ted. Drawe my soule to thee. After this he sayde this that ensueth, thryse.

I commende my Spirite into thy handes, thou has redemed me þ^e God of truth, God so loued the worlde, that he gaue his onely sonne, that all those that beleue in hym, shoulde haue lyfe euerlasting. Iohn. iij.

Hauing repeated oftentimes his prayers, he was called to God, to the eternall schole, and perpetuall ioyes, in the whiche he enioyeth the societie of the father, the sonne, and the holye Ghost, all the Prophetes and Apostles.

Helias, the conductor and chariot of Israell is dead, who hath gouerned the churche in this last age of the world, for the doctrine of remission of synnes, and of the faith of God, hath not bene comprehended by humayne wysdome, but God hath manifested the same by this holy mā, whome we haue seene raysed of God.

Let vs loue the memorie of this man and the doctrine that he hath taught. Lett vs learne to be modest and meke. Let vs consider the wretched calamities, and marueilous chaunges that shall folowe this mishap and dolefull chaunce. I beseche thee O sonne of God, crucified for vs, and resuscitate Emanuell, gouerne, conserue and defende thy Churche.

About the same tyme, that Luther began to florishe in Germanie, Leo the x. of that name was Pope of Rome, of whome albeit manye thynges might here be spoken, yet it shall bee sufficiēt for this present only to reherse a brief testimonie out of Masseus in his xx. booke of Chronicles, whose wordes are these.

MarginaliaEx Cristiano miceolibro cronicorum 20.About the yeare of our Lorde. 1516. Fraūces the Frenche kynge, receiued from Pope Leo a Iubile and pardons to be solde, to be published throughout all Fraunce, whiche darkenes and mischiefe had possessed all moste all partes of christendome, and specially Englōd. For vnder the pretence of warre againste the Turke, they had gathered together innumerable ryches and treasure, the gatherers and collectours wherof perswaded the people, that who so euer would geue x. shyllinges, should deliuer his soule from the paines of purgatorie, that he should otherwyse suffer, for they helde it for a certayne rule, that God woulde doo what so euer they would haue hym, according to the saying: Quicquid solueris super terram erit solutum in cælis, that is: What so euer you shall loose vpon earth, shalbe loosed in heauen. But if it were but one iotte lesse then x. shillinges, they preached that it would profite them nothing. This kynd of filthie lucre greatly displeased þ^e true chyldren of the churche, wherupon there began question and controuersie to ryse, touching the power of the Pope, and where these newe prelates had gotten this newe doctrine, whiche the auncient byshoppes before neuer knewe.

At that tyme Martine Luther was in Germanie, who very vehemently inueyed against those indulgences and pardons against whom Iohn Eckius put fourth him selfe, these twoocontended in disputation before the people. At the last, the reasons and argumentes of either of them, were sent vnto Paris to be iudged & determined by þ^e Sorbonistes, but for so much as it could not easely be discerned which part should haue the victory, and that iudgement was long protracted: Pope Leo in the meane tyme, with a long cursse, did condempne Luther of heresie and did excommunicate him. He first of all appealed from the byshop being yet vnlearned and vnskyful to the same byshop, when he should better hereafter be aduised & instructed. Afterwarde he appealed vnto the next councell that shoulde followe.

In the meane time, for so much as Pope Leo had cōmaūded all Luthers bookes to be burnt he also openly burned the Popes decrees and decretalls in the vniuersity of Vettenberge, saieng: As they haue done vnto me, so haue I doone vnto them. And thus muche out of Masseus.

Marginalia1517.To this also is to be anexed a nother thing not to be left out which happened in Rome about þ^e same yeare and time, which was. 1517 In which yeare after, that Pope Leo had created. 31. Cardinalls, euen vpon the same day of ther creation, MarginaliaPeters keies stroken out of his hande by tēpest in Romether fell such a tempest of thunder and lightning in Rome, which so strake the church wher the Cardinals were created, þ^t it did strik the litle child Iesus out of the lap of his mother and the keies out of Saint Peters handes being Images in the church, whiche thing many did interprite to signifie and forshow, the ruine and subuersion of the sea of Rome. Not long after in An. 1519. Pope Leo sitting at supper whā as newes was brought that the Frenche men were dryuen out of Italy, he reioysing thereat, after he hadde spoken these wordes God hath bestowed three greate benefites vpon me, first that I being banyshed out of my countrey, retourned againe to Florence with glory. Secondly that I haue deserued to be called Apostolike, and thirdly that I haue dryuen the French men out of Italy. He was striken with a sodeine Feuer and died shortly after.

From the first beginning of this whole boke and history hitherto, good reder, thou hast hard of many and sondry troubles and much busines in þ^e church of Christ concerning the reformation of diuers abuses and gret errors crept into the same, namelye in the church of Rome as apeare by the doings of them, in diuers and sondry places, wherof mentiō hath bene made hertofore in this said history. For what godly man hath their bene within the space of this fiuehundred yeares, either vertuously disposed or excellently learned, which hath not disproued the misorderid doinges and corrupt examples of the sea and bishop of Rome, from time to tyme vnto the comminge of thys Luther?