Marginalia1555. February.solation I haue receiued in the time of aduersity by your charitable meanes, but most reioyce that you be not altered from truth, although falshode cruelly seeketh to distaine her. Iudge not (my brother) truth by outward appearaunce, for truth now worse appeareth and more vily is reiected, thē falshode. MarginaliaTruth is not to be estemed by outward appearaunce.Leaue the outward shew, and see by the word of God what truth is, and accept truth, and dislike her not though man call her falshode. As it now, so hath it ben heretofore, the truth reiected and falshode receiued. Such as haue professed truth, for truth haue smarted, and the frendes of falsehode laughed them to scorne. The tryall of both hath ben by cōtrary successe: the one hauyng the commendation of truth by man, but the condemnation of falshode by God, florishyng for a tyme with endles destruction: the other afflicted a litle season with immortall ioyes. Wherfore deare brother aske and demannde of your booke, the Testament of Iesus Christ in these wofull and wretched dayes, what you should thinke, and what you should stay vppon for a certaine truth: and what soeuer you heare taught, trye it by your boke whether it be true or false. The dayes be daūgerous & full of peril, not onely for the world & worldly thynges, but for heauē & heauenly thinges. It is a trouble to loose the treasures of this lyfe, but yet a very paine if they be kept with the offence of God. Cry, cal, pray, and in Christ dayly require helpe, succour, mercy, wisedome, grace and defence, that the wickednes of this world preuayle not agaynst vs. We began well, God preserue vs vntill the end. I would write more often vnto you, but I do perceiue you be at so much charges with me that I feare you would thinke when I write I craue. Send me nothyng till I send to you for it, and so tell the good men your partners, and when I neede I will be bold of you. 3. December. 1554.

Yours with my prayer, Iohn Hoper.

¶ To Maistres Wilkynson, a woman harty in Gods cause, and comfortable to his afflicted members.  

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This was first printed in Letters of the Martyrs, pp. 131-32. Joan Wilkinson was a friend and sustainer to many of the leading Marian protestants but her relationship to Hooper was especially close. She had loaned her collection of books to Hooper during his lifetime and, after her death in 1556, she left '20 for the education of Hooper's son Daniel (See Litzenberger, pp. 89-90).

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MarginaliaThis Maistres Wilkinson afterward dyed in Exile at Franckford.THe grace of God and the comfort of hys holy spirite be with you, Amen.

I am very glad to heare of your health, and do thanke you for your louyng tokens, but I am a great deale more glad to heare how Christianly you auoyde Idolatry, and prepare your selfe to suffer the extremitie of the world, rather then to endaunger your selfe to God. You do as you ought to do in this behalfe, and in sufferyng of transitory paynes, you shal auoyde permanent torments in the world to come. Vse your lyfe, and keepe it with as much quietnes as you can, so that you offend not God. The case that commeth with his displeasure, turneth at length to vnspeakeable paynes, MarginaliaGaynes with Gods displeasure is beggary.and the gaynes of the world with the losse of his fauour, is beggary and wretchednes. Reason is to be amended in this cause of Religiō: for it will choose and folow an errour with the multitude if it may be allowed, rather thē turne to fayth and folow the truth with the people of God. Moses found the same fault in him selfe and did amend it, choosyng rather MarginaliaHeb. 11.to be afflicted with the people of God, then to vse the libertie of the kynges daughter that accounted hym as her sonne. Pray for cōtentation & peace of the spirite, and reioyce in such troubles as shall happen vnto you for the truthes sake, for in that part Christ saythMarginaliaMath. 5. you be happy. Pray also for me I pray you, that I may doe in all thynges the will of our heauenly father: to whose tuition and defence I commend you.

¶ To my deare frendes in God M. Iohn Hall and his wife.  

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This was first printed in Letters of the Martyrs, pp. 136-37.

MarginaliaAn other letter exhorting to stand fast in the truth.THe grace of God bee with you, Amen. I thanke you for your louyng and gentle frendshyp at all tymes, praying God to shew vnto you such fauour, that what soeuer trouble and aduersitie happen, ye go not backe from him. These dayes be daungerous and full of perill, but yet let vs comfort our selues in callyng to remembraunce the dayes of our forefathers, vpō whō the Lord sent such troubles that many hundrethes, yea many thousandes dyed for the testimony of Iesus Christ, both men and women, suffryng with patiēce and constācie asmuch cruelty as Tyrannes could deuise, and so departed out this miserable world to the blisse euerlastyng, where as now they remaine for euer, lokyng alwayes for the end of this sinfull world, when they shall receiue their bodyes agayne in immortalitie, and see the

number of the electes associated with thē in full and consummate ioyes. And as vertuous men suffring Martyrdome, MarginaliaHeb. 11. Consolation taken by the example of the auncient Martyrs.& tarying a litle while in this world with paines, by and by rested in ioyes euerlastyng, & as their paynes ended their sorowes and began ease: so dyd their constācie and stedfastnes animate and confirme all good people in the truth, and gaue them encouragement and lust to suffer the lyke, rather then to fall with the worlde to consent vnto wickednes and Idolatry. Wherfore my deare frendes, seyng God of hys part, hath illuminated you with the same gift & knowledge of true fayth, wherin the Apostles, the Euāgelistes, and all Martyrs suffered most cruell death, thanke him for his grace in knowledge, and pray vnto him for strength and perseueraūce, that through your own faute, you be not ashamed nor afeard to confesse it. Ye be in the truth, and the gates of hell shall neuer preuayle agaynst it, nor Antichrist with all his Impes proue it to be false. They may kill & persecute, but neuer ouercome. Be of good comfort and feare more God then man. This lyfe is short and miserable: happy be they that cā spend it to the glory of God. Pray for me as I do for you, and commend me to all good mē and women. 22. December. 1554.

Your brother in Christ, Iohn Hoper.

¶ To my dearely beloued Sister in the Lord Maistres Anne Warcop.  

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This was first printed in Letters of the Martyrs, pp. 132-33.

MarginaliaAn other letter written to one Maistres Warcop by Maister Hooper.THe grace of God be with you, Amen. I thanke you for your louing token. I pray you burden not your selfe to much. It were meete for me rather to beare a payne, then to bee a hinderance to many. I did reioyce at the comming of this bearer, to vnderstand of your constācy, & how that you be fully resolued by Gods grace, rather to suffer extremity, then to go frō that truth in God which you haue professed. He that gaue you grace to beginne in so infallible a truth, will follow you in the same vnto the end. But my louing Sister, as you be traueling this perillous iourney, take this lesson with you, practised by wise men: whereof ye may reade in the secōd of Saint Mathewes Gospell. Such as traueled to fynde Christ, followed only the starre, and as long as they saw it, they were assured they were in the right way, and had great mirth in their iourney. But when they entred into Ierusalem, where as the starre led them not thether but vnto Bethelem, and there asked the Citizens the thing that the starre shewed before: as long as they taried in Hierusalem and would be instructed where Christ was borne, they were not only ignoraunt of Bethelem, but also lost the sight of the starre that lead thē before. MarginaliaThe surest way is euer to follow the starre.Wherof we learne, in any case whiles we be going in this life, to seeke Christ that is aboue, to beware we loose not the starre of Gods word, that onely is þ^e marke that sheweth vs where Christ is, and which way we may come vnto hym. But as Ierusalem stoode in the way, and was an impediment to these wise men: so doth the Sinagoge of Antichrist that beareth the name of Ierusalem, which by interpretatiō is called MarginaliaIerusalem signifieth the vision of peace.the vision of peace, and amongest the people now is called the Catholicke Church, stand in the way that pilgrimes must go by through thys world to Bethelem MarginaliaBethelem signifieth as much as the house of bread, or of saturitie.the house of saturity and plentifulnes, and is an impediment to all Christian trauellers: yea and except þ^e more grace of God be, will kepe the pilgrimes still in her that they shal not come where Christ is at all. And to stay them in dede, they take away the starre of light which is Gods word that it can not be seene: as ye may see how the celestiall starre was hid from the wise men, when they asked of the Phareseys at Hierusalem where Christ was borne. Ye may see what great daungers happened vnto these wise men, whiles they were a learning of liers where Christ was. First they were out of their way, and next they lost their guide and conductour, the heauenly starre. Christ is mounted from vs into heauen, and there we seeke hym (as we say): let vs therefore go thetherward by the starre of his word, and beware we happen not to come into Hierusalem the church of men and aske for him. MarginaliaChrist is not to be sought nor asked for, but only by the scriptures.If we do, we go out of the way and lose also our conductor and guide that only leadeth vs straight thether.

The Poets write in fables, that Iason when he fought with the Dragon in the Ile of Colchis was preserued by the medicines of Medea, and so wan the golden fleese. And they write also that Titan, whom they fayne to be sonne and heyre of the high God Iupiter, would needes vpon a day haue the conduction of the Sunne round a-