roial power. 11. In þ^e which, the bishops charge is so much the more waighty, in that they shall at the latter iudgement render accompte, euen of the kinges themselues. Truely you ought to vnderstand, that you depend vpon their iudgement and cānot reduce them vnto your own will: for many bishops haue excōmunicated both kinges and Emperors. And if you require an especiall example therof, Innocentius the Pope did excōmunicate Arcadiuis the emperour, because he did cōsent that Iohn Chrisostome should be expulsed from his seate: & S. Ambrose also, did excōmunicate 12. Theodosius þ^e greate emperor for a faulte (which seemed not so waightye vnto other priests) and shut him out of the church: who afterwarde by condigne satisfaction was absolued.

There are many other like examples: for Dauid whē he had committed adultry and murther, the prophet Nathan was sent vnto him by God to reproue him, and he was soone corrected. And the King (laying aside his scepter and Diademe, and setting apart all princelye maiesty) was not ashamed to humble himselfe before the face of the prophet to confesse his faulte, and to require forgeuenes for his offence: what will you more? he beyng striken with repentaunce asked mercye, and obtayned forgeuenes. So likewise you (most beloued King and reuerend Lord) after the example of thys good King Dauid (of whom it is sayd: I haue found a man after mine own hart) with a contrite and humble hart, turne to the Lord your God: and take holde of repentaunce for your transgressions. For you are fallen and erred in manye thinges, which yet I keepe in store styll, if (peraduēture) God shall inspire you to say with the prophet: haue mercy on me O God, according to thy great mercye, for I haue synned much against thee, & done euill in thy sight. Thus muche I haue thought good to wryte to you my deare Lord at this present: passing ouer other thinges in silence, tyl I may see whether my wordes take place in you, and bring forth fruits in you worthy of repentāce: and that I may heare and reioyce with them that shall bring me word and say: Oh Kyng, thy sonne was dead and is a lyue agayne: was lost, and is found again. But if you wil not heare me: looke where I was woont (before the maiesty of the body of Christ) to pray for you in aboundaunce of teares and sighes: There in the same place I wil crye against you, and say: Rise vp Lord and iudge my cause, forget not the rebukes & iniuries which the King of England doth to thee & thyne: forget not the ignominy of thy church, which thou hast builded in thy blood. Reuenge the bloude of thy sayntes which is spylt: reuenge (O Lord) the afflictions of thy seruants, of whō there is an infinit number. For the pride of them which hate and persecute thee, is gone vp so high: that we are not able to beare them anye longer. Whatsoeuer your seruantes shall do, all those thinges shall be required at your handes: for he seemeth to haue done the harme, which hath geuen the cause thereof. Doutles, the sonne of the most highest (except you amēd and cease from the oppressing of the church and clergy, and keepe your hād from troubling of them) wil come in the rod of his fury at the voyces of such as cry to hym, and at the sighes of them that bee in bandes: when the tyme shall come for him to iudge the vnrighteousnes of men in equitye and seuerity of the holy ghost. For he knoweth howe to take awaye the breath of Princes, and is terrible amonge Kinges of the earth. Your deare and louyng grace I wish wel to fare. Thus fare ye wel againe and euer.

1. The scope of thys Epistle is thys, to proue that Bishops and priestes ought not to come vnder the court & controlement of temporall power.

2. This similitude holdeth not. For thoughe the smalnes of a city blemisheth not the prerogatiue of a kyng-dome: yet the euylnes and rebellion of a city, doth worthely blemish hys own prerogatiue.

3. So saith the Popes decrees, Dist. x. but the scripture of God importeth otherwyse. Abiathar the priest was deposed of kyng Salomon, not for any heresye, but for other causes. 3. Reg. 1. 2. Ionathas tooke hys priesthode of kyng Alexander. And Simō of Demetrius. 1. Mach. 7 Christ offered tribute to Cesar for hym and for Peter. Also Peter sayth: be ye subiect to euery humaine creature: and foloweth, whether it be to kyng as to the chiefe. &c. Item Pope Leo submitted hym selfe to Ludouicus the emperour wyth these wordes: And if we do anye thyng incompetently, and do swarue from the path of righteousnes, we wyll stande to your reformation, or of them whom you shall send. 2. q. 7. Hos.

4. Notwythstanding the sayd Constantinus wrytyng to the bishops congregated at Tyrus, fyrst chydeth thē, then commaundeth them to resort vnto hys presence, to haue theyr cause iudged and decided. Trip hist lib 3. cap. 7.

5. The father vnder obedience. &c. If fatherhoode go by age, I suppose that kyng Henry was elder then Becket. If fatherhood consist in authority, I iudge the autority of a kyng, to be aboue the autority of an archbishop. If the see of Canterbury make the fatherhoode: yet had Becket no cause to clayme fatherhoode ouer the kyng, seyng the sonne ordeyned the father (that is) seyng the kyng made hym hys Archbishop, and not hee made hym hys kyng.

6. By wycked bondes. All is wycked wyth the Papists, that bryngeth them in subiection to their princes.

7. Ecclesiasticall matters be such, as properlye belong to doctrine and diuine knoWledge, for the institution of the soule, and information of conscience. In whiche both princes and subiectes ought to folow their pastors so long as they go trulye before them wythout error, or els not. But what maketh thys for the landes and liberties of churchmen?

8. Punishment due to malefactors and rebels, is not to be called persecution, but due correction.

9. Saul brake the commaundement of God, and was reiected. Ozias contrary to the commaundemēt of God tooke the office of a priest, and was striken. Oza against the expresse word of the law put hys hande to the Arke, and was punished. But what expresse woord had Kyng Henry why he should not correct and punish rebellious byshops, and wycked priestes wythin hys own realme? wherfore these similitudes accorde not. As for Achas he was no so much punished for takyng the priestes office, as for spoyling þ^e tēple of the Lord, & offeryng to idoles.

10. Common lawes.) Saynt Austen wryting to Boniface, sayth thus: Whosoeuer obeyeth not the lawes of the Emperour (beyng made for the veritye of God) procureth to hymselfe great punishmēt. For in the tyme of the prophetes, all the kynges whych did not forbyd and subuert all such things as were vsed of the people against the law of God, are rebuked. And such as did wythstand them, are commended aboue the rest. August.

11. Isidorus hath these wordes: Let temporall princes know, that they must rēder a coūt to God for the church, whych they haue at the handes of God to gouern. &c.

12. The caseof Archadius, Theodosius, Dauid, and of thys kyng (as touching this matter) hath no similitude. In thē was murder: This king doth nothing, but clayme that whych is hys due. And though by the spirituall sword those kynges were resysted: yet it argueth not therfore, that the persons of them whyche haue the vse of the spirituall swoorde, are aboue the persons of them whych haue the temporall sword.

Besides these letters of the archbishop sēt to the king: the Pope also, in the same cause writeth to the Kyng, beginning after this sort: Alexander papa ad Henricum regem. Et naturali ratione, et forma iuris dictante, prouidentiam tuam credimus edoctam fuisse, quod quanto quis ab aliquo maiora suscepisse dignoscitur, tanto ei obnoxior et magis obligatus tenetur. &c. The whole tenor of the letter as he wrote it to the King I would here expresse, but for tracting of the tyme, and straightnes of roume, hauing so many thinges els in this storye (by the grace of Christ) to be comprehended. But the letter tēdeth to this effect: to exhort and charge the King to shewe fauour to Thomas Becket. Where, in the processe of the epistle it followeth in these wordes: Ea propter seueritatem tuam