MarginaliaAn. 1555. February.bout the world, but as they fayne, he missed of the accustomed course: wherupon when he went to high, he burned heauen, and when he went to low, he burned the earth and the water. These prophane histories do shame vs þ^t be christian mē. MarginaliaExample of Iason and Titan.Iason agaynst þ^e poyson of þ^e dragon, vsed only the medicine of Medea. What a shame is it for a Christian man against the poyson of the deuill, heresy, and sinne, to vse any other remedy, then Christ and hys word? Titan for lacke of knowledge, was afeard of euery signe of the Sodiacke that the Sunne passeth by: wherfore he now went to low and now to high, and at length fell down and drowned himselfe in the sea. Christian mē for lacke of knowledge, and for feare of such daungers as christian men must nedes passe by, go cleane out of order, and at length fall into the pitte of hell.

Sister take heede, you shal in your iourney towardes heauen, MarginaliaLettes in the way to the kingdome of heauen.meete with many a monstrous beast: haue salue of Gods word therfore ready. You shall meete husband, childrē, louers & frendes, that shall if God be not with them (as God be praysed he is, I would it were withall other a like) be very lettes and impedimentes to your purpose. You shal meete with sclaunder and contempt of the world and be accompted vngracious and vngodly: you shall heare and meete with cruell tyranny to do you all extremities: you shall now and then see the troubles of your owne conscience, and feele your owne weaknes: you shall heare that you be cursed by þ^e sentēce of the Catholicke Church, with such lyke terrours: but pray to God, and folow the starre of his word, and you shall arriue at the port of eternall saluation by the merites onely of Iesus Christ: to whom I commend you and all yours most hartly.

Yours in Christ, Iohn Hoper.

¶ Vnto these letters of M. Hoper heretofore recited, we thought not inconuenient, to annexe also an other certeine Epistle, not of M. Hoper, but written to him by a famous learned man Henry Bullinger, chief Superintendēt in the Citie of Zuricke. Of whose singulare loue and tender affection toward M. Hoper, ye heard before in the begynnyng of M. Hopers lyfe discoursed. Now how louyngly he writeth vnto hym, ye shall heare by this present letter, as foloweth.

¶ To the most reuerend father M. Iohn Hooper bishop of Worcester and Glocester, and now prisoner for the Gospell of Iesus Christ, my fellow Elder and most deare brother, in England.  

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This was first printed in Letters of the Martyrs, pp. 167-70. ECL 260, fos. 28r-29v is a copy of this letter and was Bull's printing cast-off. It is surprising that it was Bull who obtained this letter. Bull apparently never left England, while Foxe had corresponded with Bullinger during Mary's reign and had even asked for information for the Rerum (ZLI, pp. 23, 36 and 42; also see BL, Harley 417, fo. 124r). It is worth noting that material on Hooper which almost certainly came from Bullinger first appeared in 1570. It was very likely that Bull, in obtaining this letter, prompted Bullinger to send his memories of Hooper to Foxe or to Bull who passed it on to Foxe.

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MarginaliaA letter of M. Bullinger to Maister Hooper translated out of latin into englishe.THe heauenly father graunt vnto you, and to al those which are in bandes and captiuitye for hys name sake, grace & peace through Iesus Christ our Lord, with wysdome, patience and fortitude of the holy Ghost.

I haue receyued from you two letters (my most dere brother): the former in the moneth of September of the yeare past, the latter in the moneth of May of thys present yeare, both written out of prison. But I doubtyng lest I should make aunswere to you in vayne, whilest I feared that my letters should neuer come vnto your handes, or els increase and double your sorrow: did refraine from the duty of writing. In the which thyng I doubt not, but you wyll haue me excused, especially seing you did not vouchsafe, no not once in a whole yeare, to aunswer to my whole libels rather then letters, wheras I continued still notwithstanding in writing vnto you: as also at this present, after I heard that you were cast in prison, I did not refraine from continuall prayer, beseching our heauenly father through our onely mediator Iesus Christ, to graunt vnto you and to your fellow prisoners, fayth and constancie vnto the ende. Now is that thing happened vnto you (my brother) the which we dyd often tymes prophecie vnto our selues, at your being with vs, should come to passe, especially when we dyd talke of the power of Antichrist and of his felicitye and victories. For you know the saying of Daniel: MarginaliaThe power of Antichrist described in Daniell chapt. 8.Hys power shall be mighty, but not in hys strength, and he shall wonderfully destroy and make hauocke of all thinges, and shall prosper and practise, and he shall destroy the mighty and the holye people after his own wyll. You know what the Lord warned vs of before hand by MarginaliaMath. 10.Mathew in the tenth chapter, by MarginaliaIohn. 15. 16.Iohn in the 15. chapter, and the. 16. and also what that chosen vessell S. Paule hath written in the second to Timothy and the thyrd chapter.Marginalia2. Tim. 2. 3. Wherefore I do nothing doubt (by Gods grace) of your faith and patience, whilest you know that those things which you suffer are not looked for or come by chaunce, but that you suffer them in the best, truest, &

most holy quarell: for what can be more true & holy then our doctrine, which the Papistes, those worshippers of Antichrist do persecute? MarginaliaThe doctrine of the protestants what it is, wherefore they are persecuted.All thinges touching saluation, we attribute vnto Christ alone, and to his holy institutions, as we haue bene taught of him and of his disciples, but they would haue euē the same things to be communicated as well to their Antichrist and to his institutions. Such we ought no lesse to withstand then we read that Helias withstode the Baalites. For if Iesus be Christ, then let them know that he is the MarginaliaEphe. 1.fulnes of hys Church, and that perfectly: but and if Antichrist be King & Priest, then let them exhibite vnto him that honor. How long do they halt on both sydes? Can they geue vnto vs any one that is better then Christ? Or who shall bee equall with Christ, that maye be compared with him, except it be he whom the Apostle calleth the Marginalia2. Theß. 2.Aduersarie? But if Christ be sufficient for his church, what needeth this patching and peecing?MarginaliaChrist is sufficient, and nedeth not be patched with the Pope. But I know well enough, I neede not to vse these disputations with you which are sincerely taught and haue taken roote in Christ, being perswaded that you haue all thinges in hym, and that we in him are made perfect.

Go forwardes therefore constantly to confesse Christ, and to defy Antichrist, being mindfull of thys most holy and most true saying of our Lord Iesus Christ: MarginaliaApoc. 22.He that ouercommeth, shall possesse all thinges, and I wyll be hys God, and he shall be my sonne: but the fearefull, and the vnbeleuing, and the abominable, and the murtherers, and whoremongers, and Sorcerers, and Idolaters, and all lyers, shall haue their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. The fyrst death is soone ouercome, although a mā must burne for the Lordes sake: for they say wel that do affirme this our fyre to be scarcely a shadow of that which is prepared for the vnbeleuers, and them that fal from the truth. Moreouer the Lord graunteth vnto vs that we may easily ouercome by hys power the fyrst death, the which he him selfe dyd taste and ouercame, promisyng withal such ioyes as neuer shall haue ende, vnspeakable and passing all vnderstanding, the which we shall possesse so sone as euer we depart hence. For so agayne sayth the Aungell of the Lord: MarginaliaApoc. 14. Gods wrath vpon the beast and them that take his marke.If any man worship the beast and his image and receiue his marke in his forehead, or on hys hand, the same shall drinke of the wrath of God, yea of the wyne which is poured into the cup of hys wrath, and hee shall bee tormented in fyre and brymstone before the holy Angels, and before the Lambe: and the smoke of their tormentes shall ascend euermore, and they shall haue no rest day nor night, which worship the Beast & his image, & whosoeuer receiueth the print of hys name. MarginaliaIn this time of Antichrist is the patiēce and faith of Gods children tried, whereby they shall ouercome all his tyranny read. Math. 24.Here is the patience of Saintes: here are they that keepe the cōmaundementes of God, and the faith of Iesus. To this he addeth by and by: I heard a voice saying to me, write: blessed be the dead that dye in the Lord, from henceforth (or spedely they be blessed. Io. 5.) :euen so sayth the spirit, for they rest from their labours, but their workes follow them: for our labour shall not be frustrate or in vayne.

Therefore, seyng you haue such a large promyse, be strong in the Lord, fight a good fight, be faythfull to the Lord vnto the ende: consider that Christ the Sonne of God is your Captaine and fighteth for you, and that all the Prophetes, Apostels and Martyrs, are your fellow Soldiours. They that persecute & trouble vs, are men, sinfull, and mortal, whose fauour a wyse man would not buy with the value of a farthing: and besides that, our life is fraile, short, brickle, and transitory. Happy are we, if we depart in the Lord: who graunt vnto you, and to all your fellow prysoners faith and constancy. Cōmend me to the most reuerend fathers and holy Confessors of Christ, D. Cranmer bishop of Cāterbury, D. Ridley bishop of London, & the good old father D. Latimer. Them & all the rest of the prisoners with you for the Lords cause, salute in my name, and in the name of all my fellow Ministers, the which doe wish vnto you the grace of God, and constancy in the truth.

Concerning the state of our church, it remayneth euen as it was when you departed from vs into your country. God graunt we may be thankfull to hym, and that we do not onely professe the faith with wordes, but also expresse the same effectually with good workes to the prayse of our Lord. The word of God increaseth dayly in that part of Italy that is nere vnto vs, & in Fraunce. In the meane while the godly susteine greuous persecutions, and with great constancy and glory, through tormentes they go vnto the Lord. I and all my houshold, with my sonnes in law and kinsmen, are in good health in the Lord. They do all salute you, and pray for your constancy, being sorowfull for you and the rest of the prisoners. There came vnto vs English men Studentes,