sire aboue all thynges to bee a faithfull member of holy Churche, MarginaliaWhat heresy in this beliefe, I pray you my lord?I make this protestation before you all foure that are now here present, couetyng that all mē and womē that now be absent, knew the same: þ^t is, what thing soeuer before thys tyme I haue sayd or done, or what thyng here I shall do or say, at any tyme hereafter. MarginaliaThe olde testament and new.I beleue, that all the old law and the new law geuen and ordeyned by the counsail of the three persons of the Trinitie, were geuen and written to the saluation of mankind. And I beleue, that these lawes are sufficient for mans saluation. And I beleue euery article of these lawes, to the entent, that these articles ordeyned and commaunded of these iij. persōs of þ^e most blessed trinitie, are to be beleued.

And therefore to the rule and the ordinaunce of these Gods lawes, mekely, gladly and wilfully, I submit me withall mine harte: that whosoeuer can or will by authoritie of Gods law, or by open reason, tell me that I haue erred or nowe erre, or any time hereafter shall erre in any article of belief (from whiche inconuenience God keepe me, for hys goodnesse) I submit me to be reconciled & to be buxum and obedient vnto those lawes of God, and to euery article of thē. For by authoritie, specially of these lawes, I will, thorow the grace of God, be vnied charitably vnto these lawes. Yea sir, and ouer this, I beleue and admit all the sentences, authorities and reasons of the saintes and doctours accordyng vnto holye Scripture, and declaryng it truly.

MarginaliaDoctours so to be folowed, as they follow the worde.I submit me wilfully and mekely to bee euer obedient, after my connyng and power, to all these saintes & doctours, as they are obedient in worke and in worde to God and to his law, and further not (to my knowledge) not for any earthly power, dignitie or state, thorowe the helpe of God. But sir I praye you tell me, if after your bidding I shal lay my hand vpō the boke, to what entēt: to sweare thereby? And the Archb. sayd to me, yea, wherfore els? And I sayd to him. MarginaliaTo sweare by a booke whether it be lawfull.Syr a boke is nothing els but a thyng coupled together of diuers creatures, & to swere by any creature both Gods law & mās law is against it.

MarginaliaHow where, and when to sweare.But Syr, this thyng I saye here to you before these your clerkes, with my foresayd protestation, that how, where, when, and to whom, men are bound to sweare or to obey in any wise after Gods law, and saints, and true doctours, according with Gods law: I wil thorow Gods grace bee euer ready thereto, withall my connyng and power. But I praye you sir for the charitie of God, that ye will before that I sweare (as I haue here rehearsed to you) tell me how or whereto, that I shal submit me: and shew me wherof that ye will correct me, and what is the ordinaunce that ye will thus oblige me to fulfill.

And the Archbishop sayd vnto me, I will shortly that nowe thou sweare here to me, that thou shalt forsake all the opinions whiche the secte of Lollardes holde, and is sclaudred with: so that after this tyme, neyther priuely nor apertly, thou hold any opinion whiche I shall (after that thou hast sworne) rehearse to thee heere. Nor thou shalt fauour no man nor woman, young nor old, that holdeth any of these foresaid opinions: but after thy knowledge and power, thou shalte force thee to withstand all such distroublers of holy church in euery dioces, þ^t thou comest in: and them that will not leaue their false & damnable opinions, thou shalt put them vp, publishyng them and their names, and make them knowen to the Bishop of the dioces that they are in, or to þ^e Bishops ministers. And ouer this I will, that thou preach no more vnto the tyme that I know by good witnes and true, that thy conuersation be such, that thy harte and thy mouth accorde truly in one, cōtrariyng all the leude learning that thou hast taught here before.

And I hearyng these woordes, thought in my harte that this was an vnlefull askyng: and demed my selfe cursed of God, if I consented hereto, and I thought how Susan sayd: Anguishe is to me on euery side. And in thatI stoode still and spake not, the Archbyshop sayd to me. Aunswere one wise or an other. MarginaliaBehold, the popish procedings whether they tende.And I sayd. Syr, if I cōsented to you thus as ye haue heere rehearsed to me, I shuld become an appealar, or euery Bishops espy, somonour of all England. For and I should thus put vp, and publishe the names of men and women, I should herein deceyue full many persons: Ye syr, as it is lykely by the dome of my conscience, I should herein be, cause of the death both of men and women, ye both bodely and ghostly. For many men and women that stande nowe in the waye of saluation: if I should for the learnyng and readyng of theyr beleue, publishe them therefore vp to Byshops or to theyr vnpiteous ministers, I know some dele by experience, that they should bee so distroubled and diseased with persecution or otherwise, that many of them (I thinke) would rather chose to forsake the way of truth then to be traueled, skorned, sclaundered, or punished, as Byshops & their ministers now vse for to constreyne men and women to consent to them. But I finde in no place in holy Scripture, that this office that ye would now enfeaff me with, accordeth to any priest of Christes secte, nor to any other Christen man. MarginaliaNo meruel why: for Christ and Antichrist how can they agree.And therfore to do thus, were to me a full noyous bonde to be bounden w^t, and ouer greuous charge. For I suppose, that if I thus did, many men and women would, ye Syr, might iustly vnto my confusion say to me, that I were a traitour to God and to them: since (as I thinke in myne harte) many men and women trust so mekell in me in this case, that I would not for sauyng of my life, do thus to them. For if I thus should do, full many men and women would (as they might full truly) say, that I had falsly & cowardly forsaken the truth, and sclaundred shamefully the word of God. For if I consented to you to do here, after your wil, for bonchefe or mischief that may befall to me in this lyfe: I deme in my conscience, that I were worthy herefore to be cursed of God & also of all his saintes: fro whiche inconuenience, kepe me and all Christen people, almighty God now and euer for his holy name. And then the Archbyshop sayd vnto me. Oh, thyne hart is full harde indurate as was the hart of Pharao,MarginaliaIt is pretye whan Pharao iudgeth Moses hard harted. and the deuill hath ouercomen thee and peruerted thee, and he hath so blinded thee in all thy wittes, that thou hast no grace to know the truth, nor the measure of mercy that I haue profered to thee. Therfore, as I perceiue now by thy foolish aūswere, thou hast no wil to leaue thine old errours. MarginaliaWhere learned you my Lord to call your brother Racha.But I say to thee leude losell, other quickely cōsent thou to mine ordinaunce and submit thee to stande to my decrees: or by S. Thomas, thou shalt be disgraded, and folow thy felow in Smithfield. And at this saying I stoode still and spake not, but I thought in myne harte that God did to me great grace, if he would of his great mercy bring me to such an end. MarginaliaHe meaneth Gods martyr Williā Sautrey.And in mine harte I was nothyng afraid with this menasing of the Archbishop. And I considered there two things in hym. One, that he was not yet sorowfull for that he had made Williā Sautrey wrongfully to be burnt: and as I considered, þ^t the Archbyshop thirsted yet after more shedyng out of innocent bloud. And fast therefore I was moued in all my wits, for to hold the archbishop nother for prelate nor for priest of God. And for that myne inward man was thus altogether departed frō the Archbishop, me thought I should not haue any dread of hym. But I was right heauy and sorrowful, for that there was no audience of secular mē by: but in my hart I prayed the lord God, for to comfort me and strength me agaynst thē that there ware against the sothfastnesse. And I purposed to speake no more to the Archbishop and his clerkes thē me nede behoued: and all thus I prayed God for his goodnesse to geue me then and alway grace to speake, with a meke and an easy spirite: and whatsoeuer thyng that I should speake, that I might therto haue true authorities of Scriptures or opē reason. And for that I stode thus still and nothing spake,