Marginalia1555. February.held with him: but now the word hateth him, it is the true triall who be his.

Wherfore in the name and in the vertue, strength, and power of his holy spirite, prepare your selues in any case to aduersitie and constancie. Let vs not runne away when it is most tyme to fight. Remember none shall be crowned, but such as fight manfully: and he that endureth vntill the end, shalbe saued. Ye must nowe turne all your cogitations from the perill you see, and marke the felicitie that followeth the perill: either victory in this world of your enimies, or els a surrender of this lyfe to inherite the euerlasting kingdome. MarginaliaNeither the felicity nor the misery of this world is to be looked vpon.Beware of beholding to much the felicity or the misery of this worlde: for the consideration and to earnest loue or feare of eyther of thē draweth from God.

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Wherefore thinke with your selues as touching the felicitie of the world, it is good: but yet none otherwyse then it stādeth with the fauour of God. It is to be kept: but yet so far forth as by keping of it we loose not God. It is good abyding and tarying styll amonges our frendes here: but yet so, that we tary not therwithall in Gods displeasure, and hereafter to dwell with the deuils in fire euerlasting. There is nothing vnder God but may be kept, so that God being aboue all things we haue, be not lost.

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MarginaliaAduersity compared with aduersity.Of aduersity iudge the same. Imprisonment is painfull: but yet liberty vpon euill conditions is more painfull. The prisons stincke: but yet not so much as sweete houses, where as the feare and true honour of God lacketh. I must be alone & solitary. It is better so to be and haue God with me, then to be in company with the wicked. Losse of goods is great, but losse of Gods grace and fauour is greater. I am a poore simple creature, and can not tell how to answere before such a great sort of noble, learned, and wise men: MarginaliaAntithesis betwene ioyes and paynes in this world and in the world to come.It is better to make answere before the pompe and pride of wicked men, then to stand naked in the sight of all heauen and earth before the iust God at the latter day. I shall dye then by the handes of the cruell man. He is blessed that looseth this life full of mortall miseries, and findeth the life of eternall ioyes. It is paine and griefe to depart from goods and frends: but yet not so much, as to depart from grace and heauen it selfe. Wherefore there is neither felicity nor aduersity of this world, that can appeare to be great, if it be wayed with the ioyes, or paynes in the world to come.

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I can do no more, but pray for you: doo the same for me, for Gods sake. For my part (I thanke the heauenly father) I haue made myne accompts and appoynted my selfe vnto the will of the heauenly father: as he will, so I will, by hys grace. For Gods sake as soone as ye can, sende my poore wyfe and children some letter from you,  

and my letter also which I sent of late to D. As it was tolde me, she neuer had letter from me, sythens the commyng of Maister S.   vnto her: the more to blame the messengers, for I haue written diuerse tymes. The Lord comfort them, and prouyde for them: for I am able to do nothing in worldly thinges. MarginaliaMaister Hoopers care and commendation of his wife.She is a Godly and wise womā. If my meaning had bene accomplished, she should haue had necessary thinges, but that I meant, God can perfourme, to whom I commend both her and you all. I am a precious Iewel now and deyntely kept, neuer so deyntely: for neyther myne owne man, nor any of the seruauntes of the house may come to me, but my keper alone: a symple rude man (God knoweth) but I am nothing carefull thereof. Fare ye well the. xxj. of Ianuary. 1555.

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Yours bounden Iohn Hoper.

Amongest many other memorable actes and notes worthy to be remembred in the history of M. Hooper, this also is not to be forgottē, which happened betwene him and a bragging Frier a litle after the beginnyng of his emprisonment: the story whereof here followeth.

MarginaliaTalke betewene Maister Hooper and a Fryer in the prison.A Frier came frō Fraūce to Englād w^t great vaunt, asking who was the greatest hereticke in all England, thinking belyke to doe some great act vpon hym. To whom aunswer was made that M. Hooper had thē the greatest name to be the chiefest ringleader: who was then in the Fleete. The Frier comming to him, asked why he was committed to prison. He sayd for debt.  

Nay, said he, it was for heresie. Which when the other had denied, what sayest thou (quoth hee) to hoc est corpus meum? Maister Hooper being partly moued

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at the soden question, desired that he might aske of hym agayne an other question, which was this: What remayned after the consecration in the sacrament: any bread or no? No bread at all sayth hee. And when ye breake it, what do ye breake: eyther the bread or the body, sayd M. Hooper? No bread sayd the Frier, but the body onely. If you do so, sayd M. Hooper, ye doe great iniury, not onely to þ^e body of Christ, MarginaliaIf the materiall body of Christ be broken in the Sacrament, then is the commaundement of Gods word broken.but also ye breake the scriptures, which say: ye shall not breake of hym one bone. &c. With that the Frier hauing nothing belike to aūswere, sodainly recoyled backe, & with his circles and crosses began to vse exorcisme against M. Hooper, as though. &c. This and more wrote M. Hooper to Maistres Wylkinson in a letter, which letter was read vnto her by Iohn Kelke,  

who is yet a lyue.

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MarginaliaA comparison betwene M. Hooper and Polycarpus.WHen I see and behold the great patience of these blessed Martyrs in our dayes, in their sufferinges so quietly and constantly abiding the tormentes that are ministred vnto them of princes for Gods cause: me thinkes I may well and worthely compare them vnto the old Martyrs of the primatiue church. In the number of whom , if comparison be to bee made betwixt Saint and Saint, Martyr and Martyr, with whom might I match this blessed Martyr M. Iohn Hoper better through þ^e whole catalogue of the old Martyrs, then with Polycarpus the auncient bishop of Smirna, of whom MarginaliaEseb. lib. 4. cap. 15.Eusebius maketh mencion in the Ecclesiastical story? For as both agreed together in one kynde of punishmēt, beyng both put to the fire, so which of them shewed more patience and cōstancy in the tyme of their suffering, it is hard to be said. And though Polycarpus, being set in the flame (as the story sayth) was kept by miracle from the torment of the fyre, tyll hee was stricken downe with weapon, and so dispatched: yet Hooper by no lesse miracle armed with patience & feruent spirite of Gods comfort, so quietly despised the violence thereof, as though he had felt little more then did Polycarpus in the fire flamyng round about hym.

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Moreouer, as it is written of MarginaliaOf thys Polycarpus read before pag. 60.Polycarpus, when he should haue bene tyed to the stake, he required to stand vntyed, saying these wordes: Sinite me, qui namque ignem ferre posse dedit, dabit etiam vt fine vestra clauorum cautione immotus in rogo permaneam. That is: Let me alone, I pray you, for hee that gaue me strength to come to this fire, wyll also geue me patience to abyde in the same, without your tying. So likewyse Hooper, with the like spirite, when he should haue bene tyed wyth three chaynes to the stake, requiring them to haue no such mistrust of him, was tied but wyth one, who and if he had not bene tyed at all, yet (no doubt) would haue no lesse aūswered to that great patience of Polycarpus.

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And as the end of them both was much agreeing, so the life of them both was such, as might seeme not farre discrepant. MarginaliaM. Hooper compared to Polycarpus in life.In teaching, lyke diligent both, in zeale feruent, in lyfe vnspotted, in maners and conuersation inculpable, Bishops and also Martyrs both. Briefly, in teaching so pithy & fruitfull, that as they both were ioyned together in one spirite, so might they be ioyned in one name together of MarginaliaΠολύκαρποςπολύκαρπος, to wit, much fruit full. To which name also Marginaliaὄπωροςὄπωρος, is not much vnlyke. In this, the Martyrdome of M. Hooper may seeme in suffering to go before, though in tyme it followed the martyrdome of Polycarpus, for that he was both longer in pryson, and there also MarginaliaThe cruell handling of M. Hooper.so cruelly handled by the malice of hys Keepers, as I thinke none of the old martyrs euer suffered the like. To this also adde how hee was disgraded by Boner, with such contumelies and reproches, as I thinke in Polycarpus tyme was not vsed to any.

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And as we haue hytherto compared these two good Martyrs together, so now if wee shoulde compare the