Marginalia1555. October.comfort, and remember that our graund captaine hath ouercome the world: for he that is in vs is stronger then he that is in the world,Marginalia1. Iohn. 4. and the Lord promiseth vnto vs that for the electes sake the dayes of wickednes shall be shortned. In the meane season abyde ye and endure with patiēce as ye haue begun: endure I say, and reserue your selues vnto better times, as one of the Heathen Poetes sayd.MarginaliaVirgil. æneid. 1. Cease not to shew your selues valiaūt Souldiours of the Lord, and helpe to mainteyne the trauelyng fayth of the Gospell. MarginaliaPhil. 1.

MarginaliaHeb. 10.Ye haue nede of patience, that after ye haue done the will of God, ye may receaue the promises.MarginaliaPatience necessary for all Christians. For yet a very litle while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tary, and the iust shall lyue by fayth: but if any withdraw him selfe, my soule shall haue no pleasure in hym (sayth the Lord). But we are not they which do withdraw our selues vnto damnation, but beleue vnto the saluation of the soule.Marginalia1. Iohn. 10. Let vs not suffer these wordes of CHRIST to fall out of our hartes by any maner of terrors or threatnyngs of the world. Feare not them which kil the body: the rest ye know. For I write not vnto you as to men which are ignoraunt of the truth, but which know the truth, and to this end onely, that we agreeyng together in one fayth, may take comfort one of an other, and be the more confirmed and strengthened therby.MarginaliaThe quarell of the Martyrs is iust and true. We neuer had a better or more iust cause either to contemne our life, or sheed our bloud: we can not take in hand the defence of a more certaine, cleare, and manifest truth. For it is not any ceremony for the which we contend, but it toucheth the very substaunce of our whole Religion, yea euen CHRIST him selfe. Shal we, either can we receaue and acknowledge any other CHRIST in stead of him, who is alone the euerlasting sonne of the euerlastyng father, and is the brightnes of the glory, and liuely image of the substaunce of the father,MarginaliaHeb. 1. MarginaliaColoss. 2.MarginaliaMartyrs put to death because they will acknowledge no more Christes but one.in whom onely dwelleth corporally the fulnes of the Godhed, who is the onely way, the truth and the life? Let such wickednes (my brethren) let such horrible wickednes be farre from vs. For although there be that are called Gods, whether in heauen either in earth, as there be many Gods and many Lordes, yet vnto vs there is but one God, which is the father, of whom are all thinges and we in him, and one Lord IESVS CHRIST, by whom are all thinges, and we by hym: but euery man hath not knowledge. This is lyfe eternall (saith S. IohnMarginaliaIohn. 17.) that they know thee to be the onelye true Cod, and whom thou hast sent IESVS CHRIST. If any therefore would force vpon vs anye other God, besides him whom Paule and the Apostels haue taught, let vs not heare him, but let vs flye from him, and hold him accursed.

MarginaliaThe profundities of Sathan. Apoc. 2.Brethren, ye are not ignoraunt of the deepe and profound subtilties of Sathan: for he wil not cease to raūge about you, seeking by all meanes possible whom he may deuour:Marginalia1. Pet. 5. but play ye the men, and be of good comfort in the Lord. And albeit your enemies and the aduersaries of the truth, armed with al worldly force and power that may be, do set vpon you: yet be not ye faint harted, nor shrincke not therefore: but trust vnto your Captayne CHRIST, trust vnto the spirite of truth, and trust to the truth of your cause: which, as it may by the malice of Sathan be darkened, so can it neuer bee cleane put out. MarginaliaThe Martyrs haue all the Prophets, Apostles, and auncient ecclesiasticall writers on theyr side.For we haue (high prayse bee geuen to God therefore) most plainly, euidently, and clearely on our side, all the Prophetes, all the Apostels, and vndoubtedly, al the auncient Ecclesiasticall writers which haue written vntyll of late yeares past.

Let vs be hartye and of good courage therefore, and throughly comfort our selues in the Lord. Be in no wise afraid of your aduersaries: for that which is to them an occasion of perdition, is to you a sure token of saluation, and that of God. For vnto you it is geuen, that not onely ye should beleue on hym, but also suffer for hys sake.MarginaliaPhil. 1. And when ye are railed vpon for the name of CHRIST, remember that by the voyce of Peter,Marginalia1. Pet. 4. yea and of CHRIST our Sauiour also, ye are counted with the Prophetes, with the Apostles, & with the holy Martyrs of CHRIST, happy and blessed therefore: for the glory and spirite of God resteth vpō you. On their part our Sauior CHRIST is euyll spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. For what can they els do vnto you by persecuting you, and working all cruelty and vilanye against you, but make your crownes more glorious, yea beautify and multiply the same, & heape vpon them selues the horrible plagues and heauy wrath of God: MarginaliaHe exhorteth vs not to wish euill to our persecutors.and therefore good brethren, though they rage neuer so fiercely agaynst vs, yet let vs not wish euyll vnto them againe, knowing that whyles for CHRISTES cause they vexe and persecute vs, they

are lyke mad men, most outragious and cruell agaynst them selues, heaping hot burning coales vpō their own heades: but rather let vs wysh well vnto them, knowing that we are therunto called in CHRIST IESV, that Marginalia1. Pet. 3.we should be heyres of the blessing. Let vs pray therefore vnto God that he woulde driue out of their hartes this darknes of errours, and make the light of his truth to shine vnto them, that they acknowledging their blindnes, may with all humble repentaunce be conuerted vnto the Lord, and together with vs confesse hym to be the onely true God, which is the father of light, and his onely sonne IESVS CHRIST, worshipping hym in spirite and verity, Amen. The spirite of our Lord IESVS CHRIST comfort your hartes in the loue of God, and pacience of CHRIST, Amen

Your brother in the Lord, whose name this
bearer shal signify vnto you, ready alwaies by
the grace of God to lyue and dye with you.

¶ To the Brethren  

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This letter was first printed in Letters of the Martyrs, pp. 34-38 and was reprinted in the 1570 edition and all subsequent editions of the Acts and Monuments. BL, Add. 19400, fos. 52r-56r is a copy of this letter corrected and initialed by Ridley. Other copies of the letter are ECL 260, fos. 109r-110r and 280r-v.

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which constantly cleaue vnto Christ in suffering affliction wyth hym and for hys sake.  

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Notice the quasi-official tone of this heading and of this letter: Ridley is not sending this missive to friends but to imprisoned protestants in general.

MarginaliaAn other letter of B. Ridley, wherein he confirmeth the brethren in captiuitie, translated out of the Lattin.GRace and peace from God the father, and from our Lord IESVS CHRIST be multiplied vnto you, Amen.

Although brethren, we haue of late heard nothing frō you, neyther haue at this present any newes to send you: yet we thought good somthing to write vnto you, whereby ye might vnderstand that we haue good remēbraunce of you continually, as we doubt not but ye haue of vs also. When this messenger comming vnto vs frō you of late, had brought vs good tidinges of your great constancye, fortitude, and pacience in the Lord: MarginaliaCommunion and vnitie of Saintes.we were filled with much ioye and gladnes, geuyng thankes to God the father through our Lord IESVS CHRIST, which hath caused his face so to shyne vpon you, & with the light of spirituall vnderstanding hath so lyghtened your hartes, that now being in captiuity and bandes for CHRISTES cause, ye haue not ceased, as much as in you lyeth, by wordes, but much more by dede and by your example, to stablish and confirme that thyng, which whē ye were at liberty in the world, ye laboured to publish and set abroad by the worde and doctrine: that is to say, holding fast the worde of lyfe, ye shyne as lyghtes in the world in the midst of a wicked and croked nation,MarginaliaPhil. 2. and that with so much the greater glory of our Lord IESVS CHRIST, and profite of your brethren, by howe much Satan more cruelly now rageth and busily laboureth to darken the lyght of the Gospell.

And as for the darkenes that Satan now bringeth vpon the church of England, who needeth to dout therof? MarginaliaReasons prouing the religion of Q. Maries time not to be of God.Of late tyme our Sauiour CHRIST, his Apostles, Prophetes, and teachers, spake in the temple to the people of England in the Englishe tongue, so that they might be vnderstanded playnly and without any hardnes, of the Godly and such as sought for heauēly knowledge in matters which of necessity of saluation perteyned to the obtayning of eternall lyfe: but now those thinges which once were written of them for the edifying of the congregation, are red in a straunge tongue without interpretation, manifestly agaynst Saint Paules commaundement, so that there is no man able to vnderstand them which hath not learned that straunge and vnknowen tongue. MarginaliaComparison betwene the religion in K. Edwardes time, and the religion set out in Queene Maries time.Of late dayes those heauenly mysteries, whereby CHRIST hath ingraffed vs into hys body, and hath vnyted vs one to an other, whereby also being regenerate and borne a new vnto God, hee hath nourished, encreased, and strēgthened vs, whereby moreouer, eyther he hath taught and set foorth an order amonges them which are whole, or els to the sycke in soule or body hath geuen, as it were holsome medicines & remedies: those (I say) were all playnly set forth to the people in theyr own language, so that what great and exceding good thinges euery man had receaued of God: what duety euery one owed to an other by Gods ordinaunce: what euery one had professed in his vocation and was bound to obserue: where remedy was to be had for the wicked and feeble, he to whom God had geuen a desyre and willing hart to vnderstand those thinges, myght sone perceaue and vnderstand. MarginaliaScriptures in K. Edwardes time knowen, in Queene Maries time vnknowen.But now all these thinges are taught and set forth in such sort, that the people redemed with CHRISTES bloude, and for whose sakes they were by CHRIST him selfe ordayned, can haue no maner of vnderstanding thereof at all.

Of late (for asmuch as we know not how to pray as we ought) our Lord IESVS CHRIST in hys prayer, whereof he would haue no man ignoraunt, and also the