^RV Hf P«.NCf^ •^JsttOGICAL St>»\^ BR 45 .B74 v. 7 British Reformers ^Jfy^J^H^ "''''■-,%^.'i^:jii^'\ lEillBILE' TRE ATI SE S AND LETTERS OF Dr. NICHOLAS RIDLEY, Bishop of London, and Martyr, 1555. -*s «- it # ^ LONDON; PRINTED FOR \iiVi SOLD AT THEIR DEPOSITORY, 56, PATERNOSTER-ROW J ALSO BY J. NISBET, 21, BERNERS-STREET ; AND OTHER BOOKSELLERS, LONDON ■ Pnutedby WILLIAM CLOWE:' Stamford-street. CONTENTS. Page A BRIEF account of Doctor Nicholas Ridley 1 A treatise concerning images 11 A treatise upon the Lord's Supper 21 Conferences with Secretary Bourne, and others 58 Conferences between Doctor Ridley and Master Latimer 66 A lamentation for the change of religion in England 106 His last farewell 137 A Treatise or Letter which he wrote as his farewell to the pri- soners and exiles 160 A letter to Sir John Cheke 171 Ditto to the preachers in the diocese of London 174 Ditto, containing an account of the disputations at Oxford .... 175 Ditto to Doctor Weston 179 Ditto to Archbishop Cranmer 1 80 Ditto to the brethren in cap ivity 181 Ditto to the brethren that cleave unto Christ 185 Ditto to Augustine Bernher 1 88 Letters to Master Bradford 189 to 194 A letter to Bishop Cranmer and Bishop Latimer 197 Ditto to Augustine Bernher 198 Ditto to ditto 199 Ditto to Bishop Hooper 201 Letters to Master Bradford 203 to 206 A letter to Augustine Bernher 207 Ditto to Master Bradford 208 Answer to West., late his chaplain 210 A letter *'rom Master Edward Grindal to Doctor Ridley 215 Answer of Doctor Ridley to Grindal 217 A letter to Mistress Glover 222 Ditto to a friend that came to visit him in prison 223 Ditto to a cousin 224 Ditto to the queen's majesty 224 Extract from Bishop Ridley's letter to the Protector 22T Pfi \?^^0^.i JteEEP ACCOUNT DR. NICHOLAS RIDLEY, Bishop of London, and Martyr, 1555. Dr. Nicholas Ridley was bom in the beginning of the sixteenth century, at Willemonstwick, a town in Northumber- land, near the borders of Scotland. His father was the third son of an ancient and respectable family who had long resided in that country. After being educated at Newcastle on Tyne, he was removed to Pembroke-hall, in Cambridge, about the year 1518, just at the time when Luther's opposition to the pope's bulls respecting indulgences began to excite general atten- tion. He appUed studiously to acquire the learning then most in repute, and, as his biographer states, ' his character at that time, appears to have been that of an ingenious, virtuous, zeal- ous papist- After some years passed at Cambridge, Ridley visited France, and studied at the universities of Paris and Louvain. On his re- turn (about 1529), he pursued his theological studies with much earnestness, in particular committing to memory the greater part of the epistles in the original Greek, and his mind appears to have been enlightened by the study of the scriptures. In 1534, he took an active part in the public discussions relative to the pope's supremacy, and, in 1537, archbishop Cranmer appointed him one of his chaplains. In 1538, Ridley was collated to the vicarage of Heme, in Kent, where the people for many miles round crowded to attend his preaching ; and he diligently instructed his charge in the doc- trines of the gospel, although on the point of transubstantiation, he was not as yet fuUy emancipated from popish errors. When the act of the six articles came out, Ridley bore public testi- RIDLEY. B 2 Ridley. mony against it, but being unmarried, and as yet in error as to the Sarrament of the altar, he did not fall within its penalties. In October, 1540, Ridley was appointed to the mastership of Pembroke-hall, which was then remarked for the learning and scriptural knowledge of its members, and, in the following year, be was nominated one of the prebendaries of Canterbury, where he preached so strongly against the abuses of popery, as to excite some of the bigoted ecclesiastics to accuse him of having offended against the laws then in force ; but their malice was disappointed. He particularly contended that prayer should be made in a language which the people could under- stand. Ridley passed a great part of the year 1545 at Heme, when he was induced to examine more particularly respecting the Sacrament ; the arguments and suiferings of those who opposed the popish errors upon this subject having made a strong im- pression upon his mind. The effect of this investigation, was to remove the error under which he had laboured, and, commu- nicating his views to Cranmer, they examined the doctrines of the church of Rome as to transubstantiation, and those of the Lutheran church respecting consubstantiation. After a full investigation of the scriptures, and the writings of the Fathers of the primitive church, they were enabled to discern the truths which had been till then obscured and concealed from their view. On the accession of Edward VI., Ridley was appointed one of the preachers at court, and forwarded the Reformation to the utmost of his power. In 1547, he was made bishop of Rochester, and, in 1549, we find him bearing a prominent part . in a public disputation, with the Romanists at Cambridge, on the subject of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, the particu- lars of which are fully stated in Fox's Acts and Monuments. In April, 1550, Ridley was appointed to the see of London ; this important office he discharged with much faithfulness, and in a very exemplary manner. He behaved with much kindness to Bonner, who was removed from that bishopric on account of his obstinate attachment to popery, and was particularly careful that he should suffer as little pecuniary loss as possible from l-iis removal. When at Fulham, he always, at dinner and sup- per, sent for Bonner's mother and sister, who resided near, and Life. 3 constantly placed the former at his right hand, alleviating her misfortunes to the utmost of his power.* Fox thus speaks of Ridley's discharge of his episcopal duties. " He so laboured and occupied himself in preaching and teach- ing the true and wholesome doctrine of Christ, that a good child never was more loved by his dear parents, than he v»^as by his flock and diocese. Every Sunday and holy day, he preached in some place or other, unless hindered by weighty business. To these sermons the people resorted, swarming about him like bees, and coveting the sweet flowers and wholesome juice of the fruitful doctrine, which he not only preached, but showed the same by his life as a shining light, in such pure order, that even his very adversaries could not reprove him in any one jot there- of." His ordinary course of life at that time, is thus described by the same writer. " He, using all ways to mortify himself, was given to much prayer and contemplation. For early every morning so soon as his apparel was upon him, he prayed on his knees half an hour, which being done, immediately he went to his study, if there came no other business to interrupt him, where he continued till ten o'clock, and then came to common prayer daily used in his house. The prayers being done, he went to dinner,t where he talked little, and then it was sober, discreet, and wise, and sometimes merry, as the cause required. The dinner being over, which was not very long, he used to sit an hour or thereabouts talking, or playing at chess. That done, he returned to his study, and continued there until five o'clock, unless suitors or business abroad prevented. He then came to common prayer, which being finished, he went to supper. After supper he recreated himself an hour, and then returned to his study, continuing there till eleven o'clock, which was his com- • mon hour to go to bed, then saying his prayers upon his knees as in the morning when he rose. When at Fulham, he read a lecture to his family every day at the common prayer, begin- ning at the Acts, and so going through all the epistles, giving a New Testament to every man that could read, and hiring them * When Bonner was restored, he acted in a very different manner, not only treating Ridley's relations with much harshness and seve- rity, but even depriving them of property to which they were legally entitled, and endeavouring to procure the death of Ridley's brother- in-law. t At that period, it was usual for the nobility and gentry to dine at eleven o'clock. B 2 4 Ridley. with money to learn by heart certain principal chapters, but especially Acts xiii. He often read to his household the 101st psalm, being very careful over his family, that they might be an example of all virtue and honesty to others. To be short, as he was godly and virtuous himself, so nothing but godliness and virtue reigned in his house, he feeding them with the food of our Saviour Jesus Christ." Much of Ridley's time, during the reign of Edward VI., was occupied in discharging the public duties of his office, which were neither few nor small, and during the prevalence of a pes- tilential distemper in London, called the sweating sickness,* he continued to reside among his flock. In his pastoral duties, he was ably assisted by Bradford and Grindal, two of his chap- lains. In the beginning of 1553, the king's health was evidently in a declining state, when, by Ridley's means, the noble foundation of Christ's Hospital, and those of St. Bartholomew, Bridewell, and Bethlehem were established. The particulars of the last days of Edward VI., and the brief reign of Lady Jane Grey need not be given in this place. Ridley does not appear to have taken a prominent part in those events, if we except a sermon preached by him at Paul's Cross, by order of the council, on one of the two Sundays between the death of king Edward, and the entrance of queen Mary into London. On that occasion, he strongly urged the evils which must ensue from Mary's attachment to popery, if she obtained the crown. This was not forgotten by his enemies, and as soon as Mary's authority was established, Ridley was committed to the tower, and Bonner was again established as V)ishop of London — of the wide difference between his conduct and that of Ridley, both in private life and public affairs, the reader doubtless is fully aware. Ridley continued in the tower several months. During the greater part of the time he had Cranmer and Latimer for his fellow-prisoners ; — the result of their conferences will be found in the following pages. In April, 1554, these venerable Fathers of the English church were sent to Oxford, to dispute publicly * The 15th of April, 1551, the infectious sweating sickness be^^an at Shrcivvsbury. AV'hat number died cannot be well accounted, but certain it is, that in London in a few days 9G0 gave up the gliost.— Stowe's Anncls Life. 5 with a number of the Romish doctors on the subject of the mass and the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. The particulars of this disputation were recorded by Jewel, and are given at length in Fox's Acts and Monuments : — the manner in which it was conducted is noticed in a subsequent page of this work : we may, however, observe that Ridley's knowledge of the Greek language, and his being versed in the writings of the Fathers, enabled him to correct many attempts to pervert the meaning of the ancient writers.* After these disputations were concluded, the three bishops were condemned as heretics, when Ridley re- plied, " Although I be not of your company, yet, I doubt not, but that my name is written in another place, whither this sentence will send us sooner than we should have come by the course of nature." They were not put to death at that time, but were closely confined at Oxford during the next eighteen months. Though kept from scenes of active usefulness, they were not idle. Lati- mer, weak and enfeebled through age, could do little but read his Testament ; and that, as he afterwards declared, he read over diligently seven times during his confinement. Cranmer reviewed, and added to, his writings on the Sacrament. Ridley was strictly watched, deprived of most of his books, and denied the use of pen, ink, and paper ; but he snatched every opportu- nity; and when his scanty supplies of materials for writing failed him, he cut the lead from his prison-windows, and wrote in the margins of the few books he possessed. In the letters given in the following pages, the reader will find many interesting notices of this irksome period of Ridley's confinement. It was particularly severe with regard to him ; while in the tower he had been more favourably treated than many others but when the papists found he could not be wrought upon by all their blandishments they changed their measures, and acted towards him with much severity. At length, in October, 1555, Ridley and his companions were called before commissioners appointed to examine and con- demn them. After some discussions, which chiefly related to * Latimer was not well skilled in Greek, having been far ad- vanced in life before that language was much taught. Of this the Romanists took advantage, and when arguing with him, actually falsified a quotation from the New Testament ! 6 Ridley. the usurped authority of the popes, Ridley was condemned, and also his fellow-prisoners. His life was spared a fortnight longer, during which he wrote some farewell letters and admo- nitions. On the 15th of October he was degraded by the Romish commissioners, and the next morning he was led forth to the place where he and Latimer were to be burned. Ridley arrived there first, and as soon as his fellow-sufferer came, Ridley kissed him, saying, " Be of good heart, Ijrother, for God will either assuage the fury of the flame, or else strengthen us to abide it." The latter was his experience. Dr. Smith preached a sermon, in which he asserted many falsities respect- ing the martyrs and their doctrines, to which Ridley wished to reply, but was not permitted : " Well," said he, " so long as the breath is in my body, I will never deny my Lord Christ and his known truth." They were then fastened to the stake. Ridley lifted up his hands towards heaven and prayed. " O heavenly Father, I give thee most hearty thanks that thou hast called me to be a pro- fessor of thee even unto death. I beseech thee, Lord God, have mercy upon the realm of England, and deliver her from all her enemies." Ridley then addressed himself to lord Williams, who was appointed to superintend the execution, and besought him to plead with the queen in behalf of his poor relatives, and others who were unlawfully deprived by Bonner of the leases they had agreed for with Ridley while he possessed the see of London. The fire was lighted — when Ridley saw it flaming up towards him, he cried out with a loud voice, " Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit. O Lord, receive my spirit." Latimer soon died, apparently with little or no pain ; but on Ridley's side the fire was kept down, owing to the bad management of those that had built up the fagots, so that it only burned be- neath. When Ridley felt this, he intreated them, for Christ's sake, to let the fire come to him. His brother-in-law, desii'ing to relieve his pain, but misunderstanding his wishes, heaped on more fagots, which kept the fire down still longer, and it burned all his lower parts without touching the upper. He repeated his desire to have the fire suffered to come unto him, and after his legs were consumed, the spectators saw one side of his body, shirt and all, untouched with the flame. But his confident Life. 7 expectation was granted ; for although the torment was in- deed dreadful, " he was strengthened to abide it." He fre- quently exclaimed, " O Lord, have mercy upon me," and requested that they would let the fire come to him. At last he was understood; one of the bystanders pulled off the upper fagots — the flame arose, and when the tortured martyr saw the fire, he leaned towards it. After the flame reached the gun- powder affixed to him and it had exploded, he stirred no more ; but his legs being wholly consumed, the upper part of his body turned over the chain, and fell at Latimer's feet. — These hor- rifying details are given from Fox, not needlessly to wound the reader's feeUngs, but for the striking picture they present of the constancy of this faithful martyr of Christ. Let us briefly contrast the last hours of Ridley with those of his cruel persecutor, bishop Gardiner, which occuri'ed imme- diately afterwards. On the day of Ridley and Latimer's mar- tyrdom, he waited with impatience for the account of their burning, having arranged that messengers should be despatched to inform him as soon as the pile was set on fire. He delayed sitting down to his dinner till he received the desired intelli- gence. About four o'clock an express arrived with the wel- come news, and Gardiner sat down to dinner. He " was not disappointed of his lust, but while the meat was yet in his mouth the heavy wrath of God came upon him." While at table he felt the first attacks of a mortal disease, the effect ot vices in which he had long indulged ; and though, for some days afterwards, he was able to go out and attend the parlia- ment, his illness rapidly increased, until, as v/as stated by one of his contemporaries, he became so offensive, " that it was scarcely possible to get any one to come near him." The suf- ferings of his mind were not less painful than those of his body. He frequently exclaimed, " I have sinned like Peter, but I have not wept like him." Dr. Day, the bishop of Chichester, seeing Gardiner's dreadful state, and knowing that the juggleries ot popery could not afford any support at such an hour, endea- voured to comfort him with the offers of free justification through the blood of Christ made in the scripture. Gardiner convinced, but not changed, showed the natural enmity of the heart of man against the doctrines of grace, exclaiming, " What, my lord, will you open that gap now ? Then farewell all 8 Ridley. together. To me, and such other in my case, indeed you may speak it ; but open this window to the people, and then fare- well all together." He endured these proti*acted torments lon2:er than l^idley had suffered, lingering in this state till the 13th of November, during which time it is recorded, that " he spake little but blasphemy and filthiness, and gave up the ghost with curses in his mouth, in terrible and un expressible tonnents." What were Ridley's sufferings when compared with these? Surely every reader will exclaim, " Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his/' The writings of bishop Ridley are not numerous, some few have been lost, among them a treatise on Predestination, which is much regretted ; and it is also to be lamented that some, at least, of his sermons, have not been preserved, for he excelled as a preacher, and devoted much of his studies to preparation for the pulpit. His treatise on the Lord's Supper is the most important of his works ; his other pieces, however, are valuable additions to the Writings of the British Reformers. In the pre- sent publication, his letters are collected from Fox, Coverdale, and Burnet, and are arranged in the order adopted in Dr. Gloucester Ridley's valuable life of his ancestor ; and various references are made to that work, and other sources, which are explanatory of their contents. TREATISES OF BISHOP RIDLEY. B 3 M. NICHOLAS RIDLEY. IN THE NAME, AS IT APPEARS, OF THE WHOLE CLERGY, ADDRESSED TO KING EDWARD THE SIXTH, CONCERNING IMAGES; THAT THEY ARE NOT TO BE SET UP, NOR WORSHIPPED IN CHURCHES. ABRIDGED. Certain reasons which move 21s that we cannot, with safe consciences, give our assent that the Images of Christ, 8fc., should be placed and erected in churches. Ju iRST, the words of the commandment, Exod. xx. " Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven image," &c. And the same is repeated more plainly, Deut. xxvii. " Cursed is the man which maketh a graven or a molten Image, &c., and setteth it in a secret place, and all the people shall say, Amen," In the first place, these words are to be noted, " Thou shalt not make to thyself," that is, to any use of religion. In the latter place, these words ; " And setteth it in a secret place :" for no man then durst commit idolatry openly. So that, comparing the places, it evidently ap- pears that Images, both for use of religion, and in place of peril* for idolatry, are forbidden. God, knowing the inclination of man to idolatry, show- eth the reason why he made this general prohibition, "" Lest peradventure thou being deceived, shouldst bow down to them and worship them.*' In Deuteronomy iv. — God gives a special charge to avoid Images. " Beware that thou forget not the covenant of the Lord thy God which he made with thee, and so make to thyself any graven Image of anything which the Lord * Placed where there is danger of their being worshipped. 12 Pddley. — Treatise. hath forbidden thee, for the Lord thy God is a consuming- fire, and a jealous God. If thou have children and nephews, and do dwell in the land, and being; deceived, make to yourselves any graven Image, doing evil before the Lord your God, and provoke him to anger, I do this day call heaven and earth to witness, that you shall quickly perish out of the land which you shall possess, you shall not dwell in it any longer, but the Lord will destroy you and scatter you amongst all nations." Note what a solemn obtestation God useth, and what grievous punishments he threatens to the breakers of the second commandment. In the tabernacle and temple of God, no Image was by God appointed to be set openly, nor by practice after- wards used or permitted, so long as religion was purely observed ; so that the use and execution of the law, is a good interpreter of the true meaning of the same. If, by virtue of the second commandment. Images were not lawful in the temple of the Jews, then, by the same commandment, they are not lawful in the churches of the christians. For being a moral commandment and not ceremonial, for, by consent of writers, only a part of the precept of observing the sabbath is ceremonial, it is a per- petual commandment, and binds us as well as the Jews. The Jews by no means would consent to Herod, Pilate, or Petronius, that Images should be placed in the temple at Jerusalem, but rather offered themselves to death than assent unto it. Who, besides that they are commended by Josephus for observing the meaning of the law, would not have endangered themselves so far, if they had thought Images had been indifferent in the temple of God : for as St. Paul saith : 2 Cor. vi. " What hath the temple of God to do with Idols ?'' See Joseph. Antiq. lib. xvii, 8. lib. xviii. 5, «t 15. God's scripture in no place commends tiie use of Images, but in a great number of places doth disallow and condemn them. And they are called in the book of Wisdom, the trap and snare of the feet of the ignorant. It is said the invention of them was the beginning of spiritual fornication. And that they were not from the beginning, neitiier shall they continue to the end. In the same book it is said, " their pictures are a worthless labour." And again, they are worthy of death that put On Images. 13 their trust in them, that make them, that love them, and that worship them. Furthermore, an Imag'e made by a father, as appears in the same book, for the memorial of his son departed, was the first invention oflmag^es, and occasion of idolatry.* The psalms and prophets are full of like sentences ; and how then can we praise that which God's Spirit doth al- ways dispraise. How much more then shall an Image made in the memory of Christ, and set up in the place of religion, occasion the same offence ? Euseb. Eccles. Hist., lib. vii. cap. 18. Images have their beginning from the heathen, and of no good ground, therefore they cannot be profitable to Christians. Whereunto Athanasius agrees, when writ- ing of Images against the gentiles : " The invention of Images came of no good but of evil, and whatsoever hath an evil beginning can never in any thing be judged good, seeing it is wholly naught." St. John saith, " My little children beware of Images ;" but to set them in the churches, which are places dedi- cated to the service and invocation of God, and that over the Lord's table, being the highest and most honourable place, where most danger of abuse both is, and ever hath been, is not to beware of them, nor to flee from them, but rather to embrace and receive them. Tertullian expound- ing the same words, writeth thus, " Little children keep yourselves from the shape itself, or form of them." Images in the church either serve to edify or to destroy. If they edify, then is there a kind of edification which the scriptures neither teach nor command, but always dis- allow. If they destroy, they are not to be used ; for in the church of God all things ought to be done to edify. The commandment of God is. Thou shalt not lay a stumblinff-block or a stone before the blind : and Cursed is he that maketh the blind to wander in his way. The simple and unlearned people who have been so long under blind guides, are blind in matters of religion, and inclined to error and idolatry. Therefore, to set * " Thus some parent mourning' bitterly for a son who hath been taken from him, makes an Inia^eof his child ; and him who before had been to his family as a dead man, they now begin to worship as a God, rites and sacrifices being instituted to be observed by his dependents.'' — Book of Wisdom, xiv. The reader will bear in mind that the reformers did not quote the Apocryphal books as holy scripture. 14 Ridley. — Treatise. Imag-es before them to stumble at, for they are snares and traps for the feet of the ij^norant, or to lead them out of the true way, is not only against the commandment of God, but deserves also the curse of God. The use of Images is to the learned and confirmed in knowledge, neither necessary nor profitable. To the su- perstitious, it is a confirmation in error. To the simple and weak, an occasion to fall, and very offensive and wounding to their consciences : and, therefore, very dan- gerous. For St. Paul saith (1 Cor. ix.), offending the brethren, and wounding their weak consciences, they sin against Christ. And (Matt, xviii.) " Woe be to him by whom offence or occasion of falling cometh ; it were better that a millstone were tied about his neck and he cast into the sea, than to offend one of the little ones that believe in Christ." And where an objection may be made that such offence may be taken away by sincere doctrine and preaching, it is to be answered, that is not sufficient ; and although it should be admitted as true, yet it should follow that sincere doctrine and preaching should always, and in all places, continue as well as Images: and so that wheresoever an Image were erected to offend, there should also, of reason, be a godly and sincere preacher continually maintained : for it is reason that the remedy be as large as the offence, the medicine as general as the poison ; but that is not possible in the realm of England if Images should be generally allowed. It is not expedient to allow and admit that which is hurtful to the greatest number, and in all churches and commonwealths the ignorant and weak are the greatest number, to whom Images are hurtful and not profitable. And, whereas, it is commonly alleged that Images in churches stir up the mind to devotion, it may be answered, that contrariwise, they rather distract the mind from prayer, hearing of God's word, and other godly meditations, as we read that, in the council chamber of the Laccdiemo- nians, no Picture or Image was suffered, lest in consult- ation of weighty matters of the commonweal, their minds, by the sight of the outward Image, might be occasioned to withdraw or to wander from the matter. The experience of this present time declares that those parts of the realm which think, and are persuaded, that God is not offended by doing outward reverence to an Image, most desire the restitution of Images, and have On Images, 15 been most diligent to set them up ag-ain. Restitution, therefore, of them by common authority shall confirm them more in their error to the danger of their souls, than ever they were before. For, as one man writeth, *' Nothing is more certain or sure than that which of doubtful, is made certain." The profit of Images is uncertain ; the peril, by expe- rience of all ages and states of the church, is most certain. The benefit to be obtained by them, if there be any, is very small : the danger in seeing of them, which is the danger of idolatry, is the greatest of all other. Now, to allow a most certain peril for an uncertain profit, and the greatest danger for the smallest benefit, in matters of faith and religion, is tempting God, and a grievous offence. Probations out of the fathers^ councitsy and histories. First, it is manifest that, in the primitive church. Images were not commonly used in churches, oratories, and places of assembly for religion : but they were gene- rally detested and abhorred, so that the want of Imagery was objected to the christians by the heathen as a crime. Origen relates that Celsus objected the lack of Images. Arnobius saith also, that the heathens accused the christians that they had neither altars nor Images. Zephirus, in his commentary upon the apology of TertuUian, gathers thus of Tertullian's words : " That place of persuasion were very cold, and to no purpose at all, except we hold that christians in those days, did hate most of all Images with their trim-decking and ornaments." Irenseus, lib i. cap. 24, reproves the heretics, called Gnostics, because that they carried about the Image of Christ made in Pilate's time after his own proportion,* which were much more to be esteemed than any that can be made now, using also, for declaration of their affection towards it, to set garlands upon the head of it. Lactantius affirms plainly, Divin. Instit. ii. cap. 19 : " It is not to be doubted that there is no religion where- ever there is any Image." If christians had then used Images, he would not have made his proposition so large. St. Augustine, De civitate Dei., lib. iv. cap. 31, com- * Made like to the actual bodily form and proportion in which Christ appeared upon earth. I'd Ridley. — Treatise. mends Varro, the Roman, in these words ; " Since Varro thought religion might be kept more purely without Images, who does not see how near he came to the truth ?" so that not only by Varro's judgment, but also by St. Augustine's approbation, the most pure and chaste ob- servation of religion, and the nearest the truth, is to be without Images. The same St, Augustine, in Psalm 113, hath these words : " Images have more force to bow down and crook the silly soul than to teach it." And upon the same Psalm he moves this question : *' Every child, yea, every beast, knows that it is not God which they see, why then does the Holy Ghost so often give warning to beware of that which all do know?" St. Augustine answers : " When they are set in churches, and begin to be worshipped of the mviltitude or common peo- ple, straightway springs up a most filthy affection of error." This place of St. Augustine well opens how weak a reason it is to say Images are a thing indifferent in cham- bers and in churches. For the alteration of the place, manner, and other circumstances, oftentimes alters the nature of the thing. It is lawful to buy and sell in the market, but not so in churches. It is lawful to eat and drink, but not so in churches. And therefore, saith St. Paul, " Have you not houses to eat and drink in ? Do you contemn the church of God?" Many other actions there are which are lawful and honest in private places, which are neither comely nor honest, not only in churches, but also in other assemblies of honest people. TertuUian saith, he used sometimes to burn frankin- cense in his chamber, which was then used by idolaters, and is so still in the Romish churches, but he joineth with all : " But not after such a rite or ceremony, nor after such a manner and fashion, nor with such preparation or sumptuousness, as it is done beforfe the Idols.'' So that Images placed in churches, and set in an honourable place of estimation, as St. Augustine saith, and especially over the Lord's table, which is done '' after the same manner and fashion " which the papists used, especially after so long continuance of abuse of Images, and so many being blinded with superstitious opinion to- wards them, cannot be counted indifferent, but a most certain ruin of many souls. On Images. 17 '& Epiphanius, in his epistle to John, bishop of Jerusa- lem, (which epistle was translated out of the Greek by St. Jerome, showing- that it is likely that Jerome misliked not the doctrine of the same,) writes a fact of his own, which most clearly declares the judgment of that nota- ble learned bishop concerning the use of Images : his words are these : " When I came to a village called Ana- blatha, and saw there, as I passed by, a candle burning, and inquiring what place it was, and learning that it was a church, had entered into the same to pray ; I found there a veil or cloth hanging at the door of the same church, dyed and painted, having on it the Image of Christ as it were, or of some saint, for I remember not well whose it was. Then when I saw that in the church of Christ, against the authority of the scriptures, the Image of a man was hung up, I cut it in pieces," &c. And a little after : " And commanded that such manner of veils or cloths, which are contrary to our religion, be not hanged in the church of Christ." Out of this place of Epiphanius> observe First, that by'^the judgment of this ancient father, to permit Images in churches, is against the authority of the scriptures, meaning against the second commandment, *' Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven Image," &c. Secondly, that Epiphanius rejects not only graven and molten, but also painted Images : for he cut in pieces the Image painted on a veil hanging at the church-door ; what would he have done if he had fonnd it over the Lord's table? Thirdly, that he spareth not the Image of Christ, for no doubt that Image is the most perilous in the church. Fourthly, that he did not only remove it, but with vehemency of zeal cut it in pieces, following the example of the good king Hezekiah, who broke the brazen serpent, and burnt it to ashes. Last of all, that Epiphanius thinks it the duty of vigi- lant bishops to be careful that no such kind of painted Images are permitted in the church. Serenus, bishop of Massilia, broke down Images, and destroyed them when he saw them begin to be worshipped. Experience of the times since has declared whether of the two sentences were better. For since Gregory's time, the Images standing in the western churches, they have been overflowed with idolatry, notwithstanding his ov 1 8 Ridley. — Treatise. other men's doctrine : whereas, if Serenus' judgment had universally taken place, no such thing had happened. For if no Images had been suffered, none could. have been wor- shipped, and, consequently, no idolatry committed by them. To recite the proceedijigs in Histories and Councils about the matter of Images, would require a long discourse^ but it shall be sufficient here briefly to touch a few. It is manifest to them that read histories, that not only emperors, but also divers and sundry councils in the eastern church have condemned and abolished Images both by decrees and examples. Peter Crinitus in his book of Honest Discipline, the 9th book, the 9th chapter, wrote out of the emperor's books these words. " Valens and Theodosius, the emperors, wrote to the pretorian prefect, in this sort. ' Whereas we are very careful that the religion of almighty God should be kept in all things, we permit no man to cast, grave, or paint the Image of our Saviour Christ, either in colours, stone, or other matter : but, wheresoever it be found, we command it to be taken away, punishing them most griev- ously that shall attempt anything contrary to our decrees and empire.' " Leo the third, a man commended in histories for his excellent virtues and godliness, by public authority com- manded abolishing of Images, and in Constantinople caused all the Images to be gathered together on a heap, and burned them to ashes. Constantine the fifth, his son, assembled a council of the bishops of the eastern church, in which council it was decreed as follows. " It is not lawful for them that believe in God through Jesus Christ, to have any Images either of the Creator, or of any creatures set up in temples to be worshipped, but rather that all images by the law of God, and for the avoiding of offence, ought to be taken out of churches." Which decree was executed in all places where any Images were, either in Greece or in Asia. But in all these times, the bishops of Rome rather maintaining the authority of Gregory, than considering the peril of the church, always in their assemblies allowed Images. Not long after, the bishop of Rome practising with Tarasius, patriarch of Constantinople, obtained of Irene the Oil Imao;es. 19 •^b empress, her son Constantine the sixth being" then young, that a council should be called at Nice, in which the pope's legates were presidents, which appeared by their fruits : for in that council it was decreed, that Images should not only be permitted in churches, but also wor- shipped, which council was confuted by a book written by Charlemagne, the emperor. To be short, there never was anything that made more division, or brought more mischief into the church, than the controversy of Images : by reason whereof, not only the eastern church was divided from the western, and never since perfectly reconciled, but also the empire was cut asunder and divided, and the gate opened to the Sara- cens and Turks to enter and overcome a great part of Christendom. The fault whereof most justly is to be as- cribed to the patrons of Images, v/ho could not be con- tented with the example of the primitive church, being- most simple and sincere, and most agreeable to the scrip- ture. For as Tertullian saith : " What is the first, that is true, and that which is later is counterfeit." But with all extremity, they maintained the use of Images in churches, whereof no profit nor advantage ever grew to the church of God. For it is evident, that infinite millions of souls have been cast into eternal damnation by the occasion of Images used in place of religion ; and no history can re* cord that ever any one soul was won unto Christ by having of Images. But lest it might appear that the westera church had always generally retained and commended Images, it is to be noted, that in a council holden in Spain, called the Eliberian Council, the use of Images in churches was clearly prohibited in these words : " We de- cree that pictures ought not to be in churches, lest that which is painted upon the walls be worshipped or adored." But notwithstanding this, experience has declared, that neither assembling in councils, neither writings, preachings, decrees, making of laws, prescribing of punishments, have holpen against Images, to which idolatry has been committed, nor against idolatry whilst Images stood. For these blind books and dumb schoolmasters, which they call laymen's books, have more prevailed by their carved and painted preaching of idolatry, than all written books and preachings in teaching the truth and horror of that vice. Having thus declared unto your highness a few causes, out of many, which move our consciences in this matter, we beseech your highness most humbly not to strain us 20 Ridley. — Treatise. any further, but to consider that God's word threatens a terrible judg-meut unto us, if we, being pastors and minis- ters in his church, should assent unto that thing which, in our learning- and conscience;, we are persuaded tends to the confirmation of error, superstition, and idolatry, and finally, to the ruin of the souls committed to our charge, for which we must give an account to the Prince of Pas- tors at the last day. Heb. xiii., 1st Pet. v. We pray your majesty also not to be offended with this our plainness and liberty, which all good and christian princes have ever taken in good part at the hands of the godly bishops. St. Ambrose, writing to Theodosius, the emperor, says, *' Neither is it the part of an emperor to deny free liberty of speaking, nor yet the duty of a priest not to speak what he thinks." And again, " In God's cause whom wilt thou hear, if thou wilt not hear the priest to whose great peril the fault should be committed ? Who dare say the truth unto thee, if the priest dare not ?" These and such like speeches of St. Ambrose, Theodosius and Valentinianus the emperors, always took in good part ; and we doubt not but your grace will do the like, not only of whose cle- mency, but also beneficence, we have largely tasted. We beseech your majesty, also, in these and such like controversies of religion, to refer the discussion and de- ciding of them to a synod of your bishops and other godly learned men, according to the example of Constan- tine the great, and other christian emperors, that the rea- sons on both parts being examined by them, the judg- ment may be given uprightly in all doubtful matters. And to return to this present matter, we most humbly beseech your majesty to consider, that besides weighty causes in policy, which we leave to the wisdom of your honourable counsellors, the establishment of Images by your authority, shall not only utterly discredit our minis- ters as builders up of the things which we have destroyed, but also blemish the fame of your most godly father, and also of such notable fathers as have given their life for the testimony of God's truth, who by public law removed all Images. The almighty and everliving God plentifully endue your majesty with his Spirit and heavenly wisdom, and long preserve your most gracious reign and prosperous government over us, to the advancement of his glory, to the overthrow of superstition, and to the benefit and com- fort of all your highness' loving subjects. A BRIEF TREATISE UPON THE LORD'S SUPPER, BY DR. NICHOLAS RIDLEY, BISHOP AND MARTYR WRITTEN A LITTLE BEFORE HIS DEATH. In the year 1541, Luther had written with great warmth against the opinions of the Helvetian divines, to which they replied in the following year, explaining their doctrine and faith. The latter work inclined Ridley to give the question a fair examination, he having hitherto held the doctrine of transubstantiation. He also procured a little treatise written seven hundred years before, by Ratramus or Bertram, a monk of Corbie, at the request of the emperor Charles the Bald, about a.d. 840. From this book Ridley learned that the determination of the church in favour of transubstantiation had not been so early or so general as he had supposed, for it showed that Bertram, a catholic doctor, held contrary to the present decrees, and that the faithful at that time were divided in their opinions upon the subject, without either party being condemned as heretics. This fact at once destroyed that foundation of the authority of the church on which Ridley Lad depended, and left him open to consider the reasonings of Bertram, who establishes his doctrine of the figurative and mysterious body and blood by the evidence of the senses, and the nature and analogy of Sacraments, and does not require the belief of the monstrous ab- surdity of the change of a piece of bread into flesh and blood, (to say nothing of the whole body of Christ, and his soul also, as the Romish doctrine asserts,) considering that the things seen and the things he- lieved are not all one ; as seen, they feed the corruptible body being themselves corruptible ; as believedy they feed our immortal souls being themselves immortal. Bertram confirmed that doctrine by scripture and observes, — ^Thinknot so grossly, as that the actual flesh and blood of Christ were given to be eaten and drunk, for that shall ascend up to heaven, and even could you actually eat and drink this flesh and blood, it would be of no benefit, " for the flesh profiteth nothing," but you shall eat and drink it in the mystery, in virtue, power, and efficacy ; — "It is the Spirit that giveth life." He also showed that the Fathers of the church before him understood re- specting this Sacrament in the same manner. See Gloucester Ridley's Life of Ridley, p. 165, &c. Ridley was thus induced fully to examine the subject, and the re- **ilt was, that the main doctrine of popery no longer influenced the jnind of Cranmer or himself. In April, 1554, he was called upon to dispute publicly at Oxford, respecting the doctrine of transubstan- tiation, on which occasion he produced a protest in the Latin lan- guage, containing his views upon the subject drawn up in a close and logical manner. Subsequently, while in prison and waiting his martyrdom, he stated nearly the same arguments in a more popular form in the treatise here given. ON THE LORD'S SUPPER. Many things confound a weak memory ; a few places well weighed and perceived, lighten the understanding. Truth is to be searched for where it is certain to be had. Though God speaks the truth by man, yet man's word which God has not revealed to be his, a man may doubt, without mistrust in God. Christ is the truth of God re- vealed unto man from heaven by God himself; and there- fore in his word the truth is to be found, which is to be embraced by all that are his. Christ bids us to ask, and we shall have ; to search, and we shall find ; to knock, and it shall be opened unto us. Therefore, O heavenly Father, the author and fountain of all truth, the unfathomable sea of all understanding ; send down, we beseech thee, thy Holy Spirit into our hearts, and lighten our understandings with the beams of thy heavenly grace. We ask thee this, O merciful Father, not in respect of our deserts, but for thy dear Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ's sake. Thou knowest, O heavenly Father, that the controversy about the Sacrament of the blessed body and blood of thy dear Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ, has not only of late troubled the church of England, France, Germany, and Italy, but also many years ago. The fault is ours, no doubt thereof, for we have deserved thy plague. But, O Lord, be merciful, and relieve our misery with some light of grace. Thou knowest, O Lord, how this wicked world rolleth up and down, and reeleth to and fro, and careth not what thy will is, so it may abide in wealth. If truth have wealth, then who are so stout to defend the truth as they ! But if Christ's cross be laid on truth's back, then they vanish away straight, as wax be- fore the fire. But these are not they, O heavenly Father, for whom I make my greatest moan, but for those silly* ones, O Lord, which have a zeal unto thee ; those, I mean, who would and wish to know thy will, and yet are * Ignorant, weak. 24 Ridley. — Treatise. hindered, holden back, and blinded, by the subtleties of satan and his ministers, the wickedness of this wretched world, and the sinful lusts and aflections of the flesh. Alas ! Lord, thou knowest we are of ourselves but flesh, wherein there dwelleth nothing- that is good. How then is it possible for man without thee, O Lord, to under- stand thy truth indeed ? Can the natural man perceive the will of God ? O Lord, to whom thou givest a zeal for thee, give them also, we beseech thee, the knowledge of thy blessed will. Suffer not them, O Lord, blindly to be led to strive against thee, as thou didst those, alas ! that cru- cified thine own dear Son ; forgive them, O Lord, for thy dear Son's sake, for they know not what they do. Alas ! O Lord, for lack of knowledge, they think that they'do unto thee good service, even when they most cruelly rage against thee. Remember, O Lord, we beseech thee, for whom thy martyr Stephen did pray, and whom thine holy apostle Paul did so truly and earnestly love, that for their salvation, he wished himself accursed for them. Remem- ber, O heavenly Father, the prayer of thy dear Son our Saviour Christ upon the cross, when he said unto thee : *' O Father, forgive them, they know not what they do." With this forgiveness, O good Lord, give me, I beseech thee, thy grace, here briefly to set forth the sayings of thy Son, our Saviour Christ, of his evangelists, and of his apostles, that, in this controversy, the light of the truth, by the lantern of thy word, may shine unto all that love thee. Of the Lord's last Supper, the evangelists Matthew, Mark, and Luke speak expressly ; but none more plainly, nor more fully declares the same, than St. Paul, partly in the tenth, but especially in the eleventh chapter of the first epistle to the Corinthians. As Matthew and Mark agree much in words, so likewise Luke and St. Paul ; but all four, no doubt, as they were all taught in one school, and inspired with one Spirit, so they all taught one truth. God grant us to understand it well. Amen. Matthew sets forth Christ's Supper thus : " When even was come, he sat down with the twelve, &c. As they did eat, Jesus took bread, and gave thanks, brake it, and gave it to his disciples, and said : ' Take, eat, this is my body.' And he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying : ' Drink ye all of it, for this is my blood of the new testament, that is shed for many for the remission of sins. I say unto you, I will not drink On the hordes Supper. 25 henceforth of this fruit of the vine-tree until the day when I shall drink it new in my Father's kingdom." Now Mark speaks of it thus : " And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, blessed and brake, and gave to them, and said : ' Take, eat, this is my body.' And he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank of it. And he said unto them : * This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many. Verily, I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God.' " Here Matthew and Mark agree, not only in the matter, but also almost in the form of words, except, that for those words in Matthew, " gave thanks," Mark has one word, " blessed ;'' which signifies in this place the same. And where Matthew saith, " Drink ye all of this," Mark saith, •' they all drank of it." And where Matthew saith, " of this fruit of the vine," Mark leaveth out the word " this," and saith, '* of the fruit of the vine." Now likewise let us see what agreement in form oi words there is between St. Luke and St. Paul. Luke writes thus : " He took bread, gave thanks, brake it, and gave it to them, saying : ' This is my body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of me.' Likewise also when they had supped, he took the cup, saying : ' This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.' " St. Paul sets forth the Lord's Supper thus : " The Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was be- trayed, took bread, and gave thanks, and brake, and said : ' Take, eat, this is my body, which is broken for you. This do in remembrance of me.' After the same manner he took the cup, when supper was done, saying : ' This cup is the new testament in my blood. This do, as often as ye drink it, in the remembrance of me. For as often as ye shall eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye show the Lord's death, until he come.* " Here, where Luke saith, " which is given," Paul saith, '* which is broken." And as Luke adds to the words of Paul spoken of the cup, " which is shed for you :" so likewise Paul adds to the words thereof, " This do, as often as ye shall drink it, in the remembrance of me." The rest that follows in St. Paul, both there and in the tenth RIDLEY. C 26 Ridley — Treatise. chapter, pertains unto the right use and doctrine of the Lord's Supper. Thus the evangelists and St. Paul have rehearsed the words and work of Christ, whereby he instituted and or- dained this holy Sacrament of his body and blood, to be a perpetual remembrance until his coming again of himself, that is, of his body given for us, and of his blood shed for the remission of sins. But this remembrance, which is thus ordained, as the author thereof is Christ, both God and man, so by the almighty power of God it far passes all kinds of remem- brances that any other man is able to make, either of him- self, or of any other thing ; for whosoever receives this holy Sacrament thus ordained in remembrance of Christ, he receives therewith either death or life. In this, I trust, we all agree. For St. Paul saith of the godly receivers in the tenth chapter of his first epistle unto the Corinthians : '* The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the par- taking or fellowship of Christ's blood?" And also he saith : " The bread which we break (and he means at the Lord's table), is it not the partaking or fellowship of Christ's body?" Now the partaking of Christ's body and of his blood unto the faithful and godly, is the partaking or fellowship of life and immortality. And again, of the bad and un- godly receivers, St. Paul plainly saith thus : " He that eateth of this bread, and drinketh of this cup, unworthily, is guilty of the body and blood of the Lord." Oh ! how necessary then is it, if we love life and would eschew* death, to try and examine ourselves before we eat of this bread and drink of this cup ; for else, assuredly, he that eateth and drinketh thereof unworthily, eateth and drinketh his own damnation, because he esteemeth not the Lord's body ; that is, he reverences not the Lord's body with the honour that is due unto him. And by that which was said, that with the receiving of the holy Sacrament of the blessed body and blood of Christ, there is received by every one, good or bad, either life or death, it is not meant that they, which are dead before God, may hereby receive life ; or that the living before God can hereby receive death. For as no one is fit to receive natural food, where- by the natural life is nourished, except he is born and live before ; so no man can feed by receiving this holy * Avoid. On the Lord^s Supper. 27 Sacrament, upon the food of eternal life, except he be rege- nerated and born of God before ; and on the other hand no man here receives damnation, who is not dead before. Thus hitherto, without all doubt, God is my witness ; I say, so far as I know, there is no controversy among them that are learned among- the church of England, con- cerning the matter of this Sacrament, but all agree, whe- ther they are new or old ; and to speak plain, and as some of them odiously call each other, whether they are Protestants, Papists, Pharisees, or Gospellers. And as all agree hitherto in the aforesaid doctrine, so all detest, abhor, and condemn the wicked heresy of the Messalians," who otherwise are called Eutichites,* who said, that the holy Sacrament can neither do good nor harm. Also all do condemn those wicked men, who put no difference between the Lord's table and the Lord's meat, and their own ; and because charity would that we should, if it be possible, and so far as we may with the safeguard of a good conscience, and maintenance of the truth, agree with all men ; therefore, methinks, it is not charitably done, to burden any man, either new or old, as they call them, further than such declare themselves to dissent from that we are persuaded to be the truth, and pretend there are controversies, where none such are indeed ; and so multiply debate, which, the more it increases, the further it departs from the unity which the true christian should desire. And again, this is true, that the truth neither needeth, nor will be maintained with lies. It is also a true common proverb, " that it is even sin to lie against the devil ;" for though by thy lie thou dost seem ever so much to speak against the devil, yet in that thou liest, indeed thou workest the devil's work ; thou dost him service, and takest the devil's part. Now then, do they act godly and charitably, who either by their pen in writing, or by their words in preaching, tell the simple people, that those who thus teach and be- lieve, go about to make the holy Sacrament ordained by Christ himself, a thing no better than a piece of common bread ? or who say, that such make the holy Sacrament of the blessed body and blood of Christ nothing else, but a bare sign, or a figure, to represent Christ, no otherwise * A sect of heretics in the fourth century.— See Mosheim. c 2 28 Ridley. — Treatise. than the ivy-bush represents the wine in a tavern ; or as a vile person gorgeously apparelled, may represent a king or a prince in a play? Alas ! let us leave lying and speak the truth every man, not only to his neighbour, but also oyhis neighbour ;. for we are members one of another, saith St. Paul. The controversy, no doubt, which at this day troubles the church, wherein any moderately learned man, either old or new, doth stand in, is not, whether or no the holy Sacrament of the body and blood of Christ is no better than a piece of common bread ; or whether the Lord's table is no more to be regarded, than the table of any earthly man ; or whether it is but a bare sign or figure of Christ, and nothing else. For all grant, that St. Paul's words require, that the bread which we break is the par- taking of the body of Christ : and all also grant that he who eateth of that bread, or drinketh of that cup unwor- thily, is guilty of the Lord's death, and eats and drinks his own condemnation, because he esteems not the Lord's body. All grant that these words of St. Paul, when he saith, " if we eat, it advantages us nothing; or if we eat not, we want, nothing thereby," are not spoken of the Lord's table, but of other common meats. Thus then hitherto we all still agree. But now let us see wherein the dissension doth stand. The understand- ing of that wherein it chiefly stands, is a step to the true searchine: forth of the truth. For who can well seek a remedy, if he know not first the disease ? It is neither to be denied nor dissembled, that in the matter of this Sacrament there are divers points, wherein men counted to be learned cannot agree : as, Whether there is any transubstantiation* of the bread, or not ? Any corporeal and carnal presence of Christ's substance, or not ? Whether the adoration, only due unto God, is to be done to the Sacrament, or not ? And whether Christ's body is there offered indeed unto the heavenly Father by the priest, or not ? Or whether the evil man receives the natural body of Christ, or not ? Yet, nevertheless, as in a man diseased in divers parts, commonly the original cause of such divers diseases, which are spread abroad in the body, comes from some one chief member, as from the stomach, or from the head ; even so, all the five aforesaid points chiefly hang upon this one • Change of the substance. On the hordes Supper. 29 question, which is. What is the matter of the Sacrament ; — is it the natural substance of bread, or the natural sub- stance of Christ's own body ? The truth of this question, truly tried out and agreed upon, no doubt will end the controversy of all the rest. For if it be Christ's own natural body, born of the virgin, then assuredly, seeing that all learned men in England, so far as I know, both new and old, grant there is but one substance, then, I say, they must needs grant transub- stantiation, that is, a change of the substance of bread into the substance of Christ's body : then also they must grant the carnal and corporeal presence of Christ's body : then must the Sacrament be adored with the honour due unto Christ himself, for the unity of the two natures in one person : then if the priest offers the Sacrament, he offers indeed Christ himself: and, finally, the murderer, the adulterer, or wicked man, receiving the Sacrament, must needs then receive also the natural substance of Christ's own blessed body, both flesh and blood. Now, on the other side, if after the truth shall be truly tried out, it is found, that the substance of bread is the natural substance of the Sacrament, although for the change of the use, office, and dignity of the bread, the bread indeed is sacramentally changed into the body of Christ, as the water in baptism is sacramentally changed into the fountain of regeneration, and yet the natural sub- stance remains the same as it was before — If, I say, the true solution of that former question, whereupon all these controversies depend, is, that the natural substance of bread is the material substance in the Sacrament of Christ's blessed body, then must it needs follow from the former proposition, which is confessed of all that are said tolbe learned, so far as I know in England, that there is but one material substance in the Sacrament of the body, and one only likewise in the Sacrament of the blood : so that there is no such thing indeed and in truth, as that which they call transubstantiation, for the substance of bread re- mains still in the Sacrament of the body. Then also the natural substance of Christ's human nature, which he took of the virgin Mary, is in heaven, where it now reign- eth in glory, and is not here inclosed under the form of bread. Then that godly honour, which is only due unto God the Creator, and may not be done unto the creature 30 Ridley. — Treatise. without idolatry and sacrileg'e, is not to be done unto the holy Sacrament. Then also the wicked, I mean the im- penitent, murderers, adulterers, or such like, do not receive the natural substance of the blessed body and blood of Christ. Finally, then it follows that Christ's blessed body and blood, which was once only offered and shed upon the cross, being available for the sins of all the whole world, is offered up no more in the natural substance thereof, neither by the priest, nor any other thing. But here, before we go any further to search in this matter, and to wade, as it were, to search and try out as we can the truth hereof in the scripture, we shall do well, by the way, to know whether they, that thus make an- swer and solution unto the former principal question, do take away simply and absolutely the presence of Christ's body and blood from the Sacrament, ordained by Christ, and duly ministered according to his holy ordinance and institution of the same. Undoubtedly, they deny that utterly, either so to say, or so to mean. Hereof, if a man do or will doubt, the books which are written already in this matter by those who thus answer, will make the matter plain. Now, then, you will say, what kind of presence do they grant, and what do they deny? Briefly, they deny the presence of Christ's body in the natural substance of his human and assumed nature, and they grant the presence of the same by grace : that is, they affirm and say, that the substance of the natural body and blood of Christ is only remaining in heaven, and so shall be until the latter day, when he shall come again in glory, accompanied with the angels of heaven, to judge both the quick and the dead. And the same natural substance of the very body and blood of Christ, because it is united in the divine nature in Christ, the second Person of the Trinity, therefore, hath not only life in itself, but is also able to give, and doth give life unto as many as are, or shall be partakers thereof. That is, to all that believe on his name, — which are not born of blood, as St. John saith, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but are born of God, — though the self-same substance abide still in heaven, and they, for the time, of their pilgrimage, dwell here upon earth. By grace, I say, that is, by the gift of this life, mentioned in John, On the LorcCa Supper, 31 and the properties of the same suitable for our pilgrimage here upon earth ; the same body of Christ is here present with us. Even as for example, we say, the same sun which, in substance, never removes from his place out of the heavens, is yet present here by his beams, light, and natu- ral influence, where it shines upon the earth. For God's word and his sacraments are, as it were, the beams of Christ, who is " Sol justitiae," the Sun of righteous- ness. Thus hast thou heard, of what sort or sect soever thou art, wherein stands the principal state and chief point of all the controversies which properly pertain unto the nature of this Sa-crament. As for the use thereof, I grant there are many other things whereof here I have spoken nothing at all. And now, lest thou mayest justly complain and say, that I have, in opening of this matter, done nothing else but digged a pit, and have not shut it up again ; or opened the book, and have not closed it again ; or else call me as thou listest, as neutral, dissembler, or whatso- ever else thy lust or learning shall serve to name me worse, therefore, here now I will, by God's grace, not only shortly, but also as clearly and plainly as I can, make thee now to know which of the aforesaid two answers to the former principal state and chief point pleases me best. Yea, and also I will hold all those accursed, who in this matter that now so troubles the church of Christ, have of God received the key of knowledge, and yet go about to shut up the doors, so that they themselves will not enter in, nor suffer others that would. And, for my own part, I consider, both of late what a charge and cure of souls has been committed unto me, whereof God knows how soon I shall be called to give account ; and also now, in this world, what peril and danger of the laws, concerning my life, I am now in at this present time ; what folly were it then for me now to dissemble with God, of whom assuredly I look and hope by Christ to have everlasting life ! Seeing that such charge and danger, both before God and man, compass me in round about on every side ; therefore, God willing, I will frankly and freely utter my mind, and though my body be captive, yet my tongue and my pen, as long as I may, shall freely set forth that which undoubtedly I am per- suaded is the truth of God's word. And yet I will do it 32 Ridley. — Treatise. under this protestation, — call me a protestant wlio list, I pass* not thereof. My protestation shall be this : that my mind is and ever shall be (God willinp^) to set forth sincerely the true sense and meaning, to the best of my understanding", of God's most holy word, and not decline from the same, either for fear of worldly danger, or else for hope of gain. I do pro- test also due obedience and submission of my judgment in this my writing, and in all mine other affairs, unto those of Christ's church, who are truly learned in God's holy word, gathered in Christ's name, and guided by his Spirit. After this protestation, I plainly affirm and say, that the second answer, made unto the chief question and principal point, I am persuaded is the very true meaning and sense of God's holy word ; that is, that the natural substance of bread and wine is the true material substance of the holy Sacrament of the blessed body and blood of our Saviour Christ ; and that the places of scripture where- upon this my faith is grounded are these, both concerning the Sacrament of the body, and also of the blood. First, let us repeat the beginning of the institution of the Lord's Supper, wherein all the three evangelists and St. Paul, almost in words, do agree, saying, that " Jesus took bread, gave thanks, brake, and gave to the disciples, saying, ' Take, eat, this is my body.' " Here it appears plainly, that Christ calls very bread,* his body. For that which he took, was very bread, in this all men do agree, — and that which he took, after he had given thanks, he brake, — and that which he took and brake, he gave to his disciples, — and that which he took, brake, and gave to his disciples, he himself said of it : *' This is my body." So it appears plainly that Christ called very bread his body. But very bread cannot be his body in very substance : therefore it must needs have another meaning, which meaning appears plainly by the next sentence that follows, both in Luke and in Paul, and that is this ; *' Do this in remembrance of me." Whereupon it seems to me to be evident that Christ took bread, and called it his body, for that he would insti- tute thereby a perpetual remembrance of his body, espe- cially of that singular benefit of our redemption, which he would then procure and purchase unto us by his body upon the cross. But bread, retaining still its own very • Care. t Real bread, mere bread. On the Lord's Supper. 33 natural substance, may thus, by grace, and in a sacra- mental signification, be his body : whereas else the very bread which he took, brake, and gave them, could not be in any wise his natural body, for that were confusion of substances. And therefore the very words of Christ, joined with the next sentence following, both enforce us to confess that the very bread remains still, and also open unto us how that bread may be, and is, thus, by his divine power, his body which was given for us. But here I remember, I have read in some writers, of the contrary opinion, who deny that Christ brake that which he did take. For, say they, after his taking, he blessed it, as Mark relates, and by his blessing he changed the natural substance of the bread into the natural sub- stance of his body : and so, although he took the bread and blessed it, yet because in blessing he changed the sub- stance of it, he brake not the bread, which then was not there, but only the form thereof Unto this objection I have two plain answers, both grounded upon God's word. The one I will rehearse ; the other answer I will defer until I speak of the Sacrament of the blood. Mine answer here is taken out of the plain words of St. Paul, which manifestly confound this fantastical invention, first invented by pope Innocent,* and afterwards confirmed by the subtle sophister Duns, and now lately renewed in our days, with an eloquent style and much fineness of wit. But what can crafty invention, subtlety in sophisms, eloquence or fineness of wit, prevail against the infallible word of God ? What need have we to strive and contend what it is we break? For Paul saith, speaking undoubtedly of the Lord's table : " The bread, saith he, which we break, is it not the partaking or fellowship of the Lord's body ?" Whereupon follows, that after the thanksgiving it is bread which we break. And how often, in the Acts of the apostles, is the Lord's Supper signified by breaking of bread ? " They persevered," saith St. Luke, " in the apostles' doctrine, communion, and breaking of bread." And, " They brake bread in every house." And again, in another place, " When they were come together to break bread," &c. St, Paul, who sets forth most fully in his writings both the doctrine and the right use of the Lord's Supper, and the sacramental eating and drinking • In the fourth Lateran council, A. D. 1215. c3 3i Ridley. — Treatise. of Christ's body and blood, called it five times, ' bread,' ' bread,' ' bread,' ' bread,' ' bread.' The sacramental bread is the mystical body, and so it is called in scripture (1 Cor. x.), as it is called the na- tural body of Christ. But Christ's mystical body is the conffreffation of Christians; now no man was ever so fond* as to say, that the sacramental bread is transub- stantiated and chang'ed into the substance of the con- n-reffation. Wherefore, no man should think or say that the bread is transubstantiated and changed mto the natural substance of Christ's human nature. But my mind is not here to write what may be feathered out of scriptures for this purpose, but only to note here, briefly, those which seem to me to be the plainest places. Therefore, contented to have spoken thus much of the sacramental bread, I will now speak a little of the Lord's cup. And this shall be my third argument, grounded upon Christ's own words. The natural substance of the sacra- mental wine remains still, and is the material substance of the Sacrament of the blood of Christ : therefore it is likewise so in the sacramental bread. I know that he, who is of a contrary opinion, will deny the former part of my argument : but I will prove it thus by the plain words of Christ himself, both in Matthew and in Mark. Christ's words are these, after the words said upon the cup : " I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine-tree, until I shall drink it new in my Father's kingdom." Here note, how Christ plainly calls his cup the fruit of the vine-tree. But the fruit of the vine-tree is very natural wine ; wherefore the natural substance of the wine still remains in the Sacrament of Christ's blood. And here, in speaking of the Lord's cup, comes unto my remembrance the vanity of Innocent's fantastical in- vention, which, by Paul's words, I confuted before, and promised to speak of more fully; and that is this : if the transubstantiation be made by the word " blessed" in Mark, said upon the bread, as Innocent, that pope, did say; then surely, seeing that word is not said by Christ, neither in any of the evangelists, nor in St. Paul, upon the cup, there is no transubstantiation of the wine at all. For^ where the cause doth fail, there the etfect cannot fol- low. But the sacramental bread, and the sacramental * Foolish. On the Lord's Supper. 35 wine, both remain in their natural substance aHke ; and if the one is not changed, as of the sacramental wine, it appears evident that there is not any such transubstan- tiation in either of them. All that trust and affirm this change of the substance of bread and wine into the substance of Christ's body and blood, called transubstantiation, also say and affirm this change is made by a certain prescribed form of words, and no other. But what they are that make the change either of the one or of the other, undoubtedly even they that write most finely in these our days almost plainly confess that they cannot tell. For, although they grant to certain of the old doctors, as Chrysostom and Ambrose, that these words, " This is my body," are the words of consecration of the Sacrament of the body, " yet," say they, " these words may well be so called, because they assure us of the consecration thereof, whether it is done before these words be spoken, or not." But as for this their doubt, concerning the Sacrament of the body, I let it pass. Let us now consider the words which pertain to the cup. This is first evident, that as Matthew much agrees with Mark, and likewise Luke with Paul, herein in the form of words, so the form of words'in Matthew and Mark is diverse from that which is in Luke and Paul. The old authors mostly rehearse the form of words in Matthew and Mark, because, I suppose, they seemed most clear to them. But here I would know, whether it is credible or not, that Luke and Paul, when they celebrated the Lord's Supper with their congregations, did not use the same form of words at the Lord's table which they wrote, Luke in his gospel, and Paul in his epistle. Of Luke, because he was a physician, I cannot tell whether some will grant that he was a priest or not, and was able to receive the order of priesthood, which they say is given by virtue of these words said by the bishop ; " Take thou authority to sacrifice for the quick and the dead." — But if they should be so strait upon Luke, either for his craft, or else for lack of such power given him by virtue of the aforesaid words, then both Peter and Paul are in danger to be deposed from their priesthood ; for the craft of fishing which was Peter's, or making of tents which was Paul's, were 'more vile than the science of physic. And as for those sacra- mental words of the order of priesthood, to have authority 36 Ridley. — Treatise. to sacrifice both for the quick and the dead, I think that Peter and Paul, if they both were alive, were not able to prove that Christ ever gave them such authority, or ever said any such words unto them. But I will let Luke go, and because Paul speaks more for himself, I will rehearse his words : — " That, saith Pavd, which I received of the Lord, I gave unto you : for the Lord Jesus," &c. and so he sets forth the whole institution and right use of the Lord's Supper. Now, seeing that Paul here said, that which he had received of the Lord he had given them, and that which he had received and given them before by word of mouth he now rehearses and writes the same in his epistle ; is it credible that Paul would never use this form of words upon the Lord's cup, which, as he saith, he received of the Lord, which he had given them before, and now rehearses in his epistle ? I trust no man is so far from all reason but he will grant me that this is not likely to be. Now, then, if you grant me that Paul used the form of words which he writes, let us then rehearse and consider Paul's words, which he saith Christ spake thus upon the cup ; " This cup is the new testament in my blood ; this do as often as ye shall drink it in the remembrance of me." Here I would know, whether Christ's words spoken upon the cup were not as mighty in work, and as effec- tual in signification, to all intents, constructions, and pur- poses, as those that were spoken upon the bread ? If this be granted, which, I think no man can deny, then, further, 1 reason thus. — But the word ' is' in the words spoken upon the Lord's bread, strongly signifies, say they, the change of the substance of that which goes before it into the substance of that which follows after; that is, of the substance of bread into the substance of Christ's body, when Christ saith, "This is my body." Now, then, if Christ's words, which are spoken upon the cup, which Paul here rehearses, are of the same might and power, both in work- ing and signifying, then must this word Ms,* when Christ saith, "This cup is the new testament," &c. turn the sub- stance of the cup into the substance of the new testament. And if you say, that this word ' is* neither makes nor signifies any such change of the cup ; and although it is said of Christ, that this cup is the new testament, yet Christ meant no such change as that — truly, sir, even so On the Lord's Supper. 37 say I. — When Christ said of the bread which he took, and after giving thanks, brake, and gave to them, saying: " Take, eat, this is my body ;" he meant no more any such change of the substance of bread into the substance of his natural body, than he meant the change and transubstan- tiation of the cup into the substance of the new testament. And if you say, that the word ' cup' here in Christ's words does not signify the cup itself, but the wine, or thing contained in the cup, by a figure called metonymy, for that Christ's words meant, and must needs be taken so ; you say very well. But, I pray you, by the way, here nOte two things : first, that this word * is' hath no such strength and signification in the Lord's words, to make or to signify any transubstantiation ; and, secondly, that in the Lord's words, whereby he instituted the Sacrament of his blood, he used a figurative speech. How vain, then, is it, that some so earnestly say, as if it were an infallible rule, that in doctrine and in the institu- tion of the Sacraments, Christ used no figures, but all his words are to be strained to their proper signification ; when here, whatsoever you say was in the cup, neither that, nor the cup itself, taking every word in its proper signification, was the new testament ; but to understand that which was in the cup, by the cup, that is a figura- tive speech. Yea, and also, whether you say it was wine or Christ's blood, you cannot verify, or truly say that was the new testament, without a figure also. Thus, in one sentence, spoken by Christ in the institution of the Sacra- ment of his blood, the figure must help us twice ; so un- true is that v/hich some write, that Christ uses no figure in the doctrine of faith, nor in the institution of his Sacra- ments. But some say, if we thus admit figures in doc- trine, then all the articles of our faith, by figures and alle- gories, will shortly be transformed and unloosed. I say, it is a like fault, and even the same, to deny the figure where the place so requires to be understood, as vainly to make that a figurative speech, which is to be understood in its proper signification. Of the rules whereby the speech is known, when it is figurative, and when it is not, St. Augustin, in his book called " Of Christian Doctrine," gives many learned lessons, very necessary to be known by the student in God's word. Of which I will rehearse one, which is this : " If," saith he, " the scripture seems to command a thing which B8 Ridley. — Treatise. is wicked and iini^odly, or to forbid a thins: that charity requires, then know thou, saith he, that the speech is figurative." And for example he brings the saying of Christ in the sixth chapter of St. John : " Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye cannot have life in you.*' It seems to command a wicked or an imgodly thing ; wherefore it is a figurative speech, com- manding to have communion and fellowship with Christ's passion, and devoutly and wholesomely to lay up in memory that his flesh was crucified and wounded for us. And here I cannot but marvel at some men, of excel- lent fineness of wit, and of great eloquence, who are not ashamed to write and say, that this aforesaid saying of Christ is (according to St. Augustin) a figurative speech indeed ; but not unto the learned, but unto the unlearned. Here let any man that indifferently understands the Latin tongue, read the place in St. Augustin, and if he perceive not clearly St. Augustin's words and mind not to be the contrary, let me abide the rebuke thereof. This lesson of St. Augustin I have, therefore, the rather set forth, because as it teaches us to understand that place in John figuratively, even so surely the same lesson, with the example of St. Augustin's exposition thereof, teaches us, not only by the same to understand Christ's words in the institution of the Sacrament, both of his body and of his blood, figuratively, but, also, the very true meaning and understanding of the same. For, if to command to eat the flesh of the Son of man, and to drink his blood, seems to command an inconvenience and an ungodliness, and is even so indeed, if it be understood as the words stand in their proper signification ; and, therefore, must be understood figuratively and spiritually, as St. Augustin godly and learnedly interprets them ; then, surely, Christ, commanding his disciples in his Last Supper to eat his body and to drink his blood, seemeth to. command, in^sound of words, as great and even the same inconvenience and un- godliness, as his words do in the sixth chapter of St. John ; and, therefore, they must, even by the same reason, be like- wise understood, and expounded figuratively and spiritu- ally, as St. Augustin did the other. Whereunto that exposition of St. Augustin may seem to be the more suitable, for Christ in his Supper, to the commandment of eating and drinking his body and blood, adds, " Do this in 0?i the Lord^s Supper. 39 the remembrance of me." Which words, surely, were the key that opened and revealed this spiritual and godly exposition unto St. Augustin. But I have tarried longer in setting forth the form of Christ's words upon the Lord's cup, written by Paul and Luke, than I intended. And yet in speaking of the form of Christ's words, spoken upon his cup, the form of words used in the Latin mass upon the Lord's cup now comes to my remembrance. Whereof I not a little marvel what should be the cause, seeing the Latin mass agrees with the evangelists and Paul in the form of words said upon the bread ; why, in the words upon the Lord's cup, should it differ from them all ? Yea, and it adds to the words of Christ, spoken upon the cup, these words, " the mystery of faith," which are not read as being attributed unto the Sacrament of Christ's blood, neither in the evangelists, nor in Paul, nor, so far as I know, in any other place of holy scripture. Yea, and if it may have some good expo- sition, yet, surely, I do not see the mystery, why it should not be as well added unto the words of Christ upon his bread, as upon his cup. And I see in the use of the Latin mass the Sacrament of the blood abused, when it is denied unto the lay people, contrary unto God's most certain word. For why, I do beseech you, should the Sacrament of Christ's blood be denied unto the lay christians, more than to the priest ? Did not Christ shed his blood for the godly layman as well as for the godly priest ? If you will say, " Yes, he did so ; but yet the Sacrament of the blood is not to be received without the offering up and sacrificing thereof unto God the Father, both for the quick and for the dead ; and no man'may make oblation of Christ's blood unto God but a priest, and, therefore, the priest alone, and that in his mass only may receive the Sacrament of the blood." And call you this, my masters, the mystery of faith ? Alas ! alas ! I fear me, this is, before God, the mystery of iniquity, such as Paul speaks of in his epistle to theThessalonians. The Lord be merciful unto us, and bless us, and lighten his countenance upon us, and be merciful unto us ; that we may know thy way upon earth, and among all people thy salvation. This kind of oblation stands upon tran- substantiation, its cousin german, and grow both upon one ground. May the Lord weed out of his vineyard shortly, that bitter root, if it be his will and pleasure ! 40 Ridley. — Treatise. To speak of this oblation, how injurious it is unto Christ's passion, how it cannot, but with hip^h blasphemy, and heinous arrogance, and intolerable pride, be claimed of any man, other than of Christ himself — how much and how plainly it opposes the manifest words,* and the true sense and meanings of holy scripture in many places, especially in the epistle to the Hebrews ; the matter is so long-, and others have written of it so at large, that I in- tend not now to treat thereof any further. For in this my scribbling I intended only to search out and set forth by the scriptures, according to God's gracious gift of my poor knowledge, whether the true sense and meaning of Christ's words in the institution of his holy Supper do require any transubstantiation, as they call it, or that the very substance of bread and wine do remain still in the Lord's Supper, and are the material substance of the holy Sacrament of Christ our Saviours blessed body and blood. Yet there remains one vain quiddity of Duns in this matter, the which, because some that write now seem to like it so well, that they have stripped it out of Duns' dusty and dark terms, and pricked him and painted him in fresh colours of an eloquent style, may therefore deceive the more, except the error be warily eschewed. Duns saith, *' If you desire to know what the pronoun demonstrative (meaning the word ' this') shows or demon- strates in these words of Christ, ' This is my body,' whe- ther the bread, that Christ took or no, I answer, no ; but it points only one thing in substance, the nature and name whereof it does not tell, but leaves that to be determined and told by that which follows the word, * is,' that is, by the predicate, as the logician speaks." Therefore he calls the pronoun demonstrative ' this,' an ' individuum vagum,' that is, a wandering proper name, whereby we may point out and show any thing in substance, whatso- ever it be. That this iman;ination is vain and untruly applied unto those words of Christ, "This is my body," may appear plainly, by the words of Luke and Paul, said upon the cup, when compared with the form of words spoken upon the cup in Matthew and Mark. For, as upon the bread it is said of all the evangelists, " This is my body ;" so of Matthew and Mark is said of the cup, "This is my blood." ♦ The plain acceptation of the words. Oji the Lord's Supper. 41 Then if in the words, " This is my body," the word ' this' be, as Duns calls it, * a wandering name,' to appoint and show forth any one thing, the name and nature whereof it. does not tell, so must it be likewise in these words of Matthew and Mark upon the Lord's cup, " This is my blood." But in the words of Matthew and Mark it siff- nifies and points out the same that it does in the Lord's words upon the cup, in Luke and Paul, where it is said, " This cup is the new testament in my blood," &c. There- fore, in Matthew and Mark, the pronoun demonstrative ' this' does not wander to point out only one thing in substance, not showing what it is, but tells plainly what it is unto the eye, no less in Matthew and Mark, than is done in Luke and Paul, by putting this word ' cup* both unto the eye and to the ear. For, taking the cup, and demonstrating or showing it unto his disciples by the pronoun demonstrative ' this,' and saying unto them : " Drink ye all of this," it was then all one to say, " This is my blood ;" as to say, '* This cup is my blood," meaning by this cup, as the nature of the speech requires, the thing contained in the cup. So likewise, without all doubt, when Christ had taken bread, given thanks, and broken it, and giving it to his disciples, said, " Take ;" and so demonstrating and showing that bread which he had in his hands, to say then, " This is my body," and to have said, "This bread is my body," had been the same. As it were all one, if a man, lacking a knife, and going to his oysters, would say to another, whom he saw to have two knives, " Sir, I pray you lend me one of your knives :" were it not now all one to an- swer him: " Sir, hold, I will lend you this to eat your meat, but not to open oysters withal :" and " Hold, I will lend you this knife to eat your meat, but not to open oysters ?" This similitude serves but for this purpose, to declare the nature of speech, where the thing that is demonstrated and showed, is evidently perceived, and openly known to the eye. But, O good Lord, what a wonderful thing is it to see, how some men labour to teach, what is demon- strated and showed by the pronoun demonstrative ' this,' in Christ's words, when he saith, *' This is my body :" — " this is my blood :" how they labour, I say, to teach what that word ' this' was then indeed ; when Christ spake in the beginning of the sentence the word ' this,' 42 Ridley. — Treatise. before he had pronounced the rest of the words that followed in the same sentence ; so that their doctrine may agree with their transubstantiation ; which, indeed, is the very foundation wherein all their erroneous doctrine doth stand. And here the transubstantiators do not ag-ree among themselves, no more than they do in the words which wrought the transubstantiation, when Christ first instituted his Sacrament. Wherein Innocent, bishop of Rome, of the latter days, and Duns, as was before noted, attribute the work unto the word " benedixit, he blessed ;" but the rest for the most part to *' hoc est corpus meum, this is my body." Duns, therefore, with his sect, because he puts the chang-e before, must needs say, that when Christ spake * this' in the beginning of the sentence, it was, indeed, Christ's body. For in the change the substance of bread departed, and he saith that the change was done in * benedixit,' that went before. Therefore, according to him and his, that 'this' was then, indeed, Christ's body, thoug-h the word did not then import so much, but only one thing- in substance, which substance, according to Duns, the bread being- g-one, must needs be the substance of Christ's body. But they that believe transubstantiation to be wroug-ht by these words of Christ, *' This is my body," and say, that when the whole sentence was finished, then this change was perfected, and not before ; they cannot say, but yet Christ's ' this' in the beginning" of the sentence Ijefore the other words were fully pronounced, was bread indeed. For as yet the change was not done, and so long the bread mugt needs remain ; and so long as the substance of bread remains, so long, with the universal consent of all transubstantiators, the natural substance of Christ's body cannot come, and, therefore, must their ' this* of necessity demonstrate and show the substance, which was as yet at the pronouncing of the first word ' this' by Christ, but bread. But how can they make and verify Christ's words to be true, demonstrating the substance, which, in the demon- stration, is but bread, and say thereof, " This is my body,' that is, as they say, the natural substance of Christ's body ? except they would say, that the word ' is' signifies ' is made,' or ' is changed into :' and so then, if the same word ' is* be of the same effect in Christ's words spoken On the Lord's Supper. 43 upon the cup, and rehearsed by Luke and Paul ; the cup, or the wine in the cup, must be made or turned into the new testament, as was declared before. There are some among the transubstantiators who walk so wilily and so warily betwixt these two aforesaid opinions^ allowing them both, and holding plainly neither of them both, that methinks they may be called neutrals, ambidexters, or rather such as can shift on both sides. They play on both parts ; for with the latter they all allow the doctrine of the last syllable, which is, that transub- stantiation is done by miracle in an instant, at the sound of the last syllable, ' um,' in this sentence, hoc est corpus meum. And they allow Duns' fantastical imagination of ' individuum vagum,' which demonstrates, as he teaches, in Christ's words one thing in substance, then being, according to his mind, the substance of the body of Christ. It is a marvellous thing how any man can agree with both these two, they being so contrary the one to the other.* For the one saith the word ' this' demonstrates the sub- stance of bread, and the other saith, " No, not so ; the bread is gone, and it demonstrates a substance which is Christ's body." — " Tush," saith the third man, " you un- derstand nothing at all : they agree well enough in the chief point, which is the ground of all ; that is, both agree and bear witness that there is transubstantiation." They agree, indeed, in that conclusion, I grant; but their proofs and doctrine thereof agree together as well, as did the false witnesses before Annas and Caiaphas against Christ, or the two wicked judges against Susanna. For against Christ the false witnesses agreed, no doubt, to speak all against him. And the wicked judges were both agreed to condemn poor Susanna : but on examin- ation of their witnesses they dissented so far, that all was found false that they went about ; both that wherein they agreed, and also those things which they brought for proofs. Thus much have I spoken in 'searching out a solution for this principal question, which was, what is the mate- rial substance of the holy Sacrament in the Lord's Supper ? Now, lest I should seem to set by my own conceit more than is right ; or to regard the doctrine of the old * Here and in other places Ridley refers to Gardiner. 44 Ridley. — Treatise. ecclesiastical writers less than is convenient for a man of my poor learninf^ and simple wit to do ; and because, also, I am indeed persuaded, that the old ecclesiastical writers understood the true meaning of Christ in this matter; and have both so truly and so plainly set it forth in certain places of their writing's, that no man, who will vouchsafe to read them, and without ])rejudice of a corrupt judgment will indifferently weigh them, and construe their minds none otherwise than they declare themselves to have meant ; I am ])ersuaded, I say, that in reading of them thus, no man can be ignorant in this matter, but he that will shut up his own eyes, and blindfold himself. When I speak of ecclesiastical writers, I mean such as lived before the wicked usurpation of the see of Rome was grown so immeasurably great, that not only with tyrannical power, but also with corrupt doctrine, it began to subvert Christ's gospel, and to turn" the state, that Christ and his apostles set in the church, upside down. For the causes aforesaid, I will rehearse certain of their sayings; and yet, because I take them only as witnesses and expounders of this doctrine, and not as authors of the same ; and also that I may not be tedious, I will rehearse but few ; that is, three old writers of the Greek church, and other three of the Latin church, which seem to me to be most plain in this matter: the Greek authors are Origen, Chrysostom, and Theodoret ; the Latin are Ter- tullian, St. Augustin, and Gelasius.* I know there can be nothing spoken so plainly, but that crafty wit, furnished with eloquence, can darken it, and wrest it quite from the true meaning to a contrary sense. And I know also that eloquence, craft, and fineness of wit, have gone about to blear men's eyes, and to stop their ears in the aforenamed writers, that men should nei- ther hear nor see what those authors both write and teach so plainly, that except men should be made both stark blind and deaf, they cannot but of necessity, if they will read and weigh them indifferently, hear and see what they mean, even when eloquence, craft, and fineness of wit, ♦ Ori}?en was born about A.D. 1S5, and died A.D. 252. Chry- sostom was born A.D. 347, and died A. D. 407. Theodoret was born A. D. 386, and died A. D. 457. Tertullian flourished from about A. I). 194 to A. D. 21G. Augustin was born A. D. 334, and died A. D. 430. Gelasius was chosen to be pope A.D. 492.— Dxipin. On the Lord's Svpper. 45 have done all they can. Now let us hear the old writers of the Greek church. Origen, who lived above twelve hundred and fifty years ago ; a man, for the excellency of his learning*, so highly esteemed in Christ's church, that he was counted and judged the singular teacher, in his time, of Christ's reli- gion, the confounder of heresies, the schoolmaster of many godly matters, and an opener of the high mysteries in scripture: he, writing upon the 15th chapter of St. Mat- thew's gospel, saith thus ; ^' But if any thing enter into the mouth, it goeth away into the belly, and is voided into the draught. Yea, and that meat which is sanctified by the word of God and prayer, concerning the matter thereof, it goeth away into the belly, and is voided into the draught. But, for the prayer which is added unto it, according to the proportion of faith, it is made profitable, making the mind able to per- ceive, and to see that which is profitable. For it is not the material substance of bread, but the word, which is spoken upon it, that is profitable to the man that eateth it not unworthily. And this I mean of the typical and symbolical, that is, the sacramental body." Thus far go the words of Origen, where it is plain, first, that Origen, speaking here of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, as the last words do plainly signify, doth mean and teach, that the material substance thereof is received, digested, and voided, as the material substance of other bread and meats ; which could not be if there were no material substance of bread at all, as the fantastical opinion of transubstantiation alleges. It is a world* to see the answer of the papists to this place of Origen ! In the dis- putations, which were in this matter in the parliament house, and in both the universities of Cambridge and Oxford, they that defended transubstantiation said, that this part of Origen was only set forth of late by Erasmus, and therefore is to be suspected. But how vain this their answer is, it plainly appears. For so may all the good old authors, which lay in old libraries, and are set tbrth of late, be by this reason rejected : as Clemens Alexandrinus, Theodoretus, Justinus, Ecclesiastica His- toria Nicephori, and such others. Another answer they had, saying, that Origen is noted to have erred in some points, and therefore faith is not to * Worth while. 46 Ridley. — Treatise. be given in this matter unto him. But this answer, well weip;hed, ministers good matter to the clear confutation of itself. For indeed we grant that in some points Origen did err. But those errors are gathered out and noted both by St, Jerome and Epiphanius, so that his works, those errors excepted, are now so much the more of au- thority, that such great learned men took pains to take out of him whatsoever they thought in him was written amiss. But, as concerning the matter of the Lord's Sup- per, neither they nor any other ancient author, ever said that Origen did err. Now because these two answers have been of late so confuted and confounded, that it is well perceived, that they will take no place ; therefore some, who have written since that time, have forged two other answers, even of the same mould. The former is, that Origen in this place spake not of the Sacrament of bread or wine of the Lord's table, but of another mystical meat ; which St. Augustin mentions was given unto them, that were taught the faith, before they were baptized. But Origen's own words in two sentences before rehearsed, being put together, prove this answer untrue. For he saith, that " he meaneth that figurative and mystical body, which profiteth them that do receive it worthily :" alluding so plainly unto St. Paul's words, spoken of the Lord's Supper, that it is a shame for any learned man once to open his mouth to assert the contrary. And as to that bread which St. Augustin speaks of, he cannot prove that any such thing was used in Ori- gen's time. Yea, and though that could be proved, yet there never was bread at any time called a sacramental body except the sacramental bread of the Lord's table, which is called by Origen, the typical and symbolical body of Christ. The second of the two new-found answers is yet more monstrous, it is this : " But let us grant, say they, that Origen spake of the Lord's Supper, and by the matter thereof was understood the material substance of bread and wine ; what then ?" say they, " For though the ma- terial substance was once gone and departed by reason of transubstantiation, whilst the forms of the bread and wine remained ; yet it is no inconvenience to say, that as the material substance departed at the entering in of Christ's body luider the aforesaid forms, so when the said forms are destroyed and do not remain, then the substance of On the LordHs Supper. 47 bread and wine comes again. And this," say they, " is very right in this mystery, that that which began with a miracle, shall end in a miracle."* If I had not read this fantasy, I would scarcely have believed, that any learned man ever would have set forth such a foolish fantasy ; which not only lacketh all ground either of God's word, reason, or of any ancient writer, but is also wholly contrary to the common rule of school divinity : which is, that no miracle is to be affirmed and put without necessity. And although, for their former miracle, which is their transubstantiation, they have some colour, though it is but vain, saying, it is done by the power and virtue of these words of Christ, " This is my body ;" yet to make this second miracle, of the material substance returning again, they have no colour at all. Or else, I pray them to show me, by what words of Christ is that second miracle wrought ? Thus you may see, that the sleights and shifts, which craft and wit can invent, to wrest the true sense of Origen, cannot take place. But now let us hear one other place of Origen. Origen, in the eleventh Homily on Leviticus, says. That there is in the four gospels, and not only in the Old Testa- ment, a letter,meaning a literal sense, which killeth : *' For if thou follow," saith he, " the letter in that saying, ' Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood,' &c. this letter doth kill." If in that place the letter doth kill, wherein is commanded the eating of Christ's flesh, then surely in those words of Christ, wherein Christ com- mands us to eat his body, the literal sense likewise does kill. For it is no less a crime, but even the same and all one in the literal sense, to eat Christ's body, and to eat Christ's flesh. Wherefore, if the one do kill, except it be understood figuratively and spiritually ; then the other surely kills likewise. But that to eat Christ's flesh so un- derstood, does kill, Origen affirms plainly in his words above rehearsed ; wherefore, it cannot be justly denied, that to eat Christ's body, literally understood, must needs according to him, kill likewise. The answer that is made to this place of Origen by the papists is so foolish, that it betrays itself without any fur- ther confutation. It is the same, that they make to a place of St. Augustin, in his book " Of Christian Doctrine,'* whereas St. Augustin speaks in effect the same that * This and the preceding objections were urged by Gardiner. 48 Ridley. — Treatise. Orip;en docs here. The papists' answer is this — 'To the carnal man the literal sense is hurtful, but not so to the spiritual.' As though to understand in its proper sense, that which ought to be taken figuratively, were to the carnal man a dangerous ])eril, but to the spiritual man none at all! Now to Chrysostom, whom I bring for the second writer in the Greek church. He, speaking of the unholy using of man's body, which, according to 8t. Paul, ought to be kept pure and holy, as the very temple of the Holy Ghost, saith thus : " If it be a fault to translate the holy vessels, in which is not contained the true body of Christ, but the mystery of the body, to private uses ; how much more offence is it to abuse and defile the vessels of our body ?" These are the words of Chrysostom : but there are many foul shifts devised to defeat this place. " The author,' saith one, " is suspected :" I answer, that in this place fault never was found with him until these our days. And whether the author were John Chrysostom himself, the archbishop of Constantinople, or not, that is not the matter : for of all it is granted, that he was a writer of that age, and a man of learning. So that it is manifest, that this which he writes was the received opinion of learned men in his days, or else undoubtedly in such a matter his saying should have been impugned by some that wrote in his time, or near unto the same. " Nay," saith another, " if this solution will not serve, we may say, that Chrysostom did not speak of the vessels of the Lord's cup, or such as were then used at the Lord's table, but of the vessels used in the temple of the old law." This answer will serve no more than the other. For here Chrysostom speaks of vessels, wherein was that which was called the body of Christ, although it was not the true body, saith he, of Christ, but the mystery of Christ's body. Now of the vessels of the old law, the writers use no such manner of phrase ; for their sacrifices were not called Christ's body ; for then Christ was not, except in shadows and figures, and not revealed by the Sacrament of his body. Erasmus, who was a man that could understand the words and sense of the writer, al- though he would not be seen to speak against this error of transubstantiation, because he durst not; yet in his time declares plainly, that this saying of this writer is not to be understood otherwise. On the Lord's Supper. 49 *' Yet can I," saith a third papist, *' find out a tine and subtle solution for this place, and grant all that yet is said, both allowing- here the writer, and also that he meant the vessels of the Lord's table. For, saith he, the body of Christ is not contained in them, at the Lord's table, as in a place, but as in a mystery," Is not this a pretty shift, and a mystical solution ? But by the same solution then Christ's body is not in the Lord's table, nor in the priest's hand, nor in the pix, and so he is no where here. For they will not say, that he is either here or there, as in a place. This answer pleases the maker so well, that he himself, after he had played with it a little while, and showed the fineness of his wit and eloquence therein, is con- tent to give it over and say ; "But it is not to be thought, that Chrysostom would speak after this fineness or sub- tlety :" and therefore he returns again unto the second an- swer for his sheet anchor, which is sufficiently confuted before. Another short place of Chrysostom I will rehearse, which, if any thing may be heard impartially, in plain terms sets forth the truth of this matter. " Before the bread," saith Chrysostom, writing to Caesarius, " be hallowed, we call it bread, but the grace of God sanctifying it by the means of the priest, it is delivered now from the name of bread, and esteemed worthy to be called Christ's body, although the nature of bread abide in it still." These are Chrysostom's words, wherein I pray you, what can be said or thought more plain against this error of transub- stantiation, than to declare, that the bread abides so still ? And yet some are not ashamed shamefully to elude this very plain place, eaying : " We grant the nature of bread remains still thus, for it may be seen, felt, and tasted ; and yet the corporeal substance of the bread is gone ; lest two bodies should be confused together, and Christ should be thought impanate."* What contradiction and falsehood is in this answer, the simple man may easily perceive. Is it not plain contra- diction, to grant that the nature of bread remains so still, that it may be seen, felt, and tasted, and yet to say that the corporeal substance is gone, to avoid the absurdity of Christ's impanation? And what manifest falsehood is this, to say or mean, that if the bread should remain still, then * Become united to, or made a part of the substance of the bread. RIDLEY. D 50 Ridley. — Treatise. must follow the inconveniency of impanation ? As thouc^h the very bread could not be a Sacrament of Christ's body, as water is of baptism, except Christ should unite the nature of bread to his nature, in unity of person, and make of the bread, God. Now let us hear Theodoret, who is the last of the three Greek authors. He writes in his dialog"ue, an^ainst Euty- ches : " He that called his natural body corn and bread, and also named himself a vine tree ; even he, the same, has honoured the symbols, that is, the sacramental signs, with the names of his body and blood, not changing in- deed the nature itself, but adding grace unto the nature." What can be more plainly said than what this old writer saith ? Although the Sacraments bear the name of the body and blood of Christ, yet their nature is not changed, but abides still. And where is then the papists' transub- stantiation ? The same writer, in the second dialogue of the same work against the aforesaid heretic Eutyches, writes yet more plainly against this error of transubstantiation, if any thing can be said to be more plain. For he makes the heretic speak thus against him that defends the true doctrine, whom he calls Orthodoxus : " As the Sacraments of the body and blood of our Lord are one thing before the invocation, and after the invocation they are changed, and are made another; so likewise the Lord's body, saith the heretic, is, after the assumption or ascension into hea- ven, turned into the substance of God ;" the heretic mean- ing thereby, that Christ, after his ascension, remained no more a man. To this Orthodoxus answers thus, and saith to tlie he- retic : " Thou art taken in thine own snare ; for those mystical symbols or Sacraments, after the sanctification, do not go out of their own nature, but they tarry and abide still in their substance, figure, and shape ; yea, and are sensibly seen, and handled to be the same they were before, ' &c. At these words the papists are startled ; and, to say the truth, these words are so j)lain, so full, and so clear, that they cannot tell what to say ; but yet will not cease to go about to play the cuttles,* and cast their co- lours over them, that the truth, which is so plainly told, should not have place. " This author wrote," say they, ♦ The cuttle fish, which, when pursued by an enemy, emits a dark liquor, which blackens the water around, and so conceals itself. On the Lord's Supper. 5 1 " before the determination of the church."* As who would say, whatsoever that wicked man Innocent, the pope of Rome, determined in his congregations with his monks and friars, that it must needs be holden for an article, and of the substance of our faith, for so Duns saith.f Some charge Theodoret, that he was suspected to be a Nestorian, which was tried in the council of Chalcedon, and proved to be false. But the foulest shift of all, and yet the best that they can find in this matter, when none other will serve, is, to say, that Theodoret understands by the word substance, accidents, + and not substance indeed. The gloss is like a gloss of a lawyer upon a decree, the text whereof began thus : " We decree." The gloss of the lawyer there after many other pretty shifts, which he thinks will not well serve to his purpose, and therefore at last, to clear the matter, he saith thus : " we do decree — that is, we do abrogate or disannul." Is not this a wor- thy and goodly gloss ? Who will not say, but he is wor- thy to be retained of counsel in the law, that can gloss so well, and find in a matter of difficulty such fine shifts ; and yet this is the law, or at the least the gloss of the law ! And therefore who can tell what peril a man may incur to speak against it, except he were a lawyer indeed, who can keep himself out of the briers, whatsoever wind may blow ? Hitherto you have heard the writers of the Greek church, — not all that they say, for that were a labour too great for me to gather, and too tedious for the reader, — but one or two places of each. The which how plain, and how full and clear they are against the error of transub- stantiation, ^I refer to the judgment of the indifFerent§ reader. And now I will likewise rehearse the sayings of three ancient writers of the Latin church, and so make an end. And first I will begin with Tertullian, whom Cy- prian, the holy martyr, so highly esteemed, that whenso- ever he would have his book, he was wont to say, " Give me the master." This old writer, in his fourth book against Marcion, the heretic, saith thus : " Jesus made the bread, which he ^ * Before the church had determined the subject. tPope Innocent III., in the fourth Lateran Council, held a. d. 1215, and attended by an extraordinary number of ecclesiastics, for the first time established the doctrine of transubstantiation, and then decreed the use of that term. :!: Or appearances. ^ Impartial. D 2 52 Ridley. — Treatise. took and distributed to his disciples, his body, saying-, ' This is my body,' that is to say, saith Tertulhan, a figure of my body.'' In this place it is plain, that according to Tertullian's exposition, Christ meant not, by calling the bread his body, and the wine his blood, that either the bread was his natural body, or the wine his natural blood ; but he called them his body and blood, because he would institute them to be unto us Sacraments ; that is, holy tokens and signs of his body and of his blood : so that by them remembering, and firmly believing the benefits pro- cured to us by his body, which was torn and crucified for us, and of his blood which was shed for us upon the cross, and so with thanks receiving these holy Sacraments, according to Christ's institution, we might by the same be spiritually nourished and fed to the increase of all godli- ness in us, here, in our pilgrimage and journey, wherein we walk unto everlasting life. This was undoubtedly Christ our Saviour's mind, and this is Tertullian's exposition. The wrangling that the papists make to elude this saying of Tertullian, is^ so far out of frame, that it even wearies me to think on it. " Tertullian writes here, say they, as none had done before him, neither yet any other catholic man after him." This saying is manifestly false : for Origen, Hilary, Ambrose, Basil, Gregory Nazianzen, St. Augustin, and other old authors likewise, call the Sacrament a figure of Christ's body. And where they say, that Tertullian wrote this when in a heat of disputation with a heretic, coveting by all means to overthrow his adversary ; as if they should say, he would not take heed what he did say, and especially what he would write in so high a matter, so that he might have the better hand of his adversary ; is this credible to be true of any godly wise man ? How miicii less then is it worthy to be thought or credited in a man of such great understanding, learning, and excellency as Tertullian is worthily esteemed to have been ? Likewise, this author, in his first book against the same heretic Marcion, writes thus : " God did not reject bread, which is his creature : for by it he has made a representa- tion of his body." Now I pray you, what is it to say, that Christ has made a representation by bread of his body, but that Christ had instituted and ordained bread to be a Sacrament, to represent unto us his body ? Now, whether the representation of one thing by another re- On the Lord's Supper. 53 quires the corporeal presence of the thin^ which is so re- presented or no, every man that has understanding is able in this point, the matter is so clear of itself, to be a suffi- cient judge. The second doctor and writer of the Latin church, whose saying I promised to set forth, is St. Augustin : of whose learning and estimation I need not speak. For all the church of Christ both has and ever has had him, for a man of most singular learning, understanding, and dili- gence, both in setting forth the true doctrine of Christ's religion, and also in defence of the same against heretics. This author, as he has written most plenteously on other matters of our faith, so likewise on this argument he has written at large in many of his works so plainly against this error of transubstantiation, that the papists love less to hear of him than of any other writer ; partly for his authority, and partly because he opens the matter more fully than any other. Therefore I will rehearse more places from him, than I have done of the others. And first, what can be more plain, than that which he writes upon the 89th Psalm, speaking of the Sacrament of the Lord's body and blood ; and rehearsing, as it were, Christ's words to his disciples, after this manner : *' It is not this body, which ye do see, which ye shall eat, neither shall ye drink this blood, which the soldiers that crucify me shall spill or shed. — I commend unto you a mystery, or a Sacrament, which spiritually understood shall give you life." Now if Christ had no more natural and cor- poreal bodies, but that one which they then present both heard and sav/, nor other natural Wood, but that which was in the same body, and which the soldiers afterwards cruelly shed upon the cross : and neither this body nor this blood was by this declaration of St. Augustin, either to be eaten or drunken, but the mystery thereof spiritually to be understood : then I conclude, if this saying and ex- position of St. Augustin be true, that the mystery which the disciples should eat, was not the natural body of Christ, but a mystery of the same, spiritually to be understood. For as St. Augustin saith, in his 20th book against Faustus, " Christ's flesh and blood in the old testament were promised by similitudes and signs of their sacrifices, and were exhibited in deed and in truth upon the cross, but the same is celebrated by a Sacrament of remem- brance upon the altar." And in his book of Faith to Peter, 54 Ridley. — Treatise. cap. 19, he saith, that " In these sacrifices, (meaning of the old law,) is figuratively signified what was then to be given : but in this sacrifice, what is already given is evi- dently signified, understanding in the sacrifice upon the altar, the remembrance and thanksgiving for the flesh, which he offered for us, and for the blood which he shed for us upon the cross :" as in the same place evidently appears. Another evident and clear place, wherein it appears, that by the sacramental bread, which Christ called his body, he meant, " a figure of his body," is upon the third Psalm, where St, Augustin speaks thus in plain terms : " Christ admitted Judas unto the feast, in which he com- mended unto his disciples the Jigure* of his body." This was Christ's last Supper before his passion, wherein he ordained the Sacrament of his body, as all learned men agree. St. Augustin also, in his 23d epistle to Boniface, teaches how Sacraments bear the names of the things whereof they are Sacraments, both in baptism and in the Lord's table ; even as we call every Good Friday, the day of Christ's passion ; and every Easter Day, the day of Christ's resurrection ; when in very deed there was but one day wherein he suffered, and but one day wherein he rose. And why do we then call them so, which are not so indeed, but because they are in like time and course of the year, as those days were, wherein those things were done ? *' Was Christ," saith St. Augustin, " offered more than once ? And he offered himself. And yet in a Sacrament or representation he is offered, not only every solemn feast of Easter, but also every day to the people. So that he does not lie, that saith, " He is offered every day.'* For if Sa- craments had not some similitude or likeness of those things whereof they are Sacraments, they could in no wise be Sacraments ; and for their similitudes and likeness commonly they have the name of the things whereof they are Sacraments. Therefore, as after a certain manner of speech, the Sacrament of Christ's body is Christ's body, the Sacrament of Christ's blood is Christ's blood ; so likewise the Sacrament of faith is faith." After this manner of speech, as St. Augustin teaches in his question upon Leviticus and against Adamantus, " it is said in Scripture, that seven ears of corn are seven * Sigu or representation. On ike Lord's Supper. 55 years, seven kine are seven years, and ' the rock was Christ ;' and blood is the soul :" which last saying, saith St. Augustin is understood to be spoken in a sign or figure ; for the Lord himself did not hesitate to say, ' This is my body,' when he gave the sign of his body." — " For we must not consider in Sacraments," saith St. Augustin in another place, " what they are, but what they signify. For they are signs of things, being one thing in themselves, and yet signifying another." — " For the heavenly bread, saith he, speaking of the sacramental bread, by some manner of speech is called Christ's body, when in very deed it is the Sacrament of his body," &c. What can be more plain or clearly spoken, than these places of St. Augustin before rehearsed, if men were not obstinately .bent to maintain an untruth, and to receive nothing, whosoever sets it forth ? Yet one place more ot St. Augustin I will allege, which is very clear to this pur- pose, that Christ's natural body is in heaven, and not here corporeally in the Sacrament, and so let him depart. In his 50th treatise, which he writes upon John, he teaches plainly and clearly, how Christ, being both God and man, is both here, after a certain manner, and yet in heaven, and not here in his natural body and substance which he took of the blessed virgin Mary ; speaking thus of Christ, and saying, " By his divine majesty, by his pro- vidence, by his unspeakable and invisible grace, that is fulfilled which he spake : ' Behold, I am with you to the end of the world.' But, as concerning his flesh which he took in his incarnation ; as touching that which was born of the virgin ; as concerning that which was apprehended by the Jews, and crucified upon a tree, and taken down from the cross, wrapped in linen clothes, and buried, and rose again, and appeared after his resurrection — as con- cerning that flesh, he said, ' Ye shall not ever have me with you.' Why so? Because concerning his flesh, he was conversant with his disciples forty days, and they ac- companying, seeing, and not following him, he went up into heaven, and is not here. By the presence of his di- vine majesty, he did not depart ; as concerning the pre- sence of his divine majesty, we have Christ ever with us ; but, as concerning the presence of his flesh, he said truly to his disciples ; ' Ye shall not ever have me with you.' For, as concerning the presence of his flesh, the church 56 Ridley* — Treatise. had him but a few days : now it holdeth him by faith, though it see him not." Thus much St. Augustin speaks, repeating one thing so often ; and all to declare and teach how we should under- stand the manner of Christ's being here with us, which is by his grace, by his providence, and by his divine nature ; and how he is absent by his natural body which was born of the virgin Mary, died, and rose for us, and is ascended into heaven, and there sitteth, as it is in the articles of our faith, on the right hand of God, and thence, and from no other place, saith St. Augustin, he shall come on the latter day, to judge the quick and the dead. At the which day the righteous shall lift up their heads, and the light of God's truth shall so shine, that falsehood and errors shall be put to perpetual confusion. Righteousness shall have the upper hand, and truth that day shall bear away the victory ; and all the enemies thereof be quite overthrown, to be trodden under foot for evermore. O Lord, I beseech thee, hasten this day. Then shalt thou be glorified with the glory, due unto thy divine majesty.: and we shall sing unto thee in all joy, all felicity, laud and praise for evermore. Amen. Here now I would make an end : for methinks St. Au- gustin is so full and plain in this matter, and of such au- thority, that it should not need, after this his declaration, being so firmly grounded upon God's word, and so well agreeing with other ancient authors, to bring in any more for the confirmation of this matter. And yet I said I would allege three of the Latin church, to testify the truth in this cause. Now, therefore, the last of all shall be Gelasius, who was a bishop of Rome: but one that was bishop of that see, before the wicked usurpation and ty- ranny thereof spread and burst out into all the world. For this man was before Boniface, yea, and Gregory the first ; in whose days corruption of doctrine and tyrannical usurpation chiefly grew, and had the upper hand. Gelasius, in an epistle of the two natures of Christ, against Eutyches, writes thus : " The Sacraments of the body and blood of Christ, which we receive, are godly things, whereby, and by the same, we are made partakers of the divine nature ; and yet nevertheless the substance or nature of the bread and wine does not depart or go away ' Note these words, I beseech you, and consider whethe On the Lord's Shipper. 57 any thing can be more plainly spoken, than these words against the error of transubstantiation ; which is the ground and bitter root whereupon spring all the horrible errors before rehearsed. Wherefore, seeing, that the falsehood hereof appears so manifestly, and by so many ways, so plainly, so clearly, and so fully, that no man needs to be deceived, but he that will not see, or will not understand ; let us all that love the truth embrace it, and forsake the falsehood. For he that loveth the truth is of God : and the lack of the love thereof is the cause why God suffers men to fall into errors, and to perish therein ; yea, and as St. Paul saith, why he sends unto them illusions, that they believe lies, unto their own condemnation : " because, saith he, they love not the truth." This truth, no doubt, is God's word : for Christ himself saith unto his Father : " Thy word is truth." The love and light whereof Almighty God, our heavenly Father, give us, and lighten it in our hearts by his Holy Spirit, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. d3 CONFERENCES. Doctor Ridley being had from Framlingham to the tower; where, being in durance, and invited to the lieutenant's table, he had certain talk or conference with secretary Bourn, Master Fecknam, and others, con- cerning the controversies in religion ; the sum w hereof as it was penned with his own hand, here follows. — Fox. The sum and effect of the communication between Dr. Ridley, and secretary Bourn, with others, at the lieute- nants table in the tower. Master Thomas Bridges said at his brother Master Lieutenant's board ; " I pray you, Master Doctors, for my learning, tell me what a heretic is." Master Secretary Bourn said, "^ I will tell you who is a heretic ; whoso stubbornly and stiffly maintaineth an untruth, he is a heretic." *' You mean, sir," said I, " an untruth in matters of religion, and concerning our faith." " Yea, that is true," said he ; " and in this we are soon agreed." Then said Master Fecknam, whom they called Dean of Paul's, sitting at the upper end of the table : "I will tell you by St. Augustine who is a heretic : ' He who, to flatter princes or for the sake of gain, invents or follows false opinions, he is a heretic' " " Sir," said I, " I ween St. Augustine adds a third member, which is, * or for vain glory.' " " You say even true. Master Doctor," said he : and thus far we agreed all three. Master Fecknam began again to say, " Whoso does not believe what the scripture affirms, but obstinately maintains the contrary, he is a heretic. As in the sacra- ment of the altar, Matthew affirms there is Christ's body : Mark affirms it, Luke affirms it, Paid affirms it, and none deny it : therefore to hold the contrary, is heresy. It is the same body and flesh that was born of the Virgin : and this is contirmed by unity, antiquity, and universality. With secretary Bourn and others. 59 For none before Berengarius did ever doubt of this, and he was a heretic, as Master Doctor there knows full well ; I testify his own conscience." " Marry, sir," said Master Secretary, " Master Fecknani has spoken well. These are great matters, unity, anti- quity, and universality. Do you not think so, master Doctor ?" said he to me. Here, while I strained courtesy, and pretended not to talk, one of the commissioners said : " Peradventure Mas- ter Ridley agrees with Master Fecknam, and then there needs not much debating of the matter." " Sir," said I, " in some things I do and shall agree with him, and in some things which he has spoken, to be plain, I do not agree with him at all. Masters," said I, '* you are, as I understand, the queen's commissioners here, and if you have commission to examine me in these mat- ters, I shall declare unto you plainly my faith ; if you have not, then I shall pray you either to give me leave to speak my mind freely, or else to hold my peace." " There is none here," said Master Secretary, " that doth not favour you." And then every man showed what favour they bore towards me, and how glad they woukl be of an agreement. But as I strained to have a license of them in plain words to speak my mind, so methought they granted me it, but scarcely and unwiUingly. Well, at the last I was content to take it for a license, and so I began to talk. To Master Fecknam's arguments of the manifold affir- mation where there was no denial, I ansv/ered ; " Where is a multitude of affirmations in scripture, and where is one affirmation, all is one concerning the truth of the matter ; for what any one of the evangelists spake, in- spired by the Holy Ghost, was as true as that which is spoken of them all. What John saith of Christ ; ' I am the door of the sheep,' is as true as if all had said it. For it is not in scripture as in the witness of men, where a number are credited more than one, because it is uncer- tain of whose spirit he speaks. — And where Master Feck- nam spake of so many affirming without any negation, &c.. Sir, said I, they all affirm the thing which they meant. Now, if you take their words and leave their meaning, then they affirm what you take, but not what they meant. Sir, said I, if in talk with you, I should so utter my mind in words, that you, by the same, may plainly perceive my 60 Ridley. — Conferences. meaning-, and could, if you would be captious, cavil at my words, and writhe them to another sense, I should think you were no gentle companion to talk with, except you would take my words as you perceived that I meant." " Marry," said Master Secretary, " we should else do you plain injury and wrong." Master Fecknam perceiving whereunto my talk went: " Why,'' said he, " what circumstances can you show me that should move to think of any other sense, than as the words plainly say : ' This is my body which shall l)e be- trayed for you.' " " ISir," said I, " even the next sentence that follows : ' Do this in my remembrance.' And also by what reason you say the bread is turned into Christ's carnal body ; by the same I may say, that it is turned into his mystical body. For as that saith of it, ' This is my body which shall be delivered for you :' so Paul, who spake by Christ's Spirit, saith : ' We being many are all but one bread, and one body, inasmuch as we are partakers of one bread.' " " Here he called one loaf, one bread," said Master Secretary. " Yea,'' said I, " one loaf, or one bread, it is the same with me." " But what say you," quoth Master Secretary, " of the universality, antiquity, and unity, that Master Fecknam spoke of" " I ensure you," said I," " I think them weighty mat- ters, and to be well considered. As for unity, the truth is, before God, I do believe it and embrace it, so it be with verity, and joined to our head Christ, and such one as Paul speaketh of, saying : ' One faith, one God, one baptism.' And for antiquity, I am also persuaded to be true that Irseneus saith : ' That which was first is true.' In our religion Christ's faith was first truly taught by Christ himself, by his apostles, and by many good men who from the beginning succeeded next unto them. And as for this controversy of the Sacrament, I am persuaded, that those old writers who wrote before the controversy and the usur))ing of the see of Rome, all agree in this truth, if they are well understood.'' " I am glad to hear," said Master Secretary, " that you so well esteem the doctors of the church." " Now, as for universality, it may have two meanings. One to understand that to be universal, which, from the With secretary Bourn and others. 61 beginning- in all ages, has been allowed ; another, to un- derstand universality for the multitude of our age, or of any other particular age." " No, no," saith Master Secretary, " these three always agree, and where there is one, there are all the rest," And here he and I changed many words : and finally, to be short, in this matter we did not aoree. " There was none," quoth Master Fecknam, " before Berengarius, Wickliffe, and Huss, and now, in our days, Carolstadt, and Ecolampadius. And Carolstadt saith, Christ pointed to his own body and not to the Sacrament, and said, ' This is my body.' And Melancthon writes to one Micronius (Myconius said I) these or like words : ' I can find no well grounded reason to cause me to dissent from the belief of our forefathers.' " Thus when he had spoken at length, with many other words, " Sir," said I, " it is certain that others before these have written of this matter. Not by the way only, as almost all the old writers, but even designedly, and their books treat of it alone, as Bertram." " Bertram," said the Secretary: " what man was he ?* who was he ? how do you know ?" with other questions. " Sir," quoth I, " I have read his books; he proposes the same which is now in controversy, and answers so directly, that no man may doubt but that he affirms, that the substance of bread remains still in the Sacrament ; and he wrote unto Charlemagne." " Marry," quoth he, " mark, for there is a mistake. He wrote to Henry, and not Charles ; for no author makes any such mention of Bertramus." " Yes," quoth I, " Trithemius, in his Catalogue of illus- trious writers, speaks of him. Trithemius was but of late time; but he speaks," quoth I, "of them that were of antiquity." Here, after much talk of Bertram, *' What authors have you," quoth Master Secretary, " that make the Sacrament a figure ?" " Sir," quoth I, "you know, I think, that Tertullian in plain words speaks thus : ' This is my body, that is to say, a figure of my body.' And Gelasius saith plainly, that ' The substance of bread remains.' And Origen saith likewise, ' That which is sanctified, as touching the mat- ter or substance, passeth away into the draught.' " This * See the note prefixed to the Treatise on the Lord's Supper. 62 Ridley, — Conferences. when I had englished, Master Secretary said to me, " You know very well, as well as any man." And here, if I would, I mig-ht have been set in a fool's paradise by his commendation of my learning, and that I was ' a man of much reading;.' But this I would not take at his hand. He set me not up so hig:h, but I broug-ht myself as low again : and here was much ado. '* As for Melancthon," quoth I, " whom Master Feck- nam spake of, I marvel that you allege him, for we are nearer an agreement here in England, than the opinion of Melancthon is to you. For, in this point, we all agree, that there is in the Sacrament but one material substance : and Melancthon, as I think, saith there are two. " You say truth," quoth Master Secretary : " Melanc- thon's opinion is so. But I pray you, you have heard that the Sacrament was in old time so reverenced, that many were forbidden to be present at the ministration thereof, Catechumens," quoth he, " and many others." " Truth, sir," quoth I, " there were some called Hearers, some Penitents, some Catechumens, and some ' Energu- meni,' which were commanded to depart." " Now," quoth he, " how can you then make but a figure or a sign of the Sacrament, as that book does, which is set ibrth in my lord of Canterbury's name. I think you can tell who made it, did not you make it ?" And here was much murmuring of the rest, as though they would have given me the glory of the waiting of that book, which yet was said by some there to contain the most heinous heresy that ever was. " Master Secretary," quoth I, *' that book was made of a great learned man, who is able to do the like again : as for me, I ensure you, be not deceived in me, I was never able to do or to write any such thing : he passes me no less, than the learned master his young scholar." Now, here every man would have his saying, which 1 pass over, as not much material to tell. " But, sir," quoth I, " methinks it is not charitably done, to bear the people in hand that any man does so lightly esteem the Sacrament, as to make of it only a figure. For that ' only' makes it a bare figure without any more profit, which that book often denies, as appears most plainly to the reader." " Yes,'* quoth he, " that they do." " No, sir," quoth I, of a truth : " and as for me, I With secretary Bourn and others. Q^ ensure you I make no less of the Sacrament than thus — I say whosoever receives the Sacrament, he receives there- with either life or death." " No," quoth Master Secretary, " scripture saith not so." " Sir,'' quoth I, " although not in the same sound of words, yet it does in the same sense, and St. Augustine saith, in the sound of words also : for St. Paul saith: ' The bread which we break, is it not the partaking or fellowship of the body of Christ ?' And St. Augustine says : ' Eat hfe, drink life.' " Then said Master Pope, " What can you make of it when you say, there is not the real body of Christ ? Which I do believe: and I pray God I may never believe otherwise. How can it bring, as you say, either life or death, when Christ's body is not there ?" " Sir," quoth I, " when you hear God's word truly preached, if you believe it and abide in it, you shall and do receive life withal : and if you do not believe it, it brings unto you death : and yet Christ's body is still in heaven, and not carnal in every preacher's mouth." " I pray you tell me," quoth he, " how can you answer to this : ' which shall be given for you :' Was the figure of Christ's body given for us ?" " No, sir," quoth I, " but the very body itself, whereof the Sacrament is a sacramental figure. " How say you then/' quoth he, " to the words ' Which shall be given for you ?' " " Forsooth," quoth I, " Tertullian's exposition makes it plain, for he saith, ' The body is a figure of the body.' Now add this to, ' Which shall be given for you,' and it agrees exceedingly well." " In faith," quoth he, " I would give forty pounds that you were of a good opinion. For I assure you, I have heard you, and had an affection to you." *^ I thank you. Master Pope, for your heart and mind, and you know/' quoth I, " I were a very fool if I would, in this matter, dissent fi'om you, if, in my conscience, the truth did not inforce me so to do. For I know, as you may perceive, it is somewhat out of my way, if I esteemed worldly gain." *' What say you," quoth he, " to Cyprian ? Does he not say plainly, ' The bread which the Lord delivered, being changed, not according to the form, but according to the nature thereof, by the omnipotent word, is made flesh." " 64 Ridley. — Conferences. " True, sir, so he says, and I answer even tlie same which once I preached at Paul's Cross in a sermon, for which I have been as unjustly and as untruly reported as any poor man has l^een. For there I, speaking of the Sacrament, and inveighing against them that esteemed it no better than a piece of bread, told even the same thing of Penitents, Hearers, Catechumens, and Energumeni, that I spake of before, and I bade them depart as unwor- thy to hear the mystery :" and then I said to those that are saints ; " Cyprian, the martyr, shall tell you how it is that Christ calls it, saying, ' Bread is the body, meat, drink, flesh, because that unto this material substance is given the property of the thing whereof it beareth the name.' " And this place I then explained as the time would then suffer, that the material substance of bread doth remain. Master Fecknam, who, as is reported to me, belied me openly as to the matter at Paul's cross, heard all this my talk (looking as red as scarlet in his face) and answered me not one word. *' You know well," quoth Master Secretary, " that Origen and Tertullian were not catholics, but erred." *' Sir," quoth I, " there is none of all the doctors that are holden in all points, but they are thought to have erred in some things. But yet I never heard that it was either laid to Origen's charge or to Tertullian's, that ever they were thought to have erred in this matter of the Sacra- ment." " What," quoth Master Chomley, late chief justice, " doth not Christ say plainly, that it is his very flesh, and his very blood, and we must needs eat him, or we can have no life ?" " Sir," quoth I, '* if you will hear how St. Augustine expounds that place, you shall perceive that you are wrong.'' And when I began to tell St. Augus- tine's mind in his book Of Christian Doctrine : " Yea, yea," quoth Master Secretary, " that is true, St. Augustine takes it figuratively indeed." " Forty years ago," quoth Master Fecknam, " all were of one opinion in this matter." " Forty years ago," quoth I, '* all held that the bishop of Rome was supreme head of the universal church. " What then ?" Master Fecknam began to say, but Master Secretary said, " That was but a positive law." " A positive law ?" quoth I. " No, sir, he would not have it so : for it is in his decrees, that he challenged it With secretary Bourn and others. 65 by Christ's own word. For his decree saith : ' The church of Rome was advanced above all other churches in the world, not by any synodical constitutions, nor yet any councils, but by the lively voice of the Lord, according- as the Lord said to Peter : Thou art Peter,* «&c. And in another place he declareth ' Thou art Cephas, that is to say, the head.' " '' Tush, it was not counted an article," quoth Master Secretary, " of our faith." " Yes," said I, " if you call that an article of faith which is to be believed under pain of damnation. For he saith : ' We do absolutely determine, declare, and pro- nounce, that every creature is subject to the obedience of the bishop of Rome upon necessity of salvation.' " And when we spake of laws and decrees, Master Roger Chomley thought himself much wronged, that he could not be suffered to speak, the rest were so ready to inter- rupt him ; and then he up and told a long tale what laws were of kings of England made against the bishop of Rome, and was vehement to tell how they of the clergy alway did fly to him. And here, because he seemed to speak of many things beside our purpose, whereof we spake before, he was answered of his own fellows, and I let them talk. Finally, we departed in peace, and Master Secretary promised in the end, that of their talk there should come to me no harm. And after I had made my moan for lack of my books, he said they were all once given to him : and as I know, said he, who hath them now, write me the names of such as you would have, and I will speak for you the best I can. CERTAIN GODLY, LEARNED, AND COMFORTABLE CONFERENCES, BETWEEN THE TWO REVEREND FATHERS AND HOLY MARTYRS, DR. NICHOLAS RIDLEY, LATE BISHOP OF LONDON, ANU MASTER HUGH LATIMER, SOMETIME BISHOP OF WORCESTER, DURING THE TIME OF THEIR IMPRISONMENT* '*Jt the name of Jesus let every knee bow.^' Phil. ii. Ridley. *' A bishop ought to be unreproveable, as the steward of God, cleaving- fast to the true word of doc- trine," &c. (Titus, i.) All worldly respects put apart, of shame, death, loss of goods, and worldly commodities, let me have, I pray you, your advice in these matters follow- ing. That is, your assent and confirmation in these things, what you judge that God doth allow, and yoin- best counsel and advertisement where you think other- wise, and your reasons for both the same. For the wise man saith, '* One brother which is helped of another, is like a well-defended city." (Prov. xviii.) * " Till the Kentish insurrection, under "Wyat, had furnished the tower with crowds of prisoners, the bishops appear to have liad separate rooms, with the opportunity of nieetinj;^ sometimes, when they were indulged to lake the benefit of the air in the garden of the tower; but at those interviews they were guarded. Ridley was desirous of a serious conference with his fellow-prisoners to sift his own opinions, and correct, or strengthen them from the experience of those veterans. He knew his life was at stake, and he verily believed the truth of Christ was so also : he would not willingly First Conference with Latimer. Q^ The causes that move me to abstain from the mass, are these : I. It is done in a strange tongue, which the people do not understand, contrary to the doctrine of the apostle. (1 Cor. xiv.) Latimer. Where is no understanding-, there is nei- ther edifying, nor comfort ; for besides that they speak to the air, the mind receives no profit ; they are as aliens one to another. The parishioners will say, their priests are mad, whereas all things might be done so that they may edify. Let every man know, that the things which I write, saith St. Paul, are the commandments of the Lord. Such absurdities are to be eschewed.* Ridley. II. There is also wanting, the showing of the Lord's death, contrary to the mind of the apostle, " As often as ye shall eat this bread, and drink of this cup, ye shall show the Lord's death till he come." (1 Cor. xi.) What showing can be there, where no man heareth, that is to say, understands what is said ? No man, I mean of the com- mon people, for whose profit the prayer of the church ought especially to serve. Latimer. Christ saith, "Woe be unto you, that take avi^ay the key of knowledge." (Luke, xi.) The papists study by all means to make the people ignorant, lest their ignorant Sir Johnsf should be had in less estimation or despised, which is quite contrary to St. Paul's practice, who wished that all men might be full, filled with all know- ledge, and to be perfect in Christ Jesus. (Col. i.) The insti- tution of Christ, if it were rehearsed in the vulgar tongue, would be not only a consecration, but also a fruitful preaching, for the edification of the hearers. Whereas, in the popish mass it is neither understood nor heard, whilst the common people are utterly ignorant what their priests do, or what they go about, whether they bless or curse. rush on death tlirough tortures, for a mistaken question, or a point of little importance ; nor weakly betray the cause of truth either over-reached by their sophistry, or terrified by their cruelties. He therefore desired the sincere advice of these true friends either to point out his error, or confirm his resolution. For which purpose he wrote to them, setting- down his own reasons, and leaving a blank under each, which he wished those venerable fathers to fill up with their observations or corrections. Latimer's answers are preserved." (Gloucester Ridley's Life of Bishop Ridley, 444.) Cranmer, Ridley, Latimer, and Bradford, were confined together part of the time they were in the tower, probably after these conferences had passed in writing. * Rejected, avoided. t Romish priests. 68 Ridley. — Conferences. The apostles tinderstood Christ, when he celebrated his supper ; therefore these papists swerve from Christ in their mass. Ridley. III. There is no communion, but it is made a private table, whereas, indeed it ought to be a communion ; for St. Paul saith, " The bread, which we break, is the partakinp^ of the body of Christ." (i Cor. x.) And Christ brake, distributed, and said, "Take and eat." But they make it a private table : it is open. For where they are many priests, who will communicate, they do it not at one table or altar, but every one of them have their altars, masses, and tables. Latimer. To make that private, which Christ made common, and willed to be communicated, may seem to be the workmanship of antichrist himself. The canons of the apostles excommunicate those who being present at common prayer, &c. do not also receive the holy commu- nion. And unto the same agrees the decree of Anacletus: " When the consecration is done, saith he, let all such communicate as intend not to be excommunicated." Ter- tullian saith, " That which is first, is true ; that which is latter, is counterfeited." But the papists say, " We do it privately, because we do it for others." But where have you your commission to mass and sacrifice for others ? Ridley. IV. The Lord's commandment of communi- cating the cup unto the lay people, is not observed accord- ing to the word of the Lord : " Drink ye all of this." Latimer. Paul saith, " As often as ye shall eat of this bread, and drink of this cup, ye shall show the Lord's death." (1 Cor. xi.) So that, not the partaking of the one only, but of both, is a showing of the Lord's death ; because in his death the blood was divided from the body, it is neces- sary that the same division be represented in the Supper ; otherwise the Supper is not a showing of the Lord's death. "Let a man examine himself," &c. But this word, * homo,' is of both genders : therefore, it is as well com- manded to the woman to drink of the cup, as the man, &c. But the king's argument, once against me, was this — "'When ye come together to eat,' Paul saith not to drink." — I answered, it was not needful, seeing that a little before he had made mention of both in these words : " And so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup." That is to say, as well the woman as the man. Under the name of bread, which betokens all sustenance of the First Conference with Latimer. (i9 body, drink is also understood in the scriptures. Other- wise they would say, that Christ did not drink after his resurrection with his disciples, except Peter had said, we did eat and drink with him after he rose from death. (Acts, x.) Ridley. V. They servilely serve the holy sign, as St. Augustine speaks, instead of the thing- signified, whilst the sacramental bread, by a solemn or common error, is adored and worshipped for the flesh of the Son of God. Latimer. If yon deny unto them their corporeal presence and transubstantiation, their fantastical adoration will, by and by,* vanish away. Therefore, be strong in denying such a presence, and then you have vt^on the field. Furthermore, in the first Supper, celebrated by Christ himself, there is no mention made of adoration of the ele- ments. He said, " Eat ye, and drink ye,"' not worship ye. Therefore, against adoration may be spoken that saying of Christ concerning divorce, " From the beginning it was not so." But the devil secretly, and by little and little, infects all Christ's ordinances ; and as for the pri- vate mass, with all the sinews thereof, what manner of thing it is, may be easily perceived by the ready accepta- tion of the people, whose hearts are prone to evil, even from their youth. (Gen^ viii.) Ridley. VI. They pluck away the honour from the only sacrifice of Christ, whilst this sacramental and mass- sacrifice is believed to be propitiatory, and such a one as cleanseth the souls, both of the quick and the dead. Con- trary to what is written to the Hebrews, " With one offering hath he made perfect for ever them that are sanctified." And again, " Where remission of these things (that is, where Jesus) is, there is no more offering for sin." Latimer. By his own person he hath purged our sins. (Heb. xi.) The words, * by his own person,' have an empha- sis, or vehemence, which drives away all sacrificing priests from such office of sacrificing ; seeing that which He hath done by himself, He hath not left to be perfected by others ; so that the putting off our sins may more truly be thought past and done, than a thing to come and to be done. " If any man sin." (1 John, ii.) He saith not, let him have a priest at home to sacrifice for him, but "we have an Advo- cate," the virtue of whose one oblation endureth for ever St. Paul saith, " They that serve the altar, are partakers with the altar ;" even so the Lord hath ordained, that they * At once, soon. 70 Ridley. — Conferences. which preach the g-ospel should live of the gospel. ( 1 Cor.ix.) Why doth he not rather say, they that sacrifice in the mass? Ridley. VII. There are manifold abuses and supersti- tions in the mass, and about the mass. Salt is conjured, that it may be a conjured salt for the salvation of the believers, to be a salvation and health, both of the mind and of the body, unto everlasting life, to all those who receive it. Water is conjured, that it may be made a conjured water, to chase away all the power of the enemy, to chase away devils, &c. Bread also has a second blessing", that it may be health of mind and body to all them that receive it. If we think that such strength is to be given to salt, water, and bread ; or, if we judge that these things are able to receive any such virtue or efficacy, what leave we to Christ, our Saviour? But, if we think not so, why then do we pray on this sort ? Forasmuch as all prayer ought to be done of faith. Latimer. As touching the abuses of the mass, I refer you to a little book, the title whereof is Mistress Missa,* where she was justly condemned and banished under pain of burning. But the devil has brought her in again, to bring us to burning. Ridley. VIII. The priest turns himself from the altar, and speaketh unto the people in an unknown tongue, saying, " Dominus vobiscum, orate pro me, fratres et sorores," &c. ; that is, The Lord be with you, and pray for me, brothers and sisters : and turning from the people, he saith in Latin, " Let us pray, and the peace of the Lord be always with you." Also, the people, or at least he which supplies the place of the people, is compelled three times to say, "Amen," when he has not heard a word of what the priest hath prayed or spoken, except these few words, " Per omnia secula seculorum."t Whereas, to the answering of " Amen," St. Paul wills the answerer, not only to hear, but also to understand, the things that were spoken. (1 Cor. xiv.) Latimer. Yea, and, " Ite, missa est,"i must be sung to them with a great rolling up and down of notes, so bidding them go home fasting, when he § hath eaten and drunken up all himself alone. A fellow, once rebuked for going away before mass was ended, answered, that it was not good manners to tarry till he were bidden to go. After * By Dr. Turner. f For ever and ever. X Go, it is dismissed. § Tiie priest. First Conference with Latimer. 71 that he was blamed for not taking- holy bread, he answered, that he was bidden to go away before. Ridley. IX. The priest, when he lifteth up the Sacrament, murmm's to himself these words : " Haec quotiescmique feceritis, in mei memoriam facietis ;" that is, "As often as you do these things, ye shall do it in remembrance of me." He seems by his words to speak unto the people, but he suffers not his voice to be heard of the people. Latimer. I cannot tell to whom the mass-man speaks, as he is a-lifting, seeing that neither Christ bade him lift, neither are the people allowed to do those things : and as for that form of words, it is of their own framing. But the papists do all things well, be they ever so much deceitful workers, taking upon them the vizor* and title of the church, as it were sheep's clothing, as though they were the ministers of righteousness : whereas, indeed, they are the devil's ministers, whose end shall be according to their deeds. (2 Cor. ii.) They roll out their Latin language by heart, but in so doing they make the poor people of Christ altogether ignorant ; and so much as in them lies, they keep them back from that which St. Paul calls the best knowledge, (1 Cor. ii.) which is, to know rightly the things which are given unto us of Christ. But this is the matter, so long as the priests speak Latin, they are thought by the people to be marvellously well learned. Ridley. X. More yet of the canonf — " Upon the which vouchsafe to look with thy merciful and cheerful counte- nance." What means this prayer for the Sacrament itself, if it be as they say, the body of Christ, if it be God and man ? How should the Father not look with a cheerful countenance upon his own well-beloved Son? Why do not we rather pray for ourselves, that we, for his sake, may be looked upon of the Father with a cheerful coun- tenance? Latimer. To this let them answer, that so pray — except, peradventure, this prayer was used long before it was esteemed to be the body of Christ really and corporeally. And then this prayer makes well to destroy the popish opinion, and shows that it is not the opinion of the church, nor so ancient as they babble. There are other prayers of the mass, which, peradventure, are of like effect ; but I have forgotten all massing matters, and the mass itself I * Mask, appearance. i The canon or service of the mass. 72 Ridley. — Conferences. utterly detest and abhor : and so I confessed openly before our Diotrephes* and others. Ridley. XI. The canon says : " Command these to be carried by the hands of thy holy ang-el unto thy high altar," &c. If we understand the body or blood of Christ to be meant, wherefore do we so soon desire the departure of them, before they have been received? And wherefore brought we them hither by making of them, to let him go so soon ? Write again, I beseech you, fathers and brethren, most dearly beloved in Christ ; spare not my paper, for I look ere it be long that our common enemy will first assault me, and I wish, from the bottom of my heart, to be helped not only by your prayers, but also by your wholesome counsels. t Latimer, As Peter, when he said, Let us make here three tabernacles, spake, and wist not what ; so, perad- venture, our massmen cannot tell what they say, speaking so manifestly, against themselves. So that the old pro- verb may very well be spoken of them, 'Liars have need to have good memories.' Against the Sacrifice of the Mass yet more, by H. Latimer. John Baptist saith, "A man can receive nothing, ex- cept it be given him from heaven." And St. Paul saith, " No man taketh honour to himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron," &c. But to offer Christ, is a great and weighty matter, therefore ought no man to take it u]jon him without a manifest calling and commission. But where have our sacrificers so great an office com- mitted unto them ? Let them show their commission, and then sacrifice. Peradventure they will say, ' do this,' is all one with saying, ' offer this.* Then I ask, what was there done? What was demonstrated by this pronoun, ' this ?' Or, what did they see done, to whom these words, * Hishop Gardiner and the council. t Tiiis paragraph shows that the conference was carried on in writinj?. Gloucester Ridley (p. 451) says, " Much paper being left for his further thoughts, Latimer wrote a considerable deal against the sacrifice of the mass, proving that there is no mention of it in scripture." First Conference with Latimer. 73 * Do this/ were spoken ? If the whole action of Christ, if all that Christ did, be meant by these words, and ' this,* and ' do,' is nothing else but to offer ; then the whole action of Christ is, to be offered of the priests, neither can they, but in so doing, satisfy the commandment. And so it should appear, that neither was there any sacrament instituted for the lay people, seeing that no such sacrifice has been done at any time, or is to be done, of the lay people ; neither does it avail much to eat or drink it, but only to offer it. Now the text has not, that any part of Christ's action was to offer, forasmuch as the text does not declare that Christ himself then offered. And so the action of offering is not contained in the pronoun ' this.' Go through every word. First, ' to take,' is not to offer ; ' to break,' is not to offer ; ' to give to the disciples,' is not to offer, and so on. Worcester* said once to me, that to offer was contained in ' Benedicere,' which is not true ; for ' Benedicere' is to give thanks. But Christ had often given thanks to God before, without any such offer- ing. And if, in giving thanks, Christ offered his body, seeing that after he had given thanks, he said, ' This is my body ;' then in speaking those words, he did not change the bread into his body, forasmuch as he had offered before those words were spoken. St. Paul hath these words to the Hebrews, speaking of Christ : ' that he might be a merciful and a faithful high- priest in things concerning God, for to purge the people's sins.* So that it may appear, that the purging of our sins rather depends thereon, that Christ was the high-priest offering, than that he was offered ; except that he was of himself willingly offered. Then it is not necessary he should be offered by others ; I will not say a marvellous presumptuous act, that the same should be attempted of any, without a manifest vocation ; for it is no small matter to make an oblation. And yet I speak nothing,t that it tends partly to the derogation of Christ's cross ; besides also that the offerer ought to be of more excellency than the thing offered. The minister of the gospel hath rather to do for Christ to the people, than for the people with God, except it be in praying and giving of thanks ; and so hath the people as well to do with God for the minister. The office of reconciliation standeth in preaching, not in offering. * Bishop Heath. t I might further say. RIDLEY E 74 Ridley. — Covftrences. " We are messengers in the room of Christ," saith St. Paul ; he doth not say, ' We offer unto God for the people.' If Christ offered in his Supper, for whom, I pray you ? For all. Then his latter oblation made on the cross, cannot be thought to be done for all men, for it was not done for them for whom the oblation was made in the Supper ; except, peradventure, he offered twice for the self-same : and that would argue the imperfectness of the sacrifice. " Feed ye, as much as in you lieth, the flock of Christ :" (1 Pet. 5.) ivay, sacrifice rather for the flock of Christ, if the matter be as it is pretended ; and it is a marvel that Peter did forget so high an office, seeing in these days sacrificing is so much esteemed, and preaching almost nothing at all. Who art thou, if thou ceasest to feed ?* A good catholic. But who art thou, if thou ceasest to sacrifice and say mass? At the least, a heretic ! From whence come these per- verse judgments, except, peradventure, they think that in sacrificing they feed, and then what need is there of a learned pastor ? Seeing no man is so foohsh, but he can soon learn to sacrifice and say mass. Paul wrote two epistles to Timothy, and one to Titus, two clergymen. He made therein a long sermon ad clernm^f hut not one word of this mass sacrifice, which could not have been done, if there had been such a one, and so highly to be esteemed. I have read over of late the New^ Testament three or four times deliberately, yet can I find there neither the popish consecration, nor yet their tran- substantiation, nor their oblation, nor their adoration, which are the very sinews and marrow-bones of the mass. Christ could not be offered, but propitiatorily ; yet now, * Do this,' is as much as to say, ' Sacrifice and offer my body under a piece of bread,' and it is available, but we cannot tell for how much. Ah ! thieves, have ye robbed the realm of lands and goods with your sacrifice ; and now you cannot tell how much your sacrifice is available ! As who say, it is so much available, that the value cannot be ex- pressed, nor too dear bought with both lands and goods. *' The eye hath not seen, and tlie ear hath not heard," &c. This is a fine-spun thread, a cunning piece of work, worthily qualified and blanched, be ye sure. But the worldlings will not see, they will not have that religion that halh the cross annexed to it. All popish things, for the most part, are man's inventions, * Preach to the people. t To the clergy . First Conference with Latimer. 75 whereas they ought to have the holy scripture for the only rule of faith. When Paul made allegations for himself before Felix, the high deputy, he did not extend his faith beyond the written word of God ; " Believing all things (saith he) which are written in the law and the prophets ;" making no mention of the rabbins. *' Moreover, they have Moses and the prophets," saith Abraham in the parable, not their persons, but their writings. Also, " Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Rom. x.) And again, "Blessed are they which hear the word." (Luke xi.) " The things, which have not their authority from the scriptures, may as easily be despised as allowed," saith St. Jerome. Therefore, whether it is of Christ, or of his church, or of any other manner of thing, which belongs to our faith and life, I will not say.* " If we," saith St. Augustine, ** who are not worthy to be compared to him that said not only * if we,' but also forthwith added that *' if an angel from heaven shall teach any thing, besides that ye have received (in the scriptures of the law and gospelj) accursed be he." (Gal. i.) Our Diotrephes with his papists are under this curse. But how are the scriptures, say they, to be understood? St. Augustine answers, giving this rule, " The circumstances of the scriptures, saith he, enlighten the scriptures, and so one scripture expounds another, to a man that is studious, well willing, and often caUing upon God in continual prayer, who giveth his Holy Spirit to them that desire it of him." So that the scripture is not of any private interpretation at any time. For such a one, though he were a layman, fearing God, is much more fit to understand holy scripture than any arrogant and proud priest, yea, than the bishop himself, be he ever so great and glistering in all his pon- tificals. But what is to be said of the Fathers ? How^ are they to be esteemed ? St. Augustine answers, giving this rule also, that we should not, therefore, think it true, because they say so, though they ever so much excel in holiness or learning ; unless they are able to prove their saying by the canonical scriptures, or by a good probable reason ; meaning that to be a probable reason, as I think, which orderly follows upon a right collection and gatlier- ing out of the scriptures. Let the papists go with their long faith, be you * Give an opinion myself. E 2 76 Ridley. — Conferences. contented with the short faith of the saints, which is revealed unto us in the written word of God. Adieu to all popish fantasies. Amen. For one man, havinj:^ the scripture and good reason for him, is more to be esteemed himself alone, than a thousand such as they, either g-athered toge- ther, or succeeding- one another. The Fathers have both herbs and weeds, and papists commonly gather the weeds and leave the herbs. And the Fathers speak many times more vehemently in sound of words, than they meant indeed, or than they would have done, if they had foreseen what sophistical wranglers would have succeeded them. Now, the papists are given to brawl about words, to maintain their own inventions, and rather follow the sound of words, than attain unto the meaning of the Fathers, so that it is dangerous to trust them in citing the Fathers. In all ages the devil has stirred up some light heads to esteem the Sacraments but lightly, as to be empty and base signs ; whom the Fathers have resisted so fiercely, that in their fervour they seem in sound of words to run too far the other way, and to give too much to the Sacra- ments, when they, in truth, did think more measurably. And, therefore, they are to be read warily, with sound judgment. But our papists, if they seem to have but a little sounding to their purpose, they will outface, brave, and brag all men — it must needs be, as they will have it. Therefore, there is no remedy, namely, when they have the master bowl in their hand and rule the roast ; but pa- tience. Better it is, to suffer what cruelty they will put unto us, than to incur God's high indignation. Wherefore, good my lord, be of good cheer in the Lord, with due consideration of what he requires of you, and what he promises you. Our common enemy shall do no more than God will permit him. *' God is faithful, who will not suffer us to be tempted above our strength." ( 1 Cor. X.) Be at a point, what you will stand unto, stick unto that, and let them both say and do what they list. They can but kill the body, which otherwise is of itself mortal. Neither yet shall they do that when they list, but when God will suffer them, when the hour appointed is come. To use many words with them, shall be but in vain, now they have a bloody and deadly law prepared for them. But it is very requisite that you give a reasonable account of your faith, if they will quietly hear you, (I Pet. ii.) else you know, in a wicked place of judgment a man may keep First Conference with Latimer. 77 silence after the example of Christ. Let them not deceive you with their sophistical sophisms and fallacies ; you know that many false thing-s have more appearance of truth, than things that are most true. Therefore, Paul gives a watch-word, saying-, *' Let no man deceive you with likeli- ness of speech." (Col, ii.) Neither is it requisite, that with the contentious you should follow strife of words, which tend to no edification, but to the subversion of the hearers, and the vain bragging and ostentation of the adversaries. Fear of death most powerfully persuades a great num- ber. Be well aware of that argument, for that persuaded Shaxton,* as many men thought, after he had once made a good profession, only before the judgment-seat. The flesh is weak, but the willingness of the spirit shall refresh the weakness of the flesh. The number of the criers under the altar, must needs be fulfilled. If we are segregated! thereunto, happy are we. That is the greatest promotion which God giveth in this world, to be such Phi- lippians, "to whom it is given not only to believe, but also to suffer," &c. (Phil, i.) But who is able to do these things ? Surely, all our ability, all our sufficiency, is of God. He requires and he promises. Let us declare our obedience to his will, when it shall be requisite, in the time of trouble, yea, in the midst of the fire. When that number is fulfilled, which I doubt not shall be shortly, then have at the papists, when they shall say, " Peace, all things are safe ;" when Christ shall come to keep his great parliament, to the redress of all things, that are amiss. But he shall not come, as the papists feign, hiding himself, and to play bo-peep, as it were, under a piece of bread, but he shall come gloriously, to the terror and fear of all papists, but to the great con- solation and comfort of all, that will here suffer for him. " Comfort yourselves one another with these words." (1 Thess. iv.) Lo ! sir, I have blotted your paper vainly, and played the fool egregiously. But so I thought better, than not to do your request at this time. Pardon me, and pray for me : pray for me, I say, pray for me, I say. For I am sometimes so fearful, that 1 would creep into a mouse- hole ; sometimes God visits me again with his comfort. So he Cometh and goeth, to teach me to feel and to know * Shaxton, once bishop of Salisbury, recanted. t Set apart. 78 Ridley. — Conferences. mine infirmity, to the intent I should give thanks to Him that is worthy, lest I should rob him of- his duty, as many do, and almost all the world. Fare you well, Hugh Latimer. What credence is to be given to papists, may appear by their racking, writhing, vvringing, and monstrously injuring of God's holy scripture, as appears in the pope's laws. But I dwell here now in a school of obliviousness.* Fare- well, once again. And be you steadfast and immoveable in the Lord. Paul loved Timothy marvellously well, not- withstanding, he saith unto him, " Be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel." And again, " Harden thy- self to suffer afflictions. Be faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life, saith the Lord." (2 Tim. i. iv. Rev. ii.) * A place where I forgot all that I have learned. 79 A SECOND CONFERENCE* BETWEEN RIDLEY AND LATIMER IN PRISON. Nicholas Ridley to Master Latimer. In writing again, you have done me unspeakable pleasure, and I pray, that the Lord may requite it you in that dav. For I have received great comfort at your words, but' yet I am not so filled withal, but that 1 thirst much more now, than before, to drink more of that cup of yours, wherein you mingle unto me the profitable with the pleasant. I pray you, good father, let me have one draught more to comfort my stomach. For, surely, except the Lord assist me with his gracious aid, in the time of his service I know I shall play but the part of a white-liveied knight.f But truly my trust is in Him, that in mine infirmity he shall prove himself strong, and that he can make the coward to fight like a man in his cause. Sir, now 1 look daily * " The judgment and advice of Latimer was so pleasing to Ridley, that he desired another conference, in which he mentions the artifices and threatenings of Gardiner and Bonner, under the borrowed names of Diotrephes and Antonius, with his manner of replying to them. Both of those bishops harboured an implacable resentment against him, as he had sat commissioner at the depri- vation of both of them. Yet such was Ridley's character, that they thought their cause wanted his countenance and assent to recom- mend it and make it universally victorious. They therefore had their emissaries to tamper with him, and if possible inveigle him to the mass, as if his bare presence at it would reconcile the people to it. This is the point they labour, and he resolves against, in this second Conference with Latimer: which shows that he had been attacked on this point, and determined not to be persuaded or tempted to comply in ihat respect, and that being disappointed they gave way to their original resentment, and threatened him with the severity of the laws against those who would not act in compliance with them." — G. Ridley's Life of Bishop Ridlei/, p. 455. This conference is recommended to the reader's attentive perusal, as affording a valuable and authentic summary of part of the grounds upon whicli the confessors in the reign of JlMary were con- tented to be led to tlie stake. — W ordsworth's Ecclesiastical Biography, vol. iii. p. 319. t Cowardly soldier. 80 Ridley. — Conferences. when Diotrephes with his warriors shall assault me, there- fore I pray you, good father, for that you are an old soldier, and an expert warrior, and, God knoweth, I am but a young soldier, and as yet buf. of small experience in these feats, help me, I pray you, to buckle on my harness. And now I would have you to think that these darts are cast at my head by some one of Diotrephes' or Antonius' soldiers. The I. Objection of Antonius.* All men marvel greatly, why you, after the liberty which you have granted unto you, more than the rest, do not ^o to mass, which is a thing, as you know, now much es- teemed of all men, yea, of the queen herself. The Answer. Ridley. Because *' no man, that layeth hand on the plough, and looketh back, is fit for the kingdom of God." And also for the self-same cause, why St. Paul would not suffer Titus to be circumcised : which is, that the truth of the gospel might remain with us uncorrupted. And again, *' If I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a trespasser." There is also another cause, lest I should seem by outward fact to allow the thing, which,' I am persuaded, is contrary to sound doctrine, and so should be a stumbling-block unto the weak. But, " Woe be unto him, by whom offence cometh ! it were better for him, that a mill-stone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the midst of the sea." Latimer. Except the Lord help me, you say. Truth it is. For " Without me, saith he, you can do nothing :" much less suffer death of our adversaries, through the bloody law, now prepared against us. But it follows,. *' If ye abide in me and my words abide in you, ask what you will, and it shall be done for you." VVhat can be more comfortable ? Sir, you make answer yourself so well, that I cannot better it. Sir, I begin now to smell what you mean by travailing thus with me. You use me, as Bilney did once, when he converted me ; pretending as though he would be taught of me, he sought ways and means to teach me, and so do you. I thank you, there- fore, most heartily. For indeed you minister armour unto me, whereas I was unarmed before and unpro\'ided, saving that I give myself to prayer for my refuge. * By Antonius he means some popish persecutor, alluding to the story of Victor, lib. iii. de persec. Atricae.— Fo.4 , Secojid Conference with Latimer. 81 Objection II. Antonius. What is it then, that offends you so greatly in the mass, that you will not vouchsafe once either to hear it or see it ? And from whence comes this new reli- gion upon you ? Have not you used in times past to say mass yourself? Ridley. I confess unto you my fault and ignorance. But know you, that for these matters I have done open penance* long ago, both at Paul's Cross, and also openly in the pulpit at Cambridge, and, I trust, God has forgiven me this mine offence, for I did it in ignorance. But, if you are desirous to know, and will vouchsafe to hear what things do offend me in the mass, I will rehearse unto you those things, which are most clear, and seem to repugn most manifestly against God's word. And they are these. The strange tongue — the want of the showing of the Lord's death — the breaking of the Lord's commandment of having a communion — the Sacrament is not communi- cated to all, under both kinds, according to the word of the Lord — the sign is servilely worshipped, instead of the thing signified— Christ's passion is injured, forasmuch as this mass sacrifice is affirmed to remain for the purging of sins. To be short, the manifold superstitions and trifling fondness,t which are in the mass and about the same. Latimer. Better a few things well pondered, than to trouble the memory with too much. You shall prevail more with praying, than with studying, though a mixture be best. For so one shall alleviate the tediousness of the other. I intend not to contend much with them in words, after a reasonable account of my faith given ; for it shall be but in vain. When they have no more to say, they will say as their fathers said, " We have a law, and by our law he ought to die." — " Be ye stedfast and unmoveable," saith St. Paul. And again, " Stand fast." And how oft is this repeated, " If ye abide, if ye abide," &c. But we shall be called obstinate, sturdy, ignorant, heady, and what not ? So that a man hath need of much patience, having to do with such men. Objection III. Antonius. But you know how great a crime it is, to * Openly declared my sorrow. t Folly. e3 82 Ridley. — Conferences, separate yourseh from communion or fellowship of the church, or to make a schism or division. You have been reported to have hated the sect of the Anabaptists, and always to have impugned the same. Moreover, this was the pernicious error of Novatus, and of the heretics called Catliari, that they would not communicate with the church. Ridley. I know that the unity of the church is to be re- tained by all means, and the same is necessary to salva- tion. But 1 do not take the mass, as it is at this day, for the communion of the church, but for a popish device, whereby both the commandment and institution of our Saviour Christ, for the oft frequenting- of the remem- brance of his death, is eluded, and the people of God are miserably deluded. The sect of the Anabaptists, and the heresy of the Novatians, ought of right to be con- demned: forasmuch as, without any just or necessary cause, they wickedly separated themselves from the com- munion of the congregation.* For they did not allege that the Sacraments were unduly ministered, but turning away their eyes from themselves, wherewith, according to St. Paul's rule, they ought to examine themselves, and casting their eyes upon others, either ministers or com- municants with them, they always reproved some thing, for which they abstained from the communion, as from an unholy thing. LatiTner. I remember, that Calvin beginneth to refute the Interimf after this sort, with this saying of Hilary : " The name of peace is beautiful, and the opinion of unity is fair, but who doubteth that to be the true and only peace of the church, which is Christ's ?" I would you had that little book, there should you see how much is to be given to unity. St. Paul, when he requires unity, he joineth straight withal, " according to Jesus Christ," but no further. Diotrephes| now of late did ever harp upon Unity, Unity, " Yea Sir," (quoth I), " but in verity, not in popery. Better is a diversity, than a unity in popery." I had nothing again but scornful jeers, with command- ment to the tower. • Ridley here refers to the German fanatics, who had recently engaged in open rebellion at Munster and elsewliere. t The Interim was a decree of the emperor Charles V. in 1548, settling the points in dispute between the protestants and the papists in a manner favourable to the latter, X Bishop Gardiner, Second Conference with Latimer. 83 Objection IV. Antonius. But admit there are in the mass that which peradventure might be amended, or at least made better : yea, seeing you will have it so, admit there be a fault, if you do not consent thereto, why do you trouble yourself in vain? Do not you know, both by Cyprian and Augus- tine that communion of Sacraments doth not defile a man, but consent of deeds ? Ridley. If it were any one trifling ceremony, or if it were some one thing of itself indifferent, although I would wish nothing should be done in the church, which doth not edify the same, yet for the continuance of the common quietness, I could be content to bear it. But forasmuch as things done in the mass tend openly to overthrow Christ's institution, I judge that by no means either in word or deed, I ought to consent unto it. As for that which is objected out of the Fathers, I acknowledge it to be well spoken, if it be well understood. But it is meant of those who suppose they are defiled, if any one secret vice be either in the ministers or in them that communi- cate with them, and is not meant of those who abhor superstition and wicked traditions of men, and will not suffer the same to be thrust upon themselves or upon the church instead of God's word and the truth of the gospel. Latijner. The very marrow-bones of the mass are alto- gether detestable, and therefore by no means to be borne withal, so that of necessity the mending of it is to abolish it for ever. For, if you take away oblation and adoration, which do hang upon consecration and transubstantiation, the most papist of them all will not set a button by the mass, as it is a thing which they esteem not, but for the gain that followeth thereon. For, if the English Commu- nion, which of late was used, were as gainful to them as the mass has been heretofore, they would strive no more for their mass. From thence groweth the grief Objection V. Antonius. Consider in what dangers you cast yourself, if you forsake the church. And you cannot but forsake it, if you refuse to go to mass. For the mass is the Sacra- ment of unity. Out of the ark there is no salvation. The church is the ark, and Peter's ship. You know this 84 Ridley. — Confercncea. saying well enough ; " He shall not have God to be his Father, who acknowledgeth not the church to be his mother." Moreover, " Without the church, saith St. Au- gustine, be the life ever so well spent, it shall not inherit the kingdom of heaven.'' Ridley. The holy catholic, or universal church, which is the communion of saints, the house of God, tlie city of God, the spouse of Christ, the body of Christ, the pillar and stay of the truth ; this church I believe, according to the Creed. This church I reverence and honour in the Lord. But the rule of this church is the word of God, according to which rule, we go forward unto Hfe. And as many as walk according to this rule, I say with St. Paul, " Peace be upon them and upon Israel, which pertaineth unto God." The guide of this church is the Holy Ghost. The marks, whereby this church is known unto me in this dark world, and in the midst of this crooked and froward gene- ration, are these — the sincere preaching of God's holy word — the due administration of the Sacraments — charity — and faithful observing of ecclesiastical discipline accord- ing to the word of God. And that church or congrega- tion, which is garnished with these marks, is in very deed that heavenly Jerusalem, which consists of those which are born from above. This is the mother of us all. And, by God's grace, I will live and die the child of this church. Out of this, I grant, there is no salvation, and, I suppose, the residue of the places objected, are rightly to be under- stood of this church only. " In times past," saith Chrysostom, ** there were many ways to know the church of Christ, that is to say, by good life, by miracles, by chastity, by doctrine, by ministering the Sacraments. But from the time that heresies took hold of the churches, it is only known by the Scriptures which is the true church. They have all things in out- ward show, which the true church hath in truth. They have temples like unto ours," &c. And in the end he con- cludes, " Wherefore only by the Scriptures do we know which is the true church." To that which they say, " The mass is the Sacrament of unity ;" I answer. The bread which we break, according to the institution of the Lord, is the Sacrament of the unity of Christ's mystical body. " For we, being many, are one bread and one body, forasmuch as we all are par- Second Conference with Latimer. 85 takers of one bread.** But in the mass the Lord's institu- tion is not observed : " For we are not all partakers of one bread, but one devoureth all," &c. So that, as it is used, it may seem a Sacrament of singularity, and of a certain special privilege for one sect of people, whereby they may be discerned from the rest ; rather than a Sacrament of unity, wherein our knitting together in one is represented. Latimer. Yea, what fellowship hath Christ with anti- christ ? Therefore it is not lawful to bear the yoke with papists. " Come forth from among them, and separate yourselves from them, saith the Lord." It is one thing to be the church indeed, another thing to counterfeit that church. Would to God, it were well known what is the forsaking of the church. In the king's days that is dead, who was the church of England ? The king and his fau- tors,* or the massmongers in corners ? If the king and the fautors of his proceedings, why are not we now the church, who abide in the same proceedings ? If clancularyt massmongers might be of the church, and yet oppose the king's proceedings, why may not we as well be of the church, who oppose the queen's proceedings ? Not all that are covered with the title of the church, are the church indeed. '* Separate thyself from them that are such," saith St. Paul. From whom ? The text hath before, " If any man follow other doctrine," &c. — " He is puffed up and knoweth nothing," &c. Weigh the whole text, that you may perceive what is the fruit of con- tentious disputations. But wherefore are such men said to know nothing, when they know so many things ? You know the old verses. Hoc est nescire, sine Christo plurima scire ; Si Christum bene scis, satis est, si caetera nescis. ' That is, " This is to be ignorant — to know many things without Christ. If thou knowest Christ well, thou know- est enough, though thou know no more." Therefore would St. Paul know nothing but Jesus Christ crucified, &c. As many as are papists and massmongers, they may well be said to know nothing, for they know not Christ : forasmuch as in their massing they take much away from the benefit and merit of Christ. ♦ Those who aided him. Latimer refers to Edward "VI., and the promoters of the Reformation. t Secret. 86 Ridley. — Conferences, Objection VI. Antonivs. That church which you have described unto me is invisible, but Christ's church is visible and known. For else why would Christ have said, " Tell it unto the church ?" For he had commanded in vain to go unto the church, if a man cannot tell which it is. Ridley. The church which I have described is visible ; it has members, which may be seen, and also I have be- fore declared by what marks and tokens it may be known. But if either our eyes are so dazzled, that we cannot see it, or satan has brought such darkness into the world, that it is hard to discern the true church : that is not the fault of the church, but either of our blindness, or of Satan's darkness. But yet, in this most deep darkness, there is one most clear candle, which, of itself alone, is able to put away all darkness. " Thy word is a candle unto my feet, and a light unto my steps." (Psalm cxix.) Objection VII. Antonius. The church of Christ is a catholic or uni- versal church, dispersed throughout the whole world. This church is the great house of God. In this church a»e good men and evil mingled together, goats and sheep, corn and chaff. It is the net, which gathers all kinds of fishes. This church cannot err, because Christ hath pro- mised it his Spirit, which shall lead it unto all truth, and that the gates of hell shall not prevail against it ; but that he will be with it unto the end of the world. Whatsoever it shall loose or bind upcm earth, shall be ratified in heaven, &c. This church is the pillar and stay of the truth : this is it, for which,* St. Augustine saith, he believes the gos- pel. But this universal church allows the mass, because the greater part of the same allows it. Therefore, &c. Ridley. I grant that the name of the church is taken after three divers manners in the scripture. Sometimes, lor the whole multitude of those who profess the name of Christ, of which they are also named christians. But, as St. Paul saith of the Jews, " Not every one is a Jew, that is a Jew outwardly, &c. Neither all that are of Israel are counted the seed." Even so, not every one who is a christian outwardly, is a christian indeed. For " If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, the same is ♦ By whose authority Second Conference with Latimer. 87 none of his." Therefore that church, which is his body, and of which Christ is the head, consists only of hving stones and true christians, not only outwardly in name and title, but inwardly in heart and in truth. Secondly. But forasmuch as this church, as touching the outward fellowship, is contained within that great house,* and has with the same, the outward society of the sacraments, and ministry of the word, many things are spoken of that universal church, which St. Augustine calls the mingled church, which cannot truly be understood, but only of that purer part of the church. So that the rule of Tyconius concerning the mingled church, may here well take place ;t when there is attributed unto the whole church that which cannot agree unto the same, but for one part thereof; that is, either for the multitude of good men, which is the very true church indeed ; or for the multitude of evil men, which is the malignant church and synagogue of satan. And therein is also the third view of the church, of which, although there is less mention in the scriptures in that signification ; yet in the world, even in the most famous assemblies of Christendom, this church hath borne the greatest swing.J This distinction presup- posed of the three sorts of churches, it is an easy matter, by a figure called synecdoche, to give to the mingled and universal church that which cannot truly be understood but only of the one part thereof But if any man will stiffly affirm, that universality so pertains unto the church, that whatsoever Christ hath pro- mised to the church, it must needs be understood of that, I would gladly know of the same man where that uni- versal church was, in the time of the patriarchs and pro- phets, of Noah, Abraham, and Moses at such times as the people would have stoned him ; — of Elijah, of Jere- miah ; — in the times of Christ, and the dispersion of the apostles, — or in the time of Arius, when Constantius was emperor, and Felix, bishop of Rome, succeeded Liberius ?§ It is worthy to be noted, that Lyra writeth upon Mat- thew, " The church doth not stand in men, by reason of * Family. H Augustin de Doct. Christ, lib. iii. ch. 32. X Sway, been most spoken of. § The second schism in the church of Rome. Felix succeeded Liberius A. D. 358, who was displaced for holding false doctrines ; but Liberius was afterwards restored, upon which great tumults aroscj and many were slain even in the churches. 88 Ridley. — Conferences. their power or dignity, whether it be ecclesiastical or secular. For many princes and popes and other inferiors have been found to have fallen away from God." There- fore the church consists of those persons in whom is true knowledge and confession of the faith and of the truth. Evil men, as it is said in a gloss* of the Decrees, are in the church in name, and not in deed. And St. Augustine, writing against Cresconius the grammarian, saith, " Who- soever is afraid of being deceived by the darkness of this question, let him ask counsel of the same church of it : which church the scripture points out without any doubt- fulness." All my notes which I have written and gathered out of such authors as I have read in this matter and such like, are come into the hands of those who will not let me have the least of all my written books. Wherein I am forced to complain of them unto God : for they spoil me of all my labours which I have taken in my study these many years. My memory was never good, for help whereof I have used for the most part to gather notes of my reading, and so to place them, that thereby I might have had the use of them, when the time required. But who knoweth whether this is not God's will that I should be thus ordered, and spoiled of the poor learning I had, as methought, in store, to the intent that I, now destitute of that, should, from henceforth, learn only to know, with Paul, Christ and him crucified ? The Lord grant me herein to be a good young scholar, and to learn this lesson so well, that neither death nor life, wealth nor woe, &c. make me ever to forget that. Amen. Amen. Latimer. I have no more to say in this matter ; for you yourself have said all that is to be said. That same vehe- ment saying of St. Augustine, " I would not believe the gospel but for the church," was wont to trouble many men : I remember I have read it well qualified off Philip Melancthon, but my memory is altogether slippery. This it is in effect. The church is not a judge, but a wit- ness. There were in his time those who lightly esteemed the testimony of the church, and the outward ministry of preaching, and rejected the outward word itself, sticking only to their inward revelations. Such rash contempt of the word provoked and drove St. Augustine into that * Commentary upon. See De penit. dist. i. ca. eccles. lib. i. 33. t Explained by. Second Conference with Latimer. 89 excessive vehemence. In which, after the bare sound of the words, he might seem to such as do not attain unto his meaning-, that he preferred the church far before the gospel, and that the church hath a free authority over the same. But that godly man never thought so. It were a saying worthy to be brought forth against those who think the open ministry to be a thing not necessary, if they at all esteemed such testimonies. I would not stick to affirmj that the more part of the great house, that is to say, of the whole universal church, may easily err. And again, I would not hesitate to affirm, that it is one thing to be gathered together in the name of Christ, and another thing to come together with a mass of the Holy Ghost going before.* For in the first Christ ruleth ; in the latter, the devil beareth the swing, and how then can any thing be good that they go about ? From this latter shall our six articles come forth again into the light, they themselves being very darkness. But it is demanded, whether the sounder or better part of the catholic church may be seen off men or not ? St. Paul saith, " The Lord knoweth them that are his." What manner of speaking is this, in commendation of the Lord, if we know as well as he, who are his ? Well, thus is the text, " The sure foundation of God standeth still, and hath this seal : the Lord knoweth them that are his. And let every man that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity." Now how many are there of the whole catholic church of England which depart from iniquity ? How many of the noblemen, how many of the bishops or clergy, how many of the rich men or merchants, how many of the queen's counsellors, yea, how many of the whole realm ? In how small room then, I pray you, is the true church within the realm of England ? And where is it? And in what state ? I had a conceit of mine own, well grounded, as they say, when I began, but now it is fallen by the the way. * The usual form of opening Romish synods, councils, convo- cations, &c. ; see Strype, Ecc. Mem. i. p. 50. It is spoken of by a writer of that day as the " unholy mass of the Holy Ghost, rolled up with descant, prick-song, and organs, whereby men's hearts are ravished wholly from God, and from the cogitations of all such things as they ought to pray for." — Wordsworth, vol. iii. p. 333. t Discerned by. 90 Ridley. — Conferences, Objection VIII. Antonius. General councils represent the universal church, and have this promise of Christ : " Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." If Christ be present with two or three, then much more where there is so great a multitude, &c. But in general councils the mass hath been approved and used. Therefore, &c. Ridley. Of the universal church, which is mingled of good and bad, thus I think : Whensoever those who are chief in it, who rule and govern the same, and to whom the rest of the whole mystical body of Christ doth obey, are the lively members of Christ, and walk after the guiding and rule of his word, and go before the flock towards everlasting life; then, undoubtedly, councils, gathered together of such guides and pastors of the chris- tian flock, do indeed represent the universal church ; and, being so gathered in the name of Christ, they have a promise of the gift and guiding of his Spirit into all truth. But that any such council hath at any time allowed the mass, such a one as ours was of late, in a strange tongue, and stuffed with so many absurdities, errors, and super- stitions ; that I utterly deny, and I affirm it to be impos- sible. For like as there is no agreement between light and darkness, between Christ and Belial ; so, surely, superstitions and the sincere religion of Christ ; will-wor- ship, and the pure worshipping of God, such as God requires of his, that is, in spirit and truth, can never agree together. But you will say, where so great a company is gathered together, it is not credible, but there are two or three gathered in the name of Christ. I answer, if there are one hundred good, and two hundred bad, forasmuch as the decrees and ordinances are pronounced according to the greater number of the multitude of voices, what can the lesser number of voices avail ? It is a known thing, and a common proverb, " Oftentimes the greater part overcometh the better." Latimer. As touching general councils, at this present I have no more to say, than you have said. Only I refer you to your own experience, to think of the parHaments and convocations of our country, how and what you have Second Conference with Latimer. 9 1 there seen and heard. The greater part in my time brought forth the six articles, for then the king would so have it, being misled by certain persons. Afterwards, the more part repealed the same, our good Josiah willing to have it so. The same articles now again, alas ! another greater, but worse part hath restored. O what an uncer- tainty is this ! But after this sort most commonly are man's proceedings. God be merciful unto us ! Who shall deliver us from such torments of mind ? Therefore death is the best physician, but only unto the faithful, whom she altogether, and at once, delivers from all griefs. — You must think that this is written upon this occasion, because you would needs have your paper blotted. Objection IX. Antonius. If the matter should go thus, that, in general councils men should not stand to the greater number of the whole multitude, I mean, of those who ought to give voices, then should no certain rule be left unto the church, by which controversies in weighty matters might be deter- mined. But it is not to be believed, that Christ would leave his church destitute of so necessary a help and safe- guard. Ridley. Christ, who is the most loving spouse of his espoused church, who also gave himself for it, that he might sanctify it unto himself, gave unto it abundantly all things which are necessary to salvation, but yet so, that the church should declare itself obedient unto him in all things, and keep itself within the bounds of his command- ments, and not seek any thing, which he teaches not, as necessary unto salvation. Now further, for determination of all controversies in Christ's religion, Christ himself hath left unto the church not only Moses and the prophets, whom he willeth his church in all doubts to go unto and ask counsel at ; but also the Gospels and the rest of the New Testament. In the which, whatsoever is heard in Moses and the prophets, whatsoever is necessary to be known unto salvation, is revealed and opened. So that now we have no need to say. Who shall climb up into heaven, or who shall go down into the depth, to tell what is needful to be done ? Christ hath done both, and has commended unto us the word of faith, which also is abundantly declared unto us in his written word ; so that, hereafter, if we walk earnestly in his way, to the searching 92 Ridley, — Conferences, out of his truth, it is not to be doubted but that through the certain benefit of Christ's Spirit, which he has pro- mised unto his, we may find it, and obtain everlasting life. Should men ask counsel of the dead for the living, saith Isaiah ? " Let them go rather to the law and to the tes- timony,'* &c. Christ sends them that are desirous to know the truth, unto the scriptures, saying, " Search the scriptures." I remember a like thing well spoken by Jerome, " Ignorance of the scriptures is the mother and cause of all errors." And in another place, as I remember in the same author, " The knowledge of the scriptures is the food of everlasting life." But now, methinks, I enter into a very broad sea, in that I begin to show either out of the scriptures them- selves, or out of the ancient writers, how much the holy scripture is of force to teach the truth of our religion. But this it is that I am now about, that Christ would have the church, his spouse, in all doubts to ask counsel at the word of his Father, written, and faithfully left and com- mended unto it in both Testaments, the Old and the New. Neither do we read that Christ in any place has laid so great a burden upon the members of his spouse, as to command them to go to the universal church. " What- soever things are written, saith Paul, are written for our learning:" and, it is true that " Christ gave unto his church some apostles, some prophets, and some evange- lists, some shepherds and teachers, to the edifying of the saints, till we all come to the unity of faith," &c. But, that all men should meet together, out of all parts of the world, to define the articles of our faith, I neither find it commanded of Christ, nor written in the word of God. Latimer. There is a diversity betwixt things pertaining to God or faith, and politic or civil matters. For, in the first, we must stand only to the scriptures, which are able to make us all perfect and instructed unto salvation, if they are well understood. And they offer themselves to be well understood only to those who have good will, and give themselves to study and prayer. Neither are there any men less apt to understand them than the pru- dent and wise men of the world. But in the other, that is, in civil or politic matters, oftentimes the magistrates tolerate a lesser evil to avoid a greater ; as they who have this saying oft in their mouths, " Better an incon- venience than a mischief." And " It is the property of a Second Conference with Latimer. 93 wise man, saith one, to dissemble many things, and he that cannot dissemble cannot rule." In which saying they betray themselves, that they do not earnestly weigh what is just, what is not. Wherefore, forasmuch as men's laws, if in this respect only, that they are devised by men, are not able to bring any thing to perfection, but are enforced of necessity to suffer many things out of square, and are compelled some- times to wink at the worst things ; seeing, they know not otherwise how to maintain the common peace and quiet ; they ordain that the more part shall take place. You know what these kind of speeches mean, " I speak after the manner of men." — " Ye walk after the manner of men." — " All men are liars." — And that of St. Augustine, *' If ye live after man's reason, ye do not live after the will of God." Objection X. Antonius. If you say the councils have sometimes erred, or may err, how then should we believe the catho- lic church ? For the councils are assembled by the autho- rity of the catholic church. Ridley. From " may be,'* to ** be indeed," is no good argument ; but from " being," to '* may be," no man doubts but it is a most sure argument. But now it is too manifest that councils have sometimes erred. How many councils were there in the east part of the world, which condemned the Nicene council ? And all those who would not forsake the same, they called by a slanderous name, as they thought, * Homoousians.' Were not Atha- nasius, Chrysostom, Cyril, and Eustachius, men very well learned, and of godly life, banished and condemned as noted heretics, and that by wicked councils ? How many thing's are there in the canons and constitutions of the councils, which the papists themselves do much dislike ? But here, peradventure, one man will say unto [me, " We will grant you this in provincial councils, or councils of some one nation, that they may sometimes err, forasmuch as they do not represent the universal church : but it is not to be believed, that the general and full councils have erred at any time." Here, if I had my books of the councils, or rather such notes as I have gathered out of such books, I could bring something which should serve for this purpose. But now, 94 Ridley. — Conferences. seeing I have them not, I will recite one place only out of St. AuG^ustine, which, in my judgment, may suffice in this matter, instead of many. " Who knoweth not," saith he, " that the holy scripture is so set before us, that it is not lawful to doubt of it, and that the letters of bishops may be reproved by other wiser men's words, and by councils : and that the councils them- selves, which are gathered by provinces and countries, give place to the authority of the general and full councils ; and that the former general councils are amended by the latter, when, by some experience of things, either that which was shut up is opened, or that which was hid is known." Thus much from Augustine. But I will plead with our Antonian upon matter con- fessed, here with us, when papistry reigned. I pray you, how does that book, which is called " The Bishop's Book," made in the time of king Henry VIII., whereof the bishop of Winchester is thought either to be the first father, or chief gatherer, how does it. I say, sharply reprove the Florentine council, in which was decreed the supremacy of the bishop of Rome,* and that with the consent of the emperor of Constantinople, and of the Grecians ? So that, in those days, our learned fathers and bishops of England did not hesitate to affirm, that a general council might err. But, methinks, I hear another man despising all that I have brought forth, and saying, " These which you have called councils, are not worthy to be called councils, but rather assemblies and conventicles of heretics." — " I pray you, sir, why do youjudge them worthy of so slanderous a name ?" — " Because," saith he, " they decreed things here- tical, contrary to true godliness and sound doctrine, and against the faith of the christian religion." The cause is weighty, for which they ought, of right, so to be called. But if it be so, that all councils ought to be despised, which decree any thing contrary to sound doctrine and the true word, which is according to godliness : forasmuch as the mass, such as we have had here of late, is openly against the word of God, it must then follow of necessity, that all such councils as have approved such masses, ought, of right, to be fled and despised, as conventicles and assem- blies of men, that stray from the truth. Another man alleges unto me the authority of the bishop of Rome, *' without which neither can the coun- * The Florentine council was held a.d. 1439—1442. Second Conference with Latimer. 95 cils," saitli he, " be lawfully gathered, neither, beino- gathered, can they determine any thing concerning re- ligion." But this objection is only grounded upon the ambitious and shameless maintenance of the Romish tyranny, and the usurped dominion over the clergy, which tyranny we Englishmen long ago, by the consent of the whole realm, have expelled and abjured. And how rightly we have done it, a little book set forth, De utraque Potestate, i. e. " Of both the Powers"* clearly shows. I grant, that the Romish ambition has gone about to chal- lenge to itself, and to usurp such a privilege from old time. But the council of Carthage, in the year of our Lord, 457, openly withstood it, and also the council at Milevite, in the which St. Augustine was present, pro- hibited any appellations to be made to bishops beyond the sea. Objection XT. Antonius. St. Augustine saith, "The good men are not to be forsaken for the evil, but the evil are to be borne withal for the good." You will not say, I think, that in our congregations all are evil. Ridley. I speak nothing of the goodness or evilness of your congregations, but I fight in Christ's quarrel against the mass, which utterly takes away and overthrows the ordinance of Christ. Let that be taken quite away, and then the partition of the wall that made the strife shall be broken down. Now to the place of St. Augustine for, " Bearing with the evil for the good's sake," there ought to be added other words, which the same writer has ex- pressly in other places. That is, "If those evil men do cast abroad no seeds of false doctrine, nor lead others to destruction by their example." Objection XII. Antonius. It is perilous to attempt any new thing in the church, that has not the example of good men. How much more perilous is it, to commit any act unto which the example of the prophets, of Christ, and of the apostles are contrary. But unto this your act, in abstaining from * The title of this book was " Of the real difference between the royal and ecclesiastical power." It was written in Latin by Fox, bishop of Hereford, 1534, and translated by Henry Lord Stafford la 1548. 96 Ridley — Conferences. the church by reason of the mass, the example of the prophets, of Christ, and of the apostles, are entirely con- trary. Therefore, &c. The first part of the argument is evident, and the second part I prove thus. In the times of the prophets, of Christ, and of his apostles, all things were most corrupt, the peo- ple were miserably g-iven to superstition, the priests des- pised the law of (lod, and, yet notwithstanding, we never read that the prophets made any schisms or divisions ; and Christ himself frequented the temple, and taught in the temples* of the Jews. Peter and John went up into the temple at the ninth hour of prayer. Paul, after reading of the law, being desired to say something to the people, did not refuse to do it. Yea further, no man can show, that either the prophets, or Christ, and his apostles refused to pray together with others, to sacrifice or to be partakers of the sacrament of Moses' law. Ridley. I grant the former part of your argument, and to the second part I say, that although it contains many true things, as of the corrupt state in the times of the prophets, of Christ, and the apostles ; and of the temple being frequented of Christ and his apostles ; yet, notwith- standing, the second part of your argument is not sufficiently proved ; for you ought to have proved, that either the prophets, or Christ, or his apostles, in the temple, commu- nicated with the people, in any kind of worshipping which is forbidden by the law of God, or repugnant to the word of God. But that can no where be showed. And as for the church, I am not angry with it, and I never refused to go to it, and to pray with the people, to hear the word of God, and to do all other things, what- ever may agree with the word of God. St. Augustine, speaking of the ceremonies of the Jews, I suppose in the epistle to Januarius, although he grants that they griev- ously oppressed that people, both for the number and bondage of the same, yet he calls them burdens of the law, which were delivered unto them in the word of God, not presumptions of men ; and which, if they were not contrary to God's word, might after a sort be borne with- al. But now, seeing these things are contrary to those which are written in the word of God, whether they ought to be borne of any christian or not, let him judge who is * Synagogues. Second Conference with Latimer, 97 spiritual, who fears God more than man, and loves everlast- ing life more than this short and transitory life.... Did not the man of God threaten grievous plagues, both unto the priests of Bethel and to the altar which Jeroboam had made there, after his own fantasy ? Which plagues king Josiah, the true minister of God, executed at the time appointed. And where do we read that the prophets or the apostles agreed with the people in their idolatry? When the people went to worship with their hill altars, for what cause, I pray you, did the prophets rebuke the people so much, as for their false worshipping of God, after their own minds, and not after God's word ? For what was so great an evil as that was ? Wherefore, the false prophets ceased not to malign the true prophets of God, therefore they beat them, they banished them, &c. How else, I pray you, can you understand what St. Paul alleges, when he says, " What concord hath Christ with Belial ? Either what part hath the believer with the infidel ? Or how agreeth the temple of God with images ? For ye are the temple of the living God, as God himself hath said, I will dv/ell amono; them, and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my peo- ple : wherefore, come out from among them, and separate yourselves from them, saith the Lord, and touch no unclean thing, so will I receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saitli the Lord Almighty.".... The Maccabees put themselves in danger of death, for the defence of the law, yea, and at length died manfully in the defence of the same. " If we praise, saith St. Augus- tine, the Maccabees, and that with great admiration, be- cause they stoutly stood even unto death, for the laws of the country, how "much more ought we to suffer all things for our baptism, for the Sacrament of the body and blood of Christ, &c. ?" But the Supper of the Lord, such a one, I mean, as Christ commanded us to celebrate, the mass utterly abolishes and corrupts most shamefully. Latimer. Who am I, that I should add any thing to this, which you have so well spoken ? Nay, I rather thank you, that you have vouchsafed to minister such plentiful armour to me, being otherwise altogether unarmed: saving that he cannot be left destitute of help, who rightly trusts in the help of God. I only learn to die in the reading of ttlDLEY. F 98 Ridley. — Conferences. the New Testament, and am ever now and then praying unto my God, that he will be a helper unto me in time of need. Objection XIII. Antonivs. Seeing- you are so obstinately set against the mass, that you affirm it is not the true sacrament ordained of Christ, because it is done in a tongue not understood of the people, and for other causes, I cannot tell what : I begin to suspect you, that you think not catholicly of bap- tism also. Is our baptism, which we use in a tongue un- known to the people, the true baptism of Christ or not ? If it is, then the strange tongue does not hurt the mass. If it is not the baptism of Christ, tell me how were you baptized ? Or, whether you would that all which were baptized in Latin, should be baptized again in the English tongue? Ridley. Although I would wish baptism to be given in the vulgar tongue, for the people's sake, who are pre- sent, that they may the better understand their own pro- fession, and also be more able to teach their children the same ; yet, notwithstanding, there is not the like necessity of the vulgar tongue in baptism, as in the Lord's Supper. Baptism is given to children, who by reason of their age are not able to understand what is spoJcen unto them, in what tongue soever it be. The Lord's* Supper is and ought to be given to them that are waxen.* Moreover, in baptism, which is accustomed to be given to children in the Latin tongue, all the substantial points, as a man would say, which Christ commanded to be done, are observed. And therefore I judge that baptism to be a perfect and true baptism, and that it is not only not need- ful, but also not lawful, for any man so christened to be christened again. But yet, notwithstanding, they ought to be taught the catechism of the christian faith, when they shall come to years of discretion ; which catechism, whosoever despises, or will not desire to embrace, and willingly learn, in my judgment he plays not the part of a christian man. But in the popish mass are wanting certain substantials, that is to say, things commanded by the word of God to be observed in ministration of the Lord's Supper, of the which there is sufficient declaration made before. • Grown up. Second Conference with Latimer. 99 Latimer. Where you say, " I would wish," surely I would wish that you had spoken more vehemently, and to have said, " It is of necessity, that all things in the congregation should be done in the vulgar tongue, for the edifying and comfort of them that are present." Not- withstanding that the child itself is sufficiently baptized in the Latin tongue. Objection XIV. Ajitonius. Forasmuch as I perceive you are so stiffly, I will not say obstinately, bent, and so wedded to your own opinion, that no gentle exhortations, no wholesome coun- sels, no other kind of means can call you home to a better mind ; there remains that which in like cases was wont to be the only remedy against stifFnecked and stubborn persons ; that is, you must be hampered by the laws, and compelled either to obey, whether you will or not, or else to suffer that which a rebel to the laws ought to suffer. Po you not know, that whosoever refuses to obey the laws of the realm, betrays himself to be an enemy to his country ? Do you not know, that this is the readiest way to stir up sedition and civil war ? It is better that you should bear your own sins, than that, through the example of your breach of the common laws, the common quiet should be disturbed. How can you say you will be the queen's true subject, when you openly profess that you will not keep her laws? Ridley. O ! heavenly Father, the Father of all wisdom, understanding, and true strength, I beseech thee, for thy only Son, our Saviour Christ's sake, look mercifully upon me, wretched creature, and send thine Holy Spirit into my breast ; that not only I may understand according to thy wisdom, how this pestilent and deadly dart is to be borne off, and with what answer it is to be beaten back j but, also, when I must join to fight in the field for the glory of thy name, that then, I, being strengthened with the defence of thy right hand, may manfully stand in the confession of thy faith and of thy truth, and continue in the same unto the end of my life, through the same our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Now to the objection. I grant it is reasonable, that he who by words and gentleness cannot be made to yield to what is right and good, should be bridled by the strait correction of the laws. That is to say, he that will not f2 100 Ridley. — Conftrences. be subject to God's word, must be punished by the laws. It is true that it is commonly said, he tliat will not obey the gospel must be tamed and taught by rig-our of the law. But these things ought to take place against him who refuses to do wliat is right and just, according to true godliness, not against him that cannot quietly bear super- stition and the overthrow of Christ's institution, but hates and detests from his heart such kind of proceedings, and that for the glory of the name of God. To that which you say, a transgressor of the common laws betrays himself to be an enemy of his country, surely a man ought to look unto the nature of the laws, what manner of laws they are which are broken. For a faithful christian ought not to think alike of all manner of laws ; but that saying ought only truly to be understood of such laws as are not contrary to God's word. Otherwise, those who love their country in truth, that is to say, in God, they will always judge, if at any time the laws of God and man are contrary the one to the other, that a man ought rather to obey God than man. And they that think otherwise, and j)retend a love to their country, forasmuch as they make their country to fight, as it were, against God, in whom consists the only state of the country, surely, I do think, that such are to be judged most deadly enemies and traitors to their country. For they that fight against God, who is the safety of their country, what else do they, but go about to bring upon their country pre- sent ruin and destruction ? But they that do so, are worthy to be judged enemies to their country, and are traitors to the realm. Therefore, &c. But this is the readiest way, you say, to stir up sedition, and to trouble the quiet of the commonwealth ; therefore, these things are to be repressed in time by force of laws. Behold, Satan does not cease to practise his old guiles and accustomed subtleties. He ever has this dart in readiness to hurl against his adversaries, to accuse them of sedition, that he may bring them, if he can, in danger of the higher powers ; for so has he by his ministers always charged the prophets of God. Ahab said unto Elias, " Art thou he that troubleth Israel ?" The false prophets also complained to their princes against Jeremiah, that his words were seditious, and not to be suffered. Did not the Scribes and Pharisees i'alsely accuse Christ as a seditious person, and one that Second Conference with Latimer. 101 spake against Caesar ? Did they not at last cry, " If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar's friend ?" The orator Tertullus, how did he accuse Paul before Felix, the high-deputy! "We have found this man (saith he) a pestilent fellow, and a stirrer of sedition unto all the Jews in the whole world," &c. But I pray you, were Christ, Paul, and the prophets, seditious persons, as they were called ? God forbid ! But they were falsely accused by false men. And where- fore, I pray you, but because they reproved their guiles, superstition and deceits, before the people ? And when the others could not bear it, and would gladly have had them taken out of the way, they accused them as seditious persons, and troublers of the commonwealth, that being hy this means made hateful to the people and princes, they might the more easily be snatched up, to be tor- mented and put to death. But how far they were from all sedition, their whole doctrine, life, and conversation well declare. For that which was objected last of all, that he cannot be a faithful subject to his prince, who professes openly, that he will not observe the laws which the prince hath made, here I would wish that I might have an indifferent judge, and one that feareth God, to whose judgment in this cause I promise and will stand. I answer, therefore, that a man ought to obey his prince, but in the Lrord, and never against the Lord. For he that knowingly obeys his prince against God, does not a duty to the prince, but is a deceiver of the prince, and a helper unto him, to work his own destruction. He is also unjust, who gives not to the prince that which is the prince's, and to God that which is God's. Here comes to my remembrance that notable saying of Valentinian, the emperor, about choosing the bishop of Milan ; " Set such a one, " saith he, " in the bishop's seat, to whom if we, as men, do offend at any time, we may submit ourselves." Polycarp, the most constajjt martyr, when he stood before the chief ruler, and was commanded to blaspheme Christ, and to swear by the fortune of Caesar, answered with a mild spirit, " We are taught," saith he, " to give honour unto princes, and those powers which be of God, but such honour as is not contrary to God's religion.* * Euseb. Ecc. Hist. lib. iv. c. 4. Niceph. lib. ill. c. 35. 102 Ridley. — Conferences. So far you may see, g-ood father, how I have in words, only made as it were, a flourish before the fight, wliich I shortly look for, and how I have begun to prepare certain kinds of weapons to fight against the adversaries of Christ, and to muse with myself how the darts of the old enemy may be borne off, and after what sort I may smite him again with the sword of the Spirit. I learn, also, hereby, to be in use with armour, and to assay how 1 can go armed. In Tyndale, where I was born, not far from the Scottish borders, I have known my countrymen watch night and day in their harness, such as they had, that is, in their jacks* and their spears in their hands, (you call them northern gads,) especially when they had any privy warn- ing of the coming of the Scots. And, so doing, although at every such bickering some of them spent their lives, yet by such means, like prettyt men, they defended their country. And those that so died, I think that they died in a good quarrel, and all the country loved their offspring and progeny the better for their fathers' sakes. And in the quarrel of Christ our Saviour, in the defence of his own divine ordinances^ by which he gives unto us life and immortality, yea, in the quarrel of faith and the christian religion, wherein resteth our everlasting salvation, shall we not watch ? Shall we not go always armed, ever looking when our adversary, which, like a roaring lion, seeketh whom he may devour, shall come upon us by reason of our slothfulness? Yea, and woe be unto us, if he can oppress us unawares, which, undoubtedly, he will do, if he find us sleeping. Let us awake, therefore, I say, and let us not suffer our house to be broken up. Resist the devil, saith St. James, and he will flee from you. Let us, therefore, resist him manfully, and, taking the cross upon our shoulders, let us follow our captain Christ, who by his own blood hath dedicated and hallowed that way, which leadeth unto the Father, ^at is, to the light which no man can attain, the fountain of everlasting joys. Let us follow, I say, whither he calleth and allureth us, that after all these afflictions, which last but for a moment, whereby he trieth our faith, as gold by the fire, we may everlastingly reign and triumph with Him in the glory ot his Father, and that through the same our Lord Jesus . * Coats of mail, armour. + Brave. Second Conference with Latimer. 103 Christ, to whom with the Father and the Holy Ghost be all honour and glory now and for ever. Amen. Amen. Good father, forasmuch as I have determined with myself to pour forth these my cogitations into your bosom, here, methinks, I see you suddenly lifting up your head towards heaven, after your manner, and then looking upon me with your prophetical countenance, and speaking unto me with these or like words : " Trust not, my son, (I beseech you, vouchsafe me the honour of this name, for in so doing I shall think myself both honoured and loved of you,) trust not, I say, my son, to these word-weapons, for the kingdom of God is not in words, but in power. And remember always the words of the Lord, ' Do not imagine beforehand, what and how you will speak, for it shall be given you even in that same hour, what ye shall speak ; for it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father, which speaketh in you.' "* I pray you, therefore, father, pray for me, that I may cast my whole care upon him, and trust upon him in all perils. For I know, and am surely persuaded, that what- soever I can imagine or think aforehand, it is nothing, except he assist me with his Spirit, when the time is. 1 beseech you, therefore, father, pray for me, that such a complete harness of the Spirit, such boldness of mind, may be given unto me, that I may, out of a true faith, say with David, " I will not trust in my bow, and it is not my sword that shall save me. For he hath no pleasure in the strength of a horse, &c. But the Lord's delight is in them that fear him, and put their trust in his mercy.*' I beseech you, pray, pray that I may enter this fight, only in the name of God, and that when all is past, I, being not overcome, through his gracious aid, may remain and stand fast in him, till that day of the Lord in which, to them that obtain the victory, shall be given the lively manna to eat, and the triumphant crown for evermore. Now, father, I pray you, help me to buckle on this armour a little better ; for you, being an old soldier, know the deepness of Satan, and you have collared with him ere now, blessed be God that hath ever aided you so * Such was the case ; when these two constant martyrs were brought before their adversaries, bishop Ridley refuted the argu- ments of the papists with much ability, reasoning with them on their own grounds, but father Latimer adhered simply to scripture, and silenced his opponents^ still more effectually than his com- panion. 104 Ridley. — Conferences. well. I siij)pose he may well hold you at bay, but, truly', he will uot be so willinfr-, I think, to join with you, as with us younp^ling-s. Sir, I beseech you, let your servant read this my babbling' unto you, and now and then, as it shall seem unto you best, let your pen run on my book ; spare uot to blot my paper, I give you good leave. As touching this Antonius, whom I have here made mine adversary, lest peradventure any imagination might carry you amiss, and make you think otherwise than I meant, know that I have alluded to one Antonius, a most cruel bishop of the Arians, and a very violent persecutor of them that were catholic, and of a right judgment. To whom Hunericus, a tyrant of the Vandals, knowing An- tonius's fierceness, committed his whole authority, that he should either turn the christians which believed well, unto his false religion, or else punish and torment them at his pleasure. Which Antonius took in hand to do, and executed the same against two most godly bishops, and most constant in the doctrine which was according- to godliness. The name of the one was Eugenius, an aged man, the other was named Habet-Deum. This latter, as it appears by the history of the persecutions of the Vandals,* the tyrant and the false counterfeit bishop desired much to have turned unto their most pestilent heresy. This Habet- Deum was bishop of the city Tamallane, where Anto- nius had been bishop before. And when Antonius had vexed him, as the story saith, with divers and sundry persecutions, and had found the soldier of Christ always constant in his confession, it is said, that at length, in a great rage, he swore and said to his friends on this wise: " If I make him not of my religion, then am I not An- tonius." It is incredible what harms and troubles he put him to, what cruelty he practised against him, and it were too louiT now to describe the same unto you. But the man of Giod stood always unmoveable, and in the con- fession of Christ's faith remained ever unto the end the constant and unfoiled soldier of Christ. I pray to God * Victor, lib. ill. de Tersecut. Africfe. The similarity of his own case and that of Latimer to the parlicuhus recorded, respecting- these primitive bishops, evidently made a deep impression upon the mind of Hidh^y, and aflbrded him support in his trials. J)oes not this sliow tlie advantage of students in divinity becoming ac^ quainted with the history of the Church of Christ.' Second Conference with Latimer. 105 our heavenly Father, to give me ji^race, that I may faith- fully follovi^ this good bishop Habet-Deum, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Latimer. Sir, I have caused my man not only to read your armour unto me, but also to write it out ; for it is not only not bare* armour, but also well buckled armour. I see not how it could be better. I thank you even from the bottom of my heart for it, and my prayer you shall not lack, trusting that you do the like for me. For, indeed, THERE IS THE HELP. Many things make confusion in memory. And if I were as well learned as was St. Paul, I would not bestow much amongst them, further than to gall them and spur-gall them too, when and where occasion were given, and matter come to mind, for the law shall be their sheet anchor, stay, and refuge. Fare you well in Christ.f * Armour unfitted for use. + This conference in writing passed between these venerable fathers, as I apprehend, in January, 1554, when they were in sepa- rate apartments, after the mass was publicly restored, which was December 21, and before Wyal's rebellion had so crowded the tower with state prisoners, that the three prelates (and Bradford) were confined together in one apartment, and that rebellion broke out the 26th of January. Thus did this good bishop employ himself in his prison ; examining himself, and trying his own spirit carefully, lest ignorance or prejudice should in any degree mislead him ; seeking the advice of the elder and more experienced, proposing his reasons, and submitting them to the censure of others, that he might either be better informed and set right, or confirmed in his opinion by their approbation ; and yet, not confiding in the mere exercise of reason, but requesting the prayers of good men for God's grace to enlighten his mind in the search of truth, and to strengthen his con- stancy in the open acknowledgement of it. And while he sought, lie gave, assistance ; for in laying his reasons before Latimer, and confirming them by the Fathers, he furnished that aged father with arguments and proofs, which the loss of his books, and the failure of his memory, had made him forget, though he held the conclusions firmly. For which Latimer heartily thanks him. — Gloucester Ridley^s Life of Ridley, p. 485. Latimer, however, adhered to his resolution, "not to bestow much amongst them," excepting scripture ; and from the account of their examinations in Jcox, it is evident that their adversaries were the soonest tired of this method of proceeding, although Ridley answered them with much ability, and if they had conducted the disputation fairly, would soon have silenced them. f3 A LAMENTATION FOR THE CHANGE OF RELIGION IN ENGLAND: INCLUDING A COMPARISON BETWEEN THE DOCTRINE OF THE GOSPEL AND THE ROMISH RELIGION WHOLESOME INSTRUCTIONS TO ALL CHRISTIANS HOW TO BEHAVE THEMSELVES IN TIME OF TROUBLE. Alas ! what misery is thy church brought unto, O Lord, at this day ! Of late the word of the Lord was truly preached, was read and heard in every town, in every church, in every village ; yea, and in almost every honest man's house — alas ! now it is exiled, and banished out of the whole realm ! Of late, who was not taken for a lover of God's word, for a reader, for a ready hearer, and for a learner of the same? And now, alas! who dare openly countenance it, but such as are content, in Christ's cause, and for his word sake, to stand to the danger and loss of all that they have ? Of late there was to be found, of every age, of every degree and kind of people, some that gave their diligence, to learn, as they could, out of God's word the articles of christian faith, the commandments of God, and the Lord's prayer. The babes, and the young children were taught these things by their parents, their masters, and weekly by their curates in every church ; and the aged folk, who had been brought up in blindness, and in ignorance of those things, which every christian is bound to know, they learned the same, when otherwise they could not, by often hearing their children and servants repeat the same. But now, alas, and alas again ! the false prophets of antichrist, Lamentation for the change of religion. 107 who are past all shame, openly preach in pulpits unto the people of God, that the catechism is to be accounted heresy : whereby their old blindness is brought home again : for the aged are afraid of the higher powers, and the youth are abashed and ashamed, even of that which they have learned, though it be God's word, and they dare no more meddle with it. Of late, in every congregation throughout all England, prayer and petition was made unto God, to be delivered from the tyranny of the bishop of Rome, and all his detestable enormities : from all false doctrine and heresy.* Now, alas ! satan has persuaded England, by his false- hood and craft, to revoke her old godly prayer, to recant the same, and to provoke the fearful wrath and indignation of God upon her own head. Of late, by strict laws and ordinances, with the consent of the nobles and commonalty, and full agreement and council of the prelates and clergy, the beast of Babylon was banished hence, by laws, and with other and ail means that then could be devised for so godly a purpose. But now, alas ! all these laws are trodden under foot : the nobles, the commonalty, the prelates, and clergy are quite changed, and all those others, though they were made in judgment, justice, and truth, and the matter vv^ere so good, no more hold than a bond of rushes, or of barley straw ; and public perjury no more fears them, than a shadow upon the wall. Of late it was agreed in England of all hands, accord- ing to Paul's doctrine and Christ's commandment, as Paul saith plainly, that nothing ought to be done in the church, in the public congregation, but in that tongue which the congregation could understand. That all might edify there- by, whether it were common prayer, administration of the sacraments, or any other thing belonging to the public ministry of God's holy and wholesome word. But, alas! all is turned upside down, Paul's doctrine is put apart, Christ's commandment is not regarded; for commonly nothing is heard in the church but in a strange tongue, which the people do not understand. Of late all men and women were taught according to * The litany used in Edward Vlth's reign contained the following petition : — " From the tyranny of the bishop of Rome, and all his abominable enormities, from all false doctrine and heresy, from all hardness of heart," &c. 108 Ridley. — Treatises. Christ's doctrine, to pray in that tong-ue, which they couki understand, that tliey niij^ht pray witli heart, that which they should speak witli their tong^ue. Now, alas ! the un- learned people are brought into that blindness again, to think that they pray, when they speak with their tongues they cannot tell what, and whereof their heart is not mind- ful at all, for it can understand never a whit thereof. Of late the Lord's Supper was dvdy ministered, and tauffht to be made common to all that were true chris- tians, with thanksgiving, and setting forth of the Lord's death and passion, until his returning again to judge both the quick and the dead. But now, alas! the Lord's table is quite overthrown, and that which ought to be common to all the godly, is made private to a few ungodly, with- out any kind of thanksgiving, or any setting forth of the Lord's death at all, which the people are able to under- stand. Of late all that were endued with the light and grace of understanding of God's holy mysteries, blessed God, who had brought them out of that horrible blindness and igno- rance, whereby, in time past, being seduced by satan's subtleties, they believed that the sacrament was not the sacrament, but the thing itself whereof it is a sacra- ment, that the creature was the Creator ; and that a thing which has neither life nor sense, alas ! such was the horrible blindness, was the Lord himself; who made the eye to see, and gave all senses and understanding unto man. But now, alas ! England is returned again like a dog- to its own vomit, and is in a worse case than ever she was before. For it had been better never to have known the truth, than to forsake the truth once received and known : and now, not only that light is turned into darkness, and God's grace is received in vain ; but also laws of death are made by the high court of parliament, to maintain by power of the sword, fire, and all kind of violence, that heinous idolatry, wherein adoration is given unto the life- less and dumb creature, which is only due unto the ever- living God : yea, they say, they can and do nudce of bread both man and God, by their transubstantiation, — O ! wicked men, and satan's own brood ! Of late the Lord's cup was distributed at his table, ac- cording to his own commandment by his express words in his gospel, as well to the laity as to the clergy, which order Christ's church observed many hundred years after, as Lamentation for the change of religion. 109 ail the ancient ecclesiastical writers testify, without contra- diction of any of them that can be showed, unto this day. But now, alas ! not only the Lord's commandment is broken, and his cup is denied to his servants, to whom he commanded it should be distributed, but, also, there is now set up a new blasphemous kind of sacrifice, to satisfy and pay the price of the sins, both of the dead and of the quick, to the g-reat and intolerable contumely of Christ our Saviour's death and passion, which was and is the one only sufficient, and everlasting- available sacri- fice, satisfactory for all the elect of God, from Adam the first, to the last that shall be born in the end of the world. Of late the commandment of God, " Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven image, nor any similitude or likeness of any thing in heaven above, or in earth beneath, or in the water under the earth, thou shalt not bow down to them nor worship them;" — this commandment of God, I say, was graven almost every where in churches,* was learned of every body, both young and old ; whereupon images that provoked the simple and ignorant people unto idolatry, as the wise man saith, were taken out of the churches ; and it was strictly forbidden that none should any where, either bow down to them, or worship them. But now, alas ! God's holy word is blotted and rased out of churches, and stocks and stones are set up in the place thereof. God commandeth his word so to be ordered, that it might be had in continual remembrance at all times, and in every place : and he forbad images and idols to be either made or set in any place where any should bow or worship them. But now, alas ! that which God commanded is not passed upon,t and that which he forbids is masterfully^ maintained by falsehood and craft, and wickedly upholden. Of late all ministers that were admitted to the public office and ministry of God's holy word, on their admission made a solemn profession before the congregation, that they would teach the people nothing, as doctrine necessary * In the reign "of Edward YI. texts of scripture were painted in most of the churches, particularly the second commandment and 1 John, V. 21, " Babes, keep yourselves from images ;" for, as yet, many persons desired to see the popish images of saints again wor- shipped. On the accession of queen Mary those texts were re- moved. + Thought of importance. X Powerfully. lit Ridley. — Treatises, to attain everlasting salvation, but that which is God*s own holy word, or which may be grounded thereon with- out any doubt, whereby many vain, yea, wicked traditions of man, vanished and melted away of themselves, as it were, before the fire. But now at one brunt* they are revived, and are in full hope all to return again, in as great strength as ever they have been. And how can any man look for any other thing, but that when you have received the head, you must also receive the whole body ; or else how can the head abide ? The head, under satan, of all mischief, is antichrist and his brood; and the same is he which is the Babylonical beast. The beast is he, whereupon the harlot sitteth. The harlot is tliat city, saith John in plain words, which hath empire over the kings of the earth. She hath a golden cup of abominations in her hand, whereof she maketh the kings of the earth to drink, and of the wine of this harlot all nations have drunk ; yea, and kings of the earth have committed abominations with her ; and merchants of the earth, by her pleasant merchandise, have been made rich. Now what city is there in the whole world, that, when John wrote, ruled over the kings of the earth ; or what city can be read of in any time of the city itself, that chal- lenged the empire over the kings of the earth, but only the city of Rome, and since then the usurpation of that see has grown to her full strength ? And is it not read, that the old and ancient writers understood Peters first epistle to be written at Rome, which is called by him in the same epistle, in plain terms, Babylon ? By the abomi- nation thereof, I understand all the whole trade of the Romish religion, carried on under the name and title of Christ, but which is contrary to the only rule of all true religion, that is, to God's word. What word of God hath that devilish drab, for the maintenance of her manifold abominations, and to set to sale such merchandise where- with, alas for the madness of man ! the wicked harlot hath bewitched almost the whole world? Did not Peter, the very true apostle of Christ, of whom this strumpet boast- eth herself so high, but falsely without all just cause, — did not he, I say, give all the world warning of her pelf and trash, of her false doctors and apostles; tor this harlot and beast will be called Dominus Apostolicus,t whoso- * Violent effort. t The apostolic Lord. Lamentation for the change of religion. Ill ever say nay ? For he speaks thus in his latter epistle : *' There were among the people in times past false pro- phets, as there shall be among you, in time to come, false teachers, which shall privily bring in pestilent sects, even denying the Lord which hath bought them, and redeemed them ; procuring to themselves swift damnation ; and many shall follow their damnable ways, by whom the way of truth shall be railed upon, and through covetousness, by counterfeit tales or sermons, they shall, saith Peter, make merchandise upon you," &c. And doth not John likewise in his Revelation, after he has reckoned up a great rabble- ment of this harlot's mystical merchandise, at the last, as though he would knit up all in plain words, without any mist at all, setting out her merchandise, reckon up among the rest, and conclude by saying, " and the souls of men too." Whereupon else, I pray you, rose this true proverb, ' All things for money are set to sale at Rome ?' Was not that a worthy commendation of Christ's vicar in earth, that was written by our holy father one of the Alex- anders, a bishop of Rome, thus in Latin : — Vendit Alexander cruces, altaria, Christum^ Vendere jure potest^ emerat ille prius. Thus in English : — Alexander our holy father, the pope of Rome, Selleth for money both right and doom :* And all kind of holiness the holy fathers do not stick To set to sale, ready money for to get. And eke Christ himself, he dare be bold To chop and change for silver and gold : And why should any think this to be sore, For what doth he sell, but what he bought before ? I grant these verses to be light, and the verse is but rude, but, alas! such conditions are more wicked and abominable than any ability could express. If these had been but the faults of one or a few in number, they had been less pernicious, and might have been taken for per- sonal crimes, not to be imjDuted unto that see. But now, alas ! the matter is more than evident to all that have godly understanding, that these crimes are grounded upon laws, established by custom, and set forth by all kinds of * Justice. 112 Ridhy. — Treatises. wicked doctrine, falsehood, and craft : and, therefore, now they arc not to l)c esteemed for any man's or for a few njcn's personal crimes, bnt they are now by law, custom and doctrine incorporated into that wicked see ; artd make the body of tlie l)oast, whereon the abominable harlot dotii sit. But you would know what is the merchandise which I said slie sets forth to sell, for which all her false prophets, wilh all their jug<>;linf^s and crafty glosses, cannot bring' one jot of God's word. Surely, surely, they are not only all these abominations which are come into the church of Kiif the people, and that I am not bound to render account thereof to every man privately, unless it be to edify. But now I cannot show you my mind, but I must run upon the pikes in danger of my life by so doing. Wherefore, as the said doctor said unto Valentinian, the emperor, so say I to your lordship : Take away the law, and I will reason with you. And yet if I come into open judgment, where I am bound by the law to answer, I trust I shall utter my conscience as freely as any that has come before you. Bon. I perceive you are learned, I would have such as you be about me. But you must come and be of the church, for there is but one church. Phil. God forbid I should be out of the church, I am sure I am within the same : for I know, as I am taught ♦ Think. 18 Philpot. — Examinations. by the Scripture, that there is but one catholic church, *' One dove, one spouse, one beloved congregation,*' out of which there is no salvation. Bon. How chances it then, that you go out of the same, and walk not with us ? Phil. My lord, I am sure I am within the bounds of the church whereupon she is builded, which is the word of God. Bon. What age are you ? Phil. I am four and forty. Bon. You are not now of the same faith your god- fathers and godmothers promised for you, in which you were baptized. Phil. Yes, that, I thank God, I am : for I was baptized into the faith of Christ which I now hold. Bon. How can that be ? there is but one faith. Phil. I am assured of that by St. Paul, saying : *' That there is but one God, one faith, and one baptism,'* of which I am. Bon. You were, twenty years ago, of another faith than you are now. Phil. Indeed, my lord, to tell you plainly, I was then *' of no faith," a neuter, a wicked liver, neither hot nor cold. Bon. Why do you not think that we now have the true faith ? Phil. I desire your lordship to excuse my answering at this time. I am sure that God's word, with the primitive church and all the ancient writers, agrees throughly with this faith I am of. Bon. Well, I promise you I mean you no more hurt than to my own person : I will not, therefore, burden you with your conscience. Now I marvel that you are so merry in prison as you are, singing and rejoicing, as the pro- phet saith : " rejoicing in your naughtiness." You do not well herein : you should rather lament and be sorry. Phil. My lord, our mirth is only singing certain psalms, according as we are commanded by St. Paul, willing us *' to be merry in the Lord, singing together in hymns and psalms." And 1 trust your lordship cannot be displeased with that. Bon. We may say unto you as Christ said in the gospel : ** We have piped unto you and ye have not grieved.'' Here my lord stumbled, and could not bring forth the Fourth Examination. 19 text, and required his chaplains to help, arid put him in remembrance of the text better : but they were mum : and I recited the text unto him, which made nothing to his purpose, unless he would have us to mourn, because they, if they laugh, sing sorrowful things unto us, threaten- ing fagots and fire. Phil. We are, my lord, in a dark comfortless place, and therefore it behoves us to be merry, lest, as Solomon saith, " sorrowfulness eat up our heart." Therefore I trust your lordship will not be angry at our singing of psalms, since St. Paul saith, " If any man be of an up- right mind, let him sing." And we, therefore, to testify that we are of an upright mind to God, though we are in misery, do sing. Bon, I will trouble you no further as now. If I can do you any good, I shall be glad to do it for you. God be with you, good Master Philpot, and give you good night. Have him to the cellar, and let him drink a cup of wine. Thus I departed, and by my lord's registrar I was brought to his cellar-door, where I drank a good cup of wine. And my lord's chaplain. Master Cousin, followed me, claiming acquaintance with me, saying, that I was welcome, and he wished that I would not be singular. Phil. I am well taught the contrary by Solomon saying, ** Wo be to him that is alone." After that, I was carried to my lord's Coalhouse again, where I, with my five fel- lows, do rouse together in the straw as chearfully, we thank God, as others do in their beds of down. Thus for the third part. The fourth Examination of Master Philpot in the arch- deacor^s house of London, in the month of October, before the bishojjs of London, Bath, Worcester, and Gloucester."^ Bon. Master Philfot, it has pleased my lords to-day to dine with my poor archdeacon, and in the dinner time it * The popish bishops present at this and the subsequent examin- ations were, Bonner of London, Bourn of Bath, Pate of Worcester, Brooks of Gloucester, Griffith of Rochester, Bayne of Coventry, Gold well of St. Asaph, Day of Chichester, Glynn of Bangor, Heath of York, Tonstall of Durham. With the exception of the last, they all had been appointed, or restored, to their sees by queen Mary. 20 Philpot. — Examinations. chanced us to have communication about you, and you were pitied here by many that knew you in New College, m Oxford : and I also pity your case, because you seem unto me, by the talk I had with you the other night, to be learned ; and, therefore, now I have sent for you to come before them, that it might not be said hereafter, that I had so many learned bishops at my house, and yet would not vouchsafe them* to talk with you, and at my request, I thank, they are content so to do. Now, therefore, utter your mind freely, and you shall, with all favour, be satis- fied. I am sorry to see you lie in so evil a case as you do, and would fain you should do better, as you may, if you list. Bath. My lords here have not sent for you to fawn upon you, but for charity's sake to exhort you to come into the right Catholic way of the church. fF'dr. Before he begins to speak, it is best that he call to God for grace, and to pray that it might please God to open his heart that he may conceive the truth. With that I fell down upon my knees before them, and made my prayer on this manner. Phil. Almighty God, who art the giver of all wisdom and understanding, I beseech thee of thine infinite good- ness and mercy in Jesus Christ, to give me, who am a most vile sinner in thy sight, the Spirit of wisdom to speak, and make answer in thy cause, that it may content the hearers before whom I stand, and also to my better understanding, if I am deceived in any thing. Bon. Nay, my lord of Worcester, you did not well to exhort him to make a prayer. For this is what they have a singular pride in, that they can often make their vain prayers, in which they glory much. For, in this point, they are' much like to certain arrant heretics,t of whom Pliny maketh mention, who daily sung Antelucanos Hymnos, Praise unto God before the dawn of the day. Phil. My Lord God make me and all you here present such heretics as those were that sung those morning hymns : for they were right Christians, with whom the tyrants of the world were offended for their well doing. Bath. Proceed to what he has to say. He has prayed I cannot tell for what. • Allow them. t The early Christians. A proof of Bonner's knowledge of church history ! Fourth Examination. 21 Bon. Say on, Master Philpot : my lords will gladly hear you. Phil. I have, my lords, been this twelvemonth and a half in prison without any just cause, that I know of, and my living is taken from me without any lawful order ; and now I am brought, contrary to right, from my own territory and ordinary into another man's jurisdiction, I know not why. Wherefore, if your lordships can burden me with any evil I have done, I stand here before you to clear myself. And if no such thing may be justly laid to my charge, I desire to be released from this wrongful trouble. Bon. There is none here goeth about to trouble you, but to do you good, if we can. For I promise you, you were sent hither to me without my knowledge. Therefore speak your conscience without any fear. Phil. My lord, I have learned to answer in matters of religion, in the congregation, being thereto lawfully called : but now I am not lawfully called, neither is here a congregation where I ought to answer. Bon. Indeed this man told me the last time I spake with him, that he was a lawyer, and would not utter his conscience in matters of faith, unless it were in the hear- ing of the people, where he might speak to vain-glory. Phil. My lord, I said not I was a lawyer, neither do I arrogate to myself that name, although I was once a novice in the same, where I learned something for my own defence, when I am called in judgment to answer to any cause, and whereby I have been taught, not to put myself further in danger than I need, and so far am I a lawyer, and no further. Bath. If you will not answer to my lord's request you seem to be a wilful man in your opinion. Phil. My lord of London is not my ordinary, before whom I am bound to answer in this behalf, as Dr. Cole, who is a lawyer, can well tell you by the law. And I have not offended my lord of London, wherefore he should call me. Bon. Yes, I have to lay to your charge, that you have offended in my diocese by speaking against the blessed sacrament of the altar, and therefore I may call you and proceed against you, to punish you by the law. Phil. I have not offended in your diocese. For Hhat which I spake of the sacrament was in Paul's church in 29 Philpot. — Examinations. the convocation-house, which, as I understand, is a pecu- liar jurisdiction, belonging to the dean of Paul's, and therefore is counted of your lordship's diocese, but not in your diocese. Bon. Is not Paul's church in my diocese ? Well I wot, it costs me a good deal of money by the year the leading* thereof. Phil. That may be, and yet it may be exempted from your lordship's jurisdiction. And though I had so offended in your diocese, yet I ought, by the law, to be sent to my ordinary, if I require it, and not to be punished by you who are not my ordinary. And already, as I have told you, I have been convented [before my ordinary for this cause, which you go about to inquire of me. Bon. How say you, Dr. Cole, may not I proceed against him by the law for what he has done in my diocese? Cole. I think Master Philpot need not stand so much with your lordship in that point as he does, since you seek not to hinder him, but to assist him : therefore I think it best that he go to the matter which is laid against him about the convocation, and make no longer delay. Phil. I would willingly show my mind of that matter, but I am sure it will be laid against me to my prejudice when I come to judgment. Col. Why then you may speak under protestation. t Phil. But what will my protestation avail in a cause of heresy (as you call it) if I speak otherwise than you will have me, since what I spake in the convocation-house, though a place privileged, cannot now help me. Bon. But, Master doctor Cole, may not I proceed against him for the offence he has done in my diocese ? Cole. You may call him before you, my lord, if he be found in your diocese. Phil. But I have by force been brought out of my own diocese to my lords, and require to be judged by my own ordinary ; and therefore I know Master doctor will not say of his knowledge, that your lordship ought to proceed against me. To this Dr. Cole would say nothing. IVor. Do you not think to find before my lord here as good equity in your cause as before your own ordinary? Phil. I cannot blame my lord of London's equity, with whom, I thank his lordship, I have found more gen- * Repairing the roof. ■f How tliese men hunt for innocent blood. — Fox. Fourth Examination. 23 tleness since I came, than of mine own ordinary this twelvemonth and this half before, (I speak it for no flat- tery,) who never would call me to answer, as his lordship has done now twice : but I ought not to be forestalled of my right, and therefore I challenge the same for divers other considerations. Bon. Now you cannot say hereafter but that you have been gently communed with by my lords here, and yet' you are wilful and obstinate in your error^ and in your own opinions, and will not show any cause why you will not come into the unity of the church with us. Phil. My lords, if I do not declare my mind according to your expectation, it is, as I have said, because I can- not speak without present danger of my life. But rather than you should report me by this either obstinate or self- willed, without any just ground whereupon I stand : I will open unto you somewhat of my mind, or rather the whole, desiring your lordships, who seem to be pillars of the Church of England, to satisfy me in the same: and I will refer all other causes in which I dissent from you unto one or two articles, or rather to one, which in- cludes them both : in which if I can by the Scriptures be satisfied by you, I shall as willingly agree to you as any others in all points. Bon. These heretics come always with their " ifs," as this man does now, saying, " if he can be satisfied by the scriptures :" so that he will always have this exception, *' I am not satisfied," although the matter be ever so plainly proved against them. But will you promise to be satisfied if my lords take some pains about you. Phil. I say, my lord, I will be satisfied by the Scrip- tures in that wherein I stand. And I protest here before God and his eternal Son Jesus Christ my Saviour, and the Holy Ghost and his angels, and you here present that are judges of what I speak, that I do not stand in any opinion out of wilfulness or singularity, but only upon my con- science, certainly informed by God's word ; from which I dare not ffo for fear of damnation ; and this is the cause of my earnestness in this behalf. Bon. I will trouble my lords no longer, seeing that you will not declare your mind. Phil. I am about so to do, if it please your lordship to hear me speak. 24 Philpot. — Examinatiom. Bath.^G'we him leave, my lords, to speak what he has to say. Phil. My lords, it is not unknown to you, that the chief cause why you count me, and such as I am, as heretics, is because we are not at unity with your Church. You say you are of the true Church ; and we say, we are of the true Church. You say, that whosoever is out of your Church, is damned : and we think verily, on the other side, that if we depart from the true Church, wherein we are grafted in God's word, we should stand in the state of damnation. Wherefore if your lordship can bring any better authorities for your Church, than we can do for ours, and prove by the Scriptures that the Church of Rome now, of which you are, is the true Catholic Church, as in all your sermons, writings, and arguments, you uphold, and that all Christian persons ought to be ruled by the same, under pain of damnation, as you say ; and that the same Church, as you pretend, has authority to interpret the Scriptures, as it seems good to her, and that all men are bound to follow such interpretations only — then I shall be as conformable to the same Church as you may desire, which otherwise I dare not. Therefore I require you for God's sake to satisfy me in this. Cole. If you stand upon this point only, you may soon be satisfied, if you list. Phil. It is what I require, and to this I have said I will stand, and refer all other controversies wherein I stand now against you, and will put my hand thereto, if you mistrust my word. Bo7i. I pray you, Master Philpot, what faith were you of twenty years ago ? This man will have every year a new faith. Phil. My lord, I tell you plainly, I think I was of no faith, for I was then a wicked liver, and knew not God then, as I ought to do ; God forgive me. Bon. No, that is not so. I am sure you were of some faith. Phil. My lord, I have declared to you, on my con- science, what I then was and judge of myself. And what is that to the purpose of the thing I desire to b^ satisfied by you ? Bon. Master doctor Cole, I pray you say your mind to him. Fourth Ejcamination. , 25 i2ole. What will you say, if I can prove that it was de- creed by a iimversal council in Athanasius's time, that all the Christian Church should follow the determination of the Church of Rome : but I do not now remember where? l^hil. If you, Master doctor, can show me the same, £^ranted to the see of Rome, by the authority of the Scrip- ture, I will gladly hearken thereto. But I think you are not able to show any such thing-. For Athanasius was president of the Nicene council, and there no such thing was decreed, I am sure. Cole. Though it were not then, it might be at another time. Phil. I desire to see the proof thereof. Upon this. Master Ilarpsfield, chancellor to the bishop of London, brought in a book of Ireneus, with certain leaves turned down, and laid it before the bishops to help them in their perplexity, if it might be ; which after the bishops of Bath and Gloucester had read together, the bishop of Gloucester gave me the book. Glo. Take the book, Master Philpot, and look upon that place, and there may you see how the Church of Rome is to be followed by all men. I took the book, and read the place, which after I had read, I said it made nothing against me, but against the Arians and other heretics, against whom Ireneus wrote, proving that " they were not to be credited, because they taught and followed after strange doctrine in Europe, and that the chief church of the same was founded by Peter and Paul, and had to his time continued by faithful suc- cession of the faithful bishops in preaching the true gospel, as they had received of the apostles, and nothing like to the late sprung heretics," &c. Whereby he con- cludes against them, that they were not to be listened to, neither to be credited ; which thing if you, my lords, be able to prove now of the Church of Rome, then had you as good authority against me in my cause now, as Ireneus had against those heretics. But the Church of Rome has swerved from the truth and simplicity of the gospel, which it maintained in Ireneus's time, and was uncorriipted compared with what it is now ; wherefore your lordships cannot justly apply the authority of Ireneus to the Church of Rome now, which is so manifestly corrupted from the primitive church. Bon. So will you still say it makes nothing for the PHILPOT. C 26 Philpot. — Examinations. I)urpose, whatsoever authority we bring, and you will nrver be satisfied. Phil. jVIy lord, when I by just reason prove that the authorities which are brouo-ht against me do not make to the purpose, as I have already proved, I trust you will receive my answer. IVor. It is to be proved most manifestly by all ancient writers, that the see of Rome hath always followed the truth, and never was deceived ; but of late certain heretics have defaced the same. Phil. Let that be proved, and I have done. Wor. Nay, you are of such arrogancy, singularity, and vain-glory, that you will not see it, be it ever so well proved. Phil. Ha, my lords, is it now time, think you, for me to follow singularity or vain-glory, since it is now upon danger of my life and death, not only at present, but also before God to come? and I know, if I die not in the true faith, I shall die everlastingly, and again I know, if I do not as you would have me, you will kill me and many thousands more. Yet had I rather perish at your hands, than perish eternally. And at this time I have lost all my commodities of this world, and now I lie in a coalhouse, where a man would not lay a dog ; with which I am well contented. Cole. Wliere are you able to prove that the Church of Rome hath erred at any time ? and by what history ? It is certain, by Eusebius, that the Church was established at Rome by Peter and Paul ; and that Peter was bishop twenty-five years at Rome. Phil. I know well that Eusebius writes so. But if we compare what St. Paul writes to the Galatians, it will manifestly appear to the contrary, that he was not half so long there. He lived not more than thirty-five years after he was called to be an apostle. And Paul makes men- tion of his abiding at Jerusalem after Christ's death more than eighteen years. Cole. What, did Peter write to the Galatians? Phil. No, I say Paul makes mention of Peter when writing to the Galatians, and of his abiding at Jerusalem. And fur- ther, I am able to prove, both by Eusebius, and other historians, that the Church of Rome has manifestly erred, and at this present time does err, because she agrees not with that which they wrote. The primitive church did Fourth Examination. 27 according to the gospel, and there needeth none other proof but to compare the one with the other. Bon. I may compare this man to a certain man I read of, who fell into a desperation, and went into a wood to hang himself, and when he came there, he went viewing of every tree, and could find none on which he might vouch- safe to hang himself. But I will not apply it as I might. I pray you, Mr. Doctor, go on with him. Cole. My lord, there are on every side of me those that are better able to answer him, and I love not to fall into disputation, for now a-days a man shall only sustain shame and obloquy thereby from the people. I had rather show my mind in writing. Phil. And I had rather that you should do so than otherwise, for then a man may better judge of your words, than by argument, and I beseech you so to do. But if I were a rich man, I dare wager a hundred pounds, that you shall not be able to show what you have said was decreed by a general council in Athanasius's time. For this I am sure of, that it was concluded by a general council in Africa many years after, that none of Africa, under pain of excommunication, should appeal to Rome ; which decree I am sure they would not have made, if by the Scriptures and by a universal covmcil it had been de- creed that all men should abide and follow the determination of the Church at Rome. Cole. But I can show that they revoked that error again. Phil. So you say, Master doctor, but I pray you show me where. I have hitherto heard nothing of you for my contentation, but bare words without any authority. Bon. What, I pray you ! Ought we to dispute with you of our faith ? Justinian in the law hath a title, " De fide Catholica,"* to the contrary. Phil. I am certain that the civil law has such a consti- tution : but our faith must not depend upon the civil law. For, as St. Ambrose saith, " Not the law but the gospel hath gathered the Church together." Wor. Master Philpot, you have the spirit of pride where- with you are led, which will not let you yield to the truth : leave it for shame. Phil. Sir, I am sure I have the spirit of faith, by the which I speak at this present time ; neither am I ashamed to stand in my faith. * Concerning the Catholic faith, c 2 28 Philpot. — Examinations. Glo. What, do you think yourself better learned than so many notable learned men that are here? Phil. Elias alone had the truth, when there were four hundred priests ag-ainst him. JVor. Oil, you would be counted now for Elias. And ycl I tell you he was deceived : for he thought there had been none good but himself, and yet he was deceived, for there were seven thousand besides him. P/iiL. Yea, but he was not deceived in doctrine, as the other four hundred were. ff^'or. By my faith, you are greatly to blame • that you cannot be content to be of the Church which ever has been of that faithful antiquity. Phil. My lord, 1 know Rome, and have been there, Avhere I saw your lordship. ff^or. Indeed, I fled from hence thither,* and I remem- ber not that I saw you there. But I am sorry that you have been there : for the wickedness which you have seen there, peradventure, causes you to do as you do. Phil, No, my lord, I do not as I do, for that cause ; for I am taught otherwise by the gospel, not altogether to re- fuse the minister for his evil living, so that he bring sound doctrine out of God's book. IVor. Do you think that the universal Church may be deceived ? Phil. Saint Paul to the Thessalonians prophesieth that there should come a universal departing from the faith in tiie latter days before the coming of Christ, saying, " Christ shall not come, till there come a departing first." Cole. Yea, I pray you, how understand you the word dei)arting there in St. Paul ? It is not meant of faith, but of tlie departing from the empire : for it is in Greek Apostasia. Phil. Indeed, Master doctor, you put me in good re- membrance of the meaning of St. Paul in that place, for Apostasia is properly a departing from the faith, and thereof cometh Apostata, which properly signifies one that departs from his faith. And Saint Paul in the same place afterwards speaketh of the decay of the empire. Cole. Apostasia does not only signify a departing from the faith, but also from the empire, as I am able to show. Phil. I never read it as such, and when you shall be • In Ihe reign of Henry VIII. Fourth Examination. 29 able to show it, as you say in words, I will believe it, and not before. IVor. I am sorry that you should be against the Christian world. Phil. The world commonly, and such as are called Christians, for the multitude hath hated the truth, and have been enemies to the same. Glo. Why, Master Philpot, do you think that the universal Church has erred, and you only are in the truth ? Phil. The Church that you are of, was never universal, for two parts of the world, Asia and Africa, never consented to the supremacy of the bishop of Rome, as at this day they do not, neither follow his decrees. Glo. Yes, in the Florentine council* they did agree. Phil. It was said so by false report, after they of Asia and Africa were gone home ; but it was not so indeed, as the proceedings of them all hitherto doth prove the con- trary. Glo. I pray you by whom will you be judged in matters of controversy which happen daily ? Phil. By the word of God, for Christ saith in Saint John, ** The word that he spake, shall be judge in the latter day." Glo. What if you take the word one way, and I another way ; who shall be judge then ? Phil. The primitive church. Glo. I know you mean the doctors that wrote thereof. Phil. I mean so. Glo. What if you take the doctors in one sense, and I in another, who shall be judge then? Phil. Then let that be taken which is most agreeable to God's word. Cole. My lords, why do you trouble yourselves to an- swer him in this matter ? This is not the thing which is laid to his charge, but his error of the Sacrament, and he to shift himself from that broujrht in another matter. Phil. This is the matter. Master Cole, to which I have referred all other questions, and desire to be satisfied. Wor. It is a wonder to see how he stands with a few against a great multitude. Phil. We have almost as many as you. For we have Asia, Africa, Germany, Denmark, and a great part of France, and daily the number of the gospel increases ; so * About A. D. 1432. 30 Philpot. — Examinations. tliat I am credibly informed, that for this religion in which I stand, and for which 1 am like to die, a oreat multitude daily come out of France, throui^h persecution, so that the cities of Germany are scarcely able to receive them ; and therefore your lordship may be sure the word of God will one day take place, do what you can to the contrary. ff^o)\ They were well occupied to bring you such news, and you have been well kept to have such resort unto you. Thou art the arrogantest fellow, and stoutest fond* fellow', that ever I knew. ! Phil. I pray your lordship to bear with my hasty speech ; for it is part of my corrupt nature to speak somewhat hastily ; but for all that, I mean with humility to do my duty to your lordship. Bon. Master Philpot, my lords will trouble you no fur- ther at this time, but you shall p^o from whence you came, and have such favour as in the mean while I can show you ; and upon Wednesday next you shall be called ag'ain to be heard what you can say for maintenance of your error. Phil. My lord, my desire is to be satisfied by you in that I have required ; and your lordship shall find me, as I have said. ff^or. We wish you as wtII as ourselves.'' Phil. I think the same, my lords, but I fear you are de- ceived, and have a zeal of yourselves, not according to knowledge. IFor. God send you more grace. Phil. And also God increase the same in you, and open your eyes that you may see to maintain his truth and his true Church. Then the bishops rose up and consulted together, and caused a writing to be made, in which I think my blood by them was bought and sold,t and thereto they put their hands; and after this I was carried to my coalhouse again. Thus ends the fourth part of this tragedy. God hasten the end thereof to his glory. Amen. * Foolish. t My condemnation was settled. Fifth Examination, 31 John Philpot to certain persons that required him to write his Examinations. Because I have begun to write unto you of my examina- tions before the bishop and others, more to satisfy your desire than that it is worthy to be written ; I have thought it good to write unto you also that which hath been done of late, that the same might come to light which they do in darkness and privy corners, and that the world now, and the posterity hereafter, might know how disorderly, un- justly, and unlearnedly these ravening wolves do proceed against the poor and faithful flock of Christ, and condemn and persecute the sincere doctrine of Christ in us, which they are not able by honest means to resist, but only by tyranny and violence. The fifth Examination of John Philpot^ had before the bishops of London, Rochester, Coventry, St. Asaph, (/ believe,) and one other whose see I know not. Dr. Story, Dr. Curtopf Dr.Saverson, Dr. Pendleton, with divers other chaplains and gentlemen of the queens chamber, and divers other gentlemen ^ in the gallery of my lord of Lon- don's palace. Bon. Master Philpot, come hither, I have desired my lords here and other learned men, to take some pains once again, and to do you good ; and because I mind to sit in judgment on you to-morrow, as I am commanded, I would you should have as much favour as I can show you, if you will be any thing conformable. Therefore play the wise man, and be not singular in your own opinion, but be ruled by these learned men. Phil. My lord, you say you will sit on me in judgment to-morrow ; I am glad thereof. For I was promised by them which sent me unto you, that I should have been judged the next day after ; but promise hath not been kept with me, to my further grief. I look for no other but death at your hands, and I am as ready to yield my life in Christ's cause, as you are to require it. Bon. Lo, what a wilful man is this ! By my faith it is but folly to reason with him, or with any of these heretics. I am sorry that you will not be more tractable, and that T am compelled to show extremity against you. 32 Philpot. — Examinations.^ Phil. My lord, you need not show extremity against me unless you list ; neither by the law, as I have said, have you any thing to do with me, for you are not my ordinary, altlioug'h I am, contrary to all right, in your prison. Bo7i. Why, the queen's commissioners sent you hither unto me upon your examination had before them. I know not well the cause ; but I am sure they would not have sent you hither to me, unless you had made some talk to them otherwise than became a Christian man. Phil. My lord, indeed they sent me hither without any occasion then ministered by me: Only they laid unto me the disputation I made in the convocation-house, requiring me to answer the same, and to recant it ; which because I would not do, they sent me hither to your lordship. Bo?i. Why did you not answer them thereto ? Phil. Because they w^re temporal men, and ought not to be judges in spiritual causes whereof they demanded of me, without showing any authority whereby I was bound to answer them ; and hereupon they committed me to your prison. Boji. Indeed, I remember now, you maintained open heresy in my diocese, wherefore the commissioners sent you unto me that I should proceed against you, for you have spoken in my diocese. Phil. My lord, I stand still upon my lawful plea in this matter, that though it were a great heresy as you suppose it, yet I ought not to be troubled therefore, in respect of the privilege of the parliament house, whereof the convo- cation-house is a member, where all men in matters pro- pounded may frankly speak their minds. And here is present a gentleman of the queen's majesty's, who was present at the disputation, and can testify the questions which were then in controversy, were not set forth by me, but by the prolocutor, who required in the queen's ma- jesty's name, all men to dispute their minds freely in the same, that were of the house. The queen's gentleman. Though the parliament house is a place of privilege for men of the house to speak, yet may none speak any treason against the queen, or maintain treason against the crown. Phil. But if there is any matter which otherwise it were treason to speak of, were it treason for any person to speak therein, specially the thing being proposed by the speaker ? I think not. Fifth Examination. 33 ' The queens gentleman. You may make the matter easy enough to you yet, as I perceive, if you will revoke the same which you did there so stubbornly maintain. St. Asaph. This man did not speak under reformation, as many there did, but earnestly and persuasibly, as ever I heard any. Phil. My lords, since you will not cease to trouble me for that I have lawfully done, neither will admit my just defence for what was spoken in the convocation-house by me, but act therein contrary to the laws and custom of the realm, I appeal to the whole parliament house, to be judged by the same, whether I ought thus to be molested for what I have there spoken. Roch. But have you spoken and maintained the same since that time, or not? Phil. If any man can charge me justly therewith, here I stand to make answer. Roch. How say you to it now? will you stand to what you have spoken in the convocation-house, and do you think you said then well, or no ? Phil. My lord, you are not my ordinary to proceed ex officio* against me, and therefore I am not bound to tell you my belief of your demands. St. A, What say you now ? Is there not in the blessed Sacrament of the altar, (and with that they put off all their caps for reverence of the idol,) the presence of our Saviour Christ, really and substantially after the words of conse- cration ? Phil. I do believe that in the sacrament of Christ's body duly m.inistered, there is such manner of presence, as the word teacheth me to believe. St. A. I pray you, how is that? Phil. As for that, I will declare another time when I shall be lawfully called to dispute my mind of this matter ; but I am not yet driven to that point. And the Scripture sayeth, " All things ought to be done after an order." Another bishop. This is afroward and vain-glorious man. Bon. It is not lawful for a man by the civil laws to dis- pute of his faith openly, as it appeareth in the title, " De summa trinitate et tide catholica."t Phil. My lord, I have answered you this question before. * By right of your office. t Respecting the Trinity and the Catholic faith. c 3 3 1 Philpot. — Examinations. Bon. Wliy, I never asked thee of this before now. Phil. Yes, that you did at my last examination, by that token I answered your lordship by St. Ambrose, that the church is connregated by the word, and not by man's law. Whcreiore I add now further this saying : '* That he who refuseth tlic word, and objeeteth the law, is an unjust man, because the just shall live by faith." And moreover, my lord, tlie title which your lordship alleges out of the law, makes it not unlawful to dispute of all the articles of the faith, but only of the Trinity. Bon. Thou liest, it is not so : and I will show you by the book how ignorant he is. And with that he went with all haste to his study, and brought his book and openly read the text and the title of the law, and charged me with such words as seemed to make for his purpose, saying, '^ How sayest thou to this ?" Phil. My lord, I say as I said before, that the law means the catholic faith determined in the council of Chal- cedon, where the articles of the creed were only concluded upon.* Bon. Thou art the veriest beast that ever I heard, I must needs speak it, thou compellest me thereunto. Phil. Your lordship may speak your pleasure of me. But what is this to the purpose, which your lordship is so earnest in ? You know that our faith is not grounded upon the civil law ; therefore it is not material to me whatever the law saith. Bon. By what law wilt thou be judged? Wilt thou be judged by the common law? Phil. No, my lord, our faith depends not upon the laws of man. •S^. A. He will be judged by no law, but as he pleases himself fVor. The common laws are but abstracts of the Scrip- tures and doctors. Phil. Whatsoever you account them, they are no ground of my faith, by which I ought to be judged. Bon. I must needs proceed against thee to-morrow. Phil. If your lordship do so, I shall have exceptionem fori,t for you are not my competent judge. Bon. By what law canst thou refuse me to be thy judge ? Phil. By the civil law, De competente judice.J • Spoken of. + Exception to the jurisdiction, i Concerning competent judges. Fifth Examination, 3.5" Bon, There is no such title in the law. In what book is it, cunning' lawyer as you are ? Phil. My lord, I take upon me no great cunning in the law : but you drive me to my shifts for my defence, and I am sure if I had the books of the law, I were able to show what I say. Bon. What? De competente judice ? I will go and fetch thee my books. There is a title indeed, De officiis judicis ordinarii. " Of the duties of the ordinary judge." Phil. Verily, tha;t is the same De competente judice, which I have alleged. With that he ran to his study, and brought the whole course of the law between his hands, which, as it might appear, he had well occupied, by the dust they were embrued withal. Bon. There are the books ; find it now if thou canst, and T will promise thee to release thee out of prison. Phil. My lord, I stand not here to reason matters of the civil law, although I am not altogether ignorant of the same, for I have been a student in the same six or seven years ; but to answer to the articles of faith with which you may lawfully burden me. And whereas you go about to proceed unlawfully, I challenge, according to my knowledge, the benefit of the law in my defence. Bon. Why, thou wilt answer directly to nothing thou art charged with : therefore say not hereafter but you might have been satisfied here by learned men, if you would have declared your mind. Phil. My lord, I have declared my mind unto you and to others of the bishops at my last being before you, desir- ing to be satisfied by you only as to one thing, whereunto I have referred all other controversies ; which if your lordships now, or other learned men, can simply resolve me of, I am as contented to be conformable in all things, as you shall require ; the which is to prove that the church of Rome (whereof you are) is the catholic church. Cov. Why, do you not believe your creed, " I believe in the holy catholic church." Phil. Yes, that I do ; but I cannot understand Rome (wherewith you burden us) is the same, neither like it. St. A. It is most evident that St. Peter bnilt the ca- tholic church at Rome. And Christ said, "■ Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church."* * That Peter built the Church of Rome is false, for the 30 Philpot. — Examinations. Moreover, tlie si^ccession of bishops in tlie see of Rome can be jirovcd from time to time, as cannot be of any other y)iace so well, which is a manifest proof of the catholic church, as divers doctors write. Pliil. That which you would have to be undoubted, is most uncertain, and even by the authority which you allege of Christ, saying; unto Peter : " Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church," unless you can prove the rock to signify Rome, as you would make me falsely believe. And although you could prove the succession of bishops from Peter, yet this is not sufficient to prove Rome the catholic church, unless you can prove the profession ol" Peter's faith, whereupon the Catholic church is built, has continued in his successors at Rome, and at this present time remains there. Bon. Is there any more churches than one catholic church ? and I pray you tell me, into what faith were you baptized ? Phil. I acknowledg'e one holy catholic and apostolic church, whereof I am a member, I praise God, and am of that catholic faith of Christ, whereinto I was baptized. Cov. I pray you, can you tell what this word " catholic" signifies? show, if you can. Phil. Yes, that I can, I thank God. The catholic faith, or the catholic church, is not as the people are taught now-a-days, that which is most universal, or received by the most part of men, whereby you do infer faith to hang upon the multitude, which is not so, but I esteem the catholic church to be as St. Austin defines the same. " We judge," saith he, " the catholic faith, of that which hath been, is, and shall be." So that if you can be able to prove that your faith and church hath been taught from the beginning, and is, and shall be, then may you count yourselves catholic, otherwise not. And catholic is a Greek word, compounded of KATA, which signifies after or according, and OLON, a sum, or principal, or whole. So that, catholic church, or catholic faith, is as much as to say, the first, whole, sound, or chief faith. Bon. Does St. Austin say as he alleges, or does he mean as lie taketh the same? how say you, Master Curto]) ? scriptuH' saith, that Peter was set over the circumcised, or Jews, and not over the Gentiles ; and also it is proved by Orosius, Snetu- nius, Tt rtulliaii, and other histories, that the taitli of Christ was ia IJome iu Tiherius's lime, before Peter ever saw iiume.— ibx. Fifth Examination. 37 ' Curtop. Indeed, my lord, St. Auj^ustine has such a saying, speaking against the Donatists, that the catholic faith ought to be esteemed of things in times past, and as they are practised according to the same, and ought to be through all ages, and not after a new manner, as the Donatists began to profess, Phil. You have said well, Master Curtop, and after the meaning of St. Austin, and to confirm that which I have said for the signification of catholic. Cov. Let the book be seen, my lord. Bon. I pray you, my lord, be content, or in good faith I will break even off, and let all alone. Do you think the catholic church have erred, until within these few years, in which a few, from singularity, have swerved from the same? Phil. I do not think that the catholic church can err in doctrine ; but I require you to prove this church of Rome to be the catholic church. Curtop. I can prove that Ireneus, who lived within a hundred years after Christ, came to Victor, then bishop of Rome, to ask his advice about the excommunication of certain heretics, which he would not have done, by all likelihood, if he had not taken him to be supreme head.* Cov. Mark well this argument. How are you able to answer to it ? Answer if you can. Phil. It is soon answered, my lord, that it is of no force. This fact of Ireneus maketh no more for the supremacy of the bishop of Rome, than mine has done, who have been at Rome as well as he, and might have spoken with the pope if I had list ; and yet I would that none in England did favour his supremacy more than I do. St. A, You are the more to blame, by the faith of my body, for that you favour the same no better, since all the catholic church, until these few years, have taken him to be supreme head of the church, besides this good man Ireneus. Phil. It is not likely that Ireneus, or the primitive church, so took him ; for I am able to show seven general councils after Ireneus's time, wherein he was never so * Where Master Curtop finds this 1 cannot say ; hut this I find, that Eusebius doth report that Ireneus did reprove \'ictor, bishop e-t Rome, for his rash sentence in excommunicating- the churches of Greece, concerning the observation of the feast of Easter. Euseb. lib. V. cap. 20. — Fox. 'S 8 Philpot. — Examinations. taken, which may be a sufficient proof that the catholic primitive church never took him for supreme head. The other bishop. This man will never be satisfied, say what we can. It is but fully to reason any more with him. Phil. O, my lords, would you have me satisfied with nothinf^ ? Judg-e, I pray you, who of us has the better authority, he who bringeth the example of one man going to Rome, or I that by these many general councils am able to prove, that he was never reckoned as head for y many hundred years after Christ, as by the Nicene, the first and the second Ephesine, the Chalcedonian, the Con- stantinopolitane, the Carthaginian, and the Aquiliensean councils do appear. Cov. Why will you not admit the church of Rome to be the catholic church ? Phil. Because it follows not the primitive catholic church, neither agrees with the same — no more than an apple is like a nut. Cov. Wherein does it dissent ? Phil. It were too long to recite all, but two things I will name : — the supremacy, and transubstantiation. Curtop. As for transubstantiation, although it was set forth and decreed for an article of faith not much above three hundred years ago, yet it was always believed in the church. Don. Yea, that it was. Very well said of you. Master Curtop. Phil. You have said right, that transubstantiation is but a late plantation of the bishop of Rome, and you are not able to show by any ancient writer, that the primitive church believed any such thing. (With this Curtop shrunk away, and immediately after the ambassador of Spain came in, to whom my lord of London went, leaving the others with me, to whom I said,) My lords, if you can show me that this church of Rome, whereof you are members, is the true catholic church, I shall be content to be one thereof, and as conformable to the same as you can require me in all things ; for I know there is no salva- tion but within the church. Cov. Can you prove that the church of Rome is not the catholic church ? Phil. Yea, that I am able, but I desire rather to hear of you for the proof thereof. And seeing I cannot have my rccjuest at your hands, neither be satisfied with any Fifth Examination. 39 probable authority, I will show you good proof why it is not. For if the primitive church were catholic, as it was indeed, and ought to be the rule and schoolmistress of the church to the world's end : then the church of Rome is not now the catholic church, which dissents so far from the same both in doctrine and the use of the sacraments. Cov. How prove you that the church of Rome now dissents in doctrine and use of the sacraments from the primitive church ? Phil. Compare the one with the other, and it shall soon appear ; as you may see both in Eusebius and other ecclesiastical and ancient writers. Cov. What have you to say more, why it is not the catholic church? Phil. Because it is not, by your interpretation of catholic, universal ; neither ever was, although you falsely persuade the people that it is so. For the world being divided into three parts, Asia, Africa, and Europe ; two parts thereof, Asia and Africa, professing Christ as well as we, never consented to the church of Rome, which is of Europe. This is a sufficient testimony that your faith never was universal. Cov. How prove you that? Phil. All the historians who write of the proceedings of the church, testify the same. Besides that, this present time declares that to be true which I say. For at this present time the churches of Asia and Africa do not con- sent to the church of Rome. Yea, and besides all this, most part of Europe does not agree, neither allow the church of Rome; as Germany, the kingdom of Denmark, the kingdom of Poland, a great part of France, England, and Zealand, which is a manifest proof that your church is not universal. After this, the bishop of London called away the other bishops, and left with me divers gentlemen, and certain of his chaplains, as Doctor Saverson, an Englishman, who had proceeded doctor in Bologna, who began with me in this manner. D. Sav. Master Philpot, I remember you beyond sea, since the time you reasoned with a friar, a notable learned man, coming from Venice to Padua in a barge. Phil. I cannot forget that, for the friar threatened to accuse me of heresy as soon as he came to Padua, be- cause I talked with him so boldly of the truth. He was 40 Philpot. — Examinations. no such learned man as you name him to be, but only in his school points a good purgatory friar.* D. Sav. Well, he was a learned man for all that. And I am sorry to hear that you this day having- communed with so many notable learned men, are not more conform- able to them than you are. Phil. I will be conformable to all that be conformable to Christ in his word. And I pray you, good Master doctor, be not so conformable to please men more than God, contrary to your learning, t for sake of worldly esteem. D. Sav. No, that I am not. Why should you think thus of me ? Phil. Upon no evil that I know of you, Master doctor ; but I speak as one wishing that you should not be led away from the truth for promotion's sake, as many doctors are now-a-days. D. Sav. I have heard your arguments hitherto, and methinks that a great many of the old ancient writers are against you, in that you do not allow the church of Rome, neither the supremacy ; for St. Cyprian, who is an old ancient writer, allows the bishop of Rome to be supreme head of the church. J Phil. That I am sure he does not. For he writing unto Cornelius, then bishop of Rome, calls him only his companion and fellow bishop, neither attributes to him the name either of pope, or any usurped terms which now are ascribed to the bishop of Rome, to the setting forth of his dignity. D. Sav. You cannot be able to show that St. Cyprian calls Cornelius his fellow bishop. Phil. I will wager with you what I am able, that I can show it you in Cyprian, as I have said. D. Sav. I will lay no other wager vdth you, but book for book, that it is not so. Phil. I agree thereto, and I pray you, one of my lord's chaplains, to fetch Cyprian hither for the trial hereof. And with that one of them went to my lord's study and brought forth Cyprian, and he turned to the first book of t ♦ One who could talk in favour of purgatory. t Knowledf^e. J I'or tlip further debaling of this matter, that Cyprian dotli allow no such thing, read the answer of Master Nowel to Master Dorman. — J'ox. Fifth Examination, 41 his epistles, the third epistle, and there would have seemed to have gathered a strong argument for the supremacy of the bishop of Rome, because he saith, " It goeth not well with the church when the high-priest is not obeyed, which supplieth the stead of Christ after God's word, and the consent of his fellow bishops, and the agreement of the people." D. Sav. How can you do away this place which makes so plainly for the bishop of Rome's supremacy ? Phil. It makes not so plain. Master doctor, on your side, as you gather, as by and by I will give you to understand. But first I challenge the wager which we made, that your book is mine. For here you may see that he calleth Cornelius his fellow bishop, as he does also in other places. And now for the understanding of that place : you misconstrue it, to take the high-priest for the bishop of Rome only, and otherwise than it was in his time. For there were by the Nicene council four patriarchs appointed, the patriarch of Jerusalem, the patriarch of Constantinople, the patriarch of Alexandria, and the patriarch of Rome; of which four, the patriarch of Rome was placed lowest in the council, and so con- tinued many years, for the time of seven or eight general councils, as I am able to show.* Therefore St. Cyprian, writing to Cornelius, patriarch of Rome, whom he calls his fellow bishop, finds himself offended, that certain heretics being justly excommunicated by him, as the Novatians were, fled from his diocese, who was their chief bishop, refusing to be obedient to him, and to be reformed, to the bishop of Rome and to the patriarch of Constan- tinople ; and there were received in communion of congre- gation, in derogation of good order and discipline in the church, and to the maintaining of heresies and schisms ; and that heresies did spring up and schisms daily rise hereof, so that obedience was not given to the priest of God, nor was he respected in the church. For as the priest, and the judge in Christ's stead, in the decree of * In the Nicene Council three patriarchs only were name/l, to whom afterwards the patriarch of Constantinople was also joined. Cyprian hath also these words following in the same epistle. " It was declared amongst us, and it is according to justice and equity, that every man's cause should be heard where the fault was com- mitted ; and to every several pastor there is a portion of the flock appointed to rule and govern, for the which he must make aii account before God." _ Cyprian, lib. iv. epist. 2. — Fox. 42 Philpot. — Examinations. Nicene council, not the bishop of Rome only, but every patriarch in his precinct was appointed ; who had every one of them a coUeg^e or cathedral church of learned priests, in hearing of whom, by u convocation of his fellow bishops, with the consent of the people, all heresies were determined by the word of God : and this is the meaningv of St. Cyprian. D. Sav. You take it so, but it seems to me otherwise. Phil. Upon what g-round it should seem otherwise unto you, I know not, but this meaning which I have declared, the general councils, seven or eight, one after another, confirmed, which did not allow one supreme head only. Pend. There were not so many general councils, but four only allowed. Phil. That is not so. Master Pendleton, although there are four specially allowed for the confirmation of the Trinity ; but besides these four there were many other general councils, as you may learn by many writers. A chaplain. Did not Christ build his church upon Peter? St. Cyprian saith so. Phil. St. Cyprian, "De simplicitate praelatorum," in his treatise " Concerning the simplicity of the prelates," declares in what res])ect he so said : " God gave in the person of one man the keys to all, that he might signify the unity of all men." And also St. Augustine saith in the tenth treatise of St. John, " If in Peter had not been the mystery of the church, the Lord had not said unto him, I will give unto thee the keys. For if that were said unto Peter, the church hath them not ; if the church have them, when Peter received them he signified the whole church." And also St. Jerome, a priest of Rome, writing to Nepotian, saith, " That all churches lean to their own pastors," where he speaks of the ecclesiastical hierarchy or regiment,* but he makes no mention of the bishop of Rome. And to Evagrius he says, " Wheresoever a bishop is, whether it is at Rome, or at Evagia, or at Rhegium, he is of one power and of one jurisdiction.'' D. Sav. St. Jerome "Of the heavenly hierarchy?" It was Dionysius you mean. Phil. I say not that Jerome wrote any book so inti- tuled; but I say, that in the epistle by me alleged, he mentions the ecclesiastical regiment. • Rule. Fifth Eccamination. 43 D. Sav. I wonder you will stand so steadfast in your error, to your own destruction. Phil. I am sure we are in no error, by the promise of Christ made to the faithful once, which is, that he will give to his true church such a spirit of wisdom, that the adver- saries thereof shall never be able to resist. And by this I know we are of the truth, for that neither by reasoning nor by writing, your synagogue of Rome is able to answer. Where is there one of you all that ever has been able to answer any of the godly learned ministers of Germany, who have disclosed your counterfeit religion ? Which of you all, at this day, is able to answer Calvin's Institutions, who is minister of Geneva ? D. Sav. A godly minister indeed, of a receipt of cut- purses and runagate traitors. And of late I can tell you there is such contention fallen between him and his own sects, that he was fain to fly the town, about predestina- tion. I tell you truth, for I came by Geneva hither. Phil. I am sure you blaspheme that godly man, and that godly church where he is minister, as it is your church's plan when you cannot answer men by learning, to oppress them with blasphemies and false reports. For in the matter of predestination he is of no other opinion than all the doctors of the church are, agreeing to the scriptures. D. Sav. Men are able to answer him if they list. And I pray you, which of you have answered bishop Fisher's book? Phil. Yes, Master doctor, that book is answered smd answered again, if you list to seek what has been written against him. After this, Doctor Story came in. To whom I said, " Master doctor, you have done me great injury, and without law have straitly imprisoned me, more like a dog than a man. And besides this, you have not kept promise with me, for you promised that I should be judged the next day.'' Story. I am come now to keep promise with thee. Was there ever such a fantastical man as this ? Nay, he is no man, he is a beast. Yea, these heretics are worse than brute beasts ; for they will from a vain singularity take upon them to be wiser than all men ; being, indeed, very fools and assheads, not able to maintain that which of arrogant obstinacy they do stand in. 44 Philpot. — Examinations. Phil. Master doctor, I am content to abide your railing judirment of me now. Say what you will, I am content, for I am under your feet to be trod on as you list. God forgive it you. Yet I am no heretic. Neither you nor any other shall be able to prove that I hold a jot against the word of God, or otherwise than a christian man ought. Story. The word of God ! — forsooth, the word of God ! — It is but a folly to reason with these heretics, for they are incurable and desperate. But I may reason with thee, not that I have any hope to win thee. Whom wilt thou appoint to be judge of the word whereto thou standest? Phil. Verily, the word itself. Story. Do you not see the ignorance of this beastly heretic? He would have the word to be judged of the word. Can the word speak? Phil. If I cannot prove that which I have said by good authority, I will be content to be counted a heretic and an ignorant person, and what you please further. Story. Let us hear what wise authority you can bring ? Phil. It is the saying of Christ in St. John, "The word which I have spoken," saith Christ, " shall judge in the last day.'' If the word shall judge in the last day, much more it ought to judge our doings now ; and I am sure I have my judge on my side, who shall absolve and justify me in another world. However now it shall please you by authority, unrighteously to judge of me and others, sure I am in another world to judge you. Story. What ! you purpose to be a stinking martyr, and to sit in judgment with Christ at the last day, to judge the twelve tribes of Israel. Phil. Yea, sir, I doubt not thereof, having the promise of Christ, if I die for righteousness' sake, which you have begun to persecute in me. Story. 1 told you it is but vain to argue with this heretic : he is drowned in his heresies without all learning. Phil. Sir, I have brought you for that I have said good authority out of God's book, to which you answer nothing, but go about still to give railing judgment against me without any cause. Story. I will come to you by and by. When the judge in Westminster-hall gives sentence, does the word give sentence, or the judge ? tell me. Phil, Civil matters are subject to civil men, and they liave authority by the word, to be judge of them. But the Fifth Examination. 45 word of God is not subject to man's judg-ment, but ought to judg-e all the wisdom, thoughts, and doings of men ; and therefore your comparison disproves nothing that I have said, neither answers at all thereto. Story. Wilt thou not allow the interpretation of the church upon the scriptures ? Phil. Yes, if it be according to the word of the true church ; and this I say to you, as I have said heretofore, that if you can prove the church of Rome, whereof you are, to be the true catholic church which I ought to follow, T will be as ready to yield thereto, as long as it can be so proved, as you may desire me. Story. What a fellow is this ! He will believe nothing but what he himself pleases. Are we not in possession of the church ? Have not our forefathers these many hundred years taken this church for the catholic church whereof we are now ? And if we had no other proof but this, it v/ere sufficient ; for the prescription of time makes a good title in the law. Phil. You do well, Master doctor, to allege prescription of many years, for it is all that you have to show for your- selves. But you must understand that prescription hath no place in matters belonging to God, as I am able to show by the testimony of many doctors. Story. Well, sir, you are like to go after your father Latimer the sophister, and Ridley, who had nothing to allege for himself, but that he had learned his heresy of Cranmer. When I came to him with a poor bachelor of arts, he trembled as though he had the palsy, as these he- retics have always some token of fear whereby a man may know them, as you may see this man's eyes do tremble in his head. But I despatched them ; and I tell thee that there hath been yet never a one burned, but I have spoken with him, and have been a cause of his despatch.* Phil. You have the more to answer for. Master doctor, as you shall feel in another world, how much soever you now triumph in your proceedings. Story. I tell thee I will never be confessed thereof ;t and, because I cannot now tarry to speak with my lord, I pray one of you tell my lord, that my coming was to * Dr. Story confesses himself to be the chief despatcher of all God's saints that suffered in queen Mary's time. — Fox. For an account of this man, of whom it was empliatically said, "Story worse th;in Bonner," see Strype's Annals, vol. i. p. 78. 572. t Coufess it as a sin. 46 Philpot. — Examinations. signify to his lordship, that he must out of hand rid this heretic away. (And, g-oinir- away, he said unto me,) I certify thee that thou nuiyest thank no other man but me. Phil. I thank you therefore with all my heart, and God forp;ive it you. Story. What ! dost thou thank me ? If I had thee in my study half an hour, I think I should make thee sing another sonp;. Phil. No, Master doctor ; I stand upon too sure a ground to be overthrown by you now. And thus they departed all away from me one after another, until I was left all alone. And afterwards with my keeper going to my coalhouse, as I went, I met with my lord of London, who spake unto me gently, as he hath hitherto in words, saying, " Philpot, if there be any plea- sure I may show you in my house ; I pray you require it, and you shall have it." Phil. My lord, the pleasure that I will require of your lordship is to hasten my judgment which is committed inito you ; and so despatch me forth from this miserable world, unto my eternal rest. For all this fair speech I can attain" for this fortnight space, neither fire, nor candle, nor yet good lodging. But it is good for a man to be brought low in this world, and to be counted among the vilest, that he may in time of reward receive exaltation and glory. Therefore, praised be God, who hath humbled me, and given me grace with gladness to be content therewith. Let all that love the truth say, Amen. Thus endeth the fifth tragedy. The sixth Examination of John Philpot, before the right honourable lords, the lord chamberlain to the king\ majesty, the Viscount Hereford, commonly called Lord Fcrrars, the Lord Rich, the Lord St. Johns, the Lord Windsor, the Lord Chandos, Sir John Bridges, lieutenant of the tower, and two others whose names I know not, with Bonner the Bishop of London and Dr. Chadsey, the sixth day of November, anno 1555. Hefore that I was called to the lords, and whilst they were in sitting down, the bishop of London came aside Sixth Examination. 47 to me and whispered in my ear, willing me to conduct myself prudently before the lords of the queen's majesty's council, and to take heed what I said ; and he pretended thus to give me counsel because he wished me to do well, as I might now do if I list. And after the lords and other worshipful gentlemen of the queen's majesty's ser- vants were set, my lord of London placed himself at the end of the table, and called me to him, and by the lords T was placed at the upper end against him ; where I kneel- ing down, the lords commanded me to stand up ; and in this manner the bishop began to speak. London. Master Philpot, I have heretofore both privately myself, and openly before the lords of the clergy more times than once caused you to be talked with, to reform you of your errors, but I have not found you yet so tractable as I would wish ; wherefore now I have desired these honourable lords of the temporality and of the queen's majesty's council, who have taken pains with me this day, I thank them there- fore, to hear you what you can say, that they may be judges whether I have sought all means to do you good or no. And I dare be bold to say in their behalf, that if you show yourself conformable to the queen's majesty's proceedings, you shall find as much favour for your deliverance as you can wish. I speak not this to fawn upon you, but to bring you home into the church. Now let them hear what you can say. Phil. My lord, I thank God of this day, that I have such an honourable audience to declare my mind before. And I cannot but commend your lordship's equity in this behalf, which agrees with the order of the primitive church, which was, if any body had been suspected of heresy, as I am now, he should be called first before the archbishop or bishop of the diocese where he was suspected ; secondly, in the presence of others his fellow bishops and learned elders ; and, thirdly, in hearing of the laity : where, after the judgment of God's word declared, and with the assent of other bishops and consent of the people, he was con- demned to exile as a heretic, or absolved. And the second point of that good order I have found at your lordship's hands already, in being called before you and your fellow bishops, and now have the third sort of men, at whose hands I trust to find more righteousness* in my cause than I have found with my lords of the clergy, God * Justice. 48 Philpot. — Examinations. grant I may at last have the judgment of God's word con- ccrninp: the same. Lon. Master Philpot, I pray you before you g-o any fur- ther, tell my lords here plainly whether you were by me or by my procurement committed to prison or not, and whe- ther 1 have showed you any cruelty since you have been committed to my prison. Phil. If it shall please your lordship to give me leave to declare forth my matter, I will touch that afterward. Rich. Answer first of all to my lords two questions, and then proceed forth to the matter. How say you ? Were you imprisoned by my lord, or no? Can you find any fault since with his cruel using of you ? Phil. I cannot lay to my lord's charge the cause of my imprisonment, neither may I say that he has used me cruelly ; but rather for my part, I might say that I have ibund more gentleness at his lordship's hands than I did from my own ordinary, for the time I have been within his prison, for he has called me three or four times to mine answer, to which I was not called in a twelvemonth and a half before. Rich. Well, now go to your matter. Phil. The matter is, that I am imprisoned for the dis- putations had by me in the convocation-house against the Sacrament of the altar ; which matter was not moved prin- cipally by me, but by the prolocutor, with the consent of the queen's majesty and of the whole house ; and that house being a member of the parliament house, ought to be a place of free speech for all men of the house, by the ancient and laudable custom of this realm. Wherefore I think myself to have sustained hitherto great injury for speaking my conscience freely in such a place as I might lawfully do it ; and I desire your honourable lordships* judgment, who are of the parliament house, whether of right I ought to be impeached therefore, and sustain the loss of my living, as I have done, and moreover of my life, as it is sought for. Rich. You are deceived herein ; for the convocation- house is no part of the parliament house. Phil. My lord, I have always understood the contrary by such as are more ex])ert men in things of this realm than I am. And again, the title of every act leads me to think otherwise, which alleges the agreement of the spirituality and temporality when assembled together. Sixth Examination. 49 Rich. Yea, that is meant of the spiritual lords of the upper house. Windsor . Indeed the convocation-house is called to- gether by one writ of the summons of the parhament of an old custom ; notwithstanding- that house is no part of the parhament house.* Phil. My lords, I must be contented to abide your judgments in this behalf. Rich. We have told you the truth. Yet we would not that you should be troubled for any thing- that was spoken there : so that you, having spoken amiss, declare now that you are sorry therefore. Lon. My lords, he spoke there manifest heresy, yea and there stoutly maintained the same against the blessed sacrament of the altar, (and with that he put off his cap that all the lords mig'ht reverence and vail their bonnets at that idol, as they did,) and would not allow the real presence of the body and blood of Christ in the same ; yet, my lords, God forbid that I should show him -extre- mityt for so doing, in case he will repent and revoke his wicked sayings ; and, in faith, if he will so do, with your lordships' consent he shall be released directly. If he will not, he shall look for the extremity of the law, and that shortly. Chamb. My lord of London speaks reasonably unto you, take it whilst it is offered you. Rich. How say you? Will you acknowledge the real presence of the blood and body of Christ in the mass, as all the learned men of this realm do, and as 1 do, and will believe as long as I hve, I do protest it. Phil. My lord, I acknowledge in the sacrament of the body and blood of Christ such a presence, as the word of God doth allow and teach me. Rich. That shall be no otherwise than you please. Lon. A sacrament is the sign of a holy thing ; so that there is both the sign, which is the accident, as the white- ness, roundness, and shape of bread ; and there is also the thing itself, as very Christ both God and man. But these heretics will have the sacraments to be but bare signs. How say you ? Declare unto my lords here * Whether the convocation be part of the parhament house or not, yet free liberty was given by the queen to every man to speak ac- cording to his conscience. — Fox. f Severity. PHILPOT. D 50 PhUpot. — Examinations. whether you allow the thing itself in the sacrament or no ? Phil. I confess, that in the Lord's supper there is in due respects both the sifrn and the thing signified, when it is duly ministered after the institution of Christ. Lo?i. You may see how he goes about the bush, as he hath done before, with my lords of the clergy, and dare not utter his mind plainly. Rich. Show us what manner of presence you allow in the sacrament, P/iil. If it shall please you, my lord of London, to give me leave to proceed orderly thereunto, and to let me declare my mind without interruption, I will throughly open my mind therein. L. Chand. I pray you, my lord, let him speak his mind. Phil. My lords, that at the first I have not plainly de- clared my judgment unto you is, because I cannot speak hereof without the danger of my life. Rich. There is none of us here that seeks thy life, or means to take any advantage of what thou shalt speak. Phil. Although I mistrust not your honourable lord- ships that are here of the temporality ; yet here is one that sitteth against me (pointing to my lord of London) that will lay it to my charge, even to the death.* Notwith- standing, seeing your honours require me to declare my mind respecting the presence of Christ in the sacrament, that ye may perceive that I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, neither maintain any opinion without probable and sufficient authority of the scripture, I will show you frankly my mind without any concealment, whatsoever shall ensue unto me therefore, so that my lord of London will not hinder me from uttering my mind. Rich. My lord, permit him to say what he can, seeing he is willing to show his mind. Lon. I am content, my lords, let him say what he can, I will hear him. Phil. That which I intend to speak unto you (right honourable lords) I protest here, first before God and his angels, that I speak it not of vain-glory, neither of sin- gularity, neither of wilful stubbornness ; but truly upon a good conscience, grounded on God's word, against which • They say they seek not his life, and yet they know to answer to that tUty ask will be his death.— iox. Sixth Examination. 51 I dare not act for fear of damnation, which will follow that which is done contrary to knowled<^e. Neither do I disagree to the proceedings of this realm in religion because I love not the queen, whom I love from the bottom of my heart ; but because I ought to love and fear God in his word more than man in his laws, though I stand as I seem to do in this consideration, and for none other, as I call God to witness. There are two things, principally, by which the clergy at this day deceive the whole realm ; that is, the sacra- ment of the body and blood of Christ, and the name of the catholic church ; both which they usurp, having in- deed neither of them. And as touching their sacra- ment, which they term of the altar, I say now, as I said in the convocation-house, that it is not the sacrament of Christ, neither in the same is there any manner of Christ's presence. Wherefore they deceive the queen's majesty, and you of the nobility of this realm, in making you believe that to be a sacrament which is none ; and they cause you to commit manifest idolatry in worshipping that for God, which is not God. And in testimony of the truth of this, besides manifest proof which I am able to make to the queen's majesty, and to all you of her nobility, I will yield my life. To do which, if it were not upon a sure ground, it were to my utter damnation. And though they take on them the name of the catholic church, whereby they blind many folks eyes, they are not at all so, calling you from the true religion which was revealed and taught in king Edward's time, unto vain superstition. And this I will say for the trial hereof, that if they can prove themselves to be the catholic church, as they shall never be able to do, I will never be against their doings, but revoke all that I have said. And I shall desire you, my lords, to speak for me to the queen's majesty, that I may be brought to the just trial hereof. Yea, I will not refuse to stand against ten of the best of them in this realm. And if they are able to prove other- wise than I have said, either by writing or by reasoning, with good and lawful authority, I here promise to recant whatsoever I have said, and to consent to them in all points. (And in the declaration of these things more at large, which now I write in sum, the bishop of London soon would have interrupted me ; but the lords procured me liberty to make out my tale, to the great grief of the D 2 5? PhUpot. — Examinations. lord bishojS of London, as it appeared by the dumps* he was in.) Lon. I pray you, how will you join these two scriptures to"-cthcr, " Paler major me eat, et pater et ei^o 7inuin sumus." I must interpret the same, because my lords here under- stand not tlie Latin ; tliat is to say, '* The Father is g-reater than I, and I and the Father are one."t But I cry you mercy, my lords ; I have mis-spoken, in saying you under- stand no Latin : for the most part of you understand Latin as well as L Rut I spake in consideration of my lord Chandos and Master Bridges his brother, whom I take to be no great Latin men. Now show your skill and join these two scriptures by the word if you can. Pliil. Yes, that I can right well ; for we must under- stand that in Christ there are two natures, the divinity and humanity;]: and in respect of his humanity it is spoken of Christ, " The Father is greater than I," but in respect of his Deity he said again, " The Father and I are one." j Lon. But what scriptures have you? Phil. I have sufficient scripture for the proof of what I have said. For the first, it is written of Christ in the Psalms, " Thou hast made him a little lesser than angels." It is the Psalm beginning " Cceli enarrant." And there I misreckoned, wherewithal my lord took me. Lon. It is in Domine Dominus noster. You may see, my lords, how well this man is used to say his matins. Phil. Though I say not matins in such order as your lordship meaneth, yet I remember of old that Domine Dominus noster, and Cceli enarrant, the eighth and nine- teenth Psalms, are not far asunder; and although I mis- named the psalm, it is no prejudice to the truth which I have proved. Lon. What say you then to the second scripture ? How couple you that to the other by the word ? Phil. The text itself declares, that notwithstanding Christ abased himself in our human nature, yet he is still one in Deity with the Father. And this St. Paul to the Hebrews more at large sets forth. And as I have by the scriptures joined these two scriptures tog-ether, so am I * Displeasure. t Mdst (if ili(i quotntions of sfcripture, both by Philpot and the Romisli clergy, were nvide IrDiii the Latin Vulgate, \ Divine uaiure and inunan nature. Sixth Examination. SS able to do in all other articles of faith which we ought to believe, and expound thenm by the manifest word of God. Lo?i. How can that be, seeing St. Paul saith, " That the letter killeth, but it is the Spirit that giveth life.'* Phil. St. Paul means not that the written word of God, in itself killeth, which is the word of life, and the faithful testimony of the Lord ; but that the word is unprofitable and killeth him that is void of the Spirit of God, although he be the wisest man of the world ; and therefore St. Paul said, *' That the gospel to some was a savour of life unto life, and to some other a savour of death unto death." Also an example hereof we have in the sixth of John, of them who hearing the word of God, without the Spirit, were offended thereby ; wherefore Christ said, " The flesh profiteth nothing, it is the Spirit that quickeneth." Lon. What ! do you understand that of St. Paul and of St. John so ? Phil. It is not mine own interpretation, it is agreeable to the word in other places ; and I have learned the same from ancient fathers interpreting it likewise. And to the Corinthians it is written, " The natural man per- ceiveth not the things that be of the Spirit of God ; but the spiritual man which is indued with the Spirit, judgeth all things." Lon. You see, my lords, that this man will have his own mind, and will wilfully cast away himself. I am sorry for him. Phil. The words that I have spoken are none of mine but of the gospel, whereon I ought to stand. And if you, my lord of London, can bring better authority for the faith you would draw me unto, than that which I stand upon, I will gladly hear the same by you or by any other in this realm. Wherefore I, kneeling down, besought the lords to be good unto me a poor gentleman, who would fain live in the world if I might, and to testify, as you have heard me to say this day, that if any man can prove that I ought to be of another manner of faith than that of which I now am, and can prove the same sufficiently, I will neither be wilful nor desperate, as my lord of London would make you believe me to be. Rich. What countryman are you? Are you of the Philpots of Hampshire ? 54 Philpot. — Examinations. Phil. Yea, my lord, I was Sir Peter Philpot's son of Hampshire. Rich. He is my near kinsman ; wherefore I am the more sorry for him. Phil. I thank yom* lordship that you claim kindred with a poor prisoner. Rich. In faith I would go a hundred miles on my bare feet to do you good. Chamb. He may do well enough if he list. St. John. Master Philpot, you are my countryman, and I would be glad you should do well. Rich. You said even now, that you would desire to maintain your behef before ten of the best in the realm. You did not well to compare with the nobility of the realm. But what if you have ten of the best in the realm to hear you, will you be tried by them ? Phil. My lord, your lordship mistakes me if you think that I challenge ten of the best of the nobility in this realm. It was no part of my mind, but I meant of the best learned on the contrary side. Rich. Well, I take your meaning. What if means be made to the queen's majesty, that you shall have your re- quest, will you be judged by them ? Phil. My lord, it is not meet that a man should be judged by his adversaries. Rich. By whom then would you be judged? Phil. I will make your honours judges, that shall be hearers of us. Rich. I dare be bold to procure for you of the queen's majesty that you shall have ten learned men to reason with you, and twenty or forty of the nobility to hear ; if you will ])romise to abide their judgment. How say you? AVill you promise here before my lords so to do ? Phil. I will be contented to be judged by them. Rich. Yea, but will you promise to agree to their judg- ment ? Phil. There are causes why I may not so do, unless I were sure they would judge according to the word of God. Rich. O, I perceive you will have no man judge but yourself, and think yourself wiser than all the learned men of this realm. Phil. My lord, I seek not to be my own judge, but am Sixth Examination. 55* content to be judged by others ; so that the order of judg- ment in matters of religion be kept that was in the pri- mitive church, which is, first, that God's will by his word was sought, and thereunto both the spirituality and tem- porality were gathered together, and gave their consent and judgment, and such kind of judgment I will stand to. Lon. My lords, he would make you believe that he were profoundly seen* in ancient writers of the judgments of the primitive church, and there was never any such manner of judgment used as he now talks of. Phil. In the epistles of St, Cyprian I am able to show it, Lon. Ha ! I tell you there is no such thing ; bring me Cyprian hither. Phil. You shall find it otherwise, when the book comes. And doctor Chedsey, his chaplain, whom he appointed to fetch his book, whispered the bishop in his ear, and brought not the book, lest he should have sustained the reproach thereof if the book had been brought. Well, my lord, said I, Master doctor knows it is so, or else he would have brought the book ere this. Rich. You would have no other judge, I see, but the word. Phil. Yes, my lord ; I will be tried by the word, and by such as will judge according to the word. As, for an. example, if there were a controversy between your lord- ship and another upon the words of a statute, must not the words of the statute judge and determine the con- troversy. Rich. No, truly, the judges of the law may determine the meaning thereof. Lon. He hath brought as good an example against himself as can be. And here the bishop thought he had a good hold against me, and therefore enlarged it with many words as to the judgment of the church. The Lords. He has overthrown himself by his own argument. Phil. My lords, it seems to your honours that you have great advantage of me by the example I brought in, to express my cause. But if it is pondered thoroughly, it makes wholly with me, and nothing against me,^ as my lord of London has pretended. For I will ask of my lord Rich here, whom I know to have good knowledge in the * Learned. 56 Philpot. — Examinations. laws and statutes of this realm, albeit a judge may dis' cern the nioaninp; of a statute agreeably to the wordsv whether lie may judg"e a meaning- contrary to the express words or no ?* Rich. He cannot do so. Phil. Even so say I, that no man ought to judge the word of God to have a meaning contrary to the express words thereof, as this false church of Rome doth in many things. With this the lords seemed to be satisfied, and made no further reply therein. Rich. I marvel then why you deny the express words of Christ in the sacrament, he said, " This is my body," and yet you do not hesitate to say it is not his body. Is not God omnipotent ; and is not he able as well by his omnipotency to make it his body, as he was to make man flesh of a piece of clay? Did not he say, "This is my body which shall be betrayed for you ?" and was not his very body betrayed for us ? Therefore it must needs be his body. Lon. My lord Rich, you have said wonderful well and learnedly. But you might have begun with him before also, in the sixth of John, where Christ promised to give his body in the sacrament of the altar, saying, " The bread which I will give is my flesh." How can you answer ta that ? Phil. If it please you to give me leave to answer first my lord Rich, I will also answer this objection. Rich. Answer my lord of London first, and afl:er come to me. Phil. My lord of London may be soon answered, that the saying of St. John is, that the humanityt of Christ which he took upon him for the redemption of man, is the bread of life, vvh«^reby our bodies and souls are sustained to eiernal life, of which the sacramental bread is a lively representation and an ettectual coaptation, J to all such as believe on his passion. And as Christ saith in the same sixth of John, " I am the bread that came down from heaven ;" but yet he is not material, neither natural bread : so likewise the bread is his flesh, not naturally or sub- * As ajud^f^ of the 1 tw may not discern the meaning of a statute otherwise than aj;reeab]y (o the words, so lialh tlie church no power to ju(l;r,. the mcaiiiiiy of Cod's word contrary to itself.— /ox. + HuiiKin iiJilure. t' Adjustment of parts one to another. ' Sixth Examination. "57 stantially, but by signification, and by grace in a sacra- ment. And now to my lord Rich's argument. I do not deny the express words of Christ in the sacrament, " This is my body," but I deny that they are to be taken naturally and corporeally : they must be taken sacramentally and spiri- tually, according to the express declaration of Christ, saying, that the words of the sacrament which the Caper- iiaites took carnally, as the papists now do, ought to be taken spiritually, and not carnally, as they falsely imagine, not considering what interpretation Christ has made in this respect ; neither following the institution of Christ, nor the practice of the apostles and of the primitive church, who never taught nor declared any such carnal manner of presence as is now exacted of us violently, without any ground of scripture or antiquity. They used only to put out of the church such as did not receive the sacrament with the rest, and also to burn that which was left after the receiving, as by the canon of the apostles, and by the decree of the council of Antioch, may appear. Lon. No, that is not so : they were only catechumens who went out of the church at the celebration of the communion, and no others. Phil. It was not only such as were novices in faith, but all others that did not receive. Lon, What say you to the omnipotence of God? Is not he able to perform that which he spake, as my lord Rich hath very well said? I tell thee that Gcd, by his omnipotence, may make himself to be this carpet if he will. Phil. As concerning the omnipotence of God, I say that God is able to do, as the prophet David saith, what- soever he willeth, but he willeth nothing that is not agreeable to his word ; as that is blasphemy which my lord of London has spoken, that God may become a carpet. For as I have learned of ancient writers, " God cannot do that which is contrary to his nature," and it is contrary to the nature of God to be a carpet. A carpet is a creature, and God is the Creator, and the creator cannot be the creature ; wherefore, unless you can declare by the word, that Christ is otherwise present with us than spiritually and sacramentally by grace, as he hath taught us, you allege the omnipotence of God in vain. d3 58 Philpot. — Examinations. Lon. Why, wilt thou not say that Christ is really present in the sacrament? — or do you deny it? P/iil. I deny not that Christ is really present in the sacra- ment to the receiver thereof according to Christ's institution. Lon. What mean you by really present? Phil. I mean by really present, present indeed. Lon. Is God really present everywhere? Phil. He is so. Lon. How prove vou that ? Phil. The prophet Isaiah saith, "That God filleth all places :" and it is said, " Wheresoever there are two or three ffathered together in Christ's name, there is he in the midst of them." Lo7i. What! in his human nature? Phil. No, my lord, I mean the Deity, according to what you demanded. Rich. My lord of London, I pray you let Master Doctor Chadsey reason with him, and let us see how he can answer him ; for I tell thee, he is a learned man indeed, and one that I credit before a great many of you, whose doctrine the queen's majesty and the whole realm doth well allow, therefore hear him. Lon. My lords, I pray you, will it please you to drink ? You have talked a great while, and much talk is thirsty. I will leave Master doctor and him reasoning together awhile, with your leave, and will come to you by and by. Rich. My lord Rich said to the lords, I pray you let the poor man drink, for he is thirsty ; and with that he called for a cup of drink, and gave it to me, and I drank before them all. God requite it him ! for I was athirsl indeed. Afterwards Doctor Chadsey began thus, making a great process, of which this is the effect. Chad. Master Philpot finds fault with the convocation- house before your lordships, that he has lain thus long in prison, and that he had there a dozen arguments, whereof he could not be suffered to prosecute one thoroughly; which is not so, for he had leave to say what he could, and was answered to as much as he was able to bring; and when he had nothing else to say, he fell to weeping. 1 was there present, and can testify thereof: although there is a book abroad of the report of the disputation to the contrary, in the which there is never a true word.* And • Four untrnlhs of Doctor Chadsey at oucc.--Fox, Sixth Examination. 39 as you require to be satisfied respecting the sacrament, I will show you the truth thereof, both by the scriptures and by the doctors. Phil. It is very hkely, indeed, that you will conclude with any truth, since you have begun with so many un- truths, as to say that I was answered whilst I had any- thing to say, and that I wept for lack of matter to say, and that the book of the report of the disputation is not true. God be praised, there were a good many noblemen, gentlemen, and worshipful men that heard and saw the doings thereof, who can testify that you here have made an unjust report before these honourable lords. And that I wept, was not for lack of matter, as you slander me ; for I thank God, I have more matter than the best of you all shall ever be able to answer, as little learning as I have ; but my weeping was, as Christ's was over Jeru- salem, seeing the destruction that should fall upon her. And I foreseeing then the destruction which you, through violence and unrighteousness, which you there declared, would work against the true church of Christ and his faithful members, as this day beareth witness, was com- pelled to weep in remembrance of that which I with many more have felt and shall feel. All these words 1 then had spoken, but was interrupted by my lord King, saying that I should suffer Doctor Chadsey to proceed out in his matter, and afterwards I should have leisure to answer him in every article. But he promised more than he could perform, as the end declared, for he had not the consent of the spirituality to his promise, who now rule the roast. God shorten their cruel days, for his elect's sake. And therefore I add this, which I had pur- posed to have spoken, if then I might have been suffered, lest any that know not perfectly the things done in the convocation-house, and now laid to my charge, if they should not be answered by me, might reckon Doctor Chadsey's sayings to be true. And as concerning the book of the report of the disputations, I wrote the same, and it is true in every argument, as the dean of Rochester, and Master Cheyne'y, archdeacon of Hereford, yet alive, and within the realm, can testify. Chad. You have of scriptures the four evangelists, proving that Christ's real presence is in the sacrament after the words of consecration, and St. Paul to the Co- rinthians ; which all say, "This is my body." They say GO Philpot. — ETamlnatiGiis. not as you would have me believe, This is not the body. But espocitilly the sixth of John j)r()ves the same most manifestly, where Christ promised to nive his body, which he performed in his last sujiper, as it appears by these words, "The bread which I will p^ive is my iiesh, which I will give for the life of the world." Phil. My lord Rich, with your leave, I must needs inter- rupt him a little, because he speaks open blasphemy afrainst the death of Christ ; for if that promise brought in by St. John was performed by Christ in his l;ist supper, then needed he not to have died after he had given the sacrament. Rich. Let Master doctor make an end of his argu- ments, and afterward object to him what you can. Chad. You must note that, " I will give/' is said twice in this saying of St. John. The first refers to the sacra- ment of the altar ; and the second to the sacrifice upon the cross ; and besides these manifest scriptures, there are many ancient doctors proving the same, as Ignatius, Ireneus, and St. Cyprian — whose authority he recited at large, which I omit, because I was not permitted to answer the same. Rich. Now answer, and object to him what you can, and you shall be heard. Phil. My loid, the chief ground where he, with the rest of his side, ground themselves against us, are these words, "This is my body,** by a false pretence of the omnii)otence of God. And before I come to the par- ticular answers of all that he has alleged, that your lord- ships may the better understand what I mean and where- upon I stand, I will require Master doctor to answer me one question. But first of all, I do protest to your honours that I think as reverently of the sacrament as a christian man ought to do, and that I acknowledge the sacranuMit of the body and blood of Christ, ministered after Christ's institution, is one of the greatest treasures and cotnfbrts that he left us on the earth ; and contrari- wise, it is the greatest discomlbrt, and abominable, not being ministered as it ought to be, as it is used now-a- days. And now to my question, which is this: whether these words only, " Hoc est corpus meum," " This is my body," spoken by a priest over the bread and wine, may make the body and blood of Christ, as you suppose, or not ? Sixth Examination. 61 Chadsey sfag'gered what he should say, at last he said, that these words alone pronounced by the priest, are suffi- cient to make the bread and the wine the very body and blood of Christ really. Phil. That is blasphemy to say, and against all the scriptures and doctors, who affirm that the form and sub- stance in consecration must be observed which Christ used and instituted, as St. Cyprian saith, " In the sacrifice which is Christ, Christ only is to be followed." And by the law it is forbidden to add or take away from God's word. And St. Peter saith, " If any man speak, let him speak as the word of God.'' Wherefore, whosoever saith that these words only, "This is my body," make a presence of Christ, without "bless, take, and eat," which are three as substantial points of the sacrament, as "This is my body'' is, — he is highly deceived. Therefore, St. Austin saith, " Let the word be joined to the element, and it becometh a sacrament." So that if the entire words of Christ's institution are not observed in the ministration of a sacrament, it is no sacrament: as the sacrifices which the ten tribes offered at Bethel to God, were not acceptable, because they were not in all points done according- to God's word. Wherefore, except bless- ing be made according to the word, which is a due thankscrivino: for our redemption in Christ, and also a Oct J showing forth of the Lord's death in such a manner that the congregation may be edified ; and moreover a taking and eating after Christ's commandment ; except, I say, these three parts are first performed, which is not done in the mass, these words, " This is my body," which are last placed in the institution of the Lord's supper, cannot be verified. For Christ commanded, " Take ye, eat ye," as well as "This is mv body.'' Chad. Christ said : " Take, eat, this is my body," and not. Take ye, eat ye. Phil. No, Master doctor, are not these the words of Christ, " Accipite, manducate ?'' and do not these words in the plural number signify, " Take ye, eat ye ;" and not, take thou, eat thou, as you would suppose ? Chad. I grant it is as you say. Phil. Likewise of consequence, you. Master doctor, must needs deny what you have said ; that these words, " This is my body" only being spoken, are sufficient to make the body and blood of Christ in the sacrament, as you have untruly said. 02 Philpot. — Examinations. Then came in the bishop of London ai^ain, and said. What is it that you would have Master doctor deny ? Phil. My lord, Master doctor hath allirmed, that these words, " This is my body," spoken by the priest, alone do make the sacrament, Lon. Indeed it" Master Bridges should speak these words over the bread and wine, they would be of no effect : but if a priest speak them after a due manner, they are effectual, and make a real body. Phil. Master doctor has said otherwise. Lon. I think you mistake him ; for he means the wor d duly pronounced. Phil. Let him revoke what he hath granted, and then will I begin again with that which before was said : that, " This is my body," hath no place, except " bless, take, and eat," duly go before. And therefore because the same words do not go before "This is my body," but prepos- terously follow in your sacrament of the rrass, it is not the sacrament of Christ, neither hath it Christ present in it. Chad. If "This is my body," alone, do not make the sacrament, no more do, " bless, take, and eat." Phil. I grant that the one without the other cannot make the sacrament. And it can be no sacrament unless the whole action of Christ concur too'ether accordina" to the first institution. Chad. Why, then you will not have it to be the body of Christ, unless it is received ? Phil. No verily, it is not the very body of Christ to any, but to such as worthily receive the same according to his institution. Lon. Is not a loaf a loaf, being set on the table, though nobody eat thereof? Phil. It is not a like case, my lord. For a loaf is a loaf before it is set on the table : but the sacrament is not a perfect sacrament before it is duly ministered at the table of the Lord. Lon. I pray you, what is it in the mean while before it is received after tlie words of consecration are spoken ? Answer me. Phil. It is, my lord, the sign begun of a holy thing, and yet no perfect sacrament until it is received. For in the sacrament there are two things to be considered, the sign and the thing itself, which is Christ and his whole pasiion j and it is tliat to none but such as worthily receive Siixth Ejcaminatioji. 63 the holy signs of bread and wine according to Christ's institution. JVind. There never were any that denied the words of Christ as you do. Did he not say, " This is my body." Phil, My lord, I pray you be not deceived. We do not deny the words of Christ ; but we say, these words are of no effect if spoken otherwise than Christ instituted them in his last supper. For an example, Christ bade the church " to baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost." If a priest say those words over the water, and there is no child to be baptized, those words only pronounced do not make baptism. And again, baptism is only baptism to such as are baptized, and to none other standing by. L. Chamh. I pray you my lord, let me ask him one question. What kind of presence in the sacrament duly ministered according to Christ's ordinance do you allow? Phil. If any come worthily to receive, then do I confess the presence of Christ to be wholly, with all the fruits of his passion, unto the said worthy receiver, by the Spirit of God, and that Christ is thereby joined to him and he to Christ. L. Chamh. I am answered. Lo7i. My lords, take no heed of him, for he goeth about to deceive you. His similitude that he brings in of bap- tism, is nothins: like to the sacrament of the altar. For if I should say to sir John Bridges being with me at supper, and having a fat capon, Take, eat, this is a fat capon, although he eat not thereof, is it not a capon still ? And likewise of a piece of beef, or of a cup of wine, if I say : Drink, this is a good cup of wine, is it not so, because he drink not thereof? Phil. My lord, your similitudes are too gross for such high mysteries as we have in hand, as, if 1 were your equal, 1 could more plainly declare ; and there is much more dis- similitude between common meats and drinks than there is between Baptism and the Sacrament of the body and blood of Christ. Like must be compared to like, and spiritual things with spiritual, and not spiritual things with corporeal things. And meats and drinks are of their own natures good or evil, and your words commending cr discommending, do but declare what they are. But the sacraments are to be considered, according to the word which Christ spake of them, of which, " Take y^. 64 PkilpoL — Examinations. hiid cat yc," are some of the chief, concurrent to the niakinj;- olthe same, vvitlioiit uliicli there can be no sacra- ments : and tlierefore in Greek, the sacrament of the body and blood of Clirist is called KOINOONIA, that is, " Com- munion,' and likewise in the gospel Christ commanded, sayinp;, " Divide it among' you.'' Chad. St. Paul calls it a communication. Phil. That still more ex])ressly shows that there must be a ])articij)ation of the sacrament tog'ether. Lon. My lords, I am sorry 1 have troubled you so long with this obstinate man, with whom we can do no good : I will trouble you no longer now. The lords then rose up, none of them saying any evil word unto me but, half amazed, in my judgment. May God work it to good. Thus endeth the sixth part of this tragedy : the seventh look for with joy. The seventh Examination of John Philpot, had' the \9th of November, before the bishojis of London and Rochester ^ the chancellor of Litchfield, and Doctor Chadsey. Lon. Sirrah, come hither : how chance you come no sooner ? Is it well done of you to make Master chan- cellor and me tarry for you this hour? by the faith of my body, half an hour before mass, and half an hour at mass, looking for your coming? Phil. My lord, it is not unknown to you that I am a prisoner, and that the doors are shut upon me, and I can- not come when I list : but as soon as the doors of my prison were open I came immediately. Lon. We sent for thee, that thou shouldst come to mass. How say you, would you have come to mass or not if the doors had been opened sooner. Phil. My lord, that is another manner of question. Lon. Lo, Master cliancellor, I told you we should have a froward fellow of him : he will answer directly to nothing. I have had him before both the spiritual lords and the temporal, and thus he doeth still : yet he reckons himself better learned than all the realm. Yea, before the lt'nij)oral lords the other day, he was so foolish as to challcngo the best : he would make himself learned, but is a very ignorant fool indeed. Seventh Examination. 65 Phil. I reckon I answered your lordship before the lords plain enough. Lon, Why answerest thou not directly, whether thou wouldst have gone to mass with us or no, if thou hadst come in time? Phil. Mine answer shall be thus, that if your lordship can prove your mass, whereunto you would have me to come, to be the true service of God, whereunto a christian ought to come, I will afterward come with a good will. Lon. Look I pray you : the king and queen, and all the nobility of the realm come to mass, and yet he will not. By my faith, thou art too well handled: thou shalt be worse handled hereafter, I warrant thee. Phil. If to lie in a blind coalhouse without fire and candle, may be counted good handling, then may it be said, I am well handled. Your lordship hath power to treat my body as you please. Lon. Thou art a fool, and a very ignorant fool. Mas- ter chancellor, in good faith I have handled him and his fellows with as much gentleness as they can desire. I let their friends come to them to relieve them. And the other day they had got up to the top of the leads with a many prentices, gazing abroad as though they had been at liberty. But I shall cut off your resort : and as for the prentices, they were as good not to come to you, if I take them. Phil. My lord, we have no such resort to us as your lordship imagines, and there come very few unto us. And of prentices I know not one, neither have we any leads to walk on over our coalhouse that I know of: wherefore your lordship hath mistaken your mark. Lon. Nay : now you think because my lord chancellor is gone,* that we will burn no more : yes, I warrant you, I will despatch you shortly, unless you recant. Phil. My lord, 1 had not thought that I should have been alive now, neither so raw as I am, but well roasted to ashes. Chan. Cast not yourself wilfully away. Master Philpot. Be content to be ruled by my lord here, and by other learned men of this realm, and you may do well enouah. '&■ • Gardiner, bishop of Winchester, died a few days before. 66 Philpot. — Examinations. Phil. My conscience bears me record that I seek to please God, and that the love and tear of God cause me to do as I do: and' I were of all other creatures most miserable, if for mine own will I lost all the commodities I mig-ht have in this life, and afterwards were cast to dam- nation. But I am sure, it is not my will whereon I stand, but God's will, who will not suffer me to be cast away, I am sure. Chan. You are not so sure, bat you may be deceived. Lon. Well, since thou wilt not be conformable by any fair means, I will proceed a^^ainst thee ex officio,* and therefore hearken here to such articles as I have writ- ten, and I charg-e thee to make answer to them. And with that he read a libelf which he had in his hand of divers articles, and when he had done, he bade me answer. Phil. Your libel, my lord, contains in sum two special points : the first pretends, that I am of your diocese, and therefore that your lordship upon divers suspicions and reports of heresy going- upon me, is moved to proceed against me by your ordinary office. This first is not true, for I am not of your lordship's diocese, as the libel pretends. And the second is, that I being- baptized in the catholic church, and in the catholic faith, am gone from them, which is not so, for I am of that catholic faith and church I was baptized unto. Lon. What, art thou not of my diocese, where are you now, I pray you ? Phil. My lord, I cannot deny but I am in your coal- house, which is your diocese ; yet I am not of your dio- cese. Lon. Thou wert sent to me by the queen's majesty's commissioners, and thou art now in my diocese : where- fore I will proceed against thee as thy ordinary. Phil. I was brought hither through violence, and there- fore my being at present in your diocese, is not enough to abridge me of my own ordinary jurisdiction, neither does it make me unwillingly subject to your jurisdiction, since it comes by force, and by such men as had no just authority so to do, any more than a sanctuary man being by force brought forth from his place of privilege, thereby loses his privilege, but he always may challenge the same wheresoever he be brought. • By my ofTico. t An accusation in writing-. Seventh Examination 67 Chad. Hath not the queen's' majesty authority by her commissioners, to remove your body whither she will, and ought you not to obey herein ? Phil. I grant that the queen's majesty, of her just power, may transpose my body whither it shall please her grace to command the same. But yet by your laws, '* spiritual causes are not subject to the temporal power." As for example, you. Master doctor, if the queen's majesty appointed two temporal men to be judges over you in certain spiritual matters, might not you allege the pri- vilege of a clerk,* and demand competent spiritual judges in your cause ? Lon. Does not a man, I pray you, " lose his privilege by his crimes." Phil. My lord, your rule is true in temporal matters, but in spiritual causes, which are otherwise privileged, it is not so. Lon. What sayest thou then to the second article, and to the other ? Phil. My lord, I say that I am not bound to answer the second, neither the rest, unless the first is proved. Lon. Well, suppose the first may be proved, ns it will be, what will you say then to the second, that you are not of the same catholic faith, neither of the same church now, as you were baptized in ? Phil. I am of the same catholic faith, and of the same catholic church which is of Christ, the pillar and establish- ment of truth. Lon. Nay, that you are not. Phil. Yes, that I am. Lon. Your godfathers and godmothers were of another faith than you are now. Phil. I was not baptized into my godfather's faith nor nay godmother's, but into the faith and into the church of Christ. Lon. How know you that ? Phil. By the word of God, which is the touchstone of faith and the limits of the church. Lon. How long has your church stood, I pray you? Phil. Even from the beginning, from Christ, and from his apostles, and from their immediate successors. Chan. He will prove his church to be before Christ. * A person in holy orders. 68 Philpot. — Examinations. Phil. If I did so, I did not amiss: for there was a church before the coming" of Christ, which makes one catholic cliurch. Chan. It is so indeed. Phil. I will desire no better rules than what are often- times brought of your side, to prove both my faith and the catholic church: that is, antiquity, universality, and unity. Lon. Do you not see what a bragging, foolish fellow this is? He would seem to be very well read in the doctors, and yet he is but a fool. By what doctor art thou able to prove thy church ? Name him, and thou shall have him. Phil. My lord, let me have all your ancient writers, with pen, and ink, and paper, and I will prove both my faith and my church out of every one of them. Lon. No, that thou shall not have. You shall see how he lieth. St. Cyprian saith, " There must be one high-priest, to the which the residue must obey,'' and they will have no head, neither vicar-general. Phil. St. Cyprian saith not, that there should be a vicar-general over all. For in his book, " De simplicitate praelatorum," I am sure he saith the contrary : " There is but one bishopric, which is wholly possessed of every bishop in part. " Lon. Bring hither the book, thou shall see the manifest place against thee. Dr. Chadsey brought the book, and turned to the place in an epistle written unto Cornelius, then bishop of Rome, and recited these words to this effect: " That it went not well with the church, v\ here the high-priest was not obeyed," and so would have concluded for the confirmation of the bishop's saying. Phil. Master doctor, you misconstrue the place of St. Cyprian : for he means not there by the high-priest, the bishop of Rome : but every patriarch in his precinct, of whom there were four appointed in his time. And in writing unto Cornelius he meaneth by the high-priest, himself, who was then chief bishop of Africa, whose authority the heretics began to despise. Whereof he complains to Cornelius, and saith: "The church cannot be well ordered, where the chief minister by order, after the judgment of the scrijjtures, after the agreement of the l)eoj)le, und the consent of his fellow bishops, is not obeyed." Seventh Examination. 69 Lon. Has not the bishop of Rome always been supreme head of the church, and Christ's vicar in earth, even from Peter? Phil. No, that he has not. For by the word of God he has no more authority than the bishop of London has. Lon. Was not Peter head of the church ? and has not the bishop of Rome, who is his successor, the same authority ? Phil. I g^rant that the bishop of Rome, as the successor of Peter, has the same authority as Peter had : but Peter had no more authority than every one of the apostles had. Chan. Yes, that St, Peter had : for Christ said spe- cially unto him, " I will give thee the keys of the king- dom of heaven." Which he spake to none other of his disciples but to him. Phil. St. Augustine answers otherwise to the objection, and saith : " That if in Peter there had not been the figure of the church, the Lord had not said to him. To thee I will give the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Which if Peter received not, the church hath them not. If the church hath them not, then Peter hath them not." Lon. What if I can prove and show you out of the civil law, that all Christendom ought to follow the holy catholic church of Rome, as there is a special title thereof, " De catholica fide et sancta Romana Ecclesia?"* Phil. That is nothing material, seeing the things of God are not subject to man's laws : and the divine matters must be ordered by the word of God, and not of man. A doctor. What will you say, if I can prove that Christ built his church upon Peter, and that out of St. Cyprian ? Will you then believe that the bishop of Rome ought to be supreme head of the church ? Phil. I know what St. Cyprian writes in that behalf: but he means nothing as you take it. A doctor. St. Cypnan hath these words : " That upon Peter was builded the church, as upon the first beginning of unity.'* Phil. He declares in an example, that unity must be in the church : and grounded on Peter's church alone, and not upon men. Which he does more manifestly declare in the book " De simplicitate praelatijrum," saying : " In the person of one man Christ gave the keys to all, that he * Of the catholic faith and the holy Roman church. 70 Philpot. — Examinations. in sli^nification thereby might declare the unity of aJl men." A doctor. What ? will you understand St. Cyprian so ? That were pjood indeed. Phil. I think you cannot understand St. Cyprian better than he declares himself. Lon. I will desire you, Master chancellor, to take some pains with Master Doctor Chadsey, about his examination, for I miist go to the parliament house. And I will desire you to dine with me. Then the doctor took again his former authority in hand for want of another, and would have made a further cir- cumstance, dio;ressing from his purpose. To whom I said, " he knew not where about he went," and therewith he lauf^hed. And I said, " his divinity .was nothing but scoffing.*' Doctor. Yea, then I have done with you. — And so he went away. Phil. You are too young in divinity to teach me in the matters of my faith. Though you are learned in other things more than I, yet in divinity I have been longer practised than you, for any thing I can hear of you ; therefore be not too hasty to judge what you do not per- fectly know. Chan. Peter and his successors from the beginning have been allowed to be the supreme head of the church, and that by the scriptures, for Christ said unto him in St. John thrice : " Feed my sheep." Phil. That is no otherwise to be taken, than " Go ye and preach," which was spoken to all the apostles, as well as unto Peter. And that Christ said thrice, " Feed my sheep," signifies nothing but the earnest study that the ministers of God ought to have in preaching the word. God grant that you of the clergy would weigh your duty in this behalf more than you do. Is this a just interpre- tation of the scriptures, to take " Feed my sheep,'' for " to be lord of the whole world. ' — In the mean while came in a bachelor of divinity, who is a reader of Greek in Oxford, belonging to the bishop, and he took upon him to help Master chancellor. Schol. What will you say if I show you a Greek author called Theophilact, who interprets it so ? Will you believe his interpretation ? Phil. Theophilact is a late writer, and one that was a Seventh Examination, 71 favourer of the bishop of Rome ; and therefore not to be credited, since his interpretation is contrary to the manifest words of the scripture, and contrary to the determination of many general councils. Schol. In what general council was not the bishop of Rome supreme head over all ? Phil. In the Nicene council I am sure it was otherwise ; for Athanasius was there the chief bishop and president of the council, and not the bishop of Rome. Schol. Nay, that is not so. Phil. Then I perceive you are better skilled in words than in the knowledge of things; and I will gage with you what you will, that it is so ; as you may see in the Epitome of the Councils. Schol. I will bring Eusebius and show the contrary, and the book of general councils. — He went into my lord's closet, and brought Eusebius ; but the general councils he brought not, saying (to save his honesty) that he could not find them ; then he would have proved that it was otherwise in Eusebius, but was not able to show the same, and so he"^ shrank away confounded. Chan. The church of Rome hath been always taken for the whole catholic church : therefore I would advise you to come into the same with us. You see all the men of this realm condemn you. And why will you be so sin- gular ? Phil. I have said, and still do say, that if you are able to prove it to me, that I will be of the same. But I am sure that the church which you make so much of, is a false church, and a synagogue of satan. And you with the learned men of the realm persecute the true church, and condemn such as are more righteous than yourselves. Chan. Do you hear. Master doctor, what he saith, that the church of Rome is the devil ? Chad. I wish you thought more reverently of the church of Rome. What will you say if I can show you out of St. Austin in his epistle written to pope Innocent, that the whole general council of Carthage allowed the church of Rome to be chief over all other ? Phil. I am sure you can show no such thing. — And with that he fetched the book of St. Austin, and turned to the^epistle ; but he could not prove his allegation manifestly, but by conjectures as thus : Chad. Here you may see, that the council of Carthage, 72 Philpot. — Examinatiom. writing to Innocent, the bisfiop calls the see of Rome the apostolic see. And besides this they write unto him, cer- tifyingf him of things done in the council for the condem- nation of the Donatists, requirinp: his approbation, which they would not have done, if they had not taken the church of Rome for the supreme head of others. And moreover you may see how St. Austin proves the church of Rome to be the catholic church by continual succession of the bishops \mtil his time, which succession we can prove until our days : therefore by the same reasoning of St. Augustine we say now, that the church of Rome is the ca- tholic church. Phil. Master doctor, I have considered how you weigh St. Augustine : and contrary to his meaning and words, you would infer your false conclusion. As to its being called by him the apostolical see, that is not material to prove that the church of Rome now is the catholic church. I will grant that it is the apostolic see, in respect that Paul and Peter once preached the gospel there, and abode there for a certain season. And I would you could prove it to be the apostolical see of the true religion, and of the same sincerity as when the apostle left it, and had taught there. If you could do this, you might boast of Rome as the apostolical see ; otherwise it is now of no more force, than if the Turks at Antioch and at Jerusalem should boast of them as apostolic sees, because the apostles once abode there, and founded the church of Christ. And whereas that the whole council of Carthage wrote to pope Innocent, certifying him of what was done in the general council, and desiring him to set his helping hand to suppress the Donatists, as they had done, that fact of the council proves nothing as to the supremacy of the bishop of Rome, no more than if the whole convoca- tion-house now gathered together, and agreeing upon cer- tain articles, sent the same to some bishop, who from certain impediments is not present, willing him to agree thereto, and to set them forth in his diocese ; which would not make any such bishop of greater authority than the rest, because his consent is brotherly required. And touching the succession of the bisliops of Rome, brouglit in by St. Augustine, it makes nothing now to prove the same catholic church, unless you can conclude with the same reason as St. Augustine does. And the rehearsal of the succession of the bishops tends to this Seventh examination. 7Sl only — to prove the Donatists to be heretics, because they began at Rome and in Africa, to found a different church of their own setting" up than was grounded by Peter and Paul, and by their successors, whose names he recites unto his time, all of whom taught no such doctrine, neither any such church as the Donatists. And if presently you are able to prove by the bishops of Rome, (whereof you glory) that such doctrine hath been taught by any of the successors of Peter's see, as is now taught and believed concerning us, you have good reason against us : otherwise it is of no force, as I am able to declare. Chan. Well, Master doctor, you see we can do no good in persuading him. Let us minister unto him the articles which my lord has left us. How say you, Master Philpot, to these articles ; Master Johnson, I pray you write his answers, Phil. Master chancellor, you have no authority to in- quire of me my belief in such articles, for I am not of my lord of Ijondon*s diocese : and, to be brief with you, I will make no further answer herein, than I have already made to the bishop. Chan. Why, then let us go our ways, and let his keeper take him away. Thus endeth the seventh part of this tragedy. The summary of a private Conference or talk between Master Philpot and the bishop. The next day, in the morning betimes, the bishop sent one of his men unto me,* to call me up into his chapel to hear mass. Bishop's man. Master Philpot, where are you ? Phil. Who is it that calleth me? Bishops man. My lord's will is, you should rise and come to hear mass : will you come or not? Phil. My stomach is not very good this morning : you may tell my lord I am sick. — After this the keeper was sent to bring me to my lord. The Keeper. Master Philpot, you must rise and come to my lord. Phil. I am at your commandment, master keeper, as * In the dark coalhouse. PHILPOT. E 74 Philpot. — Examinations. soon as I can. — And going out of the prison, he asked me, saying, " Will you go to mass ?" Phil. My stomach is too weak to digest such raw meats of flesh, blood, and bone this morning.* — After this my keeper presented me to the bishop in his hall. Lon. Master- Philpot, I charge you to answer to such articles as my chaplain and my registrar have from me to object against you: go and answer them. Phil. My lord, all judgments ought to be public. There- fore if your lordship have any thing to charge me with law- fully, let me be lawfully and openly called into judgment, and I will answer according to my duty ; but in corners I will not. Lon. Thou art a foolish knave, I see well enough. Thou shalt answer whether thou wilt or not. Go thy ways with them I say. Phil. I may well go with them at your lordship's plea- sure ; but I will make them no further answer than I have said already. Lon. Wilt thou not, thou knave? Have him away, and set him in the stocks. What a foolish knave ! Phil. Indeed, my lord, you handle me with others like fools ; and we must be content to be made fools at your hands ; stocks and violence are your bishop-like alms. You go about by force in corners to oppress, and are ashamed that your doings should come to light : God shorten your cruel kingdom for his mercy's sake. And I was put by and by into the stocks, in a house alone, separate from my fellows. God be praised that he hath thought me worthy to suffer any thing for his name's sake. Better it is to sit in the stocks of this world, THAN to sit in THE STOCKS OF A DAMNABLE CONSCIENCE. Another Conference between the bishop and Master Philpot, and other prisoners. The next day after, an hour before day, the bishop sent for me again by the keeper. The Keeper. Master Philpot, arise, you must come to my lord. • According to tlio Romish cliurdi the wafer or sacramental bread whpn consecrated, is said to be wholly changed into the body of Christ, and to contain his flesh, blood, and bones ; and the mass or sacraiucutal service must always be performed fasting. Private Conference. * 75 Phil. I wonder what my lord means, that he sends for me thus early. I fear he will use some violence towards me, wherefore, I pray you, make him this answer, that if he send for me by an order of law, I will come and answer : otherwise, since I am not of his diocese, neither is he my ordinary, I will not come unto him without I am violently constrained. Keeper. I will go tell my lord what answer you make. — And so he went away to the bishop, and immediately re- turned with two of the bishop's men, saying that I must come whether I would or not. Phil. If by violence any of you will enforce me to go, then must I go, otherwise I will not. — And therewith one of them took me with force by the arm, and led me up into the bishop's gallery. Lon. What ? thou art a foolish knave indeed : thou wilt not come without thou be fetched. Phil. I am brought indeed, my lord, by violence unto you, and your cruelty is such, that I am afraid to come be- fore you. I would your lordship would proceed against me gently by the law. Lon. I am blamed by the lords the bishops, that I have not despatched thee ere this. And in faith I made suit to my lord cardinal,* and to all the convocation-house, that they would hear thee ? And my lord of Lincolnf stood up, and said that thou wert a frantic fellow, and a man that will have the last word. And they all have blamed me, because I have brought thee so often before the lords openly : and they say it is meat and drink to you to speak in an open audience, you glory so of yourself. Wherefore I am commanded to take a further order with thee ; and, in good faith, if thou wilt not relent, I will make no farther delay. But if thou wilt be conformable, I will yet forgive 'thee all that is past, and thou shalt have no hurt for any thing that is already said or done. Phil. My lord, I have answered you already in this matter, what I will do. And as for the report of Master White, bishop of Lincoln, I wonder not. He is known to be mine enemy, for that I, being archdeacon, did excommu- nicate him for preaching false doctrine. If Christ my master were called a mad man, it is no marvel though you count me frantic. Lon. Hadst not thou a pig brought thee the other day * Cardinal Pole. f Dr. White. £ 2 76 Philpot. — Examinations. with a knife in it? Wherefore was it, I pray thee, but to kill thyself? Or as it is told me (I am counselled to take heed of thee) to kill me ? But I fear thee not. I think I am able to tread thee under my feet : do the best thou canst. Pliil. My lord, I cannot deny but that there was a knife in the pig's belly that was brought me. But who put it in, or for what purpose I know not, unless it were because he that sent the meat, thought I was without a knife, and so put it in. But other things your lordship need not fear; for I was never without a knife since I came to prison. And touching your own person, you should live long, if you should live until I go about to kill you. And I confess, that by violence your lordship is well able to overcome me. Lon. I charge thee to answer to mine articles. Hold him a book. Thou shalt swear to answer truly to all such articles as I shall demand of thee. Phil. I will first know your lordship to be mine ordinary, before I swear herein. Lon. What, we shall have an anabaptist of thee, who thinks it not lawful to swear before a judge. Phil. My lord, I am no anabaptist, I think it lawful to swear before a competent judge, being lawfully required. But I refuse to swear in these causes before your lordship, because you are not my ordinary. Lon. 1 am thine ordinary, and here pronounce by sen • tence peremptorily, that I am thine ordinary, and that thou art of my diocese. — (And here he bade call in more to bear witness.) — And I make,thee, (said he, taking one of his servants by the arm,) to be my notary. And now hearken to my articles. When he had read them he admonished me to make answer, and said to the keeper. Bring me his fellows, and r shall make them to be witnesses against him. In the meanwhile came in one of the sheriffs of London, whom the bishop, calling for two chairs, placed by him, saying, " Master sheriff, I would you should understand how I proceed against this man. Master sheriff you .shall hear what articles this man maintains ;" and so read a rabblement of feigned articles : as that I denied baptism to be necessary to them that were born of Christian pa- rents, that I denied fasting and prayer, and all other good deeds, and that I maintained bare faith alone to be suffi- cient to salvation, whatsoever a man did besides, and tha' Private Conference. 77 I maintained God to be the author of all sin and wicked- ness ! Phil. Nay, my lord, have you nothing" of truth to charge me with, but you must imagine these blasphemous lies ajjainst me ? You mig-ht as well have said I had killed your father. The Scriptures say, " That God will' destroy all them that speak lies." And is not your lordship ashamed to say before this worshipful gentleman, (who is unknown to me,) that I maintain these abominable blas- phemies which you have rehearsed ; which if I maintained, I were well worthy to be counted a heretic, and to be burned a hundred times if it were possible. Lon. I object them unto thee, to hear what thou wilt say in them, and how thou canst clear thyself of them. Phil. Then it was not justly said by your lordship in the beg-inning;, that I did maintain them, since I hold scarcely one of these articles you have read, in form as they are written. Lon. How sayest thou? Wilt thou answer to them or not ? Phil. I will first know that you are my ordinary, and that you may lawfully charge me with such things, and then afterwards, being lawfully called into judgment, I will show my mind fully thereof, and not otherwise. Lo}i. Well, then I will make thy fellows to be witnesses against thee. Where are they ? Come. Keeper. They are here, my lord. Lon. Come hither, sirs, hold them a book, you shall swear by the contents of that book, that you shall, all manner of affections laid apart, say the truth of all such articles as you shall be demanded of, concerning this man here present, who is a very naughty man, and take you heed of him that he does not deceive you ; as I am afraid he does you much hurt, and strengthens you in your errors. Prisoners. My lord, we will not swear, except we know whereto. We can accuse him of no evil, we have been but a little while acquainted with him. Phil. I wonder that your lordship, knowing the la"w, will go about contrary to the same, to have infamous * persons to be witnesses ; for your lordship takes them to be heretics, and by the law a heretic cannot be a witness. * Persons whom the law regards as of bad fame, and not compe- tent witnesses. 78 Philpot. — Examinations. Lon. Yes, one heretic a|:rainst another may be well enouij;h. And, master sherilf, I will make one of them be witness ao'ainst another. Phil. You have the law in your hand, and you will do what you list. Prisoners. No, my lord. Lon. Will you not ? I will make you swear, whether you will or not. I think they are anabaptists, master sheriff, they think it not lawful to swear before a judge. Phil. We think it lawful for a man to swear when judicially called, as we are not now, but in a blind corner. Lon. Why then, seeinfr you will not swear against your fellow, you shall swear for yourselves ; and I do here, in the presence of master sheriff, object the same articles unto you as I have done unto him, and require you, under the pain of excommunication, to answer particularly unto every one of them when you shall be examined, as you shall be examined presently by my registrar and some of my chaplains. Prisojiers. My lord, we will not accuse ourselves. If any man can lay any thing against us, we are here ready to answer thereto : otherwise we 'pray your lordship not to burden us ; for some of us are here before you we know no just cause why. Lon. Master sheriff, I will trouble you no longer with these fro ward men. — And so he rose up and was going away, talking with master sheriff. Phil. Master sheriff, I pray you record how my lord proceeds against us in corners, without order of law, having no just cause to lay against us. And after this we were all commanded to be put in the stocks, where I sat from morning until night; and the keeper at night, upon favour, let me out. Another private Conference between the bishop and Master Philpot in the Coalhouse. The Sunday after, the bishop came into the coalhouse at night with the keeper, and viewed the house, saying that he was never there before ; whereby a man may g-uess how he has kept God's commandment in visiting the prisoners, seeing he was never with them that have been so nigh him. And he came not then for any good zeal, but to Private Conference, 79 view the place, and thought it too good for me, and there- fore after supper, between eight and nine, he sent for me, saying, Lon. Sir, I have great displeasure of the queen and the council for keeping you so long, and letting you have so much liberty ; and besides that, you are yonder, and strengthen the other prisoners in their errors, as I have laid wait for your doings, and am certified about you well enough. I will separate you therefore from them, and you shall hurt no more as you have done, and I will out of hand despatch you, as I am commanded, unless you will be a conformable man. Phil. My lord, you have ray body in your custody ; you may transport it whither it please you : I am content. And I would you would make quick expedition in judging me, as you say. I long therefore : and as for conformity, I am ready to yield to all truth, if any can bring better than I can. Lon. Why, you will believe no man but yourself, what- ever they say. Phil. My belief must not hang upon men's sayings, without sure authority of God's word, which if any can show me, I will be pliant to the same ; otherwise I cannot go from my certain faith to that which is uncertain. Lon, Have you then the truth only ? Phil. My lord, I will speak my mind freely unto you, and upon no malice I bear to you, before God. You have not the truth, neither are you of the church of God ; but you persecute both the truth and the true church of God, for which cause you cannot prosper long. You see God does not prosper your doings according to your expecta- tions. He has of late showed his just judgment against one of your greatest doers, who, by report, died miserably.* I envy not the authority you possess. You that have learning should know best how to rule. And seeing that God has restored you to your dignity and living again, use the same to God's glory, and to the setting forth of his true religion ; otherwise it will not continue, do what you can. — With this saying he was apaused,t and said at length : — Lon. That good man was punished for such as thou art. Where is the keeper? Come, have him to the place that is provided for him. Go your way before. * Gardiner bishop of Winchester. + Struck. 80 Philpot. — Examinations. And he followed me, callinj^ the keeper aside, command- ing^ him to keep all men from me, and to search me nar- rowly, as the sequel did declare, and brouf^ht me to his pri- vate door that g-oes into the church, and commanded two of his men to accompany the keeper, and to see me placed. And afterwards I passed throuj^h Paul's church up to Lollards' tower, and after that turned along all the west side of Paul's through the wall, and passing through six or seven doors, came to my lodging through many straits ; where I called to remembrance, that strait is the way to heaven. And it is in a tower right on the other side of Lollards* tower, as high almost as the battlements of Paul's, eight feet wide, and thirteen long, and almost over the prison where I was before, having a window opening towards the east, by which T may look over the tops of a great many houses, but see no man passing into them ; and whoso walks in the bishop's outer gallery going to his chapel, may see my window and me standing in the same. And when I was come to my place, the keeper plucked off my gown, and searched me very narrowly, and took away penner, inkhorn, girdle, and knife, but, as God would, I had an inkling * a little before I was called, of my being removed, and thereupon, full sore against my will, I cast away many a sweet and friendly letter. But what I had written of my last examination, I thrust into my hose, thinking the next day to have made an end thereof, and with walking, it was fallen down to my leg, which the keeper by feeling did soon discover, and asked what that was. I said they were certain letters ; and with that he was very busy to have them out. " Let me alone,'' said I, " I will pluck them out." With that I put my hand, having two other letters therein, and brought up the same writing to my body, and there left it, giving him the other two letters that were not of any great importance ; while, to make a show as if they had been weighty, I be- gan to tear them as well as I could, till they snatched them from me ; and so I deluded him, I thank God, of his purpose. After this he went his way, and as he was going, one of them that came with him, said that I did not deliver the writings I had in my hose, but two other letters which I had in my hand before. " Did he?" quoth he; " 1 will * A hint given. % Eighth examination. ^ go search him better/' Which I hearing", conveyed mine examination I had written into a place beside my bed, and took all the letters I had in my purse, and was tearing of them when he came again, and as he came I threw the same out of my window, saying^ that I heard what he said ; wherefore I prevented his searching again, whereof I was right glad. God be praised, that gave me that present shift to blind their eyes from the knowledge of my writings, which if they had known, it would have been an occasion for straiter keeping and looking unto, although they look as narrowly as they can. The eighth Examination of John Philpot, before the bishop of London, the bishop of St. David's^ Master Mordanty and othersy in the bishops chapel. The next day after, my keeper came before day in the morning to call me down, and so I was brought down into his wardrobe, where I was left with a keeper, and there continued all the day. But after dinner I was called down into the chapel, before the bishop of London, the bishop of St. David's, Master Mordant, one of the queen's council, master archdeacon of London, and before a great many more : and the bishop spake unto me in this manner, Lon. Sir, here I object and lay unto you in the presence of my lord of St. David's, and of Master Mordant, and of these worshipful men, these articles here in this libel contained, — And he read them openly. When I would particularly have answered to some of his blasphemies, he would not permit me, but said, 1 should have leisure enough to say what I v» ould, when he had said all, adding, "and to these I add another sche- dule. Also I require thee to answer as to the catechism set forth in the schismatical time of king Edward. Also I will thee to answer to certain conclusions agreed upon both in Oxford and Cambridge. And I here bring forth these witnesses against thee, in thine own presence, namely my lord of St. David's, Master Mordant, and Master Harpsfield, with as many of you as were present in the disputation he made in the convocation-house, willing you to testify (by your oaths taken upon a book) his stubborn and irreverent behaviour he there used against the blessed sacrament of the altar. Give me a book," and receiving E 3 82 Philpol. — Examinations. one, he opened the same, saying-, " I will teach him here one trick in our law, which he knows not ; that is, my lord of St. David's, because you are a bishop, you have this privilep;c, that you may swear by lookinj^ on the gospel book without touching the same." And so he opened the book in his sight, and shut it again, and caused the others to put their hands on the book, and take their oaths, and willed them to resort to his registrar, to make their depositions when they might be best at leisure ; and afterwards he turned to me, and said, " Now, sir, you shall answer but two words, whether you will answer to these articles which I have laid unto you, directly, yea, or nay f Phil. My lord, you have told a long tale ag-ainst me, containing many lying blasphemies, which cannot be answered in two words. Besides this, you promised me at the beginning, that I should say what I could for my de- fence, and now you will not give me leave to speak. What law is this? Loji. Speak, yea or nay; for you shall say no more at this time. — The cause was, as I guess, that he saw so many there gathered to hear. Phil. Then my two words you would have me speak, shall be that I have appealed from you, and take you not for my sufficient judge. Lon. Indeed, Master Mordant, he has appealed to the king and to the queen ; but I will be so bold with her majesty, as to stay that appeal in mine own hands. Phil. You will do what you list, my lord ; you have the law in your hands. Lon. Wilt thou answer, or no ? Phil. I will not answer otherwise than I have said. " ' Lon. Registrar, note his answer. Phil. Knock me on the head with a hatchet, or set up a stake and burn me out of hand, without further law. You may do so as well as do what you do, for all is with- out order of law : such tyranny was never seen, as you use now-a-days. May God of his mercy destroy your cruel kingdom. — And whilst I spake this, the bishop went away in haste. .S^. David's. Master Philpot, I pray you be quiet, and have patience. Phil. My lord, I thank God I have patience to bear and abide all your cruel intents against me : notwith- Ninth examination. 8"3 standing I speak this earnestly, being- moved tnereto justly, to notify your unjust and cruel dealing with men in corners, without due order of law. After this, at night I was conducted again by three or four into the coalhouse. The ninth Examination of Master Philpot, before Bonner and his chaplains. In the morning of the next day I was called betimes by my keeper, and brought again into the wardrobe, where I remained until the bishop had heard his mass, and after- wards he sent up for me into his inward parlour, and there he called for a chair to sit down, and brought his infamous libel of his forged articles in his hand, and sat down, will- ing me to draw near unto him, and said : Lon. I am this day appointed to tarry at home from the parliament house, to examine you and your fellows upon these articles, and you stand dallying with me, and will neither answer to nor from. All your exceptions will not serve you. Will it be a fair honesty for you, think you, that when thou comest before my lord mayor and the sheriffs, and other worshipful audience, when I shall say before them all, that I have had thee these many times before me, and before so many learned men, and thou couldest say nothing that thou standest in, notwith- standing all thy brags of learning, neither wouldest answer directly to anything? Phil. My lord, I have told you my mind plain enough ; but yet I do not intend to lose the privilege the law gives me. Which is free choice to answer where I am not bound, and this privilege will I cleave unto, until I be compelled otherwise. Lon. Well, I perceive you will play the obstinate fooT. Lay thine appellation w^hen thou comest into judgment and answer in the meanwhile to these articles. Phil. No, my lord, by your leave, I will not answer to them until my lawful appeal is tried. Lon. Well, thou shalt hear them. — And with that he began to read them. I shrunk back into the window, and looked on a book ; and after he had read them over, he said unto me : Lon. I have read them over, although it has not pleased 84 Philpot — Examinations. you to hear me. I marvel, in t^ood faith, what thou meanest to be so wilful and stubborn, seeing thou mayest do well enough if thou list. It is but a singularity. Dost thou not see all the realm against thee ? PliiL My lord, I speak unto you in the witness of God, before whom I stand, that I am neither wedded to my own will, neither stand upon my own stubbornness or sin- gularity, but upon my conscience instructed by the word of God ; and if your lordship can show better evidence Uian I have, for a good faith, I will follow the same. Lon. What, thou wilt not for all that! Well, all that is past shall be forgotten, if you be conformable unto us. Thou mightest find as much favour as thou wouldest desire. Then I perceiving that he fawned so much upon me, thought it good to give him some hope of my relenting, to the intent I might give him and his hypocritical genera- tion openly a further foil, perceiving that they dare reason openly with none, but with such as are unlearned, and for lack of knowledge not able to answer, or else with such as they have a' hope that for fear or love of the world will recant. I said, " My lord, it is not unknown to you, that I have openly, in the audience of a great number, stood to the maintenance of these opinions I am in, and by learn- ing offered to defend them; therefore, my lord, I would it might openly appear to the world, that I am won by learning, or else what will they say, but that either for fear or love of the world, without any ground, I am turned from the truth. But if I hear any kind of learning openly showed, I shall be as conformable as you may require me." Lon. Yea, marry, now you speak somewhat like a reasonable man. You might have had a great deal more favour and liberty in my house than you have had ; and you shall lack nothing that is within my house; call for it and you shall have it. And what is it that you would openly be satisfied in by learning, tell me ? Phil. My lord, I have openly said, and believe it also, that your sacrifice of the mass is no sacrament. Lon. What, do you deny the presence of Christ in the •acrament ? Phil. No, my lord, I deny not the presence of Christ in the sacrament, but I have denied the sacrament of the altar, as it is used in your mass, to be the true sacrament Ninth examination. 85 of Christ's institution ; and first it must be proved a sacra- ment, ere any kind of presence can be granted. Lon. Why, do you deny the mass to be a sacrament? I pray you, what is a sacrament ? Is it not a sign of a holy thing-, as St. Augustine doth define it ? Phil. Yes, verily, that it is. Lon. Then I make this argument unto you. A saci-a- ment is the sign of a holy thing — But the mass is a sign of a holy thing — Therefore it is a sacrament. Phil. You must add this to your major or first proposi- tion, as St. Augustine means, that a sacrament is the sign of a holy thing instituted of God and commanded ; for otherwise it can be no sacrament, for all men cannot make a sacrament. Lon. I grant that, and such a sign of a holy thing is the mass of Christ's institution. Phil. I deny that, my lord. Lon. I will prove this by St. Augustine by and by. I will go show you the book, and you shall have any book I have that you will demand. Ho! who is without there ? Call me Master Doctor Chadsey, Master archdeacon, Master Cosins, and other chaplains, hither. One answered. Here, my lord. Master Doctor Chadsey is gone to Westminster, and Master archdeacon was here even now. Lon. Master Cosins, I pray you examine him upon these articles, and write the answer he makes to every one of them. 1 will go and examine his fellows, and send you St. Augustine by and by. I find this man more conform- able than he was before. Cosins. I trust, my lord, you shall find him at length a good catholic man. Why here are a sight of heresies. I dare say you will hold none of them, neither stand to any of them. How say you to the first? Phil. Master Cosins, I have told my lord already, that I will answer to none of these articles which he has objected against me ; but if you will with learning answer that which is in question between my lord and me, I will gladly hear and commune with you. Cosins. Will you? Why, \\ hat is it then which is in question between my lord and you ? Phil. Whether your mass is a sacrament or no. Cosins. What, whether the mass is a sacrament? Who ever doubted thereof? g6 Vhilpot. — Examinations. Phil. If it is an undoubted truth, you may the sooner prove it ; for I doubt much thereof. Cosim. Why, I will prove it. It is the sign of a holy thinp;; tlierefore it is a sacrament. Phil. I deny your antecedent.* Cosins. What, will you so? Then there is no reasoning: with you. Thus Master Cosins gave over in the plain fieldf for want of further proof. And then the morrow-mass chap- lain X began to speak for his occupation, and Master Harpsfield came out from my lord with St. Augustine's epistles, saying: Harps. My lord has sent you here St. Augustine to look upon, and I pray you look what he says in a certain epistle which he writes. I will read over the whole. Here may you hear of the celebration of the mass, and how he reproves them that went a-hawking and hunting before the celebration of the same, on the Sabbath and holy days. Phil. I perceive the contents of this epistle, and I see nothing herein against me, neither anything that makes for the proof of your sacrament of the mass. Harps. No ! Does he not make mention of the mass, and the celebration thereof? What can be spoken more plain ? Phil. St. Auo-ustine means the celebration of the com- munion, and of the true use of the sacrament of the body and blood of Christ, and not your private masses which you of late years have erected instead thereof. For this word mass has been an old term attributed to the com- munion, even from the primitive church. And I pray you tell me what Missa signifies ; I think not many that say mass, can well tell. Cosins. No? That is marvel. Phil. Then tell, if you can. — But Master Cosins and the morrow - mass chaplain were dumb, looking upon Master Harpsfield for help, and at length he spake. Harps. You think it comes of the Hebrew word Massah, as though none were seen§ in the Hebrew but you. Phil. I have not gone so long to school, to derive the signification of Missa, which is a Latin word, out of Hebrew ; but I have learned to interpret Greek words by • The first proposition. + At once, before he cunie to any diflicult places. X A priest who said early mass. k Learned. Ninlh examination. 87 Greek, and Latin by Latin, and Hebrew by Hebrew. I take the communion to be called Missa, a mittendo, from such things as at the celebration of the communion were sent by such as were of ability, for the relief of the poor, where the rich brought of their devotion and ability, and required the minister, in the celebration of the commu- nion, to pray unto God for them, and to accept their common alms, which they at such times sent for the help of their poor brethren and sisters ; and for this cause was it called Missa, as learned men do witness. At which celebration of the mass, all that were present communi- cated in both kinds,* according to Christ's institution, as they did in St. Augustine's time. But unless you can show that your mass is used as it then was, you shall never by the name of mass, which St. Augustine attributed to the true use of the communion, prove your private mass to be a sacrament, unless you can prove the same is done now in your masses as it was then, which are quite contrary. Harps. What, deny you the mass to be a sacrament? For shame speak it not. Phil. I will not be ashamed to deny it, if you cannot prove it. Harps. Why, it is a sacrifice, which is more than a sacrament. Phil. You may make of it as much as you list ; but you shall never make it a sacrifice, as you imagine, but first it must be a sacrament, for of the sacrament you deduce your sacrifice. Harps. Why, did not Christ say, "This is my body? and does not the priest pronounce the same words tha Christ did? Phil. The pronunciation is not enough, unless the words are therewith applied to the use which Christ spake them to. For though you speak the words of baptism over water ever so many times, yet there is no baptism unless there is a christian person to be baptized. Harps. Nay, that is not the same ; for " Hoc est corpus meum"t is an indicative proposition, showing a working of God in the substance of bread and wine. Phi^. It is not only an indicative proposition, but also * The bread and the wine. — The reader will recollect that the church of Rome withholds the cup from the people, t This is my body. 98 Philpot — Examinations. an imperative or commanding. For he that said, '* Hoc est corpus meum," " This is my body," said also, " Acci- pite, manducate," " Take ye, eat ye." And except the former part of the institution of Christ's sacrament is accomplished according' to the communion, the latter, *' This is my body," cannot be verified, take it which way yoii will, and how you will. Morrow-masa Chaplain. Why, then you will make the sacrament to stand in the receiving, and that receiving makes it a sacrament. Fhil. I do not say, that the receiving alone makes it the sacrament ; but I say, ,that a common receiving must needs be concurrent with the true sacrament, as a neces- sary part, without, which it cannot be a sacrament, be- cause Christ made this a principal part of the sacrament, " Take ye, eat ye," which you do not in your mass accord- ing to Christ's institution. Therefore it can be no sacra- ment, for it wants somewhat of Christ's institution. Cosins. We forbid none to come to it, but as many as list may be partakers with us at the mass, if they require it. Phil. Nay, that they shall not, though they require it. You will minister but one kind unto them, which is not according to Christ's institution. Besides that, you ought, before you go to mass, to exhort all that are present to make a sacrifice of thanksgiving for Christ's passion with you, and to exhort them to be partakers with you, according to Christ's commandment, saying unto all that are present, *' Take ye, eat ye ;" and likewise by preaching show forth the Lord's death, which you do not. Cosins. And if all things are done even as you would have it, and whilst the minister is about to minister the sacrament, before any other have received it there rise a sudden hurly-burly, so that the communicants are compelled to go away, is it not a sacrament although none hath com- municated besides the priest? Phil. In this case where all things are appointed to be done according to God's word, if incident or necessity had not hindered, I cannot say, but that it is a sacrament, and that he who has received, has received the true sacrament. After this, the morrow-mass priest made this apish rea- son : If the sacrament of the mass is no sacrament unless all receive it, because Christ said, "Take ye, eat ye," then the sacrament of baptism is no sacrament where there is but one baptized, because Christ said to his apostles, " Go Ninth examination, 89 preach the gospel to all creatures, baptizing all nations in the name of the Father," &c. Phil. In that saying of Christ, " Baptizing all nations," is a commandment to the apostles, to baptize all sorts of men, and to exclude none that believe, be he Gentile or Jew, not meaning all at once, for that were impossible. And there are many examples, that baptism may be ministered to one person alone, as we have example in Christ baptized of John, and in the eunuch baptized of Philip, with many more such ; but so have you not of the sacrament of the body and blood of Christ, but contrari- wise by the express words of St. Paul you are commanded to use it in a communion and participation of many toge- ther, see the second epistle to the Corinthians, " As oft as ye come together to eat, (meaning the Lord's supper,) tarry one for another." And also the minister in the celebration of the sacrament, spoke to all that were present, in Christ's behalf, to communicate with him, saying, " Take ye, and eat ye." Wherefore, as many as are present and do not communicate, break God's commandment in not receiving the same, and the minister is no just minister that does not distribute the sacrament as Christ did, to all that are present ; and where God's word is transgressed, there Christ is not present, and consequently it is no sacrament. Harps. What, would you have it no sacrament without it is a communion ? Phil. I make it not so, but God's express word teaches me so. Yea, also, all the ancient writers ; as St. Chry- sostome v^^riting upon the epistle to the Ephesians saith, *' That the oblation is in vain, where none doth communi- cate with the priest.'* If by his judgment the action of the priest, alone, is in vain, where there is no communion, how can that be a sacrament which he calls a vain oblation, and a vain standing at the altar ?* Cosins. You are such a fellow as I have not heard before, that will not have the mass to be a sacrament ; you are no man for me to reason withal. Come, let us go, (pointing to the morrow-mass chaplain,) we will leave you, master archdeacon and him together ; and so they went away. Afterwards the archdeacon fell into earnest persuasion with me, saying : Harps. Master Philpot, you and I have old acquaintance a long time ; we were school-fellows both in Winchester * In the Romish daily mass tiie priest alone coramunicates. 90 Philpot. — Examinations and in Oxford many years. Wherefore I must wish you as well to do as myself, and I pray you so think of me. Phil. I thank you for your g^ood-will towards me. But if you are deceived, as I am sure you are, I shall desire you not to wish me deceived with you. For I tell you plainly, before God, you are highly deceived, and maintain false religion, and are not what you take yourselves for ; and if you do not repent, and leave off your persecuting Christ's truth, you will go to the devil for it. Therefore consider it in time, I give you warning; for in the day of judgment I shall else be a witness against you, that I told you this while here talking together. Harps. Fie ! that is but your own vain singular opinion. I perceive you are still the man you were in Oxford. Phil. I trust you can report no notorious evil that ever you knew of me there. Harps. I can say no evil of your conversation, but I knew you to be a studious man. But if you remember when we met in disputation in Parvis,* you would not h'ghtly give over, and for that cause I speak that I have said. Phil. Master Harpsfield, you know that in the schools at Oxford, when we were young men, we strove much for vain-glory and contention — more than for the truth. But now our years and our riper learning teach us to look to the truth, which must be our portion for ever. And if I was then, in my time of ignorance, earnest in my own cause, I ought now to be earnest in my master Christ's cause, and in his truth. I know now that nothing done from vain-glory and singularity can please God, though it has ever so goodly a show ; wherefore I pray you judge not so of me now. Harps. What, will you think yourself better learned than all the learned men in this realm ? Phil. My faith hangeth not upon the learned of the world, but upon the learned of God's word. Harps. Well, I will talk with you no more now, but I will pray to God to open your heart. Phil. I pray God to open both our hearts, to do his will more than we have done in times past. Harps. Ho ! keeper, take him away with you. Phil. I pray you. Master Harpsfield, tell me what this pronoun " Hoc" demonstrates and shows in this indicative • A scholastic disputation at the university. Ninth examination. 91 proposition, as you call it. " Hoc est corpus meum :" "This is my body?" Harps. It demonstrates the substance of bread, which by the words spoken by the priest, and by the omnipo- tency of God, is turned into the substance of Christ's very body. Phil. Is the substance of the bread, as you say, turned into Christ's body ? Harps. Yea, that it is. Phil. Why, then Christ's body receives daily a great increase of many thousand pieces of bread into his body, and that is become his body now, which was not so before, and by this you would seem to make out that there is an alteration in Christ's glorified body, which is a wicked thing to think. Then he tried again, and remembering himself better, and seeing the inconvenience of his first assertion of the transubstantiation of bread into Christ's body, he said, that the substance of bread after the words spoken by the priest, was evacuated or vanished away by the omnipotence of God. Phil. This is another song than you sang first. And here you may see how contrary you are to yourselves. For indeed your schoolmen do hold, that the very sub- stance of bread is really turned into the substance of Christ's body. And now, you perceiving of late the in- convenience which is objected against you in that opinion, you are driven to imagine a new shift, and to say, the sub- stance of bread is evacuated, contrary to what your church at first believed and taught. O what contrariety is there among you, and all to deface the sincere truth ! Harps. Is not God omnipotent ? and cannot he do as he has said ? Phil. But his omnipotence will not do as you say, con- trary to his word and his honour. It is not for God's honour to include him bodily into a piece of bread, and of necessity to tie him thereto. It is not to God's honour for you to make into God and man a piece of bread, which you see before your face doth putrefy after a certain time. Is not God's omnipotence as able to give his body with the sacramental bread, as to make so many turnings away of the bread, as you do, and that directly against the scriptures, which call it bread many times after the consecration ? Are you not ashamed to make so many 98 Philpot. — Examinations. alterations of the Lord's holy institution as you do, and to take away the substantial parts of the sacrament, as " Take ye, eat ye, drink ye all of this : do ye this in remembrance of me ;" and to place in their stead, " Hear ye, gaze ye, knock ye, worship ye, offer ye, sacrifice ye, for the quick and the dead." If this is not blasphemy to God and his sacrament — to add and to pluck away in this sort, and that contrary to the mind of all ancient writers, and contrary to the example of Christ and all his apostles, tell me. Harps. I know you have leathered the sayings of the doctors together which make for your purpose : 1 will talk no longer with you. P/iiL I pray God open both our hearts, to do more his will than we have done in times past. Harps. Ho, keeper, take him away with you. The tenth Examination of John Philpot^ before bishop Bonner^ his registrar, and others. The next day after dinner, I was brought into my lord's upper hall, and there he called me before him and his registrar, and before doctor Chadsey, in the presence of two homely gentlemen, and a priest whom I knew not. The bishop said : Lon. I do here lay unto this man in your presence, requiring you to be witness against him, these articles, this book of the catechism, made in king Edward's days, also these conclusions, agreed upon both in Oxford and Cambridge. Also I lay unto him, that he has despised the censures of the church, and has stood accursed more than this twelvemonth, and never required absolution thereof. How say you, wast thou not accursed by my lord chancellor? Phil. I was excommunicated by him wrongfully, and without any just cause, and without order of law, being never personally cited. Lon. Didst thou not tell me the other day, when I required thee to come to the mass, that thou wast excom- municated, and therefore by the law couldst not hear mass ? How long hast thou been thus excommunicate ? Phil. More than a twelvemonth and a half. Lon. Lo ! you may hear what he saith. Write it. Phil. But as you would have written that I have said, » Tenth examination. 93 I have been thus long- excommunicated, so also let him write that I required my absolution of my lord chancellor, who excommunicated me, but he would not give it me ; saying that because I was a heretic, as it pleased him to call me, therefore I was accursed by your law, and so he commanded me to prison, where I remain still. Gent. Why do you not require absolution at my lord's hands here now ? Phil. Because he is not my ordinary, neither has he by the law anything to do with me of right. Lon. What an obstinate fool is this ! I tell thee I will be thine ordinary whether thou wilt or no. Phil. And because of this your unrighteous force to- wards me, I have appealed from you, and require you, master registrar, that my appeal may be entered in writing. Lon. Have you heard such a froward fellow as this ? He seemed yesterday to be very tractable, and I had j& good hope in him. I tell thee thou art of my diocese. Phil. I am of Winchester diocese, and not of London diocese. Lon. I pray you, may not a man be of two dioceses at once? Phil. No, that he cannot. Lon. Lo ! will you see what an ignorant fool this is in the law, in which he would seem to be skilled ! I tell thee a man may be of three dioceses at once ; ae if thou wert born in London, by reason thereof thou shouldest be of my diocese ; or else, if thou wert not born here, but hadst a dignity, also thou art to be counted of my diocese ; or else by reason of thy habitation in my diocese. Phil. In none of these respects am I of your lordship's diocese. — But for all that, this will not follow, that I dwel- ling at Winchester am at present of London diocese. Lon. What wilt thou lay thereof? Wilt thou recant if I prove it ? Phil. But what shall I win if you do not. Lon. I will give thee my bishopric if I prove it not. Phil. Yea, but who shall deliver it me if I win ? Lon. Thou art an arrogant fool. Enter their oaths, and take these witnesses' depositions. I must be gone to the parliament house. After this spake unto me a priest standing by, asking me whether I was kin to my lord Rich or no. 94 Phllpot — Examinations. Phil. He said so himself unto me the other day, but how I i^ 109 Philpot. — Examinatiojis. Christo. Do they ? Is this a jrood arg^ument, — because wc are the imaj^e of God, erg-o, we are God ? Phil. We are not called the express image of God, as it is written of Christ. We are the image of God only by participation, and as it is written in Genesis, we are made in the likeness and similitude of God. But you o'.ight to know, Master Christopherson, that there is no ac- cident in God, or outward form, and therefore Christ can- not be the image of God, but he must be of the same sub- stance with God. Christo. Tush. Mor. How say you to the presence of the sacrament? will you stand here to the judgment of your book, or not ? or will you recant ? Phil. I know you try to catch my words. If you can j)rove that book is of my setting forth, lay it to my charge when I come to judgment. Mor. Speak, are you of the same mind as this book is of, or not ? Sure I am you w ere once, unless you have become another manner of man than you were. Phil. What I was, you know : what I am, I will not tell you now : but this I will say to you by the way, that if you can prove that your sacrament of the mass, as you now use it, is a sacrament, I will then grant you a presence ; but first you must prove the same a sacrament, and after- wards treat of the presence. Mor. Hoo ! Do you doubt that it is a sacrament ? Phil. I am past doubting ; for I believe you never can be able to prove it a sacrament. Christo. Doth not St. Augustine call it the sacrament of the altar ? llow say you to that ? Phil. That makes nothing for the probation of your sa- crament. For so he, with other ancient writers, calls the holy communion, or the Supper of the Lord, in respect that it is the sacrament of the sacrifice which Christ offered upon the altar of the cross ; which sacrifice all the altars and sacrifices done upon the altars in the old law prefigured and shadowed, which pertains not at all to your sacrament which is hanging over ycur altars of lime and stone.* Christo. No ? I pray you what signifies altar ? Phil. Not as you falsely take it, materially, but for the sacrifice of the altar of the cross. * He alludes to the Romish consecrated wafer, which was hung over the allar. Eleventh examination. 109 Christo. Where find yon it ever so taken ? Phil. In St. Paul to the Hebrews, chapter xiii., where he saith, " We have an altar, of which it is not lawful for them to eat that serve the tabernacle." Is not altar there taken for the sacrifice of the altar, and not for the altar of lime and stone. Christo. Well, God bless me out of your company.* You are such an obstinate heretic as I have not heard the like. Phil. I pray God to keep me from such blind doctors, who, when they are not able to prove wlmt they say, fall to blaspheming", as you now do, for lack of better proof — In the meanwhile, the bishop of London was talking with some others who were by, and at length came in to supply his part, and said : hon. I pray you, masters, hearken what I shall say to this man. Come hither. Master Green. And now, sir, pointing to me, you cannot think it sufficient to be naught yourself, but must go about to procure this young- gentle- man by your letters to do the like. Phil. My lord, he cannot say, that I ever hitherto wrote unto him concerning any such matter. Green. No, you never wrote unto me. Lon. Why, is not this your letter which you wrote con- cerning him ? Phil. I have showed your lordship my mind concerning that letter already ; it was not written to Master Green, neither was he privy to the writing thereof Lon. How say you then, if a man be in error, and you know thereof, what are you bound to do in such a case ? Phil. I am bound to do the best I can to bring- him out of it. Lon. If Master Green here is in the like, are you not bound to reform him thereof if you can? Phil. Yes, that I am, and will do to the uttermost of my power therein. — The bishop remembering himself, and thinking that he would not be helped by me as he ex- pected, but rather confirmed in that which he called an error, ceased to go any further in his demand, and called Master Green aside, and before his registrar read him a * In this and some other places it is unpleasant to record a pro- fane expression; but it is sometimes necessary to do so to give a correct idea of these Romish priests. I ID Phiipot. — Examinations. letter ; (I know not the contents thereof;) and therewithal he gave Master Green the book of my disputation in the convocation-house, and afterwards went aside, communing with Master Christopherson, leaving Master Morgan, Master Harpsfield, and Master Cosins, to reason with me in the hearing of Master Green. Mor. Master Phiipot, I would ask you how old your religion is? Phil. It is older than yours by a thousand years and more. Mor. I pray you, where was it fifty years ago ? Phil. It was apparent in Germany by the testimony of Huss, Jerome of Prague, and WickliiF, whose bones your •i-eneration, a hundred years ago and more, burnt for his preaching the truth unto you ; and before their time and since, it still has continued, although under persecution it has been put to silence. Mor. That is a marvellous strange religion, which no man can tell certainly where to find. Phil. It ought to be no marvel unto you to see God's truth oppressed through violence ; for so it has been from the beginning, from time to time, as appears by his- tories ; and as Christ's true religion is now to be found here in England, although hypocrisy has by violence the upper hand. And in the Apocalypse you may see it was pro- phesied, that the true church should be driven into corners and into the wilderness, and suffer great persecution. Mor. Ah, are you skilled in the Apocalypse ? There are many strange things in it. Phil. If I tell you the truth which you are not able to repel, believe it, and trifle not with such important matters. Methinks you are more like a scoffer in a play, than a reasonable doctor to instruct a man : you dance naked in a net, and yet you see not your own nakedness. Mor. What, I pray you, be not so quick with me. Let us talk a little more coolly together. Phil. I will talk with you as mildly as you can desire, if you will speak learnedly and charitably. But if you go about with taunts to delude the truth, I will not hide it from you. Mor. Why will not you submit your judgment to the learned men of this realm ? Phil. Because I see they can bring no good ground, Eleventh examination. , 111 whereupon I may with a good conscience ^settle my faith more surely than on that, on which I am now grounded by God's manifest word. Mor. No ? It is a marvel that so many learned men should be deceived. Phil. It is no marvel, according to St. Paul ; for he saith, " That not many wise, neither many teamed after the world, are called to the knowledge of the gospel." Mor. Have you then alone the Spirit of God, and not we ? Phil. I say not, that I alone have the Spirit of God, but as many as abide in the true faith of Christ, have the Spirit of God as well as I. Mor. How know you that you have the Spirit of God? Phil. By the faith of Christ which is in me. Mor. Ha, by faith do you so ? I ween it be the spirit of the buttery,* which your fellows have had that have been burned before you, who were drunk the night before they went to their death, and I ween went drunken unto it. Phil. It appears by your communication, that you are better acquainted with the spirit of the buttery, than with the Spirit of God. Wherefore, I must now tell thee, thou painted wall and hypocrite, in the name of the living Lord, whose truth I have told thee, that God shall rain fire and brimstone upon such scorners of his word, and blasphemers of his people as thou art. Mor. What ? You rage now ! Phil. Thy foolish blasphemies have compelled the Spirit of God which is in me, to speak that which I have said \mto thee, thou enemy of all righteousness. Mor. Why do you judge me so? Phil. By thine own wicked words I judge of thee, thou blind and blasphemous doctor. As it is written, " By thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned." I have spoken on God's behalf, and now have I done with thee. Mor. Why then I tell thee, Philpot, that thou art a heretic, and shalt be burned for thine heresy, and after- wards go to hell fire. Phil. I tell thee, thou hypocrite, that I care not for thy fire and fagots, neither, I thank God my Lord, stand I in fear of the same. My faith in Christ shall overcome them. But the hell fire which thou threatenest me with, is thy * A fairy or goblin, said to haunt pantries or butteries. 1 12 Philpot. — Examinations. portion, and is pre])ared for thee, unless thou speedily repent, and for such hypocrites as thou art. Mor. What ! Thou speakest upon wine ; it seems as if thou hast tippled well to-day. Phil. So the cursed generation said of the apostles, when beinfr replenished with the Holy Ghost, and speak- ing the wondrous works of God. They said they were drunk, when they had nothing else to say, as thou dost now. Mor. Why, I am able to answer thee, I think. Phil. So it seems — with blasphemies and hes. Mor. Nay, even with learning, say what thou canst. Phil. That appeared well at my disputation in the con- vocation-house, when thou tookest upon thee to answer the iew arguments I was permitted to make, and yet wast not able to answer one, but in thine answers didst fumble and stammer, so that the whole house was ashamed of thee ; and the final conclusion of all thine answers was, that thou couldest answer me if I were in the schools at Oxford. Mor. What, did I so ? Thou beliest me. Phil. I do not belie thee : the book of the report of the disputation bears record thereto, and all that were present then, can tell, if they Hst, that thou saidst so. And I tell thee plain, thou art not able to answer that Spirit of truth which speaks in me for the defence of Christ's true religion. I am able, by the might thereof, to drive thee round about this gallery before me ; and if it would please the queen's majesty and her council to hear thee and me, I would make thee for shame shrink behind the door. Mor. Yea, would you so ? Phil. Thou hast the spirit of illusion and sophistry, which is not able to countervail the Spirit of truth. Thou art but an ass in the true understanding of things pertain- ing unto God. I call thee ass, not in respect of malice, but in that thou kickest against the truth, and art void of all godly understanding, not able to answer that which thou braffffest. Mor. Why, have I not answered thee in all things thou luuit said unto me ? I take those present to record. Phil. Ask of my fellow whether I be a thief! Cosins. Hark, he makes us all thieves. Phil. You know the proverb, that like will hold with like. And I am sure you will not judge v/ith me against him, speak I ever so true ; and in this sense I speak it. Eleventh examination. 113 The strongest answer that he has made against me is, that you will burn me. Mor. Why, we do not burn you : it is the temporal men that burn you, and not we. Phil. Thus you would, as Pilate did, wash your hands of all your wicked doings. But I pray you, do you not call upon the secular power to be executioners of your un- righteous judgments? And have you not a title in your law, " De haereticis comburendis. Of the burning of heretics ?" Harps. I have heard you both reason together a good while, and I never heard so stout a heretic as you are. Master Philpot. Cosins. Neither I in all my hfe. Phil. You are not able to prove me a heretic by one jot of God's word. Harps. You have the spirit of arrogancy. I will reason with you no more. — And so he was departing, and Master Cosins also. And with that the bishop and Christopherson came in again, and said : Lon. Master doctor, how do this man and you agree ? Mor. My lord, I ask him where his church was fifty years ago. Lon. Are you not half agreed, as one man said once to two parties, of whom the one was equally disagreeing from the other. Christo. My lord, it is but folly to reason with him any farther ; your lordship will but lose time, for he is in- curable. Lon. Well, then, let his keeper have him away. — Doctor Chadsey then led me a way by which we could not pass, and therefore came back again through the bishop's chamber, where all these doctors were clustered together ; and as I was passing by, the bishop took me by the gown, and said, " Wot you what Master Christopher- son tells me ? I pray you. Master Christopherson, rehearse the sentence in Latin ;" and so he did. The contents thereof were, that a heretic would not be won. Christo. St. Paul saith, " Flee a heretic after once or twice warnincr." All the doctors. Yea, my lord, it is best you do so, and trouble your lordship no more with him. Phil. You must first justly ])rove me to be a heretic, before you use the judgment of St. Paul against me ; for 114 Philpot. — Examinations. he speaks of such as hold opinions against the manifest word, which you cannot prove against me. And because you want in your proof, and are able to prove nothing against me, therefore you go about falsely to suppose me to be a heretic, for the safeguard of your own counterfeit honesties. But before God, you are the heretics who so stoutly and stubbornly maintain so many things directly against God's word, as God in his time will reveal. As I went out of his chamber, the bishop called me aside, and said : Lon. I pray thee, in good sadness,* tell me what meanest thou by writing in the beginning of thy bible, " Spiritus est vicarius Christi in terris," " The Spirit is the vicar of Christ on the earth?'' I think that you have some special meaning therein. Phil. My lord, I have no other meaning than, as I have told you already, that Christ since his ascension works all things in us by his Spirit, and by his Spirit dwells in us. I pray you, my lord, let me have my bible, with other lawful books and writings which you have of mine, whereof many of them are none of mine, but lent to me by my friends. Lon. Your bible you shall not have ; but I will perhaps let you have another ; and after I have perused the rest, you shall have such as I think good. Phil. I pray your lordship then, that you would let me have candle-light. Loji. To what purpose, I pray you ? Phil. The nights are long, and I would fain occupy myself about somewhat, and not spend my time idly. Lon. You may pray. Phil. I cannot well say my prayers without light. Lon. Can you not say your paternoster without a can- dle ? I tell you, sir, you shall have some meat and drink of me, but candle you get none. Phil. I had rather have a candle than your meat or drink; but seeing I shall not have my request, the Lord shall be my light. Lon. Have him down. Chad. I will bring him to his keeper, my lord. Master Philpot, I wonder that all these learned men whom you have talked with all this day, cannot persuade you. Phil. Why, master doctor, would you have me to be * Seriously. Twelfth examination. 115 persuaded with nothing ? or would you have me build my faith upon sand ? What do you all bring whereby I ought, as by any sufficient authority, to be persuaded by you ? Chad. I am sorry you will so wilfully cast away your- self, whereas you might live worshipfully. Do you not think others have souls to save as well as you have? Phil. Every man shall receive according to his own doings. Sure I am you are deceived, and maintain a false religion ; and as for my casting away, I would my burning- day were to-morrow, for this delay is to die every day, and yet not to be dead. Chad. You are not like to die yet, I can tell you. 'Phil. I am the more sorry. But the will of God be done of me, to his glory. Amen. The twelfth Examination of John Philpot, on Wednesday , the fourth of December, before Bonner, bishop of London-, the bishop of Worcester, and the bishop of Bangor. In the morning I was brought down to the wardrobe adjoining the chapel, and soon after came three of the bishop's chaplains unto me, saying : " Master Philpot, my lord hath sent us unto you, to desire you to come to mass, certifying you that there is a doctor of divinity, a chaplain of my lord's, a notable learned man, called Doctor Chadsey, going to mass ; there- fore, we also pray you, good Master Philpot, be content to come : it is close hereby." Phil. I wonder my lord troubles you in sending you about this matter, seeing he knows I am a man that cannot hear mass by your law, because I stand excom- municated. Chap. Your excommunication is but upon a contumacy, and my lord will dispense with you, if you will come. Phil. My lord cannot, for he is not my ordinary, and I will not seek any such thing at his hands. — With this answer they went their way. And after mass the bishop called me before him in his chapel, and there, in the pre- sence of his registrar, after he had said his mind, because I would not come to mass ; he recited the articles, which he oftentimes before had done, with the depositions of the witnesses, of whom some were not examined. 116 Philpot. — Examinations. Bon. Sir, what can you now say, why I should not pro- ceed to pj-ive sentence against you as a heretic ? Phil, VVliy, my lord, will you proceed to g-ive sentence ag'ainst me before your witnesses are examined ? That is plainly against your own law, as all your doings hitherto have been. Bon. See what a fool thou art in the law. I need not recite the depositions of the witnesses unless I please, for I know them well enough already. Phil. It appears, indeed, that you may do what you list. Bon. Tell me, I say, whether thou wilt answer or not ; and whether, if thou wert absolved of thine excommunica- tion, thou wouldest come to mass or not ? Phil. I have answered as much as I intend to do, until I am called to lawful judgment ; and as concerning my conscience, I will not make you as God to sit there as yet. It is God's part only to be the searcher of my heart. Bon. Look how foolishly he speaks. Art thou God? and yet dost thou not sit in thine own conscience? Phil. I sit not in mine own conscience ; but I know it, and God only ought to sit there, and no man else. Bon. Thou art a naughty fellow, and hast done much hurt, and hast seduced other poor fellows here in prison with thee, by thy comforting of them in their errors, and hast made them rejoice and sing- with thee. Phil. Yea, my lord, we shall sing, when you and such other as you are, shall cry " Woe, woe," except you repent. Bon. What an arrog'ant fool is this! I will handle thee like a heretic, and that shortly. Phil. I fear nothing*, I thank God, that you can do to me. But God shall destroy such as thou art, and that shortly, as I trust. Bon. Have him away : this is a knave indeed. I was had into the wardrobe again by my keeper, and within an hour after was sent for to come before him and the bishops of Worcester and Bang-or. Bon. Sir, I have talked with you many times, and have caused you to be talked with by many learned men, yea and honourable, both temporal and spiritual, and it availeth nothing with you. I am blamed that I have brought thee before so many ; for they say, thou gloriest to iiave many to talk with. Well, now it lies upon thee to look to thyself; for thy time draws near to an end, if thoti do not become conformable. And at this present time we Twelfth examination. 117 are sent from the synod to offer you this g-race, that if you will come to the unity of the church of Rome with us, and acknowledge the real presence of Christ in the sacra- ment of the altar with us, all that is past shall be forgiven, and you shall be received to favour. JVor. Master Philpot, we are sent, as you have heard, by my lord of London, from the synod to offer you mercy, if you will receive it ; and of the good will I bear you, I wish you to take it whilst it is offered, and be not a sin- gular man against a whole multitude of learned men, who now, in fasting and prayer, are gathered together to devise things to do you good. Many learned men have talked with you : why should you think yourself better learned than them all ? Be not of such arrogancy, but have humility, and remember there is no salvation but in the church. Bang. My lord hath said wonderfully well unto you, that you should not think yourself so well learned, but that other men are as well learned as you, neither of so good wit,* but others are as wise as you, neither of such good memory, but others have as good memories as you. There- fore mistrust your own judgment, and come home to us •again. I never liked your religion, because it was set forth by violence and tyranny, and that is no token of true religion. And I was the same manner of man then that I am now, and a great many more. Marry, we held our peace for fear, and bare with that time. Wherefore, Master Philpot, I would that you did well, for I love you ; and therefore be content to come home with us again into the catholic church of Rome. Phil. My lord, you say, that religion is to be misliked which is set forth by tyranny : I pray God you give not men occasion to think the same of yours at this day, which has no other argument to stand by but violence. If you caji show me by any good sufficient ground, whereby to satisfy my conscience, that the church of Rome, where- unto you call me, is the true catholic church, I will gladly be of the same ; otherwise I cannot so soon change the religion I have learned these many years. Ban. Where was your religion, I pray you, a hundred years ago, that any man knew of it ? Phil. It was in Germany, and in divers other places, apparent. * Understanding. 1 18 Philpot. — Examinations. Wor. (with a profane exclamation.) Will you be still so sini^iilar a man ? What is Germany compared to the whole world ? Bon. My lords, I pray you give me leave to tell you, that I sent for him to hear mass this morning. And wot you what excuse he made unto me? forsooth, that he was accursed ; alleging his own shame. He playeth as the varlet Latimer did at Cambridge: when the vice-chancellor sent for him (intending to have excommunicated him for some of his heresies), and as the chancellor was coming to his chamber, he hearing that the chancellor was coming, made answer, that he was sick of the plague, and so deluded the chancellor! Even so this man saith, he is accursed, because he will not come to mass. TFor. My lord here behaves himself like a father unto you ; therefore be admonished by him, and by us, who now come friendly unto you, and follow your fathers be- fore you. Phil. It is forbidden us of God by the prophet Ezekiel, to follow our fathers, or to walk in their commandments. IVor. It is written also in another place : " Ask of your fathers." Phil. We ought to ask, indeed, our fathers who have more experience and knowledge than we repecting God's will, but no more to allow them than we perceive they agree with the scripture. IFor. You will be a contentious man, I see well : and St. Paul saith, that neither we nor the church of God have any such custom. Phil. I am not contentious but for the verity of my faith, in which I ought to contend with all such as impugn the same without any just objection. TFor. Let us rise, my lord, for I see we shall do no good. Bon. Nay, I pray you tarry and hear the articles I day to his charge. — And after he had recited them, they arose, and after standing, they reasoned with me awhile. IVor. Master Philpot, I am very sorry that you will be so singular. I never talked with any yet in my diocese, but after once communication had with me, they have been contented to revoke their errors, and to teach the people how they were deceived, and so did much good, as you may, if you list. For, as I understand, you were arch- deacon of Winchester, which is the eye of the bishop, and Twelfth examination. 119 you may do much good in that country if you would for- sake your errors, and come to the catholic church. Phil. How you so soon persuaded them to your will I see not. I hold no error that I know : of the catholic church I am sure I am. JVor. The catholic church acknowledges a real presence *of Christ in the sacrament, and you will not. Phil. That is not so : for I acknowledge a very essen- tial presence in the duly using of the sacrament. TVor. What, a real presence ? Phil. Yea, a real presence by the Spirit of God in the right administration. JVor. That is well said : and do you agree with the catholic church also ? Phil. I agree with the true catholic church. Wor. My lord of London, this man speaks reasonably now. Bon. You agree in generalities, but when you shall come to particulars, you will far disagree. Wor. Well, keep yourself here, and you shall have other learned bishops to commune further with you, as my lord of Durham, and my lord of Chichester, whom (I hear say) you like well. Phil. I like them as I do all others that speak the truth. I have once already spoken with them, and they found no fault with me. Wor. Pray in the mean season for grace to God. Phil. Prayer is the most comfortable exercise I feel- in my trouble ; and my conscience is quiet, and I have peace of mind, which cannot be the fruits of heresy. Wor. We will bid you farewell for this time. After dinner they called for me again, and demanded of me whether I meant as I spake before dinner, and would not go from it. To whom I answered, that I would not go from what I had said. Wor. You said at my departing from you before dinner, that if we burnt you, we should burn a catholic man. Will you be a catholic man, and stand to the catholic church ? Phil. I will stand to the true catholic church. Wor. Will you stand to the catholic church of Rome ? Phil. If you can prove the same to be the catholic church, I will be one thereof. Wor. Did not Christ say unto Peter, and to all ^his 120 P/tilpoL — Examinations. successors of Rome : " Feed my sheep, feed my lambs ?" which sigMiities that he gave him more autliority than to the rest. Phil. That saying pertains nothing- to the authority of Peter above others, but declares what Christ requires of his beloved apostles, — that they should, with all diligence, preach to the flock of Christ the way of salvation, and that the iteration of feeding spoken to Peter, alone signifies. But the bishop of Rome little regards this spiritual feed- ing, and therefore he has imagined an easier way to make himself lord of the whole world, yea, and of God's word too, and does not feed Christ's flock as Peter did. IFor. How can you tell that? Phil. I have been there, and I could not learn from all his countrymen that he ever preaches. fVor. Though he preaches not one way, he preaches another, by procuring the church to be kept in good order. Phil. I am sure it will be his damnation before God, that he leaves what he is commanded of Christ, and sets forth his own decrees to deface the gospel. IVor. It is the evil living that you have seen at Rome that causes you to have this ill judgment of the church of Rome. I cannot tarry now with you to reason further of the matter. How say you to the real presence of the sacrament, will you stand to that ? Phil. I acknowledge, as I have said, a real presence of the sacrament in the due administration thereof, to the worthy receivers by the Spirit of God. Wor. You add now a great many more words than you did before : and yet you say more of the sacrament than a great many will do. Thus they departed, and after them came to me Dr. Chadsey, and Dr. Wright, archdeacon of Oxford, with a great many more. Chadsey. Master Philpot, here is the archdeacon of Oxford come to you, to give you good counsel, pray hear him. Phil. I will refuse to hear none that will advise me any good : and if any can bring any matter better than I have, I will stick thereunto. frright. I would wish you, Master Philpot, to agree with Twelfth examination. 121 the catholic church, and not to stand in your own conceit : you see a great many learned men against you. Phil. Master doctor, I am of the unfeigned catholic church, and will live and die therein : and if you can prove your church to be the true catholic church, I will be one of the same. Wright. I came not to dispute with you, but to exhort you. Here are better learned than I am who can inform you better than I. Chad. What proof would you have ? I will prove to you our church to have its being and foundation by the scriptures, by the apostles, and by the primitive church ; confirmed with the blood of martyrs, and the testimony of all confessors. Phil. Give me your hand, master doctor ; prove that, and I will be with you. Chad. If I had my books here, I could soon prove it ; I will go and fetch some. — And with that he went and brought his book of annotations, saying, — " I cannot bring my books well, therefore I have brought my book of annotations :" and turned there to a common place about the sacrament; asking me whether the catholic church allowed the presence of Christ's body in the sacra- ment, or not ? adding, I hear that you confess a real pre- sence, but I will be hanged if you abide by it. You will deny it by and by. Phil What I have said I cannot deny, and hitend not, whatever you say. Chad. If there is a real presence in the sacrament, then evil men receive Christ, which thing you will not grant, I am sure. Phil. I deny the argument. For I do not grant in the sacrament any real presence by transubstantiation, as you falsely imagine, but in the due administration to the wor- thy receivers. Chad. I will prove that evil and wicked men eat the body of Christ as well as the good men, by St. Austin here. In the beginning of his text St. Austin seemed to ap- prove this assertion : but I bade him read out to the end, and said, Phil. There St. Augustine declares, that it was " after a certain manner the evil men received the body of Christ," only sacramentally in the outer signs, and not PHIL POT. G 122 Philpot. — Examinations. really, or indeed, as the good. And thus all the doctors that you seem to bring- in for your purpose are quite against you, if you rightly weigh them. Chad, (with an oath.) You are a subtle fellow. See how he would writhe St. Augustine's words. Phil. See which of us writhes St. Austin the most, you, or I who take his meaning by his own express words. And seeing you charge me with subtlety, what subtlety is this of yoii to say, that you will prove your matter of the church, even from the beginning, promising to show your books therein ; and when it comes to the showing, you are able to show none, and for want of proof slip into a bye matter, and yet faint in the proof thereof In the sight of God, I declare you have not a pretence for your religion. Chad. You shall be constrained to come to us at length whether you will or not. Phil. Hold that argument fast ; for it is the best you have, for you have nothing but violence. The thirteenth Examination of Master Philpot, before the archbishop of York, and divers other bishops. The Thursday after, I was called, in the morning, before the archbishop of York, the bishop of Chichester, the bishop of Bath, and the bishop of London. The bishop of Chichester being first come, began to talk with me. Chich. I am come of good will to talk with you ; to instruct you what I can, to come to the catholic church :, and to will you to mistrust your own judgment, and to learn first to have humility, and by the same to learn of others that are better learned than you, as they learned of such as were their betters before them. Phil. We must all be taught of God, and I will with all humility learn of them that will inform me by God's word, what I have to do. I confess I have but little learning in respect of you, who both from your years and great exercise excel therein : but faith consists not only in learning, but in simplicity of believing that which God's word teaches. Therefore I shall be glad to hear both of >,our lordship, and of any other that God hath revealed \into by his word the true doctrine thereof, and to thank you, that it pleases you to take pains herein. Thirteenth ejcamination. 123 Chlch. You take the first allegation amiss, as though all men should be taught by inspiration, and not by learn- ing. How do we believe the gospel, but by the authority of the church, and because the same has allowed it? Phil. St. Paul saith, " He learned not the gospel by men, neither of men, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ." Which is a sufficient proof that the gospel takes not its au- thority of man, but of God only. Chich. St. Paul speaks but of his own knowledge how he came thereto. Phil. Nay, he speaks of the gospel generally, " Which Cometh not from man but from God," and that the church must only teach that which comes from God, and not man's precepts. Chich. Doth not St. Augustine say : " I would not believe the gospel, if the authority of the church did not move me thereto?" Phil. I grant that the authority of the church moves the unbelievers to believe, but yet the church gives not the word its authority : for the word hath its authority only from God, and not of men : men are but disposers there- of. For first the word has its being before the church, and the word is the foundation of the church, and the foundation first is sure, before the building thereon can be stedfast. Chich. I perceive you mistake me. I speak of the knowledge of the gospel, and not of the authority: for by the church we have all knowledge of the gospel. Phil. I confess that. " For faith cometh by hearing, and heanng by the word." And I acknowledge that God now appoints ordinary means for men to come to know- ledge, and not miraculously, as in times past, yet we that are taught by men, must take heed that we learn nothing but that which was taught in the primitive church by revelation. Here came in the archbishop of York, and the bishop of Bath, and after they had saluted one another, and com- muned awhile together, the archbishop of York called m.e unto them, saying : York. Sir, we hearing that you are out of the way, are come of charity to inform you, and to bring you into the true faith, and to the catholic church again, — willing you first to have humility, and to be humble and v/illing to learn of your betters : for else we can do no good with G 2 124 Philpot. -Examinations. you. And God saith by his prophet, " On whom shall I rest, but on the humble and meek, and such as tremble at my word." Now, if you will be so, we shall be glad to travail* with you. Phil. I know that humility is the door whereby we enter unto Christ, and I thank his goodness I have entered in at the same door unto him ; and with all humility I will hear whatsoever truth you shall speak unto me. York. What are the matters you stand on, and require to be satisfied in ? Phil. My lord, and it shall please your grace, we were entered into a good matter before you came, of the church, and how we should know the truth except by the church ? York. Indeed that is the head, we need to begin at. For the church being truly known, we shall sooner agree in the particular things. Pliil. If your lordships can prove the church of Rome to be the true catholic church, it will do much to per- suade me toward that which you would have me incline unto. York. Why, let us go to the definition of the church. What is it ? Phil. It is a congregation of people, dispersed through the world, agreeing together in the word of God, using the sacraments and all other things according to the same. York. Your definition is of many words to no purpose Phil. I do not precisely define the church, but declare unto you what I think the church is. York. Is the church visible or invisible ? Phil. It is both visible and invisible. The invisible church is of all the elect of God only : the visible con- sists of both good and bad, using all things in faith, according to God's word. York. The church is a universal congregation of faith- ful people in Christ throughout the world : which this word catholic well expresses : for what is Catholic else ? does it not signify Universal? Phil. The church is defined by St. Austin to be called catholic for this cause : " The church is called catholic, because it is thoroughly ])erfect, and halteth in nothing." York. Nay, it is called catholic, because it is univer- sally received of all christian nations for the most part. Phil. The church was catholic in the apostles' time, yet * Labour. Thirteenth exainination. 125 it was not universally received of the world ; but because their doctrine which they had received of Christ was per- fect ; and appointed to be preached and received of the whole world. Therefore it is called the catholic faith, and all persons receiving; the same, are to be counted the catholic church. And St. Austin, in another place, writes that the catholic church is that which believes arif2:ht. York. If you will learn, I will show you by St. Austin writing- against the Donatists, that he proves the catholic church by two principal points, which are, universality and succession of bishops in one apostolical see from time to time. Now thus I will make mine argument : The church of Rome is univeral, and hath her succes- sion of bishops from time to time. Ergo, it is the catho- lic church. How answer you to this argument? Vhil. I deny the antecedent, that the catholic church is only known by universality and succession of bishops. York. I will prove it. — And with that he brought forth a book in which he had noted passages out of the doctors, and turned to his common-places therein "of the church," and recited one or two out of St. Austin, and specially out of his epistle written against the Donatists, adding, St. Austin manifestly proves that the Donatists were not the catholic church, because they had no succession of bishops in their opinion, neither universality : and the same force has St. Austin's argument against you. Phil. My lord, I have weighed the force of that argu- ment before now, and I perceive it makes nothing against me, neither does it come to your purpose. For I will stand to the trial of St. Austin for the approbation of the catholic church, whereof I am. For St. Austin speaks of universality joined with verity, and of faithful successors of Peter, before corruption came into the church. And so if you can deduce your argument to apply to the see of Rome now, as St. Austin might do in his time, I would say it might be of some force : otherwise not. York. St. Austin proves the cntholic church principally by succession of bishops, and therefore you understand not St. Austin. For what, I pray you, was the opinion of the Donatists against whom he wrote? Can you tell ? What country were they of? Phil. They were a certain sect of men, affirming among other heresies, that the dignity of the sacraments depended upon the worthiness of the minister : so that if the minister 126 PhiJpot.'— Examinations were g-ooil, the sacraments which he ministered were availa])le, or else not. Cliich. That was their error, and they had none other but that. — And he read another authority of St. Austin out of a book which he brought, even to the same purpose that the other was. Phil. I challenge St. Austin to be with me, thoroughly in this point, and will stand to his judgment, taking one place with another. Chich. If you will not have the church to be certain : I pray you by whom will you be judged in matters of controversy. Phil. I do not deny the church to be certain : but I deny that it is necessarily tied to any place, longer than that place abides in the word : and for all controversies the word ought to be judge. Chich. But what if I take it one way, and you another, how then ? Phil. St. Austin shows a remedy for that : " That one place of the scripture ought to be understood by the more numerous." York. How answer you to this argument? Rome has a known succession of bishops : which your church has not. Ergo, It is the catholic church, and yours is not ; because no such succession can be proved ibr your church. Phil. I deny, my lord, that siiccession of bishops is an infallible point to know the church by: for there may be a succession of bishops known in a place, and yet there be no church, as at Antioch and at Jerusalem, and in other places, where the apostles abode as well as at Rome. Rut if you put to the succession of bishops, succession of doctrine also, as St. Austin does, I will grant it to be a good proof for the catholic church ; but a local succession alone is not available. York. You will have no church then, I see well. Phil. Yes, my lord, I acknowledge the catholic church, as I am bound by my creed : but I cannot acknowledge a false church for the true. Chich. Why, are there two catholic churches then? Phil. No, I know there is but one catholic church, but there have been, and are at this present, those that take upon them the name of Christ and of his church, which are not so indeed, as it is written : " There are Thirteenth examination. 127 that call themselves apostles, and are not so indeed, but the synag-oj^ue of Satan and liars." And now it is with us, as it was with the two women in Solomon's time, which lived tog-ether, and the one suppressed her child, and after- wards went about to challenge the true mother's child. Chich. What a babbling- is here with you now ! I see you lack humility. You will go about to teach, and not to learn. PhiL My lords, I must desire you to bear with my hasty speech ; it is my infirmity of nature. All that I speak is from desire to learn, I would you understood all my mind, that I might be satisfied by you through better authority. Chich. My lord, and it please your grace, turn the ar- gument upon him, which you have made, and let him show the succession of the bishops of his church, as we can do. How say you, can you show the succession of bishops in your church from time to time ? I tell you, this argument troubled Doctor Ridley so sorely, that he could never answer it : yet he was a man well learned, I dare say you will say so.* Phil. He was a man so learned, that I was not worthy to carry his books. Chich. I promise you he was never able to answer that. He was a man that I loved well, and he me : for he came unto me divers times being in prison, and conferred with me. Phil. I wonder, my lord, you should make this argu- ment which you would turn upon me, for the trial of my church whereof I am, or that you would make bishop Ridley so ignorant, that he was not able to answer it, since it is of no force. For behold, first I denied you, that local succession of bishops in one place, is a necessary point alone to prove the catholic church by, and that which I have denied, you cannot prove : and is it then reasonable tliat you should put me to the trial of that, which by you is unproved, and of no force to conclude against me ? Chich. I see, my lords, we do but lose our labours to reason with him: he takes himself to be better learned than we are. Phil. I take upon me the name of no learning. I boast of no knowledge, but of faith and of Christ, and that I am bound undoubtedly to know as I am sure I do. * " So ye say now, when ye would give him no leave nor time when he was alive to make his answers."— jFox. 128 Philpot. — Examinations. Chich. These heretics take upon tliem to be sure of all thing's they stand in. You sliould say rather with humi- lity,^' I trust I know Christ," than that you are sure thereof. Phil. Let him doubt of his faith that listeth. God give me always grace to believe that I am sure of true faith and favour in Christ. Bath. How will you be able to answer heretics, but by the determination of the known catholic church ? Phil. I am able to answer all heretics by the word of God, and convince them by the same. Chich. How arrogantly is that spoken ? I dare not say so. Phil. My lord, I pray you bear with me : for I am bold on the truth's side, and I speak somewhat by experience that I have had with heretics. I know the Arians are the subtlest that ever were, and yet I have manifest scriptures to beat them down with. Chich. I perceive now you are the same manner of man I have heard of, who will not be satisfied by learning. Phil. Alas, my lord, why do you say so ? I do desire most humbly to be taught, if there is any better way that I should learn, and hitherto you have showed me no better : therefore 1 pray your lordship not to misjudge without a cause. Bath. If you are the true catholic church, then will you hold the real presence of Christ in the sacrament, which the true church hath ever maintained. Phil. And I my lord, with the true church hold the same in the due ministration of the sacrament : but I de- sire you, my lord, that there may be made a better conclu- sion, in our first matter, before we enter into any other : for if the church is proved, we shall soon agree in the rest. — In the meanwhile my lord of York was turning his book for more places to help forth his cause. York. I have found at length a very notable place, which I have looked for all this while, of St. Augustine. Chich. It is but folly, my lord, that your grace do read him any more places, for he esteems them not. Phil. I esteem them, for as much as they are of force. As your lordship hears me deny no doctors you bring', but only require the true application of them, according to the writer's meaning, and as by his own words may be proved. York. I will read him the place, and so make an end. — After he had read the sentence, he said, — that by four Thirteenth examination. 129 FpBcial points here St. Augustine proved the catholic church. The first is, bj the consent of all nations ; the second, by the apostolic see ; the third, by universality ; and the fourth, by this word catholic. Chich. That is a notable place indeed, and it please your g'race. Phil. I pray you, my lord, of what church does St. Au- gustine write the same, of Rome, or not ? York. Yea, he writes it of the church of Rome. Phil. I will lay with your lordship as much as I can make, it is not so : and let the book be seen. Bath. What art thou able to lay, that hast nothing. York. Doth he not make mention here of the apostolic see, whereby he means Rome ? Phil. That is very straitly interpreted my lord, as though the apostolic see had been nowhere else but at Rome. But let it be Rome, and yet shall you never verify the same, unless all the other conditions go therewith, which St. Augustine proceeds to show ; whereof none except that of the apostolic see can now be verified of the church of Rome. For the faith which that see now maintains hath not the consent of all nations, neither hath had. Besides that, it cannot have the name of catholic, because it dif- fereth from the catholic churches which the apostles planted, almost in all things. York. Nay, he here proves the catholic church by uni- versality : and how can you show your church to be uni- versal fifty, or an hundred years ago ?* Phil. That is not material, neither any thing against St. Augustine. For my church, whereof I am, should be counted universal, though it were but in ten persons, be- cause it agrees with the same that the apostles universally did plant, York. I perceive you are an obstinate man in your opinion, and will not be taught : wherefore it is but lost labour to talk with you any longer : you are a member to be cut off. Chich. I have heard of you before, how you troubled the good bishop of Winchester, and now I see in you what I have heard. Phil. I trust you see no evil in me by this ; I desire of you a sure ground to build my faith on, and if you show * Christ's church ceat>eth not to be his church, albeit in time cf persecution it be hid sometimes in corntrs. — Fox. g3 1 30 PhUpot. — Examination f!. me none, I pray you speak not ill of him that means well. Chick. Thou art as impudent a fellow as I have com- muned withal. Phil. That is spoken uncharitably my lord, to blaspheme him whom you cannot justly reprove. Chick. Why you are not God. Blasphemy is counted a rebuke towards God, and not to man. Phil. Yes, it may be as w^ell verified of an infamy laid to the charge of a man speaking' in God's cause ; as you now lay it unto me for speaking freely the truth before God, to maintain your vain religion. You are void of all good ground. I perceive you are blind guides, and leaders of the blind, and therefore, as I am bound to tell yon, very hypocrites, tyrannously persecuting the truth, which otherwise by just order you are able by no means to con- vince. Your own doctors and testimonies which you bring, are evidently against you, and yet you will not see the truth. Chick. Have we this thanks for our good will in coming to instruct thee ? Phil. My lords, you must bear with me, since I speak in Christ's cause: and because his glory is defaced, and his people cruelly and wrongfully slain by you, because they will not consent to the dishonour of God, and to hy- pocrisy with you. If I told you not your fault, it should be required at my hands in the day of judgment. Therefore know you, ye hypocrites indeed, that it is the Spirit of God that tells you your sin, and not I. I care not, I thank God, for all your cruelty. God forgive it you, and give you grace to repent. — And so they departed. Another talk the same day. The same day at night before supper, the bishop sent for me into his chapel in presence of the archdeacon Harpsfield, Doctor Chadsey, and other his chaplains, and his servants ; and said : Lou. Master Philpot, I have by sundry means gone about to do you good, and I marvel you so little consider it : by my truth I cannot tell what to say to you. Tell nie directly, whether you will be a conformable man or not, and whereupon you chiefly stand ? Phil. I have told your lordship oftentimes plain enough, Thirteenth examination. 131 whereon I stand chiefly, requiring a sure probation of the church whereunto you call me. Harps. St. Augustine writing against the Donatists, de- clares four special notes to know the church by : the con- sent of many nations, the faith of the sacraments con- firmed by antiquity, succession of bishops, and universality. Lon. I pray you, master archdeacon, bring the book hither, it is a notable place, let him see it. The book was brought and the bishop read it, demanding how I could answer the same. Phil. My lord, I like St. Augustine's four points for the trial of the catholic church, whereof I am : for it can abide every point thereof, which yours cannot do. Harps. Have not we succession of bishops in the see and church of Rome ? Wherefore then do you deny our church to be the catholic church ? Phil. St. Augustine does not put succession of bishops alone, to be sufficient, but he adds the use of the sacra- ments according to antiquity, and doctrine universally taught and received of most nations, from the beginning of the primitive church, which your church is far from. But my church can avouch all these better than yours : therefore, by St. Augustine's judgment which you here bring, mine is the catholic church, and not yours. Harps. Chad. It is but folly, my lord, for you to reason with him, for he is irrecoverable. Phil. That is a good shift for you to run unto, when you are confounded in your own sayings, and have nothing else to say : you are evidently deceived, and yet will not see it when it is laid to your face. Thus have I at large set forth as many of John Phil- pot's examinations and privy conferences, as are yet come to light, being faithfully written with his own hand. And although he was divers other times after this examined, both openly in the consistory at Paul's, and also secretly in the bishop's house : yet, what was there said, is not sufficiently known, either because Master Philpot was not himself suffered to write, or else for that his writings are by some kept close, and not brought forth otherwise than as the bishop's registrar has noted, whose handling of such matters, because, either for fear or for favour of his lord and master, it is but very slender ; little light of any true 132 P/iUpot. — Examinations. and rif^ht meaninp; can be gathered, especially in behalf of the answerer. Ilowbeit, snch as it is, such I thought good to put it forth, requiring the reader to judge thereof according to his answers in his former examinations. — Fox. The last examinations of Master Philpot in open judgm£7it, . with his Jinal condemnation ^ by bishop Bonner in the consistory at Paul's. The bishop having sufficiently taken his pleasure with Master Philpot in his private talks, and seeing his zealous, learned, and immutable constancy, thought it now high time to rid his hands of him, and therefore, on the thirteenth and fourteenth days of December, sitting judicially in the consistory at Paul's, he caused him to be brought thither before him and others, as it seemed, more for order's sake, than for any good atfection to justice and right judg- ment. The effect as well of which two proceedings, as also of one other, had the eleventh day of the same month in his chapel, appears to be nearly the same. The bishop therefore first speaking to Philpot, said : Lo7i. Master Philpot, amongst other things that were laid and objected unto you, these three things you were especially charged with. The hrst is. That you being fallen from the unity of Christ's catholic church, refuse and will not come and be reconciled thereunto. Tiie second is, That you have blasphemously spoken against the sacrifice of the mass; calling it idolatry. And the third is. That you have spoken against the sa- crament of the altar, denying the real presence of Christ's body and blood to be in the same. And, according to the will and pleasure of the synod legatine, you have been many times invited and required by me, to go from your errors and heresies, and to return to the unity of the catholic church, which if you will now Millingly do, you shall be mercifully and gladly received, charitably used, and li^ve all the favour I can show you. And now, to tell you true, it is assigned and appointed to give sentence against you, if you stand herein, and will not return. Wherefore, if you so refuse, I ask of you whether you have any cause that you can show, why I should not now give sentence against you? Last examination. 133 Phil. Under protestation, and not to go from my appeal that I have made, and also not to consent to you as my competent judge, I say — Touching your first objection con- cerning the cathoHc church, I neither was nor am out of the same. And as touching the sacrifice of the mass, and the sacrament of the altar, I never spake against the same.* And as concerning the pleasure of the synod, I say : that these twenty years I have been brought up in the faith of the true catholic church, which is contrary to your church, whereunto ye would have me come. And in that time I have been many times sworn, as well in the reign of king Henry the eighth, as in the reign of good king Edward his son, against the usurped power of the bishop of Rome, which oath I think that I am boimd in my conscience to keep. But if you or any of the synod can, by God*s word, persuade me that my said oath was unlaw- ful, and that I am bound by God's law to come to your church, faith and religion, whereof you now are, I will gladly yield, agree, and be conformable unto you : other- wise not. Bonner not being able with the help of all his learned doctors to accomplish this his offered condition, fell to per- suading of him, as well by his accustomed vain promises, as also by bloody threatnings, to return to their church : to which he answered. Phil. You and all others of your sort are hypocrites, and I would that all the world knew your hypocrisy, your tyranny, ignorance, and idolatry. Upon these words, the bishop for that time dismissed him, commanding that on Monday the sixteenth day of the same month, between the hours of one and three in the afternoon, he should again be brought thither, there to have the definitive sentence of condemnation pro- nounced against him, if he remained then in his former constancy. The last examination of Master John Philpot. At which day and time, Master Philpot being there pre- sented before the bishops of London, Bath, Worcester, and * Here either the registrar belieth Master Philpot, or else he meant as not offending the law, thereby to be accused, for otherwise all his former examinations show that he spake against the sacrament of the alcar. — Fox. 134 PhilpoL — Examinationa. Lichfield, Bonner, bishop of London, began his talk in this manner. Loii. My lords, Stokesley, my predecessor, when he gave sentence against a heretic, used to make this prayer. Which I will follow. And so he read it with a loud voice in Latin. To which Master Philpot said : Phil. I would you would speak in English, that all men might hear and understand you : for Paul willeth that all things spoken in the congregation to edify, should be spoken in a tongue that all men might understand. Whereupon the bishop did read it in English. " O God, who showest the light of thy truth to them that are in error, to the intent that they may return into the way of righteousness. Grant unto all them that are admitted into the fellowship of Christ's religion, that they may refuse those things that are contrary to this name, and follow all such things as are agreeable to the same, through our Lord Jesus Christ.* When he came to these words : " refuse those things that are contrary to this name," Philpot said : Phil. Then they all must turn away from you : for you are enemies to that name, meaning Christ's name ; and God save us from such hypocrites as would have things in a tongue that men cannot understand. Lou. Whom do you mean? Phil. You and all others that are of your generation and sect. And I am sorry to see you sit in the place that you now sit in, pretending to execute justice, and doing nothing but deceiving all men in this realm. And then turning himself unto the people, he farther said : " Oh all you gentlemen, beware of these men (mean- ing the bishops) and all their doings, which are contrary unto the primitive church. And I would know of you, my lord, by what authority you do proceed against me ?" Lon. Because I am bishop of London. Phil. Well, then you are not my bishop, nor have I of- ftnded in your diocese. And, moreover, I have appealed from you, and therefore, by your own law, you ought not to j)roceed against me, especially being brought hither from another place by violence. Lon. Why, who sent you hither to me ? Phil. Doctor Story and Doctor Cooke, with others, the king and queen's commissioners. And, my lord, is it not * The Collect for the third Sunday after Easter. Last examination^ 135 enough for you to worry your own sheep, but you must also meddle with other men's sheep ? Then the bishop delivered unto Philpot two books, one of the civil law, and the other of the canon, out of the which, he would have proved that he had authority to pro- ceed ag-ainst him as he did. Master Philpot then perusing the same, and seeing- the small and slender proof that was there alleged, said unto the bishop. Phil. I perceive your law and divinity is all one ; for you have knowledge in neither of them : and I would that you knew your own ignorance : but you dance in a net, and think that no man sees you. — Hereupon they had much talk, but what it was, it is not yet known. At last Bonner spake unto him and said : Lon. Philpot, as concerning your objections against my jurisdiction, you shall understand that both the civil and canon laws make against you. And as for your appeal, it is not allowed in this case. For so it is written in the law. Phil. My lord, it appears by your interpretation of the law, that you have no knowledge therein, nor that you understand the law. Hereupon the bishop recited a law of the Romans, that it was not lawful for a Jew to keep a christian man in cap- tivity, and to use him as his slave, laying then to the said Philpot' s charge, that he did not understand the law, but did like a Jew. Whereunto Philpot answered : Phil. No, I am no Jew : but you my lord are a Jew. For you profess Christ and maintain antichrist : you profess the gospel, and maintain superstition, and you are able to charge me with nothing. Lon. and other bishops. With what can you charge us ? Phil. You are enemies to all truth, and all your doings are naught, full of idolatry, except in the article of the Trinity. Whilst they were thus debating the matter, there came thither Sir William Garret, knight, then mayor of London, Sir Martin Bowes, knight, and Thomas Leigh, then sheriffs of the same city, and sat down with the said bishops in the said consistory, where and what time bishop Bonner spake these words. Lon. Philpot, before the coming of my lord mayor, be- cause I would not enter with you into the matter where- with I have heretofore, and now intend to charge you 136 Philpot. — Examinations. Avithal ; until his cominc;, I did rehearse unto yow a prayer both in English and in Latin, which bishop Stokesley, my predecessor, used when he intended to proceed to give sentence against a heretic. And then Bonner again read the said prayer, both in English and also in Latin ; which being ended, he spake again unto him, and said : Lon. Philpot, amongst other I have to charge you spe- cially with three things. First, whereas you have fallen from the unity of Christ's catholic church, you have thereon been invited and re- quired, not only by me, but also by many and divers other catholic bishops, and other learned men, to return and come again to the same ; and also you have been offered by me, that if you would return and confess your errors and heresies, you should be mercifully received, and have as much favour as I could show unto you. The second is, that you have blasphemously spoken against the sacrifice of the mass, calling it idolatry and abomination. And thirdly, that you have spoken and holden against the sacrament of the altar, denying the real presence of Christ's body and blood to be in the same. This being spoken, the bishop recited unto him an exhortation in English, the tenour and form whereof is this : " Master Philpot, this is to be told you, that if you, not being yet reconciled to the unity of the catholic church, from whence you did fall in the time of the late schism here in this realm of England, against the apostolic see of Rome ; will now heartily and obediently be reconciled to the unity of the same catholic church, professing and promising to observe and keep to the best of your power the faith and christian religion observed and kept of all faithful people of the same; — and, moreover, if you, who heretofore, especially in the years of our Lord 1553, 1554, 1555, or in one of them, have offended and trespassed grievously against the sacrifice of the mass, calling it idolatry and abominable, and likewise have offended and trespassed against the sacrament of the altar, denying the real presence of Christ's body and blond to be there in the sacrament of the altar; affirming also, material bread and material wine to be in the sacrament of the altar, and not the substance of ihe body and blood of Christ : if you, I Last examination. 137 say, will be reconciled, and will forsake your heresies and errors, beini^ heretical and damnable, and will allow also the sacrament of the mass, you shall be mercifully received and charitably used, with as much favour as may be. If not, you shall be reputed, taken, and judged for a heretic (as you are indeed). Now choose what you will do : you ai'e counselled herein friendly and favourably." The bishop's exhortation being ended, Philpot turned himself unto the lord-mayor, and said : Phil. To you, my lord mayor, bearing the sword, I speak. I am glad now to stand before that authority which has defended the gospel and the truth of God's word ; but I am sorry to see that the authority which repre- sents the king and queen's persons should now be changed, and be at the commandment of antichrist. And you, speaking to the bishops, pretend to be the fellows of the apostles of Christ, and yet are very antichrists and deceivers of the people ; and I am glad that God has given me power to stand here this day, and to declare and defend my faith, which is founded on Christ. Therefore, as touching your first objection, I say that I am of the catholic church, which I never was out of, and that your church (which you pretend to be the catholic church) is the church of Rome, and so the Babylonian and not the cathoHc church — of that church I am not. As touching your second objection, which is, that I spake against the sacrifice of the mass, I say, that I have not spoken against the true sacrifice, but I have spoken against your private masses which you use in corners, which is blasphemy to the true sacrifice ; for your sacrifice daily reiterated, is a blasphemy against Christ's death, and it is a lie of your own invention. And that abominable sacrifice which ye set upon the altar, and use in your pri- vate masses instead of the living sacrifice, is idolatry, and ye shall never prove it by God's word ; therefore ye have deceived the people with that your sacrifice of the mass, which ye make a masking.* Thirdly, where you lay to my charge that I deny the body and blood of Christ to be in the sacrament of the altar — I cannot tell what altar ye mean, whether it be the altar of the cross, or the altar of stone. And if ye call it the sacrament of the altar in respect of the altar of stone, then I defy your Christ : for it is a rotten Christ.f * A pretence or feigned show. t A piece of bread. 138 Philpot. Examinations. And as touching your transubstantiation, I utterly deny it ; lor it was brought up first by a pope. Now as con- cerning your otfer made from the synod, which is gathered together in antichrist's name, prove to me that it is of the cathoHc ch\irch, which you shall never do, and I will follow you, and do as you would have me. But ye are idolaters, and daily commit idolatry. Ye are also traitors ; for in your pulpits you rail upon good kings, as king Henry, and king Edward his son, who have stood against the usurped power of the bishop of Rome ; against whom also I have taken an oath, which if you can show me by God's law that I have taken unjustly, I will then yield unto you. But I pray God to turn the king and queen's hearts from your synagogue and church, for you do abuse that good queen. Here the bishop of Coventry and Lichfield began to show where the true church was, saying : Cov. The true catholic church is set upon a high hill. Phil. Yea, at Rome, which is the Babylonian church. ' Cov. No : in our true catholic church are the apostles, evangelists, and martyrs ; but before Martin Luther, there was no apostle, evangelist, or martyr of your church. Phil. Will you know the cause why ? Christ prophesied that in the laUer days there should come false prophets and hypocrites as you are. Cov. Your church of Geneva, which you call the catholic church, is that which Christ prophesied of. Phil. I allow the church of Geneva, and the doctrine of the same ; for it is catholic and apostolic, and follows the doctrine which the apostles preached ; and the doctrine taught and preached in king Edward's days, was also according to the same. And are you not ashamed to per- secute me and others for your church's sake, which is Babylonian, and contrary to the true catholic church? After this, they had great conference together out of the scriptures, and also out of the doctors. But when Bonner saw that by learning they were not able to convince Master Philpot, he thought then by his defamations to bring him out of credit ; and therefore, turning himself uuto the lord mayor of London, he brought forth a knife, and a bladder full of powder, and said Lon. My lord, this man had a roasted pig brought unto him, and this knife was put secretly between the skin and the flesh thereof, and so was it sent him, being in prison. Last examination. 139 And also this powder was sent unto him, under pretence that it was g-ood and comfortable for him to eat or drink ; which powder was only to make ink to write with. For when his keeper perceived it, he took it, and brought it unto me. Which when I saw, I thought it had been gun- powder, and thereupon I put fire to it, but it would not burn. Then I took it for poison, and so gave it to a dog-, but it was not so. Then I took a little water, and it made as fair ink as ever I wrote with. Therefore, my lord, you may understand what a naughty fellow this is. Phil. Ah, my lord, have you nothing else to charge me withal but these trifles, seeing I stand upon life and death ? Doth the knife in the pig prove the church of Rome to be a catholic church ? Then the bishop brought forth a certain instrument con- taining articles and questions, agreed upon both in Oxford and Cambridge. Also he exhibited two books in print ; the one was the catechism made in king Edward's days, anno 1552 ; the other, concerning the true report of the disputation in the convocation-house, mention whereof is before made. Moreover, he brought forth and laid to Master Phil pot's charge two letters; the one touching Bartlet Green, the other containing' godly exhortations and comforts ; both which were written unto him by some of his godly friends. A letter exhibited by Bonner, written by some friend of Master Philpot, and sent to him concerning the handling of Master Green in Bonner's house at London. You shall understand that Master Green came unto the bishop of London on Sunday last, where he was cour- teously received ; for what policy the sequel declareth. His entertainment for a day or two, was to dine at my lord's own table, or else to have his meat from thence. During those days he lay in Doctor Chadsey's chamber, and was examined, although the bishop had earnestly and faithfully promised many right worshipful men, who were suitors for him, but to him unknown, that he in no case should be examined ; and before which. Master Fecknam would have had him in his friendly custody, if he would have desired to have conferred with him, which he utterly refused. And when the bishop objected against 140 PhilpoL — Examinations. him singularity and obstinacy, his answer thereunto was : ** To avoid all suspicion thereof, although I myself am young, and utterly unlearned in respect of the learned, (and yet I understand, I thank my Lord), yet let me have such books as I shall require ; and if I, by God's Spirit, do not thereby answer all your books and objections con- trary thereto, I will assent to you." Whereunto the bishop and his clergy assented, permitting him at first to have such books; they at sundry times have reasoned with him, and have found him so strong in the scripture and godly fathers, that since then they have not only taken from him such hberty of books, but all other books, not leaving him so much as the New Testament. Since then they have baited and used him most cruelly. This Master Fecknam reported ; saying further, that he never heard the like young man, and so perfect. What shall become further of him God knows; but death, I think, for he remains more and more willing to die, as I understand. Concern- ing your bill, I shall confer with others therein, knowing that the same court is able to redress the same-* And yet I think it will not be reformed, for 1 know few or none that dare or will speak therein, or prefer the same, because it concerns spiritual things. Notwithstanding, I will ascer- tain you thereof: committing you to the Holy Ghost, and may he keep you, and us all, as his. Your own, &c. The copy of another letter, written hy the faithful and christian-hearted lady, the lady Vane, to Master Phi/pot, exhibited likewise by bishop Bonner. Hearty thanks rendered unto you, my well beloved in Christ, for the books you sent me, wherein I find great consolations ; and according to the doctrine thereof, do pre- pare my cheeks to the strikers, and my womanish back to their burdens of reproof, and so, in the strength of my God, I trust to leap over the wall. For his sweetness overcometh me daily, and maketh all these apothecary drugs of the world, even medicine-like in my mouth. For the continuance whereof, I beseech thee, my dear fellow soldier, make thy faithful prayer for me, that I may with a * This bill was the supplication, to be offered up in the parliament, in behalf of Philpot.—iox. Last examination. 141 strong and gladsome conscience finish my conrse, and obtain the reward, though it is not at all due to my work. I am not content that you so often gratify me with thanks for that which is none worthy — but duty on my part, and small relief to you. But if you would love me so much, that I might supply your lacks, then would I think you believed my offers to be such as agreed with my heart. And for the short charges you speak of, the means are not so pleasant, if God (in whom my trust is) will otherwise prepare ; but Solomon saith, " All things here have their time :" you to-day, and I to-morrow, and so the end of Adam's line is soon run out : the mighty God give us his grace, that during this time his glory be not defaced through our weakness. Because you desire to show your- self a worthy soldier, if need so require, I will supply your request for the scarf you wrote of,* that you may present my handy-work before your Captain, that I be not for- gotten in the odours of incense, which our beloved Christ otfereth for his own ; to whom I bequeath both our bodies and souls. Your own in the Lord. The bishops also brought forth a supplication made by Philpot unto the high court of parliament, mentioned in the first of these letters, the copy whereof here follows. To the king and queen^s majesties highness, the lords spiritual and temporal, and the commons of this present parliament assembled. f *[n most humble wise complains unto this honourable court of parliament John Philpot, clerk, that whereas there was by the queen's highness a parliament called in the first year of her gracious reign, and after the old custom, a convocation of the clergy, your suppliant then being one of the said convocation-house, and matters there rising upon the using of the sacraments, did dispute in the same, knowing that there all men had and have had free speech, and ought not to be afterwards troubled for anything there spoken. And yet, notwithstanding, not long after the said parliament, your said suppliant, without any act or matter, * Some clothes for his burning. i42 Philpot. — Examinations, was commanded to prison to the King;'s Bench by the late lord-chaiicellor, where he hath remained ever since, until now ol" late that my lord, the bishop of London, hath sent for your said suppliant to examine him (being none of his diocese) upon certain matters, wherein they would have your orator to declare his conscience ; which the said bishop saith he hath authority to do, by reason of an act of parliament made in the first and second years of the king and queen's majesties' reigns, for the reviving of three statutes made against them that hold any opinion against the catholic faith ; whereby he affirms that every ordinary may, by virtue of his office, examine every man's conscience. And as your said orator hath and doth refuse that the said bishop of London has any authority over your said orator, for that he is not his diocesan, nor hath he pub- lished, preached, or held any opinion against the catholic faith, notwithstanding which, the said bishop of London detains him in the coalhouse, in the stocks, without either bed, or any other thing to lie upon, but straw. And as your said orator cannot appeal for relief from the said bishop to any other judge, but the same bishop may refuse the same by their law, and therefore has no succour and help, but by this high court of parliament, for the expla- nation of the said act. Therefore may it please you, that it may be enacted by the king and queen's majesties, the lords spiritual and temporal, and the commons of this present parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, that no bishop or ordinary shall commit or detain in prison any person or persons suspected as opposers of the catholic faith, except he or they have spoken, written, or done some manifest act against the catholic faith, and the same be lawfully proved against every such person and persons, by the testimony of two lawful witnesses, to be brought before the said person or persons so accused, before he or they shall either be committed to prison, or convicted for any such offi^nce or offences ; the said former statute, made in the said first and second year of our said sovereign lord and lady, notwithstanding. Whereby your said orator shall not only be set at liberty, and divers others now remaining in prison, but also the blood of divers of the queen's majesty's true and faithful subjects preserved.* • This supplication, and the two letters which precede it, have been rcloncd to in the eleventh examination. Condemnation. 143 The Condemnation of the worthy martyr of God, John Philpot. These books, letters, supplications, and other matters being thus read, the bishop demanded of him, if the book intituled, " The true report of the disputation, &c." were his penning or not? Whereunto Philpot answered, that it was a good and true book, and of his own penning and setting forth. The bishops waxing now weary, and being not able to convince and overcome him, by any sufficient ground, either of God's word or of the true ancient catholic fathers, fell to fair and flattering speech, to persuade him ; pro- mising that if he would revoke his opinions, and come home again to their Romish and Babylonian church, he should not only be pardoned that which was past, b;it also they would, with all favour and cheerfulness of heart, receive him again as a true member thereof. Which words, when Bonner saw they would take no effect, he de- manded of Master Philpot, whether he had any just cause to allege why he should not condemn him as a heretic. " Well," quoth Master Philpot : *' your ido- latrous sacrament which you have found out, ye would fain defend, but ye cannot, nor ever shall.'' In the end, the bishop, seeing his immovable stedfast- ness in the truth, pronounced openly the sentence of con- demnation against him. While he was reading whereof, Philpot said, I thank God that I am a heretic out of your cursed church : I am no heretic before God. But may God bless you, and give you grace to repent your wicked doings; and let all men beware of your bloody church. Moreover, whilst Bonner was about the middle of the sentence, the bishop of Bath pulled him by the sleeve and said : " My lord, my lord, know of him first, whether he will recant or not ?" Then Bonner said, full like himself, " Oh let me alone :" and so read forth the sentence. And when he had done, he delivered Philpot to the sheriffs : and so two officers brought him through the bishop's house into Paternoster-row, and there his servant met him, and when he saw him, he said, " Ah, dear master !" Then Master Philpot said to his man ; '* Content 144 Philpot. — Condemnation. thyself, I shall do \vell enough: for thou shalt see me again." And so the officers thrust him away, and took his mas- ter to Newgate : and as he went, he said to the people ; *' Ah, good people, blessed be God for this day.'' And so the officers delivered him to the keeper. Then his man tried to go in after his master, and one of the officers said unto him : " Hence, fellow, what wouldst thou have ?" And he said, " I would go speak with my master." Mas- ter Philpot then turned about, and said to him, " To- morrow you shall speak with me." Then the under keeper said to Master Philpot : " Is this your man ? And he said, " Yea." So he allowed his man to go in with him, and Master Philpot and his man were turned into a little chamber on the right hand, and there remained a little time, until Alexander, the chief keeper, came unto him : who, at his entrance, greeted him with these words : " Ah," said he, " hast not thou done well to bring thyself hither ?" Well, said Master Philpot, I must be content, for it is God's appointment ; and I shall desire you to let me have your gentle favour ; for you and I have been of old acquaintance. " Well," said Alexander, " I will show thee gentleness and favour, so thou wilt be ruled by me." Then said Master Philpot, '^ I pray you show me what you would have me do." He said, " If you would recant, I will show you any pleasure I can," " Nay," said Philpot, " I will never recant that which I have spoken whilst I have my life, for it is most certain truth : and in witness hereof, I will seal it with my blood." Then Alexander said ; " This is the saying of the whole pack of you heretics." Whereupon he commanded him to be set upon the block, and as many irons fastened upon his legs as he might bear, because he would not follow his wicked mind. Then the clerk told Alexander, that Master Philpot had given his man money. And Alexander said to his man : " What money hath thy master given thee ?" His man said : " My master hath given me none." " No," said Alexander : " hath he given thee none ? that will I know, for I will search thee.'' " Do with me what you list, and search me all you can," said his servant: " hg has given me a token or two, to send to his friends, as to his brother and sisters." " Ah," said Alexander, to Master l^hilpot, "Thou art a maintainer of heretics: thy man Conaemnation. 145 should have gone to some of thin« affinity, but he shall be known well enough." " Nay," said Master Philpot, " I send it to my friends ; there he is, let him make answer to it. But, g-ood Master Alexander, be so much my friend that these irons may be taken off." " Well,'' said Alex- ander, " give me my fee, and I will take them off: if not, thou shalt wear them still." Then said Master Philpot, " Sir, what is your fee?" he said four pounds was his fee. " Ah," said Master Philpot, " I have not so much : I am but a poor man, and I have been long- in prison." " What wilt thou give me then ?" said Alexander. " Sir," said he, " I will give you twenty shillings, and that I will send my man for, or else I will pawn my gown : for the time is not long, I am sure, that I shall be with you ; for the bishop said to me that I should be soon despatched." Then said Alexander unto him, " What is that to me ?" and with that he departed from him, and commanded him to be had into limbo ;* and so his commandment was ful- filled : but before he could be taken from the block, the clerk would have a groat. Then one Witterenee, steward of the house, took Mas- ter Philpot on his back, and carried him down, his man knew not whither. Wherefore Master Philpot said to his man ; " Go to master sheriff, and show him how I am used, and desire master sheriff to be good unto me :" and so his servant went straightway, and took an honest man with him. And when they came to the sheriff, which was Master Macham, and showed him how Master Philpot was handled in Newgate, the sheriff hearing this, took his ring off from his finger, and delivered it unto that honest man which came with Master Philpot's man, and bade him go unto Alexander, the keeper, and command him to take off his irons, and to handle him more gently, and to give his man again that which he had taken from him. And when they came again to the said Alexander, and told their message from the sheriff, Alexander took the ring, and said : " Ah, I perceive that master sheriff is a bearei with him, and all such heretics as he is, therefore, to-mor- row, I will show it to his betters." Yet, at ten of the clock, he went to Master Philpot where he lay, and took * A dungeon. PHILPOT. u 146 Philpot, — Condemnatioji. off his irons, and pcave him such things as he had taken before from his servant. Upon Tuesday, at snpper, being the 17th day of De- cember, there came a messeng^er from the sheriffs, and bade Master Pliilpot make himself ready ; for the next day he should suffer, and be burned at a stake with tire. Master Philpol answered and said, " I am ready : God grant me strength, and a joyful resurrection." And so he went into his chamber, and poured out his spirit unto the Lord God, giving him most hearty thanks that he of his mercy had made him worthy to suffer for his truth. In the morning the sheriffs came according to the order, about eight o'clock, and called for him, and he most joy- fully came down unto them. And there his man met him, and said : " Ah, dear master, farewell." His master said unto him, " Serve God, and he will help thee." And so Master Philpot went with the sheriffs unto the place of execution ; and when he was entering into Smithfield, the way was foul, and two officers took him up to bear him to the stake. Then he said merrily, " What, will you make me a pope ? I am content to go to my journey's end on foot.'' But, at first coming into Smithfield, he kneeled down there, saying these words : " I will pay my vows in thee, O Smithfield!" And when he was come to the place of suffering, he kissed the stake, and said : " Shall I disdain to suffer at this stake, seeing my Redeemer did not refuse to suffer a most vile death upon the cross for me ?" And then, with an obedient heart, full meekly he said the cvi. cvii. and cviii. psalms : and when he had made an end of all his prayers, he said to the officers : " What have you done for me ?" and every one of them declared what they had done : and he gave to each of them money. Then they bound him to the stake, and set fire to that constant martyr ; who, the 18th day of December, in the midst of the fiery fiames, yielded his soul into the hands of the almighty God, and like a lamb gave up his breath, his body being consumed into ashes. Thus hast thou, gentle reader, the life and doings of this learned and worthy soldier of the Lord, John Philpot : with all his examinations that came to our hands : first penned and written with his own hand, being marvellously pre- A prayer to be said at the stake. 147 served from the sight and hands of his enemies : who, by all means sought not only to stop him from all writing, but also to spoil and deprive him of that which he had written. For which cause he was many times stripped and searched in the prison by his keeper : but yet so happily these his writings were conveyed, and hid in places about him, or else his keeper's eyes so blinded, that, notwithstanding all this malicious purpose of the bishops, they are yet remain- ing, and are come to light. A prayer to he said at the stake by all them that God shall account worthy to suffer for his sake. Merciful God and Father, to whom our Saviour Christ approached in his fear and need by reason of death, and found comfort : Gracious God, and most bounteous Christ, on whom Stephen called in his extreme need, and received strength : most benign Holy Spirit, who, in the midst of all crosses and death, didst comfort the apostle St. Paul, with more consolations in Christ, than he felt sorrows and terrors : have mercy upon me, miserable, vile, and wretched sinner, who now draw near the gates of death, deserved both in soul and body eternally, by reason of manifold, horrible, old and new transgressions, which to thine eyes, O Lord, are open and known. O be merciful unto me, for the bitter death and bloodshedding of thine own only Son Jesus Christ. And though thy justice requires, in respect of my sins, that now thou shouldst not hear me, but measure me with the same measure with which I have measured thy Majesty, and contemned thy daily calls ; yet let thy mercy, which is over all thy works, and wherewith the earth is filled; let thy mercy, prevail toward me, through and for the mediation of Christ our Saviour. And for whose sake since it hath pleased thee to bring me forth now as one of his witnesses, and a record-bearer of thy verity and truth taught by him, to give my life therefore ; to which dignity I do acknowledge, O God, that there was never any so unworthy and so unmeet, no not the thief that hanged with Christ on the cross : I most humbly, there- fore, pray thee that thou wouldst accordingly, aid, help, and assist me with thy strength and heavenly grace ; that with H 2 148 Philpot. — Prayer. Christ thy Son I may find comfort ; with Stephen I may see thy presence, and g:racious power; and with Paul and all others, who for thy name sake have suffered affliction and death, I may find thy gracious consolations so pre- sent with me, that I may, by my death, glorify thy holy name, propagate and ratify thy verity, comfort the hearts of the heavy, confirm thy church in thy verity, convert some that are to be converted, and so depart forth out of this miserable world, where I do nothing but daily heap sin upon sin, and so enter into the fruition of thy blessed mercy : whereof now give and increase in me a lively trust, sense, and feeling, whereby the terrors of death, the torments of fire, the pangs of sin, the darts of satan, and the dolours of hell may never depress me, but may be driven away through the working of that most gracious Spirit : which now plenteously endue me withal, that through the same Spirit I may offer, as I now desire to do in Christ and by him, myself wholly, soul and body, to be a lively sacrifice, holy and acceptable in thy sight. Dear Father, whose I am, and always have been, even from my mother's womb, yea even before the world was made, to whom I commend myself, soul and body, family, and friends, country and all the whole church, yea even my very enemies, according to thy good pleasure, beseeching thee entirely to give once more to this realm of England, the blessing of thy word again, with godly peace, to the teaching and setting forth of the same. O dear Father, now give me grace to come unto thee. Purge and so purify me by this fire in Christ's death and passion through thy Spirit, that I may be a burnt offering of a sweet smell in thy sight, who livest and reignest with the Son and the Holy Ghost, now and evermore world without end. Amen. LETTERS OF THAT HEARTY AND ZEALOUS MAN OF GOD, JOHN PHILPOT, ARCHDEACON OF WINCHESTER; Who, besides the great tyranny and torments which he suffered in Bonner's blind Coalhouse, and his other painful imprisonments, was also most cruelly martyred for the testimony of the Lord Jesus, The 18th day of December, 1555. LETTERS. LETTER I. A letter sent to the christian congregation, exhorting them to refrain from the idolatrous service of the papists, and to serve God with a pure and undented conscience after his word. It is a lamentable thing to behold at this present time in England, the faithless departing both of men and women from the true knowledge and use of Christ's sin- cere religion, which they have been taught so plentifully, and do know ; their own consciences bearing witness to the verity thereof. If that earth is cursed of God, which, receiving moisture and pleasant dews from heaven, brings not forth fruit accordingly, how much more grievous judgment shall such persons receive, who, having received from the Father of heaven the perfect knowledge of his word by the ministry thereof, do not show forth God's worship according to the same ! If the Lord will require in the day of judgment a godly usury of all manner of talents, which he lendeth unto men and women, how much more will he require the same for his pure religion revealed unto us, which is of all other talents the chiefest, and most pertaining to our exercise in this life, if we hide the same in a napkin, and set it not forth to the usury of God's glory, and edifying of his church by true confession ! God has kindled the bright light of his gospel, which in times past was sup- pressed and hid under the vile ashes of man's traditions ; and has caused the brightness thereof to shine in our hearts, to the end that the same might shine before men to the honour of his name. It is not only given us to believe, but also to confess and declare what we believe, by our outward conversation. For, as St. Paul writes to the Romans, "The belief of the I.] To the christian congregation. 151 heart justifieth, and to acknowledge with the inout'i maketh a man safe." It is all one before God, not to believe at all, and not to show forth the lively works of our belief. For Christ saith, " Either make the tree good and its fruits good, or else make the tree evil an.d its fruits evil, because a good tree bringeth forth good fruits, as an evil tree doth evil fruits." So that the person which knoweth his master's will and doth it not, shall be beaten with many stripes. And, " not all they which say. Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of God, but he that doeth the will of the Father." And, " Whosoever in the time ot trial is ashamed of me, saith Christ, and of my words, ot him the Son of man will be ashamed before his Father." After we have built ourselves into the true church of God, it has pleased him, by giving us over into the hands of the wicked synagogues, to prove our building, and to have it known, as well to the world as to ourselves, that we have been wise builders into the true church of God upon the rock, and not on the sand; and, therefore, now the tempest is risen, and the storms do mightily blow against us, that we might, notwithstanding, stand upright, and be firm in the Lord, to his honour and glory, and to our eternal felicity. There is no new thing happened unto us ; for w^ith such temjjests and dangerous v/eather the church of God has continually been exercised. Now once again, as the prophet Haggai tells us, "The Lord shaketh the earth, that those might abide for ever which are not overthrown." Therefore, my dearly beloved, be stable and unmoveable in the word of God, and in the faithful observation thereof, and let no man deceive you with vain words, saying, that " you may keep your faith to yourselves, and dissemble with antichrist, and so live at rest and quietness in the world, as most men do, yielding to necessity.'' This is the wisdom of the flesh ; but the wisdom of the flesh is death and enmity to God, as our Saviour for example aptly did declare in Peter, who exhorted Christ not to go to Jerusalem to celebrate the passover, and there to be slain, but counselled him to look better to himself. Likewise, the world would not have us forsake it, nor associate ourselves to the true church, which is the body of Christ, whereof we are lively members, and use the sacraments after God's word with the danger of our lives. But we must learn to answer the world, as Christ dia 152 Pliilpot— Letters. Peter, and say, " Go behind me, Satan, thou savourest no* the thing's of God. Shall I not drink of the cup which the Father g'iveth me ?" For it is better to be afflicted and slain in the church of God, than to be counted the son of the king in the synagogue of fals'e religion. Death for righteousness is not to be abhorred, but rather to be desired, for it assuredly brings with it the crown of ever- lasting glory. These bloody executioners do not persecute Christ's martyrs, but crown them with everlasting felicity ; we were born into this world to be witnesses unto the truth, both learned and unlearned. Now, since the time is come that we must show our faith, and declare whether we will be God's servants in righteousness and holiness, as we have been taught and are bound to follow, or else with hypocrisy serve un- righteousness, let us take good heed, that we are found faithful in the Lord's covenant, and true members of his church, in the which through knowledge we are ingrafted ; from the which if we fall by transgression with the common sort of people, it will more straitly be required of us, than many yet make account of. We cannot serve two masters ; we may not halt on both sides, and think to please God ; we must be fervent in God's cause, or else he will cast us out from him. For, by the first com- mandment, we are commanded to love God with all our heart, with all our mind, with all our power and strength ; but they are manifest transgressors of this commandment, who with their heart, mind, or bodily power communicate with a strange religion, contrary to the word of God, in the papistical synagogue, which calls itself the church, and is not. As greatly do they ofl'end God now who so do, as the Israelites did in times past by forsaking Jeru- salem, the true church of God, and by going to Bethel to serve God in a congregation of their own setting up, and after their own imaginations and traditions ; for doing which God utterly destroyed all Israel, as almost all the pro])hets do testify. This happened unto them for our ensample, that we might beware not to have any fellow- ship with any like congregation to our destruction. God hath one catholic church dispersed throug^hout the world, and, therefore, we are taught in our creed to believe one catholic church, and to have communion therewith whicli catholic church is grounded U|)oii the foundation o"' the prophets and of the apostles, and upon none other, as I.J To the christian congregation. 153 St. Paul witnesses to the Ephesians. Therefore, where- soever we perceive any people worship God truly after his word, there we may be certain the church of Christ to be ; unto which we ought to associate ourselves, and to desire, with the prophet David, to praise God in the midst of his church. But if we behold, through the iniquity of the times, segregations* to be made with counterfeit religion, otherwise than the word of God teaches, we ought then, if we are required to be companions thereof, to say again with David, " I have hated the synagogue of the malig- nant, and will not sit with the wicked." In the Revelation, the church of Ephesus is highly commended, because she tried such as said they were apostles, and were not indeed, and therefore would not abide the company of them. Further, God commanded his people, by the mouth of his prophet Amos, that they should not seek Bethel, neither enter into Gilgal, where idolatry was used. Also, we must consider that our bodies are the temple of God, and who- soever, as St. Paul teaches, profanes the temple of God, him the Lord will destroy. May we then take the temple of Christ, and make it the member of an harlot? All strange religion and idolatry is counted as whoredom by the prophets, and more detestable in the sight of God, than the adultery of the body. Therefore, the princes of the earth, in the Revelation of John, are said to commit fornication whea they are in love with false religion, and follow the same. How then, by any means, may a christian man think it tolerable to be present at the popish private mass, which is the very profanation of the sacrament of the body and blood of Christ, and at other idolatrous worshippings and rites, which are not after the word of God, but rather to the derogation thereof, by setting man's traditions above God's precepts ; since God by his word judges all strange religion, which is not according to his institution, as for- nication and adultery? Some fondly think that the presence of the body is not material, so that the heart does not consent to their wicked doings. But such persons little consider what St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, commanding them to glorify God in body as well as in soul. Moreover, we can do no greater injury to the true church of Christ, than to seem to have forsaken her, and * Separations. H 3 154 PhiljJoL — Letters. to disallow her, by cleaving to her adversary ; vvliereby it aj)pears to others who are weak, that we allow the same ; and so, contrary to the word, give a great offence to the church of God, and outwardly slander, as much as men may, the truth of Christ. But woe be unto him by whom any such offence cometh. Better it were for him to have a millstone tied about his neck, and to be cast into the bottom of the sea. Such are traitors to the truth, like unto Judas, who with a kiss betrayed Christ. Our God is a jealous God, and cannot be content that we should be of any other than of that unspotted church, whereof he alone is the head, and wherein he has planted us by baptism. This jealousy which God has towards us, will cry for vengeance in the day of vengeance, against all such as now have such large consciences, as to do that which is contrary to God's glory, and the sincerity of his word ; except they do repent in time, and cleave inse- parably to the gospel of Christ, how much soever at this present time both men and women in their own corrupt judgment do flatter themselves otherwise. God willeth us to judge uprightly, and to allow and follow that which is holy and acceptable in his sight, and to abstain from all manner of evil ; and, therefore, Christ commands us, in the gospel, to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. St. Paul, in his epistle to the Hebrews, saith, " If any man withdraw himself from the faith, his soul shall have no pleasure in him ;" therefore he saith also, " that we are not such as withdraw ourselves unto perdition, but we belong unto faith, for the attainment of life." St. John, in the Revelation, tells us plainly, that " none of those who are written in the book of life receive the mark of the beast," which is the mark of the papistical synagogue ; either in their foreheads, or else in their hands, that is, apparently or obediently. St. Paul, to the Philippians, affirms, that " we may not have any fellowship with the works of darkness, but, in the midst of this wicked and froward generation, we ought to shine like lights, upholding the word of truth." Fur- ther, he says, that we may " not touch any unclean thing ;** which signifies that our outward conversation in foreijrn* tiungs ought to be pure and undefiled, as well as the inward, that with a clean spirit and rectitied body we ^ Strange, unusual. I.] To the christian congregation. 155 might serve God justly in holiness and righteousness all the days of our life. Finally, in the eighteenth chapter of the Revelation, God biddeth us plainly to " depart from the Babylonical synagogue, and not to be partakers of her trespass." St. Paul, to the Thessalonians, commands us in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to withdraw ourselves from every brother that M^alketh inordinately, and not according to the institution which he received of him. Ponder, therefore, well, good brethren and sisters, these scriptures, which are written for your erudition and re- formation, whereof one jot is not written in vain. They are utterly against all counterfeit collusion to be used by us with the papists in their fantastical religion, and are adversaries to all them that have such light consciences in so doing. And if they do not agree with this adversary, I mean the word of God, which is contrary to their at- tempts, he will, as it is signified in the gospel, deliver them to the Judge, which is Christ; and the Judge will deliver them to the executioner, that is, to the devil ; and the devil will commit them to the horrible prison of hell- fire, where is the portion of all hypocrites, with sulphur and brimstone, with wailing and gnashing of teeth, world without end. But yet many will say, for their vain excuse, God is merciful, and his mercy is over all. But the scripture teaches us, that cursed is he that sinneth upon hope of forgiveness. Truth it is that the mercy of God is over all his works, and yet only upon such as fear him ; for it is written in the psalms, "The mercy of God is on them that fear him, and on such as put their trust in him." Where we may learn, that they only put their trust in God that fear him ; and that to fear God is to turn from evil and do that which is good. So that such as look to be partakers of God's mercy, may not abide in that which is known to be manifest evil and detestable in the sight of God. Another sort of persons make themselves a cloak for the rain, under the pretence of obedience to the magis- trates, whom we ought to obey, although they be wicked. But such must learn of Christ to give to Csesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is due to God, and, with St. Peter, to obey the higher powers in the Lord, although they are evil if they command nothing contrary to God's 1 56 Ph ilpot. — Ldters. word ; otherwise we ought not to obey their command- ments, althoujih we should suffer death therefore ; as we have the apostles for our example herein to follow, who answered the magistrates as we ought to do in this case, not obeying their wicked precepts, but saying, " Judge you whether it is more righteous that we should obey man rather than God." Also, Daniel chose rather to be cast into the den of lions to be devoured, than to obey the king's wicked com- mandments. " If the blind lead the blind, both fall into the ditch." There is no excuse for the transgression of (iod*s word, whether a man do it voluntarily or at com- mandment, although great damnation is to them by whom the offence cometh. Some others there are, who, for an extreme refuge in their evil doings, do run to God's pre- destination and election, saying, " If I am elected of God to salvation, I shall be saved, whatsoever I do." But such are great tempters of God, and abominable blas- phemers of God's holy election, and cast themselves down from the pinnacle of the temple, in presumption that God may preserve them by his angels through predestination. Such as will do evil that good may ensue, verily, may reckon themselves to be none of God's elect children ; whose damnation is just, as St. Paul saith. God's predestination and election ought to be considered with a simple eye, to make us walk more warily in good and godly conversation, according to God's word, and not live presumptuously, and put all on God, that we may do wickedly at large. For the elect children of God must walk in righteousness and holiness, after they are once called to true knowledge. For so saith St. Paul to the Ephesians ; that " God hatli chosen us before the foundations of the world were laid, that we should be holy and blameless in his sight." Therefore St. Peter willeth us, through good works, to make our vocation and election certain to ourselve^s, which we know not but by the good working of God's Spirit in us, according to the rule of the gospel. And he tliut transforms not himself to the same in godly conversa- tion, may justly tremble and doubt that he is none of the elect children of God, but of the viperous generation, and a child of darkness. For the children of light will walk in the works of light and not of darkness ; though they lull, they do not lie still. Let all vain excuses be set apart, and while you have I.] To the christian congregation, 157 light, as Christ commandeth, believe the light, and abide in the same, lest eternal darkness overtake you unawares. The light is come into the world, but, alas ! men love darkness more than the light. May God give us his pure eye-salve, to heal our blindness in this respect. O that men and women would be healed, and not seek to be wilfully blinded. May the Lord open their eyes, that they may see how dangerous a thing it is to decline from the knowledge of truth, contrary to their conscience. But what said I — Conscience ? Many affirm their conscience will bear them well enough to do all that they do, and to go to the idolatrous church to service. Their conscience is very large to satisfy man more than God. And although their conscience can bear them so to do, yet I am sure a good conscience will not permit them so to do ; which cannot be good, unless it is directed after the knowledge of God's word ; and, therefore, in Latin this feeling mind is called conscientia, which, by interpretation, is as much as to say, " with knowledge." And, therefore, if our conscience is led of herself, and not after true knowledge, yet are we not so to be excused, as St. Paul bears witness, saying, " Although my con- science accuses me not, yet in this I am not justified." And he joins a good conscience with these three sisters, charity, and a pure heart, and unfeigned faith. Charity keeps God's commandments ; a pure heart loves and fears God above all ; and unfeigned faith is never ashamed of the profession of the gospel, whatsoever damage shall be suffered in body thereby. The Lord who hath revealed his holy will unto us by his word, grant us never to be ashamed of it, and give us grace so earnestly to cleave to his holy word and true church, that for no manner of worldly respect we may become partakers of the works of hypocrisy, which God doth abhor ; so that we may be found faithful in the Lord's testament to the end, both in heart, word, and deed, to the glory of God and our everlasting salvation. Amen. John Philpot, Prisoner in the King's Bench, for the testimony of the truth, 1555. 158 Phiipot. — Lettcj's LETIER II. To Mistrena Arm Hartpole, who was fallen from the since rity of the gosjyel, which she had before lo?ig known and professedy to the pope and his idolatrous religion. The grace of God and true light, wherewith he enlight- eiieth the hearts of all the true and faithful believers, lovers, and followers of his holy g-ospel, lighten your heart by the mighty operation of his Holy Spirit. Amen. I have not hitherto been accustomed to write unto you in the matters of our common faith, which is now danger- ously assaulted, especially, as by mutual conference we have had consolation in the same, as the times did require. In which I perceived your judgment and constancy to be so much, that I received by your good and godly example strength in the same, even from the beginning, before I was called unto the light of the gospel, in the which you went before me, and ministered occasion to me to follow, at such time as that blessed woman, Ann Askew,* now a glorious martyr in the sight of Jesus Christ, was har- boured in your house : so that I thought it superfluous and not needful to write thereof unto you, who so long have been instructed, and by so many learned books con- tirmed. But now, hearing that the old serpent, our ancient enemy, who lies in continual wait for our steps, hath bit- ten you by the heel, and given you a foul l\ill, I cannot but be heartily sorry ; and, as brotherly charity moves me, I testify the same unto you by writing, as I may not at pre- sent otherwise open myself in this matter. Alas I sister, that so sincere a profession should receive so gross an in- fection, to the dishonour of God and of his church. What means it that you are so suddenly departed from Jerusa- lem unto Jericho, to be a companion of thieves and idola- ters, to the utter overthrowing of that good which you have professed? For, as St. James teaches us, " He that offendeth in one, is guiUy in all ;" and to come to idolatry and strange worshipping of God, forbidden by his word, is, of all transgressions, the most detestable. Tiierefore I cannot cease to wonder how you could so soon be allured or drawn thereto. I had thought that the * Ann Askew was burned in the jcar 151G. II.] To Mistress Ann Hartpole. 159 love of the truth had been so grafted in your heart, that neither persecution, sword, fire, nor g-allcws, could have brought this to pass, that at the voice of a handmaid, in the first temptation, you should have denied Christ. For not to walk after the sincerity of his gospel, indeed is to deny him ; and none can be partakers of the Lord's table and of the table of devils, which is the popish mass, and the malignant synagogue vising the same. Methinks I hear your excuse, pretending your conscience is sound before God notwithstanding, and that your con- science will give you leave thus to do with the common sort of dissemblers both with God and man. But I must tell you plainly, in God's cause, that your conscience so atfected,* is a sickly and unsound conscience, and craftily blinded ; for before God there is no such conscience al- lowed, which allows your body to do that which it con- denms. " We shall receive all according to that which we do in our bgdies, whether it be good or evil ;" and it is commanded us, as well to " glorify God in our bodies as in our souls." We must show our faith by our outward conversation, that " men seeing our good works, might glorify our Father which is in heaven," Will you now with your presence go about to beautify that w^hich hitherto you have justly destroyed ? What do you else in so doing, but notify yourself to be an infidel to the church of Christ, who are content to associate your- self with her enemy, for the contentation of man ? Has ever any person of God so done, that was allowed therein ? Be not deceived, good sister, with the persuasible words of man, neither be afraid of his threats. Follow the gospel of Christ according to true knowledge, and fear to do that which thereby is straitly forbidden you. Tempt not God any longer by this evil doing, for you can do nothing more heinous in his sight. Let this halting be healed up, and turn not from the right ways of the Lord. Be not ashamed of his gospel, neither of his cross, with the badge of the true and unfeigned professors there- of, which you see now his faithful (praised be his name therefore) are so well content and so willing to bear. But rather, as you are called, take up your cross, and be assured thereby to enter into Christ's glory : for unless we sulfer with him, we shall not reign with him, and if we die not with Christ, we shall not live with Christ. The cross now * Inclined. 1 60 Philpot. — Letters. is the ready way to heaven, therefore I wish you would choose to be afflicted with the people of God, rather than to live in the tabernacles of the wicked. Do not any more that which of all thinp^s you have now most cause to repent ; neither lay daily the foundation of repentance ; but let this fall be a teaching unto you of the want of faith which is in you, and so become more fervent in prayer and godly exercises, that, with this new year, you may become a new woman in a godly and new perfection, which God for his mercy sake in Christ, work both in you and me to the end. Amen. Written in haste by your brother in captivity, John Philfot. LETTER III. To certain godly Women, forsaking their own country and going beyond the seas, in the time of persecution, for the testimony of the gospel. Full of fruitful precepts and lessons for all good women. May the Spirit of truth, revealed unto you, my dearly beloved, by the gospel of our Saviour Jesus Christ, be continually abiding with you, and augmented into a perfect building of you into the lively temple of God, through the mighty operation of his holy power. Amen. I read in the evangelists of certain godly women, who ministered unto Christ, following him in the days of his passion, and never forsook him, but, he being dead and in his grave, they brought oil to anoint him, until he had shown himself unto them after his resurrection, and bidden them show unto his disciples, who were dispersed at his passion, and tell them that he was risen, and that they should see him in Galilee. To them I may justly com- pare you, my loving sisters in Christ, who of late have seen him suffer in his members, and have ministered to their necessity, anointing them with the comfortable oil of your charitable assistance, even to the death. And now, since you have seen Christ live in the ashes of them whom the tyrants have slain, he willeth you to go away upon just occasion offered you, and to declare to our dispersed brethren and sisters, that he is risen, and liveth in his elect members in England, and by death doth overcome III.] To certain godly Women. 161 infidelity ;* and that they shall see him in Galilee, — which is, by forsaking this world, and by a faithful desire to pass out of this world, by those ways, which he with his holy martyrs has gone on before. God therefore, entier sisters,t direct your way, as he did Abraham, unto a strange land. God give you health, both of body and soul, that ye may go from virtue to vir- tue, and grow from strength to strength, until you may see face to face the God of Sion in his holy hill, with the innumerable company of his blessed martyrs and saints. Let there be continual ascensions unto heaven in your hearts. Let there be no decrease of any virtue, which is already planted in you. Be as the light of the just, which, as Solomon saith, increaseth to the perfect day of the Lord. Let the strength of God be commended in your weak ves- sels, as it is. Be examples of faith and sobriety, to all that you shall come in company with. Let your godly conversation speak, where your tongue may not, in the congregation. Be swift to hear, and slow to speak, after the counsel of St. James. Be not curious about other men's doings, but be occupied in prayer and continual meditation, with reverend talking of the word of God, without contention among the saints. Let your faith shine in a strange country, as it has done in your own, that your Father which is in heaven may be glorified by you unto the end. This farewell I send unto you, not as a thing needful, for you know already what your duty is, and are desirous to perform the same, but as one who would have you un- derstand that he is mindful of your godly conversation, whereof he has had good experience, and therefore writes this to be a perpetual memorial betwixt you and him, until our meeting together before God, where we shall rejoice that we have here lovingly put one another in memory of our duty to perform it. Farewell, again, mine own beloved in Christ, and take me with you wheresoever you go, and leave yourself with me, that in spirit we may be present one with another. Commend me to the whole congregation of Christ, willing them not to leave their country without witnesses of the gospel, after that we are all slain, who already are stalled * Unbelief. t Faithful sisters. 162 Philpot. — Letters. up and appointed to the slaiij^hter, and in the mean season to pray earnestly for our constancy, that Christ may be o-lorified in us and in them, both by life and death. Farewell in the Lord. Yours for ever, John Philpot. LETTER IV. To Master Robert Glover, prisoner in Coventry, for the maintenance of God's gospel* The knowledg-e of God, which hath enlightened your mind with the true relii^ion of Christ, and now, in the be- g*innin<^ of darkness, shines in you to the commendation of vour true faith, and to the strength of many weak bre- thren, remain with you to the end, through the mighty operation of the Holy Ghost. Amen. It is a singular comfort to the afflicted flock of Christ, to behold such as have been ministers and professors of his truth in religion, stand in the same, and that in the time of persecution, when the same may not be abided by before the face of the rich and mighty in this world, to be preached without present danger. So Paul willeth Timothy, both in season and out of season, to be earnest in sowing the word. And praised be God that we, who are here in prison for the testimony thereof, hear of your diligence in this behalf, who cease not to do the office of an evangelist, although it is with danger of affliction. Such faithful ministers are to be honoured who submit their own heads to peril for the love of the gospel. Such Christ will acknowledge and confess before his Father in heaven, that they are those which have abode with him in temptations, and therefore shall eat and drink with him at his table in the kingdom of heaven. I thought it» therefore, my duty, at the motion of this bearer, although I have no bodily accpiaintance with you ; to exhort you, as St. Paul willeth us to exhort one another as long as we are in this life, boldly to continue in this good and necessary work of the Lord, especially in these evil days, in which Satan ♦ Robert Glover was burned at Coventry, 20th September, l.'>5-';. His two brothers (Jied from the eftects of the liardships they suffered v.hile secreting themselves from the papists. IV.] To Master Robert Glover. 163 rag-es against the church of Christ, and daily imprisons and robs the members thereof for their faithful testimony. And be you assured he will not leave you untouched ; for above all others he seeks to suppress the good ministers of the word, for they are such as have destroyed his king- dom : but you must not, for fear of his odious and tedious assaults, withdraw yourself from your vocation, but rather provoke him by your constant profession to do his worst, knowing that the same shall turn unto you to the best, even to the crown of your glory. Thete is none crowned but such as hold out to the goal end, and therefore our Saviour Christ saith in the gospel, " Blessed is he that endureth unto the end." You run well, God is praised therein, and the afflicted church much comforted by so faithful a captain ; run out, therefore, as 1 doubt not you will, and fear nothing of what you shall suffer for your labour ; for, if you are faithful unto death, you shall assuredly have the reward of eternal life. Many go on well till they come to the pikes,* and then they turn their backs, and give over in the plain field, to the shame of Christ and his church, who has such faint- hearted soldiers in his host at the time of need, in which his glory ought most manfully to be showed. I doubt not but you have already cast the price of this your building of the house of God, and know that it is like to be no less than your life : for I believe (as St. Paul saith) that " God hath appointed us in these latter days like sheep to the slaughter." Antichrist is come again, and he must make a feast for Beelzebub his father, of many christian bodies for the restoring again of his kingdom. Let us watch and pray that the same day may not find us unready. The peace of God be with you, and remain with you for ever. Your loving brother in Christ, and in spirit your familiar friend, captive in the King's Bench, John Philpot. LETTER V. To certain godly Brethren, The grace of God the Father, and the peace of our Saviour Jesus Christ, his eternal Son, and the consolation * Extreme danger 164 Philpof. — Letters. of the Holy Ghost, our Comforter, strengthen your hearts, and comfort your minds, that you may rejoice, and live in the truth of Christ's gospel to the end. Amen. I do much rejoice, dearly beloved in the Lord, to hear of vour constant faith in the word of God, which you have so purely received ; and that you do not, with the world- lincfs, decline from the purity thereof, although you suffer grief and trouble thereby ; for which I praise God most heartily : and the Lord of all strength, who hath begun this good work in you, make it perfect to the end, as I doubt not but he will, for the faithful zeal you have to his truth and to his afflicted church. Therefore, that you may the better stand and bear the brunt of many temptations, which you are likely to be assaulted with in these wicked and stormy days, I thought it good, as it is the duty of one christian man to exhort another in the time of trouble, to put you in remembrance thereof, and to will you with the wise man to prepare yourselves for temptations, and to beware that ye, who yet do stand by the goodness of God, may not fall from your lively knowledge and hope. It is an easy thing to begin to do well, but to continue to the end in well doing, is only the property of the children of God, and such as assuredly shall be saved. For, so saith our Saviour in his gospel, " Blessed are they that persevere to the end." Let not, therefore, this certainty of your salvation, which is continuance in the sincerity of faith, slide from you. Esteem it more than all the riches and pleasures of this world ; for it is the most acceptable treasure of eternal life. This is that precious stone, for which the wise merchant- man, according to the gospel, sells all that he hath, and buyeth the same. God, in the third of the Revelation, signifies to the church, that there shall come a time of temptation upon the whole world, to try the dwellers on the earth. From the danger of which temptation all such shall be delivered as observe his word ; which word there, is called the word of patience, to give us to understand that we must be ready to suffer all kind of injuries and slanders lor the profession thereof. Therefore God commands us there, to hold it fast, that no man may bereave us of our crown of glory ; and St. Peter tells us, " now we are afflicted with divers trials, as it is needful it should so be ; that the trial of our faith, being- much more precious than gold that perisheth, and yet is v.] To certain godly Brethren. 165 tried by fire, mi^ht redound to the laud, glory, and honour of Jesus Christ,.'' St. Paul to the Hebrews shows us, that " Christ our Saviour was in his humanity* made perfect by suffering, that we, being called to perfection in him, might more willingly sustain the troubles of the world, by which God gives his holiness to all them that are exercised in the same for his sake. And in the twelfth chapter of the said epistle is written, " My son, refuse not the correction of the Lord, nor shrink when thou art rebuked of him ; for the Lord doth chastise every son whom he receiveth, &c." Christ, in the gospel of St. John, bade his disciples to look for affliction, saying, " In the world ye shall have trouble, but in me ye shall have joy." And therefore in the midst of their trouble, in the 21st of St. Luke, he bids them " look up and lift up their heads, for your redemption," saith he, " is at hand.'' And in the 22d he saith to all such as are afflicted for him, , " You are those that have abode with me in my temptation, and therefore I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed for me, to eat and drink upon my table in my kingdom.'' Oh how glorious are the crosses of Christ, which bring the bearers of them unto so blessed an end ! Shall we not be glad to be partakers of such shame, as may bring us to so high a dignity ? God open our eyes to see all things as they are, and to judge uprightly. Then, doifbt- less, we should think with Moses, that it is better to be afflicted with the people of God, than to be counted the king of Egypt's son. Then should we joyfully say with David in all our adversities and troubles, " It is good, O Lord, that thou hast brought me low, to the end I might learn thy righteousness." Therefore St. Paul would not glory in any other thing in the world, but in the cross of Christ, and in his infirmities. We have the commandment of Christ, daily to take up his cross and follow him. We have the godly examples of all his apostles, and holy mar- tyrs, who with great joy and exultation have suffered the loss of lands, goods, and life, for the hope of a better re- ward, which is laid up for all those in heaven, that un- feignedly cleave to the gospel, and never are ashamed thereof. Great is the felicity of the world to the outward man, and very pleasant are the transitory delights thereof: but * Human nature. U6 PhilpoL— Letters. according^ to the worfl of God, the reward of the righteous incomparably excels them all, insomuch that St. Paul, in his epistle to the Romans, plainly affirms, that all the tri- bulations of this world cannot deserve that glory which shall be showed unto us. Let us, therefore, g'ood brethren and sisters, be joyful and glad in these troublesome days, which are sent of God to declare our faith, and to bring us to the end and fruition of that which we hope for. If we would enter into the Lord's sanctuary, and behold what is prepared for us, we could not but desire the Lord to hasten the day of our death, in which we might set forth, by true confession, his glory. Neither should we be afraid to meet our adversa- ries, who so earnestly seek our spoil and death, as Christ met Judas and that wicked rout which came to apprehend him, saying, " I am he whom ye seek." It is commanded us by the gospel, not to fear them that kill the body, but to fear God, who can cast both body and soul into hell fire. We are as much bound to observe this commandment as any other which God hath given us. The Lord increase our faith, that we may fear God more than man. The Lord give us such love towards him and his truth, that we may be content to forsake all and follow him. Now will it appear what we love best ; for to that which we love, we will stick. There is none worthy to be counted a christian, except he can find in his heart, for Christ's sake, if the confession of his truth requires it, to renounce all which he hath, an(| follow him. And in so doing he gains a hundred fold more in this life, as our Saviour said to Peter, and here- after is assured of eternal life. Behold, I pray you, what he loses, who in this life receives a hundred for one, with assurance of eternal life. O happy exchange ! perchance your outward man will say ; if I were sure of this great recompense here, I would be glad to forsake all. But where is this hundred fold in this life to be found ? Yes truly ; for instead of worldly riches which thou dost for- sake, which are but temporal, thou hast found the ever- lasting riches or heaven, which are glory, honour, and praise before God, angels, and men ; and, for an earthly habitation, thou hast an eternal mansion with Christ in heaven ; lor even now thou art of the city and household of the saints with God, as is verified in the fourth to the Philippians. For worldly peace, which can last but a v.hile. v.] To certain godly Brethren. 167 thou dost possess the peace of God, which passeth all un- derstanding ; and, for the loss of a few friends, thou art made a fellow of the innumerable company of heaven, and a perpetual friend of all those that died in the Lord, from the beffinniuff of the world. Is not this more than a hun- dred fold? Is not the peace of God, which in this world we have through faithful imitation of Christ (which the world cannot take from us), ten thousand fold more than those things that are most highly esteemed in this world, without the peace of God? All the peace of the world is no peace, but mere anguish and a gnawing fury of hell : as God of late has set examples before our eyes, to teach us how horrible an evil it is to forsake the peace of Christ's truth, which breedeth a worm in the conscience that never shall rest. O that we would weigh this with indifferent* balances I Then should we not be dismayed at this troublesome time, neither sorrow in a worldly manner for the loss which we now are like to sustain, as the weak faithless persons do, who love their goods more than God, and the visible things above those which are invisible. But we rather should heartily rejoice and be thankful, that it pleased God to call us to be soldiers in his cause against the works of hypocrisy, and to make us like unto our Saviour Christ in suffering, whereby we may assure ourselves of his eternal glory : for blessed are they, saith Christ, that suffer perse- cution for righteousness sake. And as St. Paul witnesses to Timothy ; " If we die with Christ, we shall live with Christ ; and if we deny him, he will deiiy us.'' O that we would enter into the veil of God's promises ! Then should we, with St. Paul to the Philippians, reject all, and count all things but dross, so that we may gain Christ. May God who is the lightener of darkness, and putter away of all blindness, anoint our eyes with the true eye-salve, that we may behold his glory, and our eternal felicity, which is hid with Christ, and prepared for us who abide in his testament. For blessed is that servant, whom the master when he cometh, as Christ said, finds faithful. Let us, therefore, watch and pray, one for another, that we yield not in any point of our religion to the antichristian synagogue, and that we are not overthrown by these tempt- ations. * Impartial. 16S Philpot. — Letters. Stand, therefore, and be not cowards in the cause of vour salvation ; for his Spirit that is in us, is stronger than he which now rages in the world against us. Let us not put out the Spirit of God from us, by whose might we shall overcome our enemies, and then death shall be as great a gain to us as it was to the blessed apostle Paul. Why then do ye mourn? Why do ye weep ? Why are ye so careful, as though God had Ibrsaken you ? He is never more present with us, than when we are in trouble, if we do not forsake him. We are in his hands, and nobody can do us any injury or wrong without his good will and pleasure. He has commanded his angels to keep us, that we stumble not at a stone without his divine providence. The devil cannot hurt any of us, and much less any of his ministers, without the good will of our eternal Father. Therefore, let us be of good comfort, and continually give thanks unto God for our state, whatsoever it be : for if we murmur against the same, we murmur against God, who sendeth the same ; which, if we do, we kick but against the pricks, and provoke the wrath of God more against us, who, by our patient suffering, otherwise would sooner be turned in our favour through faithful prayer. I beseech you, with St. Paul, to give your bodies pure and holy sacrifices unto God. He has given us bodies to bestow unto his glory, and not after our own concupiscence. If for many years God has suffered us to use our bodies, which are his temple, after the lust of the flesh, in vain delights, not according to his glory, — is it not our duty in the latter end of our life, the more willingly to yield our bodies unto God's glory with all that we have, in demon- stration of true repentance of that which we have evil spent before ? Cannot the examples of the blessed man Job when so horribly afflicted, cause us to say, " The Lord hath given it, the Lord hath taken it. Blessed be the name of the Lord." Even as it pleased the Lord, so it came to pass : if we cast our whole care likewise upon God, he will turn our misery into felicity, as well as he did to Job. God tempteth us now, as he did our forefather Abraham, commanding him to slay his son Isaac in sacri- fice to him ; which name Isaac, by interpretation, signifies mirth and joy ; who by his obedience preserved Isaac unto long life, and offered instead, a ram that was tied by the horns in the brambles. In like manner we are com- manded to sacrifice unto God, our Isaac, which is our joy VI.] To certain godly Brethren. 169 and consolation ; which, if we are ready to do, as Abraham was, our joy shall not perish, but live and be increased, although our ram be sacrificed for our Isaac ; which sig- nifies that the pride and concupiscence of our flesh, en- tangled through sin with the cares of this world, must be mortified for the preservation and perfect augmentation of our mirth and joy, which is sealed up for us in Christ. And to withstand these present temptations wherewith we now are incumbered, you cannot have a better remedy than to set before your eyes how our Saviour Christ over- came them in the desert; and to follow his example, that if the devil himself, or any other by him, willeth you to make stones bread, that is, to take such a worldly-wise way, that you still may have your fair houses, lands, and goods, to live on, you must say, that '* a man liveth not only by bread, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Again, if the devil counsels you to cast yourselves down to the earth, to revoke your sincere belief and godly con- versation, and to be conformable to the learned men of the world, pretending that Christ will be well enough content therewith, you must answer that it is written, that ." a man shall not tempt his Lord God." Further, if the devil offer you large promises of honour, dignity, and possessions, if you will but worship idols in his synagogue, you must say, " Go behind me, Satan, for it is otherwise written, that a man must worship his Lord God, and serve him only." Finally, if your mother, brother, sister, wife, child, kins- man, or friend, seek of you to do otherwise than the word of God has taught you, you must say with Christ, that " they are your mothers, brothers, sisters, wives, children, and kinsmen, which do the will of God the Father." To the which will, may the Lord for his mercy conform us all imfeignedly to the end. Amen. Your loving and faithful brother in Christ, in captivity, John Philpot, Anno 1555. PillLPOT. 170 Philpot. — Letters. LETTER VI. TVritten to the lady Vane, who was a great supporter of him. I CANNOT but most heartily j^ive God thanks for these his j^ifts in you, whose brightness many beholding that are weak, are much encouraged to seek God likewise, and to cleave to him, havino- the example of so faithful and con- stant a gentlewoman before their eyes. If the queen of the south shall rise with the men of Christ's generation, and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the world to hear the wisdom of Solomon, then shall your sincere and godly conversation, thus shining in this dan- gerous time of the trial of Christ's people (you being a woman of right worshipful estate and wealthy condition), condemn in the latter day a great many of these faint- hearted gospellers, who so soon are gone back and turned from the truth, at the voice of a hand-maiden.* For neither the fear of imprisonment, nor the possessions of the world, wherewith you are sufficiently endued above a great many, can separate you from the love of the truth, which God has revealed unto you. Whereby it appears that the seed of God's word, which was sown in you, fell neither in the highway, nor among the thorns, nor upon the stones, but upon a good ground, which is blessed of God, and brings forth fruit with great affliction, an hun- dred Ibid, to the glory of God, and the increase of his church, &c. In consideration whereof St. James bids us highly rejoice, whenever we fall into many temptations, knowing that it is but the trial of our faith, that we might bring forth that excellent virtue patience, by which we are made like unto our Redeemer Christ, with whom we here being like in suffering, assuredly shall hereafter be partakers of his eternal glory. Therefore, St. Paul saith, " God forbid that I should glory in any thing but in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." I that am under the cross with you (thanks be given to God therefore), have felt in the same more true joy and consolation than ever I felt any benefit that God has given me in my life before. For the more the world hates us, the nearer God is unto us, and there is no perfect * Queen Mary. VI.] To lady Vane. ] 171 joy but in God. Wherefore Christ said, " In me ye shall have joy, but in the world affliction." Blessed be God that sends us this affliction, that we might perfectly joy in him. For this cause, in the ripest time of iniquity, and in the most fervent season of persecution of the true church, which Christ in the twenty-first of Luke prophesied to come, he tells us to be of good cheer, and to lift up our heads, for our redemption is at hand. Oh ! that the Lord would come and deliver us from this world, which is a vale of misery, unto his own kingdom, where flow perpetual joy and consolation. And, verily, that is the true and only joy which is conceived, not of the creature, but of the Creator, and which, when we possess, nobody can take it from us. To which joy all other joys being compared, are but mournings ; all delights sorrow ; all sweetness sour ; all beauty filth ; and, finally, all other things that are counted pleasant, are tediousness. Your own self is a better witness of this than I am. Ask your- self, with whom you are best acquainted. Does not the Holy Ghost speak the same in your heart? Have you not persuaded yourself that this is true, before I wrote thereof? For how should you, being a woman and a young gentlewoman, beautiful, and at your own liberty, have overcome this your frail kind and age, and have des- pised your excellent beauty and estate, unless all those things which are subject to the senses had been counted of you vile, and little to be esteemed, in comparison of those things which inwardly do comfort you, to overcome the flesh, the world, and the devil ? God increase your joy in all spiritual things, and sta- blish your hope to the day of eternal rest. You have forsaken darkness, and entered into light : God grant the same may shine still in you, until the perfect day of the Lord come, in which is all our consolation. Here we must be darkened, that there we may appear as bright as the sun in the face of the whole v/orld, and of all them that now condemn us for our well-doing ; whose judges then we .shall be, to their horrible grief, though now they judge us wrongfully. Pray heartily, and that often, that God once again for his Christ's sake, would be merciful to his af- flicted church in England. Faithful prayer is the only remedy that we have against the fiery darts of the devil, that are kindled against us. By prayer the Amalekites shall be overcome, and the roarings of the lion, which I 2 172 Philpot. — Letters. seeketh still to devour iis, shall be stopped and put to silence. The Lord stop leviathan's mouth, that he swallow not up God's simple people, according- to his expectation. Praise the Lord for the faithful testimony and sacrifice which two of our brethren of late have, throug:h fire, renr dered to the truth of the g^ospel, which now triumphs by the death of godly martyrs.* The Lord is at hand, there- fore watch and pray. The last of May, 1555, captive in the King's Bench. Yours, with heart in Christ, John Philpot. LETTER VII. An exhortation to his own dear Sister, constantly and cheerfully to cleave to the truth, and to abide the trial of that doctrine which she had fruitfully professed. May God, the eternal Father, who hath justified you by the blood of his Son Jesus Christ, and called you to hallow his name, through a good conversation and profes- sion of life, sanctify you with daily increase of virtue and faith by his Holy Spirit, that you may appear a vessel of sanctification, in the midst of this wicked and perverse generation, to the laud and praise of the gospel. Amen. I have occasion, mine own dear sister, to praise God in you for two causes ; the one, that according to your ability you are ready to show yourself a natural loving sister to me, your poor afflicted brother, as by your gentle tokens you have testified when absent, and also by your speedy visiting me, which well declares that you are a very naturalf sister indeed, and to be praised in this respect. But the other is, that you are also a sister to me in faith, according to Christ's gospel. I am occasioned to thank God so much the more, by how much the one excels the other. And the spiritual consanguinity is more pcrdurablej than that which is of flesh and blood, and is a worker of that which is by nature ; for, commonly * These were John Cardmaker, prebendary of Wells, and John Warne, an upholsterer of Walbrook. They were burned in Smith- tield, on the 30th of May, 1555. t Naturally afTectionate. ' ; Lasting. VII.] To his own dear Sister. ' 173 such as are ungodly, are unnatural, and only lovers of themselves, as daily experience teaches us. The living Lord, who, through the incorruptible seed of his word, hath begotten you to be my liege* sister, give you grace so to grow in that generation, that you may increase to a perfect age in the Lord, to be my sister with Christ for ever. Look, therefore, that you continue a faithful sister as you are called and are godly entered, not only to me, but to all the church of Christ, yea, to Christ himself, who vouchsafes you, in this your unfeigned faith, worthy to be his sister. Consider this dignity surmounts all the vain dignities of the world, and let it accordingly prevail more with you than all earthly delights. For thereby you are called to an equal portion of the everlasting inheritance of Christ, if now in nowise you show yourself an un- natural sister to him, by forsaking him in trouble, which I trust you will never do for any kind of worldly respect. You are under dangerous temptations to be turned from that natural love which you owe unto Christ, and you shall be tried with God's people through a sieve of great affliction ; for so satan desires us to be sifted, that through fear of sharp troubles, we might fall from the stableness of our faith, and so be deprived of that honour, joy, and reward, which is prepared for such as continue faithful brothers and sisters in the Lord's covenant to the end. Therefore the wise man in the book of Ecclesias- ticus bids them that come to the service of the Lord, to prepare themselves to suffer temptations. Since then, for the glory of God and our faith, we now are called to abide the brunt of them — and that when our adversary has done all that he can, we may yet be stable and stand, Christ, our first begotten brother, looks for this at our hands, and all our brethren and sisters in heaven desire to see our faith to be perfect through afflic- tions, that we might fulfil their number. And the universal church, here militant, rejoices at our constancy, all whom, by the contrary, we should make sorry, to the danger of the loss both of body and soul. Fear not, therefore, whatsoever is threatened by the wicked world — prepare your back, and see that it is ready to carry Christ's cross. And if you see any untowardness in you, as the flesh is continually repugnant to the will of God, ask with faithful prayer, that the good Spirit of God may lead your * Lawful. 174 PhilpoL— Letters. sinful flesh whither it would not. For if we will dwell in the flesh and follow the counsel thereof, we never shall do the will of God, nor work that which tendeth to our salvation. You are at present in the confines and borders of Babylon, where you are in dan^^er of drinking of the harlot's cup, unless you are vi<^ilant in prayer. Take heed the serpent seduce you not from the simplicity of your faith, as he did our first mother Eve. Let no worldly fellowship make you a partaker of iniquity. He that touches tar, cannot but be defiled thereby ; and with such as are per- verse, a man shall soon be perverted ; with the holy you shall be holy. Therefore, say continually with the prophet David, Psalm xxvi. " Unto the saints that are on the earth, all my will is on them." You have been sanctified and made pure throuj^h the truth ; take heed you are not made unholy and defiled, lest the last be worse than the first. I write not this because I stand in any doubt of your sincere continuance, of which I have such good experience ; but because the days are evil, and in them it is the duty of every one of us to exhort and stir up one another. I am bold, therefore, to put you, my good sister, in remembrance of that which it does not a little comfort me to remember in my troubles and daily temptations. Wherefore, I doubt not, you will take that in good part which comes from your brother both in spirit and body, who tenders* your salvation as earnestly as his own, that we might joy together eternally with such joy as the world shall never be able to take from us. Thanks be unto God, you have begun to run a good and great time well in the ways of the Lord. Run out the race to the end, which you have begun, and then you shall receive the crown of glory. None shall be crowned, but such as strive lawfully. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good, and tlie Lord shall make you one of those faithfid virgins, that shall follow the Lamb wheresoever he goeth, the which Christ grant both you and me. Amen. Commend me to all them that love me in the Lord un- feignedly. May God increase our faith, and give us grace never to be ashamed of his gospel. That same request which I have made to my brother Thomas, I make also to you, desiring you by all means you can, to accomplish my rec^uest, that my sureties may be satisfied with that which * Cares for. VIII.] To lady Vane. 175 is mine own, to the contentation of my mind, which cannot be quiet until they are discharged.* Therefore, I pray you to help to purchase quietness, that I might depart out of this world in peace. My dissolution I look for daily, but the Lord knoweth how unworthy I am of so high an honour, as to die for the testimony of his truth. Pray that God would vouchsafe to make me worthy thereof, as he has done of long imprisonment, for which his name be praised for ever. Pray and look for the coming of the Lord, whose wrath is great over us, and I will pray for you as long as I live. The 9th of July, in the King's Bench. Your own loving brother, as well in faith as in body, John Philpot. LETTER VIII. To the godly lady Vane. God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, increase in your godly heart the faith of the gospel, which is your eternal inheritance ; and the Holy Ghost comfort your spirit with all spiritual consolation, to the day of the Lord. Amen. I cannot but praise God most highly and earnestly, my dear and faithful lady, for the great and unfeigned love which you bear unto me in Christ, declared oftentimes, as well now as of late, by manifest and liberal tokens. Blessed be God that has made you so worthy a member in his kingdom. For such shall reap with abundance in time of reward, that here sow so plenteously in well- doing ; although I am most unworthy to receive any such benefit at your hands, as if I were a pillar of Christ's church, who am scarce a shadow thereof. But the zeal of Christ's church in you wishes me to be such a one as the time requires. God fulfil your desire of me, that I may be found constant, and no wandering star. I am not worthy of the name of a prophet, or of a minister of God's word, for that I, being hindered by the iniquity of the time, have little or nothing laboured therein. I am a friend of our common spouse Jesus, and do rejoice in the * This was for the first-fruits of his archdeaconry, which his sureties were compelled to pay, although during the lime of his imprisonment he had no advantage from it. — Letters of the Martyr&. 176 PhilpoL— Letters. verity of his word, for which, praised be his name, he has counted me worthy to suffei ; and, indeed, " He that giveth a draiig;ht of water in the name of a disciple (as Christ hath promised), shall not lose his reward." There- fore, what your gentleness does in his name, the Lord recompense unto you, in all his blessings which he is accustomed to pour on those who love his flock un- feignedly. Good lady, you have cause to joy that the kingdom of God is thus continually before your eyes, and that you are not ashamed of the bands of Christ, which you with his people in part do suffer. They may be assured of everlast- ing glory, who are not ashamed here to take up the cross of Christ, and to follow him. Here we must weep and lament, while the world laughs and triumphs over us ; but our tears shall shortly be turned into unspeakable joy, and we shall eternally be joyful together, when the world shall lament their infidelity without end. I would that I were able to do anything that might show condign thanks for that sincere love which you bear unto me in Christ. You adjure me in Christ, as it were, by your gentle letters to be bold on you in all my need. I thank God, who ceases not to provide for his, I lack nothing at present, but only ability to thank your faithful heart for your goodness toward me. I love you and not yours, as it is meet for christians to love one another in God ; and your faith which I behold in you, is worth more unto me than all your possessions. And I think I shall not need to be chargeable unto you long, for this week I look for commissioners to sit on me and my fellow prisoners in prison, lest the spirit of our breath might blow further abroad. The will of God be done. We are not so good as John the Baptist, who was beheaded in prison. Dark- ness cannot abide the light. Therefore their doings must declare what they are. We are as sheep appointed as a sacrifice to the Lord. We must not fear the fire, for our Lord is a consuming fire, who will put out the fierceness of raging torments for us. Be not afraid of them that can kill the body, but fear him who can cast both body and soul into hell-fire. God forbid that we should rejoice otherwise than in the cross of Christ, and pray that he would make us worthy to suffer for his sake. God will have our faith tried and known ; and, therefore, let us willingly humble ourselves under the VIII.] To lady Vane. 177 mighty hand of God, that he may gloriously lift us up in nis good time. There is none perfectly faithful indeed, till he can say with St. Paul," I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor princes, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor highness, nor owness, nor any other creature, is able to separate me rom the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord/* This faith God plant both in you and me immoveably. In this faith we have to rejoice, and in no other. All the tribulations of the world are not worthy of the eternal weight of glory which is prepared for those who here with patience abide the cross. Wherefore, let us be strong with the strength of him that is able to make us strong, and lament the weakness, I might say the infidelity, of our faint gospellers. Christ, whom we would pretend to have put upon us, is the strength of God, and how then may they be weak where Christ is ? We have more cause to be glad, touching ourselves, at this time, than we have had at any time before, in which we have so ready a way to go unto God, and so good an occasion to show our duty in glorifying his holy name. For if we are imprisoned iu this cause, we are blessed. If we lose all that we have, we are blessed a hundred fold. If we die, we are blessed eternally ; so that in suffering persecutions, all is full of blessings. O, elect lady, be blessed therefore of God, with the blessed of God, and flee, as you do, the concupiscence of the world. Embrace that which is perfect, joyfully look- ing for the coming- and the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Thus desiring God to preserve you to his true peace, and to give you victory over that temptation which is come to try our faith. Christ be with you, and bless you both in body and soul ; and my prayer shall follow you whereso- ever you go, as I desire you may be with me. The last week I sent your beneficence to Oxford : I could not before have a convenient messenger. As soon as I have word, you shall be satisfied of your request. Love me as you do, and the God of love be with you. The 20th day of August. By yours, with all his power in the Lord, John Philpot, 17S PhilpoL— Letters. LErrER IX. A letter written to certain of his faithful Friends^ as his last farewelly a Utile before he suffered. The knowledg-e of God, which hath enlightened you with true understanding of the gospel of Christ, be re- maining with you still to the end, and be augmented in your hearts and doings, through the operations of the Holy Spirit, to the glory of God, and your eternal salva- tion. Amen, A man that is passing into far countries, before his departure, commits such goods as God has endued him with to his dearest friends, that they might be the better by them, if he returns not again. Even so, dearly beloved, and right worshipful, my good friends, I, having shortly to pass unto my heavenly inheritance which is hid with Christ, and to our common country and eternal dwelling- place, which we shall have with God, never to return before the latter day, in which our souls shall come to judgment, and receive their bodies to be glorified, according to their doings ; have thought it my duty to communicate something unto you (with whom I have found great humanity), some- thing of the few heavenly treasures with which God, among others, has endued me in Christ, whereby he has made me his child, and assuredly the inheritor of the kingdom of heaven, with all those who unfeignedly love him, and con- stantly cleave to his holy gospel. And that is, by the renovation of his image, whereunto man was first created like unto God, which is, to be in the favour of God, to know God truly, to live justly, to delight fervently in the contemplation of God, to be continually happy, to be immortal, void of all corruption and sin ; which blessed image, through sin, is deformed in us, and in a manner lost, saving that it hath pleased God of his mercy, who willeth not the death of a sinner, to restore that image by grace, through knowledge and belief of the gospel, which other- wise is entirely suppressed and extinguished in our nature. Therefore, we, knowing the great and lamentable loss which we sustain in Adam, ought most earnestly to seek the recovery thereof, that we might eternally live like unto God in immortality and felicity ; which we shall never recover, unless we go about to mortify our outward man Jx.] To certain faithful Friends. 179 all the days of our lives more and more, and are renewed in spirit, according- to the true knowledge of God. Which if we are, then may we be assured that we have found that joy, felicity, and eternal life, which Adam had in paradise ; yea, and more than that, ten thousand fold, for it is such as the eye hath not seen, the ear hath not heard, neither the heart can conceive, which Christ has prepared for us. This imag-e of God, whosoever by faith does find, he has found the most precious treasure that any man can find, for he is even here a citizen of heaven and in possession of eternal life. Therefore, I commit unto you principally a daily care of the renovation of this image, as the chiefest jewel you can desire in this world. And thereof now I am the more moved to put you in remembrance, because I love you entirely in the Lord, and desire your fellowship, which the iniquity of our time will not permit me to enjoy here. And forasmuch as we have a better life to come than this present is, an eternal society with Christ, which neither the malice of time, nor the distance of place can dissolve or separate, I exhort you now, as one that has obtained mercy of God in the reparation of his image in me, to em- brace the care thereof, with earnest desire to attain the same ; whereby we shall all have a perfect fruition of our love and friendship, which already we have here begun, and with God in heaven shall be, without all doubt, made joyfully perfect. Let this be a perpetual remembrance of your poor afflicted friend, who daily looks, through fire, to enter into that eternal life ; where he trusts assuredly to enjoy your fellowship, if the image of God is renewed in you, throug-h the knowledge of Christ, which you have received and do know. Look whose image the coin bears, his it is, Semblably,* if your conversation be after the gospel^ verily, you are the elect of Christ ; but if it is according to the world, his servants you are whom your life dotli express. We have all in baptism put on Christ, whom if we endeavour to represent, w^e are, indeed, the sons of God and inheritors with Christ. One good rule, St. Paul to the Romans, in the twelfth chapter, appoints for the restor- ation of this our image of God : " Fashion not your- selves^ saith he, unto this world, but be ye changed in * la like manner 180 Philpot. — Letters. your shap?, by tlie renewing ot* your mitid, that ye may prove wliiit is the will of God, which is jrood, acceptable, and perfect." God errant that this rule may take place* with you, and then, doubtless, our company shall be in- separable with all the saints of God in eternal bliss. Be you not deceived by the vain possessions and un- certain pleasures of this world, wiiich serve to no other purpose than to blind your eyes, that they mig'ht not behold the things which are glorious and permanent for ever. The things which we see are mortal ; but the things which we see not, but certainly hope for, are immortal. For *' all flesh," as the prophet Isaiah saith, " is but grass, and the glory thereof as the flower of the field." Oh that you, who have the possessions of this world, would so' account them, and not sell your eternal inheritance for a mess of porridge, as Esau did ! God open your eyes, that you may see the glory of Christ in the mount, with Peter, John, and James. Then 1 doubt not, you would say with Peter, " Lord, it is good for us to abide here : let us here make our dwelling-places." We have in this world no firm mansion, but we seek after that which is to come : which, if we seek now where it may be found, we shall surely find. If we mortify the image of Adam, which, through sin, reigns in our flesh, then shall the image of Christ revive in us to our eternal glory. We are all baptized to die with Christ, to the end we should walk in newness of life, as persons dead to the world, and living to God. And if we die with him by crucifying our concupiscence and lusts, we shall eternally live. Infidelity* is the cause of all our misery: which causes us to fear man more than God, and to esteem the things present more than the things to come. God enligiiten our eyes, that we may understand how precious an inheritance Christ has prepared for such as hunger and thirst thereafter. Then, I doubt not, we would say with St. Paul, " I am surely persuaded that neither death nor life, neither angels, nor rule, neither power, neither things present, neither things to come, neither any other treasure or creature, shall separate us from the love which is in Christ Jesus." The Lord increase our faith, and give us his Holy Spirit to discern with ourselves, how much we are grown in * Unbelief. IX.] To certain faithful Friends. 181 his imag-e, and are like unto him ; for how much we are unlike to the world, so much more are we like unto God, and so much the more do we approach unto him. The Lord draw you by his Holy Spirit, and fashion you unto his likeness, that we may eternally live tog-ether. The means to come thereunto, is dilig'ent exercise in God's word ; continual and faithful prayer ; a desire and love to God ; the fear of God ; the contempt of the world ; and a constant faith in the knowledge of his word, joined with the works of righteousness. This is the sum of all our christian religion which we do profess, which, if we follow, happy are we that ever we were born. But if we are negligent in this, it had been better for us never to have been born ; for cursed are they that decline from the Lord and his holy commandments, and have their delights in the vanities of this world. Cease not to follow the image of God, and to express the same in yourselves to the glory of God, and then God will glorify you for his image sake, which he makes to live in you. We are all weak in transforming the same in us at the beginning, for our flesh is quite contrary to it. But we must not give over by lawful striving, till we may say with St. Paul, " Now live I, but not I, but Christ in me." The Lord grant that Christ, v.^ho, by the gospel, is planted in us, may be fashioned in our godly conversation, to the glory of God, and to the good ex- ample of our brethren, that our temporal life may be changed into eternal life, and our friendship in God, eter- nally endure. Amen. This last farewell I send unto you to be a token of my love, until we shall meet in the kingdom of Christ, there to rejoice perfectly of that godly fellowship which here we have had on the earth. God hasten that meeting, and deliver you from the temptation which is now come upon the church of England, for the trial of such as are faithful in the Lord's testament, to the crown of their glory, if they are found faithful to the end. Let us watch and pray one for another, that these evil days do not overwhelm us, in which our adversary the devil goeth about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. The peace of God remain with you for ever. Written in the King's Bench by one of the poor captive sheep of Christ, appointed to the slaughter for the tesii 182 Philpol.—Leiten. mony of the truth, where he doth joy, and wishes you to joy, praising God with him. Amen. John Philpot. LETTER X. To a faithful fVoman, and late wife to one of the bishops, which gave their lives in the Lord's quarrel. Remember, dear sister, that your Hfe in this world is a continual warfare, to fight against the world, the flesh, and the devil, in which you are appointed, for the trial of your faith and love to God, to fight manfully to overcome. For the Spirit of God which is in you, is stronger than he which is in the world, and by this you may know that you are the child of God, even by the Spirit which striveth in you against the flesh and sin, and will not suffer sin to reign in you. This Spirit is obtained by often and daily reading and hearing the word of God, joined with faithful and hearty prayer: for diligent reading of God's word planteth the Holy Spirit in you, and earnest prayer in- creases the same. Read, therefore, the word studiously ; and pray heartily that the same good gift of faith which you have learned of your faithful husband and good bishop in the Lord, who has gloriously yielded his life for the same, may be confirmed in you even unto death, that you may receive the same crown of glory which he now has. For precious is the death of the faithful in the Lord's sight ; therefore, desire still to die to the Lord, and be glad to be poor both in body and spirit, and thus assure yourself that the kingdom of heaven is yours. Your own in the Lord, John Philpot. LETTER XI. To his dear friend in the Lord, John Careless, prisoner in the King's Bench. My dearly beloved brother Careless, I have received your loving letters full of love and compassion, insomuch that they made my hard heart to weep, to see you so ;jci.] To John Careless. 183 careful for one who has been so unprofitable a member as I have been, and am, in Christ s church. God make me worthy of that which I am called unto, and I pray you cease not to pray for me, but cease to weep for him who has not deserved such gentle tears : and praise God with me, for I now approach to the company of those whose want you may worthily lament. May God give your pitiful* heart his inward consolation. Indeed, my dear Careless, I am in this world in hell, and in the shadow of death ; but He that, for my deserts, has brought me down into hell, shall shortly lift me up to heaven, where I shall look continually for your coming, and others, my faithful brethren, in the King's Bench. And though I tell you that I am in hell in the judgment of this world, yet assuredly I feel in the same the consolation of heaven, I praise God ; and this loathsome and horrible prison is as pleasant to me as the walk in the garden ©f the King's Bench. You know, brother Careless, you know that the way to heaven out of this life is very narrow, and we must strive to enter in at a narrow gate. If God mitigates the ugli- ness of mine imprisonment, what will he not do in the rage of the fire whereunto I am appointed? And this has happened to me, that hereafter I might be an ex- ample of comfort, if the like happen unto you, or to any other of my dear brethren with you, in these cruel days, in which the devil so rages at the faithful flock of Christ ; — but in vain, I trust, against any of us ; who are per- suaded that neither life, nor death, is able to separate us from the love of Christ's gospel, which is God's high trea- sure committed to our brittle vessels to glorify us by the same. May God of his mercy make us faithful stewards to the end, and give us grace to fear nothing, whatsoever in his good pleasure we shall suffer for the same. The cause that I have not written unto you is our strait keep- ing, and the want of light by night ; for the day serves us but a little while in our dark closet. This is the first let- ter that I have written since I came to prison, besides the report of mine examinations, and I am fain to scribble it out in haste. Commend me to all cur faithful brethren, and bid them with a good courage look for their redemption, and frame themselves to be hearty soldiers in Christ. They have * Full of pity, compassionate. 184 Philpot.— Letters. taken his prest-money* a great while, and now let them show thomsclves ready to serve him faithfully, and not fly out of the Lord's camp into the world, as many do. Let them remember that, in the Apocalypse, the fearful are excluded the kinj^dom. Let us be of g-ood cheer, for our Lord overcame the world, that we should do the same. Blessed is the servant whonj, when the* Lord cometh, he findeth watching". O let us watch and pray earnestly, one for another, that we be not led into temptation. Be joy- ful under the cross, and praise the Lord continually, for this is the whole burnt sacrifice which the Lord delig^hteth in. Commend me to my father Hunt, and desire him to love and continue in the unity of Christ's true church, which he hath begun ; and then shall he make me more and more joyful under my cross with him. Tell my bro- ther, Clement, that he has comforted me much by his loving token in signification of an unfeigned unity with us; let him increase my joy unto the end perfectly. The Lord of peace be with you all. Salute all my loving friends, M. Mering, M. Crooch, with the rest, and, spe- cially, M. Marshall and his wife, with great thanks for his kindness showed unto me. Farewell, my dear Carele-^s. I have dallied with the devil awhile, but now I am over the shoes rf God send me well out. Out of the Coalhouse, by your brother, John Philpot. LETTER XIL A letter, full of spiritual consolation, to the lady Vane. The mercy of God the Father, and the consolation of the Holy Ghost through Jesus Christ, be with you and si^rengthen you, my dear mother and sister in the Lord, in tliese dangerous days, to the crown of eternal glory, which is now offered to all faithful soldiers in the gospel. Amen. As your good ladyship desires to hear from me, so am I desirous to write, as your gentleness and daily goodness binds me. But satan of late hath hindered me, who, envy- ing all good exercises which I have had and received by mine easy imprisonment in times past, has brought me out • Bouuty money. f Psahn Ixix. 2, 14. Xii.] To lady Vane. 18S of the King's Bench into the bishop of London's Coal- house, as (lark and as ugly a prison as any about London. But my dark body of sin has well deserved the same, and the Lord has now broug-ht me into outward darkness, that I might the more be enlightened by him, as he is most present with his children in the midst of darkness. Here I cannot be suffered to have any candle-light, neither ink nor paper, but by stealth. Wherefore I cannot write to you as I would, neither as my duty is. As Christ, my master, was sent from Annas to Caiaphas, so am I sent from Winchester diocese to that of London. I trust to make a speedy end of my course. God give me grace and patience to be a faithful follower of my Master. I have already been this sevennight in his Coalhouse, and have of late been four times called to my answer, but hitherto am not called to judgment, which I daily look for ; but I fear they will prolong me, and try me by strait imprisonment awhile, in the which God's will be done. Pray, dear lady, that my faith faint not, which, I praise God, is at present more lively with me than it has been in times past.* J taste and feel the faithfulness of God in his promise, who has promised to be with his in their trouble, and to deliver them. I thank the Lord, I am not alone, but I have six other faithful companions, who, in our darkness, do cheerfully sing hymns and praises unto God for his great goodness. We are so joyful, that I wish you to partake of my joy. For you that are so carefu.l of my bodily relief, how can 1 but wish you spiritual consolation, and that abundantly? Let not, dear heart, my strait imprisonment any thing molest you : for it has added, and daily docs add, unto my joy ; but rather be glad, and thankful unto God with me, that it has pleased him to make me, most wretched sinner, worthy to suffer any thing for his sake. Hitherto we have not resisted unto blood. God make us never to count our blood more precious in our eyes than his truth. Ah, my dear sister, I thank you again for your last letter you sent me ; it is a singular comfort unto me, as often as I read the same. I have it in my bosom, and will carry the same even to the stake with me, in witness that Christ has so constant and faithful a lady in England. God succour and keep that spirit in you ; for it is the very * " As thy days, so shall thy strength be !" 1 86 Philpcrt. — Letters. spirit of adoption of the child of God. Such cheerful and holy spirits under the cross are acceptable sacrifices in the sight of God ; for Christ came to cast fire into the earth, and looks that it should be kindled. Be you fervent in spirit in our Christ's cause, as you have begun, for that is the principal spirit wherewith David desired to be con- firmed. O how I rejoice that your ladyship goes arm in arm with me unto Christ, or rather before me. I cannot but joy of such a worshipful fellow,* Methinks I see you mourn, and desire to be loosed out of the earthly and frail habitation of this body. O how amiable and pleasant is it to dwell in the Lord's tabernacle ! Our Christ and his heavenly company look for us ; let us haste and run thereto, for, behold, the Lord is ready to embrace us. Mine own beloved in the Lord, be joyful in the Lord with your afflicted brother, who daily offers your merciful alms, which most unworthily I still receive of you, unto the Lord. But now, dear mother, you need not burden yourself so much, as my last letter did signify, for that chargeable imprisonment is cut off", and a little now serves me ; wherefore I pray you send no more until I send to you, for I have sufficient and abound. God's peace be with you for ever. Out of my lord of London's Coalhouse, the last of October. Your own, John Philpot. LETTER XIIL To my brothery John Careless, prisoner in the King's Bench. The grace of God the Father, through his dear Son, Christ our Saviour, with perseverance in all godly verity, be with thee, my dear brother Careless, and with all my prison-fellows. Amen. Ah, my own love in Christ, I am sorry to hear of the great troubles which these schismatics* do daily put thee to. I would that I were with thee, in part to relieve thy grief; but since it has pleased God otherwise, take my * Companion. t Tliese were certain freewill men. — Letters of the Martyrs, XIII.] To John Careless. 187 advice in this your conflict, and be patient whatsoever your adversaries can say or do against you. Know that you are appointed for the defence of the gospel, for which you, God be praised, do suffer : yet you must understand that you are* but a voice in the wilderness, and a planter, and that it is God who must give the increase. And, therefore, if there come not such fruit of your good labours as you w^ould wish, be content, and know that a stony ground cannot fructify, yet God will not forget your labour, but you shall reap as plenteously in the day of reward as though it increased after your expectation. Have patience, therefore, in your labour, and let not care eat out your heart. Commit the success to God, and cease not with charity to be earnest in the defence of the truth, against these arrogant and self-will blinded scat- terers. These sects are necessary for the trial of our faith, and for the beautifying thereof. Be not perverted by them that are perverse and intractable. They resist not you, they resist Christ, and are workers against their own salvation. Show as much modesty and humility as you possibly may. So shall your labour best please God, and your adversaries receive the more shame, and others see- ing your modest conversation amongst these contentious babblers, shall glorify God in his truth by you, and the more abhor them, as you see it has come to pass in times past. 1 Be content that Shimei rail at David and cast stones awhile ; be sure that his railing judgment will fall upon his own pate. Have always that notable rule of Christ's church before your eyes, which St. Paul writes, that " if any body be contentious, neither we, neither the church of God, have any such custom." Desire all our brethren in the bowels of Jesus Christ to keep the bond of peace, which is the unity of Christ's church, where are all the treasures of spiritual consolation in lieavenly things. Let no root of bitterness spring up, which the devil, with all diligence, seeks to thrust in amongst the children of God. Kiss one another with the kiss of unfeigned brotherly love, and take one another by the hand cheerfully, and say, *^ Let us take up our cross together, and go to the mount of Calvary, and there be willing to suffer whatsoever it pleases God we shall." Hitherto we have not resisted to blood-shedding. Our blood must not be too dear for the Lord, and then his kingdom shall not be too dear for us. Thus exhort one 1 8S PhilpoL— Letter^. another to offer yourselves a joyful sacrifice unto God $ for this is that pleasant sacrifice wherewith his wrath shall be pacified, which is now kindled most justly against us. Be thankfiil unto God that it has pleased him to make you worthy of this glorious affliction : yea, and I pray you give thanks unto God for me, that it has been his good will to take me, most filthy and unthankful sinner, to be one of this number. My joy of the love of God towards me in this behalf is such, that it makes all my strait im- prisonment to seem pleasure. God be praised, I cannot be sorry, though I would. O how great is the love of Qod towards us ' Be merry, brethren, and rejoice continually in the Lord, for the victory is ours ; yea, heaven is ours, and all the glory thereof. Faint not, but run on ; for we are near at the end. Be Had of nothing so much as the mortification of the old Adam : murmur in no case, whatsoever neces- sity you are in. Communicate your necessities to me and to others of his people, and God will make us divide stakes. Be always praising God, talking, comforting, teaching, and exhorting in God, and he will not see you utterly destitute. I commend me to all your faithfid prayers. And you, Careless, see that you are in my dungeon with me, as I am in spirit with you in the King's Bench, and with you all. Thine own brother, John Philpot. LETTER XIV. To his friend and faithful brother in the Lora, Master Robert Harrington. Gentle Master Harrington, I cannot tell what con dign* thanks I may give unto God for you, in respect of the great gentleness and the pains which you have taken for the relief of me and of our other afflicted brethren in Christ. God be praised for his mercy, whose loving pro- vidence towards us we have seen by such faithful stewards as you have been towards a great many. Blessed be you of God for the loving care wfiich you have taken for his poor flock. God has reserved your reward of thanks in heaven, and therefore T go not about to render you any, • Suitable, deserved. XIV.] To Robert Harrington. 189 lest I mig-ht seem to judge that you looked for that here, which is reserved to a better place. I thank God for what I have obtained by your faithful and diligent industry, and God forgive me my unworthi- ness for such great benefits. God give me grace to serve him faithfully, and to run out my race w^ith joy. Glorious is the course of the martyrs of Christ at this day. Never had the elect of God a better time for their glory than this is. Now may they be assured under the cross, that they are Christ's disciples for ever. Methinks I see you desiring to be under the same. The flesh draws back, but the spirit saith it must be brought whither it would not. Here is the victory of the world — here is the true faith and everlasting glory. Who is he that desires not to be found faithful to his Master ? And now is the time that every faithful servant pf Christ has a just opportunity to show himself a glorious soldier in the Lord's sight. Now do the Amalekites invade the true Israelites, that the Israelites might speedily be glorified I I need not, for want of understanding, admonish you hereof, but, as a willing soldier of Christ, I would exhort so to run that you may get the victory speedily with us. A man who is bid to a glorious feast wishes his friend to go with him, and to be a partaker thereof, God calls me, most unworthy, among others, to drink of the bride-cup of his Son, whereby we shall be made worthy, as many ot our brethren have bee|i before us, to sit at the right hand and at the left hand of Christ. O what an unspeakable condition is that ! May any worldly thing stop us from the desire thereof? Since we seek the kingdom of God, why do we not take hold upon it, being so pear offered unto us ? Let us approach near unto God, and God will draw near unto us. God draw us after him, that we all may run after the savour of his sweet ointments. Christ anoint us, that we may be suppled in these evil days to run lightly unto the glory of the Lord. Shame, imprisonment, loss of goods, and shedding of our blood, are the just price which we must willingly bestow for the same. Wherefore, djearly beloved in the Lord, let not the great charges k^ep you back from buying this glory; for the reward is ten thousand fold greater than the price. Because you have married a wife, whom God bless, I can- not excuse you from this mart,* but you must bring your * Bargain, matter of loss or gain. 190 Philpot. — Letters. wife for a usury to the Lord, whose pleasure is in godly yoke-fellows, I wish you to be as I am, except these horrible bonds, but yet they are most comfortable to the spirit, assuring us that we are made worthy through Christ of the kingdom for which we suffer. Praised be the Lo-rd for the affliction which we suffer, and may he give us strength to continue to the end ! Commend me to Master Heath, and tell him that I would wish him to be with me, to prove how apt he is to carry the cross of Christ. I pray for his continuance in Christ, as for my own. Commend me to his wife, and to Mistress Hall, certifying them that I am brought to the gates of hell, that I might never enter into the same, but be raised up from hell to heaven, through the word that sanc- tifies us. Commend me to Master Elsing and his wife, and thank them that they remembered to provide me some ease in prison ; and tell them, that though my lord's Coalhouse is but very black, yet it is more to be desired by the faithful, than the queen's palace. May God make her a joyful mother, and preserve them both to the com- fort of God's people. Thus, for this time, farewell, dear brother. Written in post haste because of strait keeping. This day I look to be called before the commissioners again. Pray, dear brother, for the Spirit of wisdom to re- main with me. Commend me to your wife, and I thank you both for your tokens. Your token I have sent to your wife; and my token unto you, is my faithful heart with this letter. Commend me to all my friends, and tell them I thank God I am cheerful in Christ, wishing them to fear God more than man, and to learn to despise earnestly the vanities of this world, desiring you all to pray for me, that I may end my journey with fidelity. Amen. John Philpot. LETTER XV. To my dearly beloved sister in the Lord, Mistress Heath. The light of the gospel of Christ, which has enlightened you with the true understanding of faith, be daily increased in you, my dearly beloved sister, unto the perfect day of the Lord, through the mighty operation of his Spirit. Amen XV.] To Mistress Heath. 191 Whereas you have required of me a token at your departing-, that might be a remembrance with you of my brotherly love towards you, I mused of divers things what I might best commend to you ; and among all others, I found none so certain a token either of the love of God towards us, or else of our love one to another, as to bear the cross together with Christ. To bear the cross is to be partaker of the afflictions of Christ, which he now suffers in his members for the accomplishment of his body, the church, which we are who believe in him sincerely, which is the surest token of God's love towards us that we can have in this world. " For whom God loveth he chasteneth :" and as it is written, '* He chasteneth every son whom he receiveth.'* Wherefore, above all things, love the cross of Christ, under which all the church of Christ in England now is, and be content to have your faith tried every day by some cross or other, as it pleases God to put on you ; and if God puts no grievous cross upon you, let your brethren's cross be your cross, which is a certain token of true brotherly love. If the church in England had learned with the gospel to have borne the cross of Christ, as all that are professors of the gospel are called thereunto, they would not so lightly, at the commandment of man, have turned from the ways of salvation to their old ways again, contrary to their conscience, and all to avoid the cross, the merciful sign of God's love towards us ! If the cross were not, the faithful could not be known. If the cross were not, God should not so manifestly appear to be our deliverer and comforter, as he shows himself in the midst thereof unto all who put their trust in him. Therefore, beheve them verily to be in a most happy state that are under the cross : and such as utterly abhor the same, are cowards, and not fit soldiers for the Lord. We all have received the credit of faith from God in Christ, that we should beautify the same, or rather God in the same. We have this treasure in brittle vessels : let irs take heed that the brittleness of the vessel shed not our precious treasure on the earth, as it is lamentable to see, at this day, many have most unfaithfully done. Are they worthy of the heavenly kingdom, who here esteem earth more than heaven ? O palpable infidelity ! Will not God require the credit of faith which he has committed unto us ? Yea, verily, is this the usury of faith, to love the 192 Philpot— Letters. world more than the gospel, and to fear man more than Ood ? If men who count themselves stron^^er and wor- thier vessels have thus unfaithfully dealt in the things of God, let the weakness of women be more firm in their faith to the glory of God, whose might appears in weakness. There is no exception of persons before God : both man and woman are one in God : and that person who strives to do his will, of all sorts of people is acceptable to him. Wherefore contend in these cross days, which are the love days of God towards us, to show yourselves faithful to Him that calleth you, and be ready to do his will ac- cording to true knowledge, and that under the cross. God has given you a faithful guide, whom see that you love with all humility, patience, and obedience, as it be- comes a holy woman to be subject to a faithful head in the Lord : and comfort him in our common cross, and bid him cheerfully take up the one end, and you will bear the other, a double string knit together. As you, in your godly matrimony, represent the mystery of Christ and his church ; so continue lively members by faith in the same, and learn daily more and more to bear the cross of Christ, that others, seeing your strength, may be com- forted, and be ashamed of their weakness in their Master's cause. The Lord loveth the faithful servant who brings his talent to his table, with increase. Now is the time to increase to the Lord, and not to decrease ; to multiply our faith under the cross, and not to diminish it. " The ways of the just do increase as the dawning of the day :" embrace, therefore, the cross, as the rainbow of God's merciful covenant : pray that we may together end our course therein with joy. Take my token in good worth until we are made partakers of the glory of the cross. Out of my lord of London's Coalhouse. The 11th of November. Yours, John Philpot. LETTER XVI, To lady Vanc^ encouraging her under the present evil times. The Spirit of joy and rejoicing be with you, and be you comforted through his loving and comfortable leading XVI.] ' To lady Fane. 193 and governance, and make your unfeigned heart, my dearest sister in the Lord, continually joyful against all the fiery temptations of the enemy in these our days, by Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen. Praised and exalted be the name of our living God for the truth of his faithful promises, which he makes his people to feel in the time of extremity, when they seem to the world to be forlorn and most miserable ; such is the goodness of the omnipotence of our God, that he can and does make to his elect, sour sweet, and misery felicity. Wherefore it was not without cause that the wise man in his Proverbs wrote, " Whatsoever happeneth to a just person, it cannot make him sorrowful." All things work to good unto them which be good. Unrighteous we are, and wicked of ourselves, yea, when we have our gayest peacock's feathers on; but through Christ, on whom we believe, we are just, and in his goodness we are good, and hereby have daily experience of his mercy and loving kindness towards us in our afflictions and miseries, con- trary to man's judgment. Therefore, let us always, as David did, put the Lord before us, and then we shall find, as he said, that " He is on my right hand, and I shall not be moved." Sure it is, as St. Paul said, " If God be with us, who shall be against us?" as though he would say that all that our enemies can do maketh for our glory, so long as we abide in God. What hurt had Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed- nego by the fire, whilst the Lord walked with them ? What annoyance had Daniel by the fierce lions in the dungeon, the Lord being with him ? So mighty is our Lord, and able, yea, and ready, to comfort such as put their whole trust in him. Therefore, mine own heart, be of good cheer in these cruel days, for these are to the increase of our glory. They that bring us low, do exalt us, and they that kill us do open the gates of eternal life. You, by the Spirit of God, wherewith your mind is endowed, do see what I say, and I by experience do feel it, praise be to God therefore. I cannot but lament the blindness, or rather madness, of the world, to see how they abhor the prison of the body, in a most righteous cause, and little or nothing at all regard the prison of infidelity,* in which their soul is fettered most miserably, which is more horrible than all the pri- * Unbelief. PHILPOT. It 194 Philpot— Letters. sons ot the world. How much the soul is more precious than the body, so much is the captivity and misery of the soul to be lamented more than that of the body. God, therefore, be blessed, who hath given your tender person to understand that the liberty of the soul surmounteth all the treasures of the world, and that the soul being free, nothing can be hurtful to the body. Hold fast this liberty, for this is the freedom of the children of God, by the which we pass, without fear, both through fire and water. And where those are terrible to the world, to the elect they are joyous and full of glory. God spake to Moses on the mount, in fire, thunder, and storms, and the voice was so terrible to the people, that they trembled thereat, and wished that God would not speak unto them in such wise; but Moses* face, coming out of the same, was so bright that the children of Israel could not behold his face. Even so shall our faces be in the midst of our fiery forms, and our enemies shall here- after never be able to behold the brightness of our coun- tenance. And althouffh we are made as black as the bot- tom of the pot that hangs over the fire, yet sure I am that we shall be made whiter than snow, and purer than silver or fine gold. If we have to joy in any thing in this world, it is in tri- bulations, by which we are certified to be the children of God, and inheritors of his everlasting kingdom. By this, saith St. John, we know the love of Christ towards us, that he gave his life for us. And by this we know we love him, that we are ready at his caUing to yield our life, for the testimony of his truth to our brothers, that they might have occasion to learn, by our faithful example, to esteem the things of God more than those of the world. O may God increase this true faith in you ! for I see hereby you are in possession of heaven. Continually, through hope, behold the things that are not seen, but yet are hidden for our greater reward : and then this noble faith shall not perish, but grow to perfection and fruition of God. What, though this sack of dung, which we carry about us pinches, and repines at this our pure faith, shall it discomfort us ? No, truly, but make us more circum- spect and vigilant, that we are not overthrown in our right ways, since we have so familiar an enemy. By faith we overcome, and he that overcometh shall be crowned. Therefore the assaidts of the flesh and of the XVI.] To lady Vane. 195 world, wherewith we are to be pressed as long- as we live, ought to make us more diligent in spiritual things, and more desirous to be delivered out of this body of corrup- tion. Happy are we that see the danger of our conflict, whereby we are admonished to beware, and to run to the strong hold of the name of the Lord our defence, to which in all your temptations I do most heartily commit your faithful heart for ever. As concerning mine own affairs, since I came to the bishop's Coalhouse, I have now been six times in examin- ation, twice before the spiritual bishops, and once of late before a great many of the lords of the council, before whom I have more frankly, I thank God, uttered my mind than I did any time before. The matter laid against me was, the disputation in the convocation-house two years past, concerning their idol, the mass, which, by all means, they would have me recant ; and I have answered, that if the clergy, that now rule the roast, can prove either their sacrament of the altar to be a sacrament, or else them- selves to be of the true church of Christ, that I would be as conformable to their doings as they could desire. I look daily for my final judgment, which was promised me ere this, but I think now they will defer it till the end of the parliament. God, in whose hands my life is, hasten the time in his good pleasure, and make me worthy of that great glory. You are as present with me, as I am with you. Christ give us a perfect fruition one of another in his kingdom. Our brethren, that are gone before us, look for us. Hasten, O Lord, our redemption, and suffer us not to be overcome of evil. Amen. Out of the bishop's Coalhouse, whereof one Eleyny, dwell- ing in Paternoster-row, gaoler of Lollards' tower ; and another, named Fountain, are keepers, the 13th of November. Your own in Jesus Christ, John Philpot. To my right well beloved^ and the very elect lady of God, which hath chosen the better part, this be delivered. K g 196 Philpot. — Letters. LETTER XVII. ^ letter of Master Philpot to the lady Vane, wherein he coniplaifis of the dissimulation and perjury of English^ men, falling again to the Pope, and expresses his joy in his afflictions. I CANNOT but joy with you, my heartily beljpved in Christ, at the fall of Sennacherib ;* since it is to the glory of God, and to the consolation of his church, to see the fall of their enemies before their face, according as it is written ; " The just shall rejoice, when he seeth the ven- geance of the wicked." God make this your joy perfect ; for, as concerning myself, I count not to see those good days whereof you have a glimmering in this life ; for al- though the cockatrice is dead, yet his pestilent chickens, with the harlot of Babylon,t still live. But there is a great hope of their confusion shortly, because God does not prosper their doings according to their expectation. Most happy shall he be, whom the Lord shall soonest take out of this life, that he may not see the plagues which the manifest perjury, and the manifold idolatry, and detestable dissimulation, and that of such as know the truth, threaten to come upon us. The Lord is just, and all unrighteousness displeases him, and here, or else in arother world, he will punish this gross infidelity of the world. But his elect, and such as he loves, he will punish here, that they should not be condemned hereafter with the world eternally : we have nothing so much to rejoice in as in the cross of Jesus Christ, and that we are partakers of his afflictions, which are the earnest-penny of that eternal kingdom, which he, upon the cross, hath purchased for us. For as St. Paul, his faithful witness, saith, " If we suffer with him, we shall reign with him. If we die with him, we shall live with him." Wherefore, mine own dearly beloved, praise God with me most entirely, that it has pleased him now most mer- cifully to visit the sins of my youth, and my great un- thankfulness, and by the same gives me such consolation, that he assures me of his great goodness and mercy, and * The death of Gardiner, bishop of Winchester, a most decided enemy to the truth, and a persecutor of God's people, t ihe Romish bishops and the popedom, liev. xvii. XVII.] To lady Vane. 197 turns his fatherly castig-ation into my crown of glory. O j^ood God ! what am I on whom he should show this great mercy ! To Him that is immortal, invisible, and only wise, be all honour, praise, and glory therefore. Amen. " This is the day that the Lord hath made, let us rejoice and be glad in the same." This is the way, though it be narrow, which is full of the peace of God, and leadeth to eternal bliss. O how my heart leaps for joy, that I am so near the apprehension* thereof! God forgive me mine unthankfulness and unworthiness of so great glory. The swords which pierced Mary's heart in the passion of our Saviour, which daily also go through your faithful heart, are more glorious and to be desired than the golden'scep- tres of this world. O blessed are they that mourn in this world toward God, for they shall be eternally comforted. God make my stony heart mourn more than it does. I have so much joy of the reward that is prepared for me, most wretched sinner, that though I am in a place of darkness and mourning, yet I cannot lament, but both night and day am joyful, as though I were under no cross at all. Yea, in all the days of my life I never was so joyful ; the name of the Lord be praised for ever and ever, and may he pardon mine unthankfulness. Our enemies fret, fume, and gnash their teeth, to see and hear that we, under this grievous affliction in the world, can be so joy- ful. We are by them counted as desperate persons, for the certain hope and feeling which we have of our ever- lasting salvation : and it is no marvel, for the worldly men cannot perceive the things of God, it is mere foolishness and abomination to them. Be thankful unto our God, mine own dear helper, for his wondrous working in his chosen people. Pray in- stantly that this joy may never be taken from us, for it passes all the delights of this world. This is the peace of God which surmounteth all understanding — this peace, the more his chosen are afflicted, the more they feel ; and therefore cannot faint, neither for fire, neither for water. Let us pray for our weak brethren and sisters* sake, that it may please God to alleviate the grievous and intoler- able burdens of these cruel days. But touching ourselves, let us heartily beseech our Saviour to vouchsafe to give us this glorious gift to suffer for his gospel's sake, and that we may think the shame of the world to be our glory, as * Attainment. K 3 198 Philpot. — Letters. it is indeed. God increase our faith, and open our eyes to behold what is prepared for us. I lack nothin<^, praised be God. I trust, my marriage garment is ready. I will send you my examinations as soon as I can get them written, if you are desirous of them. God of his mercy fill your merciful heart with all joy and consolation of the hope to come. Out of the Coalhouse, the 19th of November. Your own lover, John Philpot. LETTER XVIII. A letter written to John Careless out of the Coalhouse of darknessy whereby he gives light and heavenly comfort to his heavy and troubled mind. Profitable to be read by all who mourn in repentance for their sins. The God of all comfort, and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, send unto thee, my dear brother Careless, the inward consolations of his Holy Spirit, in all the ma- licious assaults and troublous temptations of our common adversary the devil. Amen. I cannot but rejoice to behold that God gives you a heart so contrite for your sins. It is the lively mark of the children of God, whose property is to think more lowly and vilely of themselves than of any others, and oftentimes to set their sins before them, that they might be the more stirred to bring forth the fruits of repentance ; and learn to mourn in this world, that in another they might be glad and rejoice. Such a broken heart is a pleasant sacrifice unto God. O that I had the like con- trite heart ! May God mollify my stony heart, which laments not in such wise my former detestable iniquities. Praised be God that he has given you this sorrowful heart in respect of righteousness, and I pray you let me par- take of these godly sorrows for sin, which are the testi- mony of the presence of the Holy Ghost. Did not the^ sword of sorrow pierce the heart of the elect and blessed mother of our Lord? Did not Peter, who was so beloved of Christ, weep bitterly for his sins ? Did not Mary Mag' dalen wash the feet of our Saviour with her tears, and re- ceive remission of her sevenfold sins ? Be of good comfort therefore, mine own dear heart, in XVI 1 1. J To John Careless 199 this thy sorrow, for it is the earnest of eternal consolation In thy sorrow lauf^h, tor the Spirit of God is with thee. Blessed are they, saith Christ, that monrn, for they shall be comforted. They went forth and wept, saith the pro- phet; such shall come again, having their hands full of gladness. And although a heart sorrowful in consideration of his sin, be an acceptable sacrifice before God, whereby we are stirred up to more thankfulness unto God, knowing that much is forgiven us that we might love the more, yet the man of God must keep a measure in the same, lest he be swallowed up by too much sorrow. St. Paul would not that the Thessalonians should be sorry as other men which have no hope. Such a sorrow is not commendable, but worketh damnation, and is far from the children of God, who are continually sorrowful in God when they look upon their own unworthiness, with hope of forgiveness. For God to this end by his Spirit setteth the sins of his elect still before them, that where they perceive sin to abound, there they might be assured that grace shall su- perabound, and he brings them down into hell, that he might lift them up with greater joy unto heaven. Where- fore, my own beloved in Christ, as long as you are not void altogether of hope, be not dismayed through your heart pensive for your sins, how huge soever they have been, for God is able to forgive more than you are able to sin: yea, and he will forgive him, who with hope is sorry for his sins. But know, brother, that as oft as we go about, by the help of God's Spirit, to do that which is good, the evil spirit satan, lieth hard in wait to turn the good unto evil, and goes about to mix the detestable darnel* of despera- tion with the godly sorrow of a pure penitent heart. You are not ignorant of his malicious subtlety, and how that continually he assaults the good which the grace of God planteth. I see the battle betwixt you and him, but the victory is yours, yea, and that daily : for you have laid hold upon the anchor of salvation, which is hope in Christ, who will not suffer you to be made ashamed. Be not discomforted that you have this conflict : but be glad that God has given you the same to try your faith, and that you might daily appear worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you strive. God beholds your faith striv- ing against satan, and is pleased with your mighty resist- * Weed. 200 Philpot. — Lefkn. ance. The Spirit which is in you is mightier than all the adversary's power. Tempt he may, and lying await at your iu?els, he may give you a fall unawares ; but over- come he shall not ; yea, he cannot, for you are sealed up already witli a lively faith to be the child of God for ever : tuid whom God hath once sealed for his own, him he never utterly forsaketh. " The just falleth seven times, but he riseth again." It is man's frailty to fall, but it is the pro- perty of the devil's child to lie still. This strife against sin is a sufficient testimony that you are the child of God : for if you were not, you would feel no such malice as he now troubles you withal. When this strong Goliah hath the hold, all things are in peace which he possesses ; and because he has you not, he will not suffer you to be unassaulted. But stand fast, and hold out the buckler of faith, and with the sword of God's j)romises smite him on the scalp ; that he may receive a deadly wound, and never be able to stand against you any more. St. James tells you he is but a coward, saying, " Resist the devil, and he will flee from thee.'* It is the will of God that he should thus long tempt you and not go away as yet, or else he had done with you long ere this. He knows already that he shall receive the foil at your hands, and increase the crown of your glory ; for he that overcometh shall be crowned. Therefore, glory in your temptations, since they shall turn to your felicity. Be not afraid of your continual assaults, which are occa- sions of your daily victory. The word of God abideth for ever. In what hour soever a sinner repenteth him of his sins, they are forgiven. Who can lay any thing to the ciiarge of God's elect ? Do you not perceive the manifest tokens of your election ? First, your vocation to the gospel, — and after your vocation, the manifest gifts of the Spirit of God given unto you above many others of your condition, with godliness which believeth, and yields to the authority of the Scripture, and is zealous for the same. Seeing you are God*s own darling, who can hurt you ? Be not of a dejected mind for these temptations, neither make your unfeigned friends more sorrowful for you than need requires. Since God has willed you at your baptism in Christ to be " Careless,"* why do you make yourself careful ? Cast all your care upon him. Set the Lord always before your * Without anxious care. XVIII.] To John Careless. 201 eyes, for he is on your right side, that you shall not be moved. Behold the goodness of God towards me. I am careless,* being fast closed in a pair of stocks, which pinch me for very straitness ; and will you be careful ? I will not have that unseemly addition to your name. Be as your name pretendeth, for doubtless you have no other cause but to be so. Pray, I beseech you, that I may still be careless* in my careful estate, as you have cause to be careless in your easier condition. Be thankful, and put away all care, and then I shall be joyful in my present care. Commend me to all our brethren, and desire them to pray for me, that I may overcome my temptations ; for the devil rages against me. I am put in the stocks in a place alone, because I would not answer to such articles, as they charged me with in a corner, at the bishop's appoint- ment, and because I did not come to mass when the bishop sent for me. I will lie all the days of my life in the ' stocks, by God's grace, rather than I will consent to the wicked generation. Praise God, and be joyful, that it has pleased him to make us worthy to suffer somewhat for his name sake. The devil must rage for ten days. Commend me to Master Fokes, and thank him for his law books ;t but neither law nor equity will take any place among these bloodthirsty ones. I would for your sake their unjust dealings were noted unto the parliament-house, if it might avail. God shorten these evil days ! I have answered the bishop sufficiently plain already, and I said unto him, if he will call me in open judgment, I will answer him as plainly as he will require : otherwise I have refused, be- cause I fear they will condemn me in hugger-mugger.| The peace of God be with you, my dear brother. I can write no more for lack of light, and what I have written I cannot read myself, and God knows it is written uneasily. I pray God you may pick out some understanding of my mind towards you. Written in a Coalhouse of darkness, out of a pair of painful stocks, by thine own in Christ, John Philpot. * "Without anxious care. t See the examinations. X It is evident that Bonner wished to avoid bringing Philpot to bo examined publicly. § A reply to this letter will be found in the letters of Careless. 202 Philpot. — Letters. LETTER XIX. To the lady Vane* The principal Spirit of God the Father, given unto us by Christ our merciful Saviour, confirm, strengthen, and stabHsh you in the true knowledge of the gospel, that your faithful heart, worshipful and dear sister in the Lord, may attain and taste with all the saints, what is the height, the depth, the length, and the breadth, of the sweet cross of Christ. Amen, &c. Oh ! happy are you amongst all other women, who have found this precious stone which is hid in the gospel ; for which we ought to sell all other things, and purchase the same. O happy woman ! whose heart God has moved and enlarged to be in the profession thereof. Others seek worldly goods, honours, and delights ; but you seek with good understanding to serve God in spirit and verity. This is the gate that leads to heaven ; this is your portion for ever. By this you shall see God face to face, which sight is unspeakable joy ; and by this shall you see what- ever your heart can desire. By this shall you have a full sight of all the beautiful powers, and of all the celestial paradise. By this shall you know those whom you never knew, and be joyous and glad with those whom you have known here in God, world without end. Ah ! I lament the infidelity of England, which after such great light is stept into such great darkness again. The servant that knoweth his master's will and doth it not, shall be beaten with many stripes. Ah ! great are \he plagues that hang over England, yea, though the gos- pel should be restored again. Happy shall that person be whom the Lord shall take out of this world, not to see them. Ah ! the great perjury which men have so wil- lingly run into against God, by receiving antichrist again and his wicked laws, which do threaten a great ruin unto England. Oh ! that the Lord would turn his just judg- ments upon the authors of the truce-breaking between God and us, that they might be brought low as Nebuchadnez- zar was, that his people might be delivered, and his glory exalted. God grant that the good luck which you hope may shortly come upon the house of God, may be a true • Here follows a letter of Master Philpot to the Lady Vsne, which because I could not wholly insert for the length, I have excerpted certain specialities thereout, — Fox. XIX.] To lady Vane. 203 prophecy, and not a well-wishing- only. Ah! Lord, take away thy heavy hand from us, and stretch it out upon thine enemies, these hypocrites, as thou hast begun, that they may be confounded. O ! let not the weak perish for want of knowledge through our sins. Although thou kill us, yet will we put our trust in thee. Thus, dear heart, you teach me to pray with you in writing'. God hear our prayers, and give us the Spirit of effectual prayer, to pour out our hearts continually toge- ther before God, that we may find mercy both for ourselves and for our afflicted brethren and sisters. I cannot but praise God in you, for that pitiful heart which takes other folk's calamities to heart, as your own. Blessed are they that mourn, for such shall be comforted. God wipe away all tears from your pitiful eyes, and sorrow from your mer- ciful heart, that you may, as doubtless you shall do shortly, rejoice with his elect for ever. You have so armed me to the Lord's battle both inward- ly and outwardly, that except I am a very coward, I can- not faint, but shall overcome by death. You have ap- pointed me to so good and gracious a general of the field, to so victorious a captain, and to so favourable a marshal, that if I should not g"o on lustily,* there were no sparkle of heavenly manhood in me. I will present your coat armour before my captain, and in the same I trust by him to overcome. The scarf t I desire as an outward siern to show our enemies, who see not our glorious end, neither what God works inwardly in us, through the blind- ness of their hearts, that they persecute Christ's cross in us, whereby he has sealed up the truth of his gospel by his death unto us, that we, by our death, if need be, might confirm the same, and never be ashamed whatsoever tor- ment we suffer for his name's sake ; and our weak brethren seeing the same might be more encouraged to take up Christ's cross, and follow him. God give us grace to do all things to his glory. Amen. The world wonders how we can be joyful in such ex- treme misery, but our God is omnipotent, who turns misery into felicity. Believe me, dear sister, there is no such joy in the world as the people of Christ have under the cross. I speak by experience ; therefore believe me, and fear nothing that the world can do unto you. For when they imprison our bodies, they set our souls at liberty * Courageously. t aome apparel he had requested to be prepared for his burning. 204 Philpot. — Letters. with God. When they cast us down, they lift us up ; yea, when they kill us, then do they bring us to everlasting life. And what greater glory can there be, than to be at confor- mity with Christ ; which afflictions work in us. God open our eyes to see more and more the glory of God in the cross of Jesus Christ, and make us worthy partakers of the same. Let us with St. Paul, rejoice in nothing but in the cross of Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto us, and we to the world. The cross of Christ be our standard to fight under for ever. While I am thus talking with you of our common conso- lation, I forget how I trouble you with my rude and inor- dinate tediousness ; but you must impute it to love, which cannot quickly depart from those whom He loveth, and that desireth to pour himself into their bosoms. Therefore, though your flesh would be offended, as it might justly be at such rudeness, yet your spirit which taketh all things in good part that come of love, will say nay. And now I am departing ; yet I will take my leave ere I go, and would fain speak somewhat that might declare my sincere love to you for ever. Farewell, O elect vessel of the Lord, to the comfort of his afflicted flock ; farewell on earth, whom in heaven I am sure I shall not forget. Farewell most joyfully under the cross, and until we meet, always remember what Christ saith ; " Be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world." God pour his Spirit abundantly upon you, mine own dearly beloved in Christ, until you come to see the God of all gods with his elect in the everlasting Sion. I send to you the kiss of peace, with which I take my leave of you at this present. It is necessary we depart hence, or else we could not be glorified. Your heart is heavy, because I say I must depart from you. It is the calling of the merciful Father, wherewithal you are content, and so am I. Be of good comfort, hold out your buckler of faith ; for by the strength thereof we shall shortly meet in eter- nal glory : to which Christ bring us both. Amen. Amen. The 10th of December, 1555. Death, why should I fear thee, Since thou canst not hurt me, But rid me from misery. Unto eternal glory. Dead to the world, and living to Christ, your own brother, sealed up in the verity of the gospel for ever, John Philpot. / THE END. PrHicrton ThpoloqiCll Semin.iry- Speer Librjf 1 1012 01148 7040