one upon another by the consent of your brethren, let him be condemned as an Heretieke, and let him be kept in close and straight Prison, and there tormented till he die, for the terrible example to all such as confesse Christ: And setting all favour aside, cast him out of your Temple, least, peradventure, the engraffed Word may save your soules, which Word, I abhorre, as I doe the soules of other faithfull men: And do your endeavours, that ye may deserve to have the place, which we have prepared for you under the most wicked foundation of our dwelling place. Fare ye well with such felici­ty, as we desire and intend finally to reward and recompence you with.

Given at the Centure of the Earth, in that our darke place, where all the rablement of Divels were present specially for this purpose, called unto our most dolorous Consistory, under the Character of our terrible seale, for the confirmation of the premises.