MarginaliaTlhe way to Mantua long & daūgerous.dyng as they do, will go from England to Mantua, maye be careles, if he lack wytte: sure of his arriuall or returne from thence, he can not be. For who doth not knowe, how oft the Byshops of Rome haue playde false partes with thē, that in such matters haue trusted to their safeconductes? How ofte haue they caused, by their perfidie, such men to bee slayne, as they haue promised by their faith before, that they should both come safe, and go safe? MarginaliaThe falshode of Popes no new thing.These be no newes, Popes to be false, Popes to keepe no promise neyther with God nor man: Popes contrary to theyr othes, to defyle theyr cruell handes with honest mens bloude. But we tarye to longe in thinges that as well touche all men, as vs.

We will, these nowe layde aparte, tourne our Oration vnto such things, as priuately touch both vs, King Henry the eyght, and all Englishe men. Is it vnknowen to any man, what mynde Paule the Bishop of Rome, beareth to vs Kyng Henry the. viij: to vs his nobilitie: to vs his graces Bishops: and to vs all hys graces subiectes, for þ^e pullyng down of his vsurped power, & proude primacy: for expellyng of his vsurped iurisdiction: & for deliuering of our realme from his greuous bōdage and pollage? MarginaliaThe hatred of the Pope against England.Who seeth not hym euen inflamed with hatred agaynst vs, and the flames to be much greater, then he cā now keepe them in? He is an open enemy, he dissembleth no longer, prouoking all men by all the meanes that he can, to endamage vs and our countrey. These three yeares he hath bene occupied in no one thinge so much, as how he myght styrre vp the commons of England, now corruptinge some with money, some with dignityes. We let passe, what letters he hath writē to Christen Princes: with howe great feruent studye, he hath exhorted men to set vppon vs. The good Vicar of Christe, by his doing sheweth howe he vnderstandeth the wordes of Christe. He thinketh, he playeth Christes parte well, whē he may say as Christ dyd: Non veni pacem mittere in terram, sed gladium: I come not to make peace in earth, but to sende swordes about: MarginaliaThe Pope bringeth not peace but the sworde to the earth, otherwyse then Christ dyd.and not such swordes, as Christ woulde his to be armed withall, but such as cruell manquellers, abuse in the slaughter of their neighbours. We maruayle lytle, though they vexe other Princes ofte, seing they recompence our fauour shewed to them, with contumelyes, our benefytes with iniuries.

MarginaliaBenefites cast away vpon the Pope.We will not rehearse here, howe many our benefytes bestowed vpon Romayne Bishoppes, be loste. God be with suche vngrate Carls, vnworthye to be nombred amongest men: Certes, suche that a man may wel doubt, whether God or man hath better cause to hate them. But that we haue learned to owe good will, euen to thē that immortally hate vs, what could we wyshe them so euyll, but they haue deserued much worse? We wysshe them this hurte alone, that God send them a better mynde. God be thanked, we haue made all their seditious ententes, soner to shewe theyr great malice towardes vs, then to do vs much hurte: yet they haue wel taught vs, euermore to take good heede of our enemyes. Vndoubtedly it were good goyng to Mantua, & to leaue theyr whelpes amongest the lambes of our flocke. When we be wery of our wealth, we will euen doe then, as they would haue vs nowe do. No, no, as longe as we shall see his harte so good towardes vs, we trust vpon his warnynge, we shall well prouyde to withstande hys cruell malyce. No, let hym nowe spende his deceytes, when they can hurte none but such as would deceyue, and are deceyued.

MarginaliaThe Popes curses not feared in England.They haue by sundrye wayes, made vs preuie, howe much we be bound to them. It went nigh their hartes, to see the iudgement of Iuly, of Clement the seuenth, of Paule the thirde, nothing to be regarded with vs. They be affraide, if we should susteyne no hurte because we iustely reiected their primacye, that other Princes woulde begynne to do lykewyse, and to shake of theyr shulders, the heauye burthens that they so longe haue borne, against Scripture, al right and reason. They be sory to see the way stopped, that nowe theyr tyrannye, auarice, and pryde can haue no passage into England, whithe was wont to walke, to triumph, to tosse, to trouble all men. They can scarse suffer priuileges, that is to say, lycence to spoyle our citizens, giuē thē by our forfathers & brought in by errorfull custome, to be taken from them. They thinke it vnlawfull, that we require thinges lawfull of them that will be vnder no lawes. They thinke, we doo them wronge, because we will not suffer them to doe vs wronge any longer. MarginaliaThe Popes trūperye dispatched out of England.They see their marchādise to be banyshed, to be forbiddē. They see, that we will bye no longer, chalke for cheese. They see they haue lost a fayre flese, vengeable sorye, that they canne dispatche no more par-dons, dispensations, tot quottes, with the reste of their baggage and tromperie. England is no more a babe. MarginaliaGolde geuen for lead.There is no man here, but nowe hee knoweth that they do folishly, that giue golde for leade, more weyght of that then they receiue of this. They passe not though Peter & Paules faces be grauē in the leade, to make fooles fayne. No, we be sorye that they should abuse holy Saintes visages, to the begylynge of the worlde.

Surely, excepte God take away our right wittes, not only his authoritye shall be driuen out for euer, but hys name also shortly shall be forgotten in England. MarginaliaGod graunt.We will from henceforth, aske counsell of hym and hys, when we luste to be deceyued, when we couet to be in errour, when we desyre to offende God, trouth, and honestie. If a mā may gesse the whole worke by þ^e foundation,MarginaliaThe popes foundation is all deceite. where deceytes begynneth the worke, can any other then deceytes be buylded vpon this fundation? What can you looke for in this Mantuan Councell, other then the oppression of truth and true religion? If there be any thing well done, thinke as euery man doth, MarginaliaThe Pope doth a fewe things well that many euils may the better procede.Bishops of Rome to be accustomed to do a few thinges well, that many euyll may the better be taken at their handes. They when they luste, can yelde some part of their ryghte. They are content, that somme of their decrees, somme of theyr errours and abuses be reprehended: but they are neuer more to be feared, then when they shewe them selfe most gentyll. For if they graūt a fewe, they aske many: if they leaue a lyttell, they will be sure of a great deale. Scarse a man maye knowe howe to handell him selfe, that he take no hurte at theyr handes, yea whē they blesse him: which seldome do good, but for an intent to do euyll. Certaynly come who so will to these shoppes of deceytes, to these faires of fraudes, we will lose no part of our ryght in comming at his call, MarginaliaThe Pope ought to be called and not to call.that ought to be called, and not to call. We will neyther come at Mantua, nor sende thyther for this matter. &c.

And so the kyng procedyng in the sayd his Protestation, declareth moreouer, how the Pope after he had sūmoned his Coūcel first to be kept at Mantua, the 23. of May, an. 1537. shortly after directed out an other Bull, to prorogate the same Councell to the moneth of Nouember, pretendyng for his excuse, that the Duke of Mantua would not suffer him to kepe any Councell there, vnles he mainteined a number of warriours, for defense of the towne. MarginaliaThe Pope agayne prorogeth his Councell.And therfore in his latter Bull, hee prorogeth this assemble, commaundyng Patriarckes, Archbyshops, Byshops, Abbottes, and other of the spiritually, by the vertue of obedience and vnder payne of cursing, to be present, but sheweth no place at all where he would be, nor whether they should come. And in very deede, no great matter, though no place were named. For as good the Councell no where to bee called, as where it could not be. And aswell no place serued hym, that intended no Councell, as all places. And to say truth much better no place to be named, then to name such, as he purposed not to come too: for so should he breake no promise, which maketh none. And so going forward in his Oration, toward the latter end, he thus inferreth by his wordes of Protestation, saying.

MarginaliaPrinces as they gaue the Pope his primacie, so they take it from hym agayne.No, we will the Pope & his adherentes to vnderstand that, that we oft haue sayd, & now say, & euer will say: He nor his hath no authoritie, nor iurisdiction in England. We giue him no more then he hath, that is neuer a deale. That which he hath vsurped against Gods law, & extorted by violence, we by good ryght, take frō him againe. But he & his will say: we gaue thē a Primacie. We heare them well. We gaue it you in deede. If you haue authoritie vpon vs, as long as our consent gyueth it you, and you euermore will make your plee vppon our consent, then let it haue euen and ende, where it began: we cōsent no longer, your authoritie must needes be gone. If we being deceyued by false pretense of euill alleaged Scriptures, gaue to you that you ought to haue refused: why maye we not, our errour nowe perceyued, your deceyte espied, take it agayn? We Princes wrote our selues to be inferiours to Popes. As longe as we thought so, we obeyd them as our superiours. Nowe we write not as we dyd, & therfore they haue no great cause to maruayle, if we hereafter do not as we dyd. Both the lawes cyuile, and also the lawes of God, be on our syde. For a free mā borne doth not lose his libertye, no nor hurte the plee of his libertie, though he write hym selfe a bonde man.