MarginaliaThe rash leuity in spirituall men, causing men straight wayes for euery light matter, to sweare.head ministers of the Churche, who incontinent as any mā cōmeth before them, anone they call for a booke, and do moue him to sweare, without any lōger respite, yea and they will charge him by vertue of the cōtentes in the Euangely, to make true relation of all that they shall demaunde him, he not knowing what they wil demaund, neither whether it be lawfull to shew them the truth of their demaundes or no: For such things there be, that are not lawfull to be shewed. As if I were accused of fornication, and none could be found in me, or if they shoulde require me to sweare to bewray any other, that I haue knowen to offend in that vice, I suppose it were expedient to holde me still, and not to followe their will, for it should be contrary to charitye, if I should so assente to bewraye them, that I neede not, and to whome perhappes, thoughe I haue knowen them to offende, yet trustinge of their amendement, I haue promised afore to keepe their faulte secrete without any disclosinge of the same. MarginaliaA man is not bound to detect an other mans fault before a iudge, in case.Yea, moreouer, if such iudges sometime not knowing by any due proufe, that such as haue to doe afore them, are culpable, will enforce them by an othe, to detecte thē selues in openinge before them their hartes: in this so doyng, I can not see that men neede to condescende to their requestes. MarginaliaLaw compelleth no man to bewraye him selfe.For it is in þ^e lawe (but I wotte not certeinly þ^e place) thus. Nemo tenetur prodere semetipsum, that is to saye: No man is bound to bewray him selfe. MarginaliaLaw punisheth no man for thought.Also in an other place of the law is written: Cogitationis pœnam nemo patiatur: No man shoulde suffer punishement of men for his thought. To this agreeth the common prouerbe, that is thus: Cogitationes liberæ sunt à vectigalibus. MarginaliaThoughtes be free and neede to pay no tole.That is to say, thoughtes be free and nede to paye no tole. So that to conclude, I thinke it lawfull, at the commaundement of a iudge, to make an oth, to say the truth, specially if a iudge requireth an othe duely, and in lawfull wyse, or to make an othe in anye other case conueniente, and that also for purgation of infamye, when any infamie is lawfully layde against a mā.

MarginaliaTo the. 42. article.In the. xlij. where you aske, whether a Christen person despising the receite of the Sacramentes of confirmatiō, extreme vnction, or solemnising of matrimonye, doo sinne deadly? I saye like of the receyte of them, as I haue sayd before of the selfe things, & none other wise.

MarginaliaTo the 43. article.
Vicar of Christ.In the. xliij. where you aske, whether I beleue, that S. Peter was Christes Vicare, hauing power vpon earth to binde and lose? I say, that I do not perceyue clearlye what you meane by this terme Vicare: For Christ neuer called Peter, ne none other so in Scripture. If you meane thereby, that after the departinge hence of Christ, when he was rysen from death in hys immortall bodye, and so stied into heauen, whereas he remayneth sittinge vpon the ryght hand of his Father, that he so being awaye from hence, S. Peter occupied his roume: then I saye, it is not vntrue but S. Peter in a manner (which I shall shewe here vnder) was hys Vicare, MarginaliaPeter no moer vicar of Christ then Paule and other apostles.and lyke as Peter was his Vicar, euen so was Paule, and the other Apostles, and the one no lesse then the other, if it bee true, that S. Cyprian doth write: which is also consentinge to Scripture. He sayeth thus: That Christ spake vnto Peter saying: I say (quod our Sauiour) that thou art Peter, & vpō this rocke of stone shall I builde my congregation, and the gates of hell shall not ouercome it. To thee will I geue the keyes of heauen, and what thinges thou shallt binde vpon earth, the same shall be bounde also in heauen: and what so euer thou shalt lose vpon earth, shall be losed also in heauen. And to him after his resurrectiō doth Christ say: fede my sheepe.MarginaliaMath. 16.

MarginaliaCypria. de simplicitate Prælatorum.
Iohn. 20.And albeit that he gaue equall power vnto all his Apostles after his resurrection, & sayth: lyke as my Father sent me, do I also send you: Take you the holy ghost: If you shall retain to any man his sinnes, they shalbe retained: If you MarginaliaVnitie.shall remitte to any man his sinnes, to him they shall be remitted. Neuerthelesse, because he would declare vnitie, he ordayned by his authoritye, the originall of the same vnitye begynnyng of one. The other Apostles truelye were the same that Peter was, indued with equal partaking both of honour, and authoritye, or power, but the beginninge commeth of one that the congregation should be shewed to be one. MarginaliaReade afore pag. 1208. col. 2. These are the wordes of Cyprian in a treatise that is called, De simplicitate Prælatorum, wherein you may see that Christ made all the Apostles of equall honour and like authoritie. MarginaliaThe only person of Peter declareth the vnitie of the Church.Notwithstanding, because he would testifie the vnity of his church or congregation, hee spake, as it were, alonely vnto Peter, when he sayd: feede my sheepe: And, I shall geue thee Peter, the keies of heauen: but in so saying, though the woordes seeme spoken to Peter onely, yet they were spoken vnto hym, MarginaliaPeter beareth the person of the whole Church.in that hee sustayned the generall person of all the Church, beyng as it were a common speaker for the same. So that in speakinge to hym, Christ spake vnto all other the Apostles, vnto whom also he gaue all the same authoritye, that he gaue vnto Peter, as you maye see both in these wordes of Cypriā, and also the same is clearly shewed of S. Augustine in diuers places, but no where more plainly in a few wordes thē MarginaliaAugust. de Agone christiano.in a treatise called de Agone Christiano:

To this accordeth well that is written of Paule, Galla. 2. Ab his qui videbantur aliquid esse: quales aliquando fuerunt, nihil mea refert. &c. MarginaliaGal. 2.Of those Apostles (quod Paul) whiche semed to be of authoritye, I vvas not taught (what they were in time passed, it skilleth me nothing: God regardeth not the exterior apparance of man) neuerthelesse they which appeared to be of price, shewed me no learning, or gaue me no coūsell: But cōtrary, whē they had sene that the Gospell of vncircumcision was committed vnto me, lyke as the Euangely of circumcision was vnto Peter, for he that was myghty to Peter concerning the Apostleship toward the Iewes, was myghty also in me toward the Gentiles. Therfore, when Iames, Peter and Iohn, whiche appeared to be as pillers, knewe the grace geuen me, they gaue vnto me and Barnabe, theyr right handes in signes of felowshyp to be their partners, so that we should exercise the office of Apostles among the Gentiles, as they dyd among the Iewes. Wherein you may clearely see, that Paul tooke no instruction of them whiche seemed to be in hygh authority, MarginaliaApostles, mates and fellowes together.and that Peter, Iames and Iohn, whiche were noted principalles, tooke Paul and Barnabas to be theyr mates & felowes. Whiche they would not haue done, (I suppose) if they had knowen, that God had graunted to them a prerogatiue singulare to excell Paul, and to be hys soueraigne: but accordyng to the prerogatiue of God graūted, they myght safely haue shewed it, and enioyed the same: lyke as they did reioyce in other benefites graūted to them of God, to be ministers in hys Churche for the edifying of the same: and as S. Iohn calleth hym selfe þ^e disciple loued of hys maister Iesus, and testifieth, how that vnto him Christ hangyng vpon the Crosse, dyd commit hys blessed mother.

MarginaliaObiection, discussed.Moreouer, if these three Apostles, Iames, Peter, and Iohn should haue by humility, left out to make mentiō of their owne prerogatiue, when they tooke Paul and Barnabas into their felowshyp: yet is it to be thought that Paul, which vseth neuer any inordinate arrogancy, wrytyng the wordes aboue sayd for the magnifiyng of hys owne priuiledge and authoritie geuen hym of God, would not haue suppressed and passed ouer theyr primacy vnspoken of, with whom he maketh here cōparison: for then it might be thought he were enuious, and to pyke away authoritie from other to him self vnlawfully: that can not so be. Moreouer he sayth a litle after the wordes afore rehearsed, that hee reproued S. Peter euen before his face. MarginaliaHierome.Wherupō S. Hierome expoūdyng the same Epistle, MarginaliaPaule equall to Peter.sayth (as I remember) that Paul would not haue bene bold so to do, except hee had knowen hym selfe equall to Peter.