Marginalia1555. October.uer so shamefull and paynfull. But alas, how little do men regard those sharpe sayinges of these two holy men? and how little do they feare the terrible iudgement of almighty God? and specially they which boast them selues to be guydes and Captaynes vnto other, and challenging vnto them selues the knowledge of holy scripture, yet will neither shewe the truth them selues (as they be bound) neither suffer thē that would: So that vnto them may be sayd that which our Sauiour CHRIST sayd to the Phariseis, Math. 23. MarginaliaMat. 23.Wo be vnto you Scribes and Phariseis, which shut vp the kingdome of heauen before men, and neither will you enter in your selues, neyther suffer them that would, to enter. And they will as much as in them lieth, debar, not onely the word of God, which Dauid calleth a lyght to direct and shew euery man how to order his affections and lustes, according to the commaundements of God: but also by their MarginaliaThe subtle wilines and practices of the prelates.snbtill wylines they instruct, moue, and prouoke, in a maner, all Kings in Christendome to ayde, succour, and helpe them in thys their mischiefe: And in especiall in thys your realme, they haue sore blynded your leige people and subiects with their lawes, customes, ceremonies, and Banbery glosses, and punished them with cursinges, excommunications, and other corruptions (corrections I would say): and now, at the last when they see that they cannot preuayle agaynst the open truth (which the more it is persecuted, the more it increaseth by their tyrāny) they haue made it treason to your noble grace to haue the scripture in English.

Here I besech your grace to pardon me a while and paciently to heare me a worde or two: yea and though it be so that as concerning your hye maiesty and regall power, whereunto almighty God hath called your grace, there is as great differēce betwene you and me, as betwene God and man. For you be here to me and to all your subiectes, in Gods steede, to defend, ayde, and succour vs in our ryght, and so I should tremble and quake to speake to your grace. MarginaliaPsal. 15. MarginaliaEphe. 2. Kinges stand as much in nede of Christes passion, as any inferiour subiect.But againe, as cōcerning that you be a mortal man, in daunger of sinne, hauing in you the corrupt nature of Adam, in the which all wee bee both conceaued and borne, so haue you no lesse neede of the merites of CHRISTES passion for your saluatiō, then I and other of your subiects haue, which be all members of the mysticall body of CHRIST. And though you be an hygher member, yet you must not disdayne the lesser. For as S. Paul saith: MarginaliaRom. 12. 1. Cor. 2. Ephe. 4. Marginalia1. Cor. 12.those members that be taken most vilest and had in least reputation, be as necessary as the other, for the preseruation and keeping of the body. This, most gracious King, when I considered, and also your fauorable and gentle nature, I was bolde to wryte this rude, homely, and simple letter vnto your grace, trusting that you will accept my true & faythfull mind euen as it is.

First and before all thinges I wil exhort your grace to marke the lyfe & processe of our Sauiour CHRISTMarginaliaMath. 7. and his Apostles in preaching and setting forth of the Gospell, and to note also the woordes of our Master CHRIST, which he had to his Disciples when he sent them forth to preach his Gospell, and to these haue euer in your mynd MarginaliaThe rule of Christ.the golden rule of our M. CHRIST: The tree is knowen by the fruite. For by the diligent marking of these, your grace shall clearely know and perceaue who be the true followers of CHRIST and teachers of his Gospell, and who be not. And concerning the first, all scripture sheweth playnely that our Sauiour IESVS CHRISTES lyfe was very poore.

Begin at hys byrth, and I beseech you, MarginaliaThe pouertie of Christes life expressed.who euer heard of a poorer or so pore as hee was? It were to long to write how poorely Ioseph and the blessed Virgin Mary tooke their iourney from Nazareth toward Bethlem in the colde and frosty Wynter, hauing no body to wayt vpon them, but he both Master and man, and she both Mistres and maide. How vylely thinkes your grace, they were intreated in the Innes and lodginges by the way? and in how vyle and abiect place was this poore mayde, the Mother of our Sauiour IESVS CHRIST, brought to bed in, without company, lyght or any other thing necessary for a woman in that plight? Was not here a poore beginning, as concerning the world? Yes truely. And according to this beginning was the processe and ende of hys lyfe in this world, and yet he myght by his godly power haue had all the goodes and treasures of this world at his pleasure, when and where he would.

MarginaliaThe poore condicion of Christes life, is an example to vs to call downe our pride, nor to set by riches.But this hee did to shew vs that his followers and Vicars should not regard nor set by the riches & trea-

sures of this world, but after the saying of Dauid we ought to take thē, which saith thus: If riches, promotions, & dignity happen to a mā, let him not set his affiance, pleasure, trust, and hart vpō thē. So that MarginaliaIt is not agaynst the pouertie of the spirite, to be rich.it is not agaynst the pouerty in spirite which CHRIST praiseth in þ^e Gospel of S. Mathew, chap. 5. to be rich, to be in dignity, and in honour, so that their harts be not fixed and set vpō them so much, that they neyther care for God nor good man. MarginaliaWhat is to be poore in spirite, & what not.But they be enemyes to this pouerty in spirite, haue they neuer so little, that haue greedy and desyrous mindes to the goodes of this world. onely because they would lyue after their owne pleasure and lustes. And they also be MarginaliaPriuy enemies to spirituall pouerty.priuy enemyes (and so much the worse) whych haue professed (as they say) wylfull pouerty, and wil not be called worldly men. And they haue Lordes landes, and Kinges ryches, yea rather then they would lose one iot of that which they haue, MarginaliaAgainst monkes and friers, and prelates of the spiritualtie.they wil set debate betwene King, and King, Realme and Realme, yea betwene the King and his Subiectes, and cause rebelliō against the temporall power, to the which our Sauiour CHRIST himselfe obeyed and payed tribute, as the Gospell declareth:MarginaliaMath. 17. vnto whom the holy Apostle S. Paule teacheth euery Christen man to obey.MarginaliaSubiection to superiour powers. Yea and besyde all this, they will curse and ban, as much as in them lyeth, euen into the deepe pit of hell, all that gainsay their appetite, whereby they thynke their goodes, promotions, or dignities should decay.

Your grace may see what meanes and craft the Spiritualty (as they will be called) imagine MarginaliaAmbition of the spiritualty.to breake and withstand the Actes which were made in your Graces last Parlament agaynst their superfluities. Wherefore they that thus do, your Grace may know them not to be the true followers of Christ. And although I named the Spiritualty to be corrupt with this vnthrifty ambition: yet I meane not all to bee faulty therein, for there be some good of thē. Neither wil I that your Grace should take away the goodes due to the church, but take away such euill persons from the goods, and set better in their steede.

I name nor appoynt no person nor persons, but remit your Grace to the rule of our Sauiour CHRIST, as in Mathew the seuenth Chapter: MarginaliaMath. 7.By their fruites you shall know them. As touching the wordes that our Sauiour CHRIST spake to his Disciples when hee sent them to preach hys Gospell, they bee red in Mathew the fiftenth Chapter, where he sheweth, MarginaliaMath. 15.that here they shall be hated and despysed of all men worldly, and brought before Kinges and Rulers, and that all euill should bee sayd by them, for their preaching sake: MarginaliaChrist promiseth no promotions, but persecution to hys folowers.but he exhorteth thē to take paciently such persecution by hys owne example, saying: It becommeth not the seruaunt to be aboue the Master. And seyng they called me Belzebub, what maruayle is it, if they call you deuilysh persons and heretickes? Read the. xiiij. chapter of Saint Mathewes Gospell,MarginaliaMath. 24. and there your grace shall see, that he promised to the true Preachers no worldly promotions or dignity, but persecution and all kyndes of punishment, and that they should be betrayed euen by their owne brethren and children. In Iohn also hee sayth: MarginaliaIohn. 16.In the world ye shall haue oppression, and the world shall hate you: but in me you shall haue peace. And in the. x. chapiter of S. Mathewes Gospell saith our Sauiour Christ also: MarginaliaMath. 10.Loe I send you forth as shepe among wolues. So that þ^e true preachers go like sheepe harmeles, and be persecuted, and yet they reuenge not their wrong, but remit all to God: so farre it is of that they wil persecute any other but with MarginaliaGods word only is the weapon of spirituall pastors.the word of God only, which is their weapō. And so this is the most euident token, that our Sauiour IESVS CHRIST would that his Gospell and the Preachers of it should bee knowen by, and that it should bee despysed among those worldly wyse men, and that they should repute it but folishnes and deceiuable doctrine, and the true preachers should be persecuted and hated, & driuen from towne to towne, yea and at the last lose both goodes and lyfe.

And yet they that did this persecutiō, should thinke that they did well, and a great pleasure to God. And MarginaliaThe Apostles were persecuted, but neuer no persecuters.the Apostles remembring this lesson of our Sauiour CHRIST, were content to suffer such persecutions, as you may read in the Actes of the Apostles and the Epistles. But we neuer red that they euer persecuted any man. The holy Apostle S. Paule sayth, that euery man that wyll lyue Godly in CHRIST IESV, should suffer persecution. And also hee sayth further in the Epistle written to the Phillippians in the first chapter: MarginaliaPhillip. 1.that it is not onely geuen you to beleue in the Lord, but also to suffer persecution for his sake.

Wherefore, take this for a sure conclusion, that there