MarginaliaAn. 1555. September.many worldly persuasions vnto me to auoyd the present perill, & also how to auoyd the forfiture, if I brake my promise. MarginaliaWorldly persuasions not receaued.I sayd vnto th? I had cast my penyworth, by Gods helpe. They vndertooke also to make the bonde easie. And when they were somewhat importune,  

I sayd to M. Hopkins, that libertie of conscience was a precious thyng, and tooke as it were a pause, liftyng vp my hart to God earnestly for his ayde & helpe that I night do the thyng that might please him. And so, wh? they had let their sute fal, MarginaliaM. Glouer agayne visited with Gods holy comfort.my hart, me thought, was wonderfully comforted. M. Dudley commoned with me in like maner: whom I aunswered in effect as I did before. Afterward debatyng the matter with my selfe, these considerations came to my head: I haue fr? tyme to tyme with good conscience (God I take to record) moued all such as I had conference withall, to be no dalyers in Gods matters, but to shew them selues after so great a light and knowledge, harty, earnest, c?stant, and stable in so manifest a truth, and not to geue place one iote contrary to the same: MarginaliaM. Glouer reasoning with himselfe.Now thought I, if I shall withdraw my selfe, and make any shiftes   to pull my owne necke out of the collor, I shall geue great offence to my weake brethren in CHRIST, and adua?tage to the enemyes to scla?der Gods word. It will be sayd, he hath bene a great boldner of others to be earnest & feruent, to feare no worldly perills or daungers, but he him selfe will geue no such example.

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MarginaliaM. Glouer taketh courage, all feare and daungers set aside.Wherefore I thought it my bounden duty both to God and man, beyng (as it were) by the great goodnes of God, maruelously called and appointed hereunto, to set aside all feare, perils, and daungers, all worldly respectes and c?siderations, and like as I had heretofore, accordyng to the measure of my small gift, within the compasse of my vocation and calling, from the bottome of my hart vnfaynedly moued, exhorted, and persuaded all that professed Gods word, m?fully to persiste in the defence of the same, not with sword and violence, but with sufferyng and losse of life, rather then to defile th? selues agayne with the whorishe abomination of the Romishe Antichrist: so the houre beyng come, with my fact and example to ratifie, c?firme, and protest the same to the hartes of all true beleuers: and to this end (by the mighty assistaunce of Gods holy spirite) MarginaliaM. Glouer resolued in him selfe to abide the vttermost, in the Gospels cause.I resolued my selfe with much peace of conscience, willyngly to sustayne what soeuer the Romish Antichrist should do agaynst me, and the rather because I vnderstode the Bishops commyng to be at hand, and c?sidered that poore mens consciences should be then sharpely assaulted. So remained I prisoner in Couentry by the space of. 10. or. 11. dayes, being neuer called to my aunswere of the Masters, MarginaliaThe Papistes procede with M. Glouer agaynst the lawes of the realme.contrary to the lawes of the Realme, they hauing neither statute, law, proclamation, letter, warr?t, nor c?maundement for my apprehension. They would haue layd all the matter vp? the Sumner.  

Who beyng examined, denyed it before their faces (as one of my frendes told me) saying: MarginaliaCommaundement geuen to the Sumner agaynst Iohn Glouer, and not against Rob. Glouer.that he had no c?maundement concernyng me, but for my elder brothre.   God lay not their extreme doynges agaynst me, to their charge at the great day.  

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The second day after the MarginaliaThis Bishops name was D. Banes.Bishops commyng to Couentry, MarginaliaM. Warren of Couentrie persecutor of Rob. Glouer.M. Warren came to the Yeldhall, and willed the chief Iayler to cary me to the Byshop. I layd to M. Warrens charge the cruell seeking of my death: & wh? he would haue excused him selfe, I told hym he could not wype his h?des so: he was as gilty of my bloud before God, as though he had murthered me w^t his owne handes. And so he parted from me saying, I needed not to feare if I would be of his belief. God open his eyes if it be his will, & geue him grace to beleue this, which he and all of his inclination, shall finde (I feare) to true for their partes: MarginaliaA lesson for all persecutors.that is, that all they which cruelly, maliciously, and spitefully persecute, molest and afflict the members of CHRIST for their conscience sake, and for the true testimonie of CHRISTES word, and cause them most vniustly to be slayne and murthered:

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without spedy repentaunce, shall dwell with the deuill and his Aungels in the fiery lake euerlastyngly, where they shall wish and desire, cry and call, but in vayne (as their right compani? Epulo didMarginaliaLuke. 16.) to be refreshed of th?, whom in this world they contemned, despised, disdayned, as slaues, misers, and wretches.

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MarginaliaRob. Glouer brought before Banes B. of Lichfield and Couentrie.When I came before the Byshop in one Dentons house, he began with this protestation, that he was my Byshop for lacke of a better,  

and willed me to submit my selfe.

I sayd to him, I am not come to accuse my self: what haue you to lay to my charge?

He asked me whether I was learned. I aunswered, smally learned.

Master Chauncellour st?dyng by, sayd MarginaliaMaister Rob. Glouer Master of Arte in C?bridge.I was a master of Art.

Then my Lord laid to my charge, my not commyng to the Church.MarginaliaRob. Glouer charged for not comming to the church.

Here I might haue dalyed with him and put him to his proofes, for asmuch as I had not bene for a long season in his Dioces,  

neither was any of the Citizens hable to proue any such matters agaynst me. Notwithst?dyng I a?swered him thorough Gods mercifull helpe, that I neither had nor would come at their Church as long as their Masse was vsed there, to saue (if I had them) v. hundreth liues. I willed him to shew me on iote or title in the Scripture for the proofe and defence of the Masse.

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He aunswered, he came to teach & not to be taught.

I was content (I told him) to learne of him, so farre as he was able to teach me by the word of God.

Bysh. Who shall iudge the word?

Glouer. CHRIST was content that the people should iudge his doctrine by searching the Scriptures, and so was Paul: me thinketh ye should clayme no further priuiledge or preeminence then they had. Thus spake Rob. Glouer offering him further, that he was cont?t the primitiue Church next to the Apostles time, should iudge betwixt the Bishop and him. MarginaliaThe B. refuseth to be iudged by the primitiue church.But he refused also to be iudged by that. Then he sayd he was his Byshop and therfore he must beleue him.

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Glo. If you say blacke is white my Lord (quoth Glouer) must I also say as you say, and beleue the same because you say it is so? Master Chauncelour here noted me to be arrogant, because I would not geue place to my Byshop.

Glo. If you will be beleued because you be a Byshop, why finde you faut with the people that beleued M. Latymer, M. Rydley, M. Hoper, and the residue of them that were Bishops?

Bysh. Because they were heretickes.

Glo. And may not you erre (quoth I) as well as they? I looked for learnyng at my Lordes hand to persuade me, and he oppressed me onely with his authoritie. He sayd I dissented from the Church, and asked me MarginaliaWhere was the church before King Edwardes time.where my Church was before kyng Edwardes tyme.

I desired him to shewe me where their Church was in Helias tyme, and what outward shew it had in CHRISTES tyme.

MarginaliaThe Byshop could not shew where Gods church was in Israell, nor where any prophet was in all Iuda, in Helias time.Byshop. Helias complaint was onely of the tenne tribes that fell from Dauids house, whom he called heretickes.

Glo. You be not able to shew any Prophetes that the other two tribes had at the same tyme.

My Lord makyng no aunswere to that, M. Rogers one of the Maisters of the City commeth in the meane season, taking vpon him as though he would aunswere to the text. But my Lord forthwith commaunded me to be committed to some Tower if they had any besides the common Iayle, saying he would at the ende of his visitati? of his Dioces, weede out such wolues. M. Rogers wylled hym to content hym selfe for that night till they had taken further order for me. Euen where it pleaseth you, sayd I to my Lord, I am content: and so I was returned at that tyme to the c?mon Iayle a-

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