MarginaliaAn. 1555. October.which is the Babilonical Beast. The Beast is he, whereupon the Whore sitteth. The Whore is þ^e Citie, saith Iohn in plain words, which hath Empire ouer the kings of the earth. This Whore hath a golden cuppe of abominations in her hand, wherof she maketh to drinke the kings of the earth, and of the wine of thys harlot hath all nations dronke, yea and kings of the earth haue line by this Whore, and marchaunts of the earth by vertue of her pleasant marchandise haue bene made rich.

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MarginaliaThe whore of Babilon, with her cup of abominations mentioned, expoūded. Apoca. 17.Now, what Citye is there in all the whole world, that when Iohn wrote, ruled ouer the kings of the earth? or what City can be red of in any time, that of the City it self, chalenged the Empire ouer the kings of the earth but onely the city of Rome, and that since the vsurpation of that Sea hath growne to her full strēgth? And is it not red that þ^e old and auncient writers vnderstand Peters former Epistle to be written at Rome, and it to be called of him in the same Epistle in plaine termes, Babylon? by the abominations thereof I vnderstand all the whole trade of the Romish religion vnder the name and title of Christ, which is cōtrary to the only rule of all true religion, that is gods word. What word of God hath that diuelish drabbe  

for the maintenaunce of her manifold abominations, and to set to sell such marchaundise, wherewith (alas the madnes of man) the wicked harlot hath bewitched almost the whole world? Did not Peter the very true Apostle of Christ, of whom this stinking strumpet beareth her selfe so high, (but falsly and without all iust cause) did not he, I say, geue al the world warning of her pelfe   and trashe, of her false doctors and apostles (for this Whore & Beast wil be called Dominus Apostolicus, who so euer say nay) after this maner in his later Epistle? Marginalia2. Peter. 2.There was among the people in times past false Prophets, as there shall be also amonge you in time to come false teachers, which shall priuely bring in pestilent sectes, euen denying the Lord whych hath bought them and redemed them, procuring to them selues swift damnation, and many shall follow their damnable wayes, by whom the way of truth shall be rayled vpon, and through couetousnes by counterfaite tales or sermons, they shall (sayth Peter) make marchandise vpon you. &c. And doth not Iohn likewise in his reuelation, after he hath reckened vp a great rablement of this MarginaliaThe mysticall marchandise of the Babylonicall strumpet.Whores mysticall marchādise, at the last (as though he would knit vp all in plaine words, without any mist at all, setting out þ^e Whores marchandise) recken vp among the rest, and concludeth saying, Et animas hominum:  

Latin/Greek Translations     Close

Ridley

Foxe text Latin

et animas hominum

Foxe text translation

and the soules of men too?

that is to say, and the soules of men too? Whereupon I pray you els rose this true prouerbe in Latin: MarginaliaAll thinges at Rome for money.omnia Romæ venalia:  

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Ridley, quoting from Sallust, Bellum Iugurthinum

(but cf. Cattley-Pratt, vii. 570. n. 2.)

Foxe text Latin

omnia Romae venalia

Foxe text translation

All things for money are set to sale at Rome?

Al things for mony are set to sale at Rome? Was not that a worthy commendatiō of Christes Vicar in earth that was written of our holy father, one of the Alexanders a Byshop of Rome, thus I weene, in Latin?MarginaliaVerses agaynst Pope Alexander.

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Vendit Alexander cruces, altaria, Christum.
Vendere iure potest, emerat ille prius.  

☞ These two verses in Laten, I haue red thus of one translated into English rime.

Alexander our holy father the Pope of Rome,
selleth for money both right and dome:
And all kinde of holines the holy father doth not sticke,
to set to sell, ready money for to get.
And eke Christ him selfe he dare be bolde,
to chop and chaunge for siluer and golde.
And why should any thinke this to be sore,
For what doth he sell, but that he bought before?  

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I graunt these verses to be light gere,  

& the verse is but rude, but (alas) such conditions were more wicked & leud then any wit could expresse. If these had bene but the faults of one or a fewe in numbre, they had ben lesse pernicious, and might haue bene taken for personal crimes, not to be imputed vnto þ^t Sea: but now (alas) the matter is more then euident to all that haue godly vnderstanding, that these crimes be grounded vpon lawes, be establyshed by custome, and set forth by all kinde of wicked doctrine, falshod, and craft, and therefore are not now to be estemed for any one mans or a fewe mens personall crimes, but are now by lawes, custome, and doctrine incorporated into that wicked Sea, & maketh in dede the body of the Beast wherupon the abominable Whore doth sit.

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But you would know which be those marchandise whych I said this Whore setteth forth to sel, for the which all her false Prophets with all their iuggelings and crafty gloses can not bryng one iote of Gods word. Surely, surely, they be not only all these abominations which are come into the church of England already (wherof I haue spokē somewhat before) but also MarginaliaAbominations, and wicked abuses of the Sea of Rome declared.an innumerable rablement of abominations and wicked abuses whych now must nedes folow: as popish pardons, pilgrimages, Romish purgatory, Romish masses, Placebo & Dirige,  

with trentals   and Scala cœli,  

Latin/Greek Translations     Close

Romish terminology?

Foxe text Latin

Placebo & dirige ... Scala coeli ... a poena & culpa

Foxe text translation

Not translated.

dispēsations and immunities from all godly discipline lawes and good order, pluralities, vnions, and tot quottes,   with a thousand moe. Now shall come in the flattering friers, & the false pardoners and play their olde prancks and knauery as they were wont to do. Now you shall haue (but of the Sea of Rome only, & that for money) canonizing of such saintes as haue stand stoute in þ^e Popes cause, shrining of reliques, and from any kind of wickednes (if you will pay well for it) clere absolution a pœna & culpa,  

Latin/Greek Translations     Close

Romish terminology?

Foxe text Latin

Placebo & dirige ... Scala coeli ... a poena & culpa

Foxe text translation

Not translated.

  with thousands of yeres, yea at euery pore bishops hande and suffragan, ye shall haue halowing of churches, chappels, altares, superaltares, chalices, and of all the whole houshold stuffe and adornament which shall be vsed in the church after the Romishe guise, for all these things must be estemed of such high price, that they may not be done but by a consecrate bishop onely. O Lord, all these things are such, as thy Apostles neuer knew. As for coniuring (they cal it halowing, but it is cōiuring in dede) of water and

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salt, of christening of bels and such like light things, what neede I to speake? for euery priest that can but read, hath power (they say) not only to do that, but also hath such power ouer Christes body, as to make both God and mā once at the least euery day, of a wafer cake.

After the rehersall of the sayd abominations, and remembrance of a number of many mo, which (the Lord knoweth) irketh me to thinke vpon, and were to long to describe: when I consider on the other side the eternall worde of God that abideth for euer, and the vndefiled law of the Lord which turneth the soule from al wickednes & geueth wisedome vnto the innocent babes, MarginaliaThe true word of God and the office of the same declared.I meane that milke that is without all guile, as Peter doth cal it, that good word of God, that word of truth which must be grauen wythin the hart and then is able to saue mens soules, that wholsome scede, not mortal but immortal of the eternal and euerliuing God, wherby the man is borne a new, and made the childe of God, that seede of God wherby the man of God so being borne can not sinne, as Iohn sayth (he meaneth so long as that seede doth abide in hym) that holy scripture which hath not bene deuised by the wit of man, but taught from heauen by the inspiration of the holy ghost, which is profitable to teach, to reproue, to correct, to instruct and geue order in all righteousnes that the man of God may be whole and sound, ready to performe euery good worke: when (I say) I consider this holy and wholesome true worde that teacheth vs truely our bounden duety towards our Lord God in euery poynt, what his blessed will and pleasure is, what his infinite great goodnes & mercy is, what he hath done for vs, how he hath geuen his owne only dearely beloued sonne to death for our saluatiō & by hym hath sent vs the reuelation of his blessed wil & pleasure, what his eternal word willeth vs both to beleue and also to doe, & hath for the same purpose inspired þ^e holy apostles with þ^e holy ghost & sent thē abrode into al the world, and also made them and other disciples of Christ inspired by the same spirit, to write and leaue behinde them the same things that they taught (which as they did procede of the spirit of truth, so by the confession of al them that euer were endued with the spirite of God, were sufficient to the obteining of eternall saluation): and likewise whē I consider that all that mā doth professe in his regeneration when he is receiued into the holy Catholike church of Christ, and is now to be accounted for one of the liuely members of Christes owne body, all that is grounded vpon Gods holy word, and standeth in the profession of that fayth, and obedience of those cōmaundemēts which are al cōtayned & comprised in gods holy word: and furthermore when I cōsider whō our Sauiour Christ pronoūceth in his gospel to be blessed, & to whom Moyses geueth his benedictions in the law, what wayes the law, the Prophets, the Psalmes, & al holy Scriptures both new & old doth declare to be the wayes of the Lord, what is good for mā to obtaine & abide in Gods fauour, which is that faith that iustifieth before God, and what is that charity that doth passe and excell all, which be the properties of heauenly wisedome, and which is that vndefiled religion that is allowed of God, which things Christ himself called the weighty matters of the law, what thing is that which is only auaileable in Christ, & what knowledge is that that Paule estemed so much, that he counted him selfe only to knowe, what shall be the maner of the extreme iudgement of the later day, who shall iudge and by what he shall iudge, and what shall be required at our handes at that fearfull day, how all things must be tried by the fire, and that that only shal stand for euer which Christes words shall allow, which shall be the iudge of all flesh to geue sentence vpon all flesh and euery liuing soule either of eternall damnation or euerlasting saluation, from which sentence there shall be no place to appeale, no witte shall serue to delued, nor no power to withstand or reuoke: when (I say) I consider all these things, and conferre to the same againe and againe, al those wayes wherin standeth the substance of the Romish religion (wherof I spake before) it may be euident and easy to perceaue, that these two wayes, these two religions, the one of Christ the other of the Romish Sea, in these later dayes be as farre distant the one from the other, as light and darknes, good and euill, righteousnes and vnrighteousnes, Christ and Beliall. MarginaliaNote here that these scriptures were written by Master Ridley in the Margent: but were not in the copy which we followed.He that is hard of belief, let him note & way well with himselfe the places of holy scriptures which be appoynted in the margent, wherupon this talke is groūded, and by Gods grace he may receiue some light. And vnto the contemner I haue nothing now to say, but to rehearse the saying of the Prophet Esay which Paule spake to the Iewes in the end of the actes of the apostles. After he had expounded vnto them the truth of Gods word, and declared vnto them Christ out of the lawe of Moses and the Prophets from morning to night all the day long, he sayd vnto them that would not beleue: MarginaliaAct. 28.well (sayd he) spake the holy ghost vnto our fathers saying, go vnto this people and tell them: ye shall heare with your eares and not vnderstād, and seing, you shal beholde and not see the thing, for the hart of this people is waxed grosse or dul, and with their eares they are hard of hearing, and they haue shutte together theyr eyes that they should not see, nor heare with their eares, nor vnderstand with their harts, that they mighte returne and I should heale them, sayth the Lord God.

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Alas England, alas that this heauy plague of God should fall vpō thee. Alas my dearly beloued coūtrey, what thing is it now þ^t may do the good? Vndoubtedly thy plague is so great that it is vtterly vncurable but by the bottomles mercy and infinite power of almighty God. Alas my deare coūtrey what hast thou done that thus hast prouoked þ^e wrath of God & caused him to poure out his vengeaunce vpon thee for thine owne deserts? Canst thou be content to heare thy faultes told thee? Alas þ^u hast heard oft, & wouldest neuer amend. England, thy faults of all degrees and sortes of men, of the magistrates, of the mynisters, and of the common people were neuer more plainly tolde since thou barest that name, thē thou didst heare them of late euen before the magistrates in king Edwards dayes, but thou heardest them only, and didst amēd ne-

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