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¶ The recantation of jacke jent late vicar general to the most cruel Antichrist of Rome.  
M.D.xlviii.   

CErtain I am (right honourable audience) that I am not unknown to any one of you, what I am & how I have continued my time amongst you. But whence I came or whose creature I am I think few of you do as yet know. The most part of you, I am sure, have hitherto been persuaded and in deed I myself have confessed & taught no less that I came from God, and had my first being of the institution of Christ the only son of the living God, affirmeing that he, in that he fasted xl days and forty nights: gave us axexample to do the same. This is your persuasion, and this have I heretofore taught, partly thorough ignorance in that I knew no better, & partly thorough pride of heart which caused me to seek ways to be had in price & moon esteemed among you that profess the name of Christ. But now that it hath pleased the Lord to open mine eyes and humble mine heart that I may see mine own estate and content myself therewith: I am at this present determined to revoke, retract and recant, not only this erroneous & false doctrine: but also all other superstitious doctrine that I have at any time taught, and will out of the scriptures declare truly and sincerlye whence I came, whose creature I am, and what abuses I have maintained. first and principally I acknowledge, that I am no creature of God, nor have any being of him or his institution, but am the mere invention & ordinance of man first invented for a politic order even as other human traditions have been. And according to this purpose of my first creation: I am now by the magistrates of this realm permitted to continue so long as they shall see me to be profitable to the public and come weal. And where I have taught that the example of Christ in fasting forty days, & forty nights ought to be followed of you: I utterly forsake it, acknowledging that for asmuch as the fasting of Christ was a work above nature, it was a miracle or thing to be wondered at and not an example to be followed more than the rest of his miracles and wonderful works were. And in very deed, the way that I have taught & you have followed, is nothing like the example of Christ. For he fasted all the time of his fast from all kinds of sustenance, but I have taught you to fast from flesh & white meat only. Christ began his fast at the fourth day of januarie which is called the feast of the epiphany, or the xii day, and I have always deferred the time to March or nighther about. Christ fasted but once in his life time not withstandinge he lived ii years after. But I have taught you to fast every year during your life. Thus you see that as it was not possible for man to aspire to the perfection of Christ's wonderful works so have you not taken a way any thing like to his way in the following (as you thought) of his example. wherefore it is but a fond persuasion of men to think that in this (more superstitious than religious fast they do any thing at all follow the example of Christ, and I myself which have been a teacher and setter forth of this doctrine do now acknowledge and confess mine ignorance and superstition herein willing all you (my faithful friends, as well fyshmongers as other) to do the same, lest of your stubbornness you cause me to be utterly banished this realm, and you lose all the commodities that you have by me. Over and besides this, I acknowledge and confess that supersticiouselis and blindly I have taught some to fast half the time of my reign, some wensdaye, fridaye, and saturdaye: and some the friday from fish. With these things I have so entangled the consciences of men that they have thought it better to break all the commandments of God then to omit one of these observations of mine. These things I utterly revoke exhorteing you all my favourers) to do the same, freely and frankly as I do without any constraint or compulsion acknowledging and confessing that no human traditions or laws can bind the consciences further than they be founded and built upon the commandment of God. Wherefore I confess & grant, that all such as be by the powers licensed to eat flesh at all times may with out grudge of conscience do it. More over, if necessity so require, either thorough poverty, sickness, or otherwise: the faithful may at all times receive with thanks all such sustenance as God of his bountuouse liberality giveth them, with out any licence at all, so they do it not in the contempe of any common order nor with the offence of their week brother. Yet all this not withstanding I exhort you all to fast and pray, according te the words of the prophet, return you to the Lord in lamentation and fasteinge. But here you must be right well  that your prayer be not superstitious numbering of lady psaltares or other set numbers of orisons (for then they are but lipiaboure) but your prayer must be the lords prayer, spoken even with the heart, and with the holding up of pure hands unto heaven, yea hands without blood, that is, that do not oppress the poor membres of Christ, but help them. Your fast also must be such as Esay speaketh of in his lviii chapter. You must not think your selves acceptable unto God, because you forbear your meat, because you forsake flesh and eat fish: but chief and principally in the day of your fast you must forbear all manner of sin, you must release your wicked bargains, and usury contracts, if the poor & needy be in your danger more than he is well able to pay: then must you forgive him. You must also refrain all meats & drinks that you may feel how hunger gnaweth the bowels of the needy and then distribute to the poor that same meat or the price of the same meat that you were accustomed to feed your bodies with all. If you shall know where is an impotent creature, which lacketh necessary clothing: give him of your superfluous garments, other else sell them and buy him garments meet for him with the price. If there be any harbour less: lead them into your superfluous fermes (whereof you have to many) and let them have dwelling there that they may labour the earth and live. If you do this: your light shall break forth even as the bright morning star and your brightness shallbe as the sun at midday. But if you do it not: fast, pray, pip, sing, tolle, ring, knock, & kneel, till you were your knese to the bones & all will not be worth a lousse. Many other superstitious things I have taught, as the conjuring and superstitious taking of ashes, and palm, fire and the fount of water wherein infants be baptized with holy oil and chrism. I have also taught the blind foling of saints Images, the hangeing up, drawing, and cutting down of the veil, the washing of the altars, judas cross full of candles, the burieing of the sacrament, and rayesing of the same with the creeping to the cross. All these things I confess to be but vain & superstitious, & therefore not to be used of Christian men. More one I have stoutly defeded anricular confession & particular rehearsal of all sins not forgotten in pain of damnation, & the enjoining of penance satisfactory for the same and that upon the confidence of these penance, the sacrament of the body and blood of Christ should be worthily received, otherwise not. But now I confess that it is only the humble confession of the heart made unto God that is accepted of God. Notwithstandeding I will that all troubled consciences resort unto a discrete and learned counsellor, to hau● and receive at his hand as by an instrument, the comfortable absolution of the spirit, by the hearing of the great and ready mercies of god towards the repentant hearts, rehearsed unto them. And where I have heretofore made dangerous of the receiving of the sacrament in both the kinds, that is in bread and wine as Christ instituted it: now I think it most necessary that it be mnistered and received aswell in the kind of wine as bread, for otherwise it were not the institution of Christ, but to invention of man. Thus I make an end, exhorting all manner of men & in especially all such vitayllers as have & do accustomably make provision for that kind of fasting that hath been observed in forberinge of one kind of meat and feeding of an other: that they will now provide for all the year that the people may have wholesome meat to sustain their bodies, upon a reasonable price. Also I exhort them that whereas heretofore they have heartily desired of God that a contrary wind might keep back foreign victual till they had sold their ware at will: they will now pray as heartily that God of his mercy will prosper all such as labour in the conveying of any kind of victual to any part of this realm whereby the poor commons are relieved.  
By me jacke lent lately the utter enemy of Christ, but now (the Lord be praised therefore) converted to the Christian faith.   

☞ Imprinted at London by John Day, and William Seres, dwelling in Sepulchres parish, at the sign of the Resurrection a little above Holborn Conduite⸫   

☞ Cum gratia & privilegio ad imprimendum solum.