he shall visite thee and all thy dioces, me and all my dioces, yea when hee shall visite all the worlde? What aunswere shalt thou then make? I thinke verely thou shalt then haue enough to do, yea and more then thou canst wynde thy selfe out of, to make aunswere for thy selfe, for thine own dioces, and for thine owne diocesans, though thou vsurpe not vpon other mens as thou doest. The Apostle writeth of Christ humbly, and calleth hym Magnū pōtificem, the great Byshop. And he of Rome is not with this worde contented, MarginaliaPontif. Maximus.but will haue a higher worde for him selfe, in the superlatiue degree. Maximum: Pontificem maximum. The greatest Byshop. Oh, where is the humblenes and mekenes that should be in him? Alas, hee that taketh on hym to teach all the world, how can he for shame, suffer such blasphemous wordes to passe in hys name, to his great shame and rebuke: to the great daunger of his soule: and to the perilous ensample vnto other? MarginaliaThe popes pride will haue a fall.Oh, fye vppon pride. It is a common Prouerbe, pride will haue a fall.

MarginaliaHumilis.Our Byshop Christ was Humilis, meke, lowly, and humble in harte. He rode not vpon any palfray nor couragious horse, but vpon an Asse and that but once. He neuer was borne pompously abroad in chayre, vpon mens shoulders. He neuer profered his foote to any body to kysse. MarginaliaIohan. 13.We read that he washed the feete of hys Disciples and wyped them. We read that Mary Magdalene profered to haue kyssed his feete, but he did prohibite her, saying: Noli me tāgere: MarginaliaMath. 20.Touch me not. He would not suffer the woman then to touch hym. He neuer had garde to defende hym. He neuer followed the pompe of þ^e world. MarginaliaThe humilitie of Christ.He disdayned not to goe vppon the ground with hys bare feete. What shall I say? He gaue ensamples enough to the Byshop of Rome, to me and to all Byshops, to be meeke and humble: he to knowe him selfe, and we our selues, as if he and we diligently looke in Scripture, we shall finde. And herein, in meekenes we are bounde to followe hym.

MarginaliaCompatiens.Compatiens infirmitatibus. Thys Bishop Christ, had compasion of our infirmities, of our frailties. It is impossible for a man to knowe the afflictions of the miserable person, that neuer suffered him self affliction, þ^t neuer had experience of paynes, þ^t neuer felte what payne mente. But thys Byshop Christ, had experience of our nature: how weake, how feble the nature of man is: howe weake of hym selfe to doe any good worke without the helpe of God: how feble to resiste temptations. He suffered and felte the infirmities and paynes of hys naturall body. MarginaliaChrist full of compassion.He hath therfore compassion vpon man, when he doth see hym fall. He soroweth his ruine, teachyng Byshops in especiall afore all other, to haue compassion and pitie vpō the sinner, to helpe him spiritually, to comfort him ghostly, to helpe him to arise frō sinne, to allure him to penaunce, to drawe hym to vertue, to make him know God, to feare his iustice, to loue hys lawes, and thus to seeke all the wayes he and we can, to saue the sinners soule, for whom he shall make aunswere to God for his owne diocesans: soule for soule, bloud for bloud, payne for payne, hell for hell, dampnatiō for dampnation. For whiche soule, our great Byshop Christ (as the Apostle doth witnes) MarginaliaHebre. 5.did offer giftes and sacrificed him selfe, hauyng compassion of them that by ignorance and by errour, did sinne & offend God. Euen when he was in his greatest agonye vpon the crosse, hee cryed to his father: forgiue them father, forgiue thē, they know not what they do,MarginaliaLuce. 23. they are ignoraunt people, they know not what is what, nor what daunger they runne into by this entreatyng me. They know not theyr offences: forgiue them father, forgiue them. In this compassiō we ought also to folow our great Byshop Christ.

MarginaliaPontifex appellatus.It followeth in the former letter: Est Pontifex appellatus à Deo. He is a Bishop, and so named of God. He is the verye Bishop. He offered vp the verye sacrifice, the sacrifice of his owne most blessed body and blood, wherby the synne of the world was put away. Euery Bishop of the worlde is not named a Bishop by God: For some cometh into that office, not by the holy goost, not electe of God, (as Iohn sayth) not entringe in ouile ouium per ostium, sed ascendens allundè. MarginaliaIohn. 10.
All bishops be not called of GodSome there are that entreth into the folde of the shepe of God, not by the dore. Some there be that entreth in, hauyng charge & cure of soule, not by God: but by worldly meanes, by worldly labour, by importune sutes and intercession of frendes, or by their own vnlawfull labour, by Simonie, and such other wayes. Such are not named Bishops by God. Such entreth not by the doore, not by him that saith: Ego sum ostimum. Ego sum via, veritas, & vita. MarginaliaIohn. 14.I am the doore, I am the way, I am the lyfe, I am truth, I am Pastor bonus, the very true and good Bishop that entred by God. And all that entreth otherwise then by God, Christ calleth them, fures & latrones, theues, spoylers, raueners, deuourers, and deceyuers of the shepe. MarginaliaIohn. 10.Their liuing shall declare the same. For such as so wilfullye doe enter, doe studye their owne profytes and commodities. Suche receyueth the fruites and do nothing for thē. Such suffereth their shepe to peryshe for lacke of bodyly and goostlye foode and sustenaunce, for lacke of preaching, for lacke of giuyng good counsell, for lacke of good liuing, for lacke of good ensample. And such, for the most parte, lyueth noughtely, carnally, fleshly, viciously, pompously, worldly, and not byshoply nor priestly. For they came not in by God, nor by grace. Christ sayeth: Qui intrat per me, saluabitur, & ingredietur, & egredietur, & pascua inueniet. MarginaliaIohn. 10.He that entreth by me, shall be saued. Et ingredietur & egredietur. And hee shall goe in, and hee shall goe out. What is that to say: He shall goe in, and he shall goe out? I thinke he meaneth by goynge in, that he shall haue grace to enter studiously into the holye Scripture, daylye and nyghtly to meditate, to study, and to profyte in the lawes of God. Et egredietur. And he shall explane and trulye interpretate and publishe it vnto the people. Et pascua inueniet. And he shall fynde there plentye of spirituall foode for him selfe and for his people, to edifye their soules, to instructe and call them to the knowledge of god, to feede them plentifully, that they shall not lacke necessaries to their soules. Let vs therfore so liue, that we may be called Pontifices appellari à Deo.

This oure great Bishop Christ is also: Pontifex sanctus, innocens, impollutus, segregatus à peccatoribus, excelsior cœlis, sedens á dextris Dei, emūdans conscientias nostras à peccatis, intrans sancta sanctorum per proprium sanguinē. MarginaliaHebre. 7.
Sanctus.He is Sanctus. A holy Bishop, and willeth vs to be holy in our conuersation, applying our selues vnto godlines, to the seruice of God, to liue like Bishops, like priestes, pure, cleane, chaste, deuoute, studious, faithfully laboring in his worde, prayinge, doying sacrifice, and euer to bee godly and vertuously occupied.

MarginaliaInnocens.He is Innocens, an innocent. He neuer sinned, he neuer offended in worde, thought, nor dede. Innocens, noying no creature, profyting all folkes, mekelye sufferynge aduersities, obprobryes, reiagges, rebukes, & reproches, without grudge or contradiction. MarginaliaSimplex.Innocens & simplex: simplex sine plica. An innocent, without plaite or wrincle, without errour or doublenes, without hypocrisie or dissimulation, without flatterrynge, or glosynge, without fraude or disceyte: not seruinge the bodie nor the worlde, but God. In this we ought also to folowe our heauenly Bishop.

MarginaliaImpollutus.Impollutus. He was vndefyled. He lyued cleane, without spotte or blotte, without wemme or stayne. No immundicie in hym, no vncleannes, nor filthynesse: but all pure and cleane, all chaste and immaculate, all bryght and shyning in grace and godlines: MarginaliaSegregatus & peccatis.In somuch that he was Segregatus à peccatorib⁹, cleane segregate frō all kynde of vncleannes, from all maner of synnes, and from synners. Segregate frō them, not from theyr company: For as Mathewe wryteth: MarginaliaMath. 9.Publicans and sinners came and eate and dranke with him and his Disciples in the house of Leui. And he also came as a Phisitiō, to heale the synner. And yet he was segregate frō them, quantum ad participationē cū eis in peccato: as touching their ill lyuinges, not beyng participant with them in sinne: but came only to heale them, & to ridde them from sinne and soores of the soule. He entred the heauens, not with the bloode of kydde nor goate, but with hys owne proper bloude. MarginaliaExcelsior cœlis.For whiche and for hys holynes and perfytnes, Excelsior cœlis factus est. He is extolled and exalted aboue all þ^e Angels, & beatitudes: aboue all the heauens, sitting on the ryght hand of the father. Whom all the heauenly creatures doe worshyp, honour and do reuerence vnto. Where he praieth for his people, and is mediatour in his manhead to his father for vs.

This our Byshop pourgeth our consciences (as witnesseth the Apostle) he clenseth our soules, he maketh vs inwardly beutious and fayre. The Bishop of Rome lacketh manye of these notable vertues. He hath fewe or none of these propertyes, fewe or none of these qualities. He is (as we all are sinners) a sinner. MarginaliaMagnus.To whom thys worde Magnus greate, is not conueniēt, nor can be in him any wayes verified. For hee cannot forgiue sinne as our Bishop doth, nor iustifie as he doth, neither enter in Sancta sanctorum, with his owne bloud, as he did. How can he then be called a great Byshop that is (as we all be sin-