tryumphes, and that in the Englyshe tonge, to get the peoples fauour withall.

All whiche thynges, when I with Godlye grief dyd suffer, and theron did openly bewaile and wytnes, that that company of learned men and scholes, whiche were appoynted to graue men, and to graue matters, were contamynate and defyled by suche foolyshe and Robinhood pastimes, and that they whiche were the doers of suche thynges, dyd but thereby openly shew theyr vanitie: I was so farre by my suche humble complaynt from doyng good, or helpyng any thyng at all, that I was inforced, what with hyssyng and shoutyng, and what with autoritye, to heare suche great reproches and slaūders vttered agaynst me, as no graue man wythoute blushyng, could abyde the hearyng of the same spoken of a moste vyle knaue, agaynste a moste wretched Lout. At the beginning of the dysputation, when I shoulde haue confyrmed myne aunswere, to the fyrst proposition, in few wordes, and that after the maner of disputations: before I coulde make an ende of my probation, which was not very long, euen the very doers themselues cried out: he speaketh blasphemies, blasphemies, blasphemies.

And when I on my knees besoughte them, & that hartely, that they would vouchsafe to hear me to the ende, whereat the Prolocutour some thyng moued, cried out, let hym read it, let him reade it: Yet when I agayn beganne to read it, there was by and by suche a crie and noise, blasphemyes, blasphemyes, as I (to my remembraunce) neuer heard or redde the lyke, excepte it be one, whiche was in the actes of the Apostles, styrred vp of Demetrius þ^e siluer Smith, and others of his occupatiō, crying out against Paule, great is Diana of the Ephesians, greate is Diana of the Ephesians. And except it were a certayne disputation, whiche the Arrians had against the Orthodoxes, and suche as were of Godly iudgement in Affricke: Where it is sayd that suche as the presidente and rulers of the disputations be, such be the endes of the disputations. All were in hurly burly: and so greate were the slaunders that the Arrians caste out, that nothyng coulde quietly bee heard. Thus wryteth Victor in the seconde booke of his hystory. And the cryes and tumultes of these mē at Oxforde nowe so preuayled, that woulde I, noulde I, I was inforced to leaue of the readyng of my probations, althoughe they were short.

If anye manne doubte of the truthe hereof, lette hym aske of anye one that was there, and not vtterlye peruerted in Poperye, and I am sure he wyl saye, that I speake the least. But to complayne of thynges further, I wyll cease: And nowe wyll I goe about syncerelye to note the arguments made agaynst me, and mine answeres vnto them, as muche and as nere as my memorye will serue me, by diligent consyderyng and callynge to mynde euery cyrcumstance to the vttermost I can.

()

I Receiued of you the other daye, right woorshipfull maister Prolocutour, and ye, my reuerende maisters, Cōmissioners from the Quenes maiesty, and her honorable counsell, three propositions, wherevnto ye commaunded me to prepare againste this day, what I thought good to aunswere, concerning the same.

Nowe whiles I weighed with my self, how great a charge of the Lords flock was of late cōmitted vnto me, for the whiche I am certain I muste once render an accompt to my Lord god, (and that howe soone, he knoweth:) And that moreouer, by the commaundement of the Apostle Peter, I ought to bee ready alway to gyue a reason of the hope that is in me, with mekenesse and reuerence, vnto euery one that shall demaunde the same: besides this, considerynge my duety to the churche of Christ, and to youre worshippes, being Commissioners by publike authoritie: I determined with my selfe, to obey your commaundemēt, and so, openly to declare vnto you my minde, touching the foresaid propositions. And albeit (plainly to confesse vnto you the truthe) in these thinges, which ye now demaunde of me, I haue thought otherwyse in times paste, then I nowe doe, yet (God I call to recorde vnto my soule, I lye not) I haue not altered my iudgement as nowe it is, eyther by constraint of any man, or lawes, either for the drede of any daungers of this worlde, eyther for any hope of commoditie: but onely for the loue of the truthe, reueled vnto me by the grace of God (as I am vndoubtedly perswaded) in his holy woorde, and in the reading of the aunciēt faithfull fathers.

These thinges doe I rather recite at this present, because it may happen to som of you hereafter, as in times paste it hath done vnto me: I meane, if ye thynke otherwise of the matters propounded in these propositions, then I now dooe, God maye open it vnto you in tyme to come.

But howsoeuer it shall bee, I will in fewe woordes doe that whiche I thinke ye all looke I shoulde doe: That is, as plainly as I can, I will declare my iudgement herein. Howbeit of this I woulde ye were not ignoraunt, that I wil not in dede wittingly, and willingly speake in any point against Gods woorde, or dissente in any one iote from the same, or from the rules of faith and christian religion, which rules, that same most sacred worde of God prescribeth to the churche of Christe: whereunto I nowe and for euer submit my selfe, and all my doynges. And because the matter I haue nowe taken in hande is weightie, and ye all well know howe vnready I am to handle it accordingly, aswell for lacke of tyme, as also lacke of bookes: therfore I protest here publikely this request before you all this day, that it may bee lawful for me, concerning all mine aunsweres, explications, & confirmations, to adde, or diminish whatsoeuer shall seme hereafter more conuenient, and mete