one of the Archbyshops clerkes sayd vnto me. What thing musist thou? Do thou as my Lord hath now commaunded to thee here.

And yet I stoode styll and aunswered hym not: And then soone after the Archbishop said to me: Art thou not yet bethought, whether thou wilt do as I haue sayde to thee? MarginaliaThe order and maner of his bringing vp.And I sayde then to hym: Sir, my father and my mother, on whose soules God haue mercye (if it be hys will) spent mikle money in diuers places about my learning, for the entent to haue made mee a priest to God. But when I came to yeres of discretion, I had no wyll to be priest, and therefore my friendes were right heauy to me, and then me thought their grudging against me was so painfull to me, that I purposed therfore to haue left their company. And when they perceiued this in me, they spake sometime full faire and pleasaunt wordes to me. But for that they might not make me to consent of good hart to be a priest, they spake to me ful often times very greuous woordes, and manassed me in diuers maners, shewing to me full heuy chere. And thus one while in faire maner, an other while in greuous, they wer lōg time (as me thought) full busy about me, or I consented to them to be a priest. But at the last, when in this matter they would no longer suffer myne excusations, but either I should consent to them, or I should euer heare their indignation, yea, their curs (as they sayd.) Then I seing this, prayed them that they would geue me licence for to go to them that were named wise priestes, and of vertuous conuersation to haue their counsel, & to know of them the office and the charge of priesthood. And here to, my father and my mother consented full gladly, and gaue me their blessing and good leaue to go, and also money to spend in this iourney. And so that I went to those priestes whom I hearde to be of best name, and of most holy liuing, and best learned, and most wise of heauenly wisdom: and so I communed with them vnto the time that I perceiued by their vertuous and continuall occupations, that their honest and charitable woorkes passed their fame which I heard before of them. Wherfore sir, by the example of the doctrine of them, and specially for the godly and innocent workes which I perceyued then of them, & in them: After my cunning & power, I haue exercised me thē and in this time, to know perfectly Gods law, hauing a wyl and a desire to lyue thereafter, which willeth that all men & women should exercise thēselues faithfully there about. If than Sir, either for pleasure of them that are neither so wyse nor of so vertuous conuersation to my knowledge, nor by common fame to any other mās knowledge in this land, as these men were of whom I tooke my counsail and information: I should now forsake thus sodenlye and shortlye, and vnwarned, all the lerning that I haue exercised my selfe in this thirty winter & more, my conscience should euer be herewith out of measure vnquieted: and as sir I know wel, that many men and women should be there through greatly troubled & sclaundered, And as I sayd sir to you before, for myne vntruthe and false cowardnes, many a one should be put into ful great reprefe, yea sir I dread that many a one (as they might then iustlye) would curs me full bitterly: and sir I feare not, but the curs of God, which I shuld deserue herein, would bring me to a full euil end, if I continued thus. And if thorow remorse of consciēce I repented me any time, returning into the way, which you do your diligence to constraine me now to forsake: yea sir, all the bishops of this lande, with full manye other priestes, woulde defame me, and pursue me as a relapse: and they that nowe haue (though I be vnworthy) some confidence in me, hereafter would neuer trust to me, though I could teach and liue neuer so vertuously, more then I can or may. For if after your counsell I left vtterlye all my learning, I should hereby first wound and defile myne owne soule,and also I should here through, geue occasion to manye men and women of full sore hurting, yea sir as it is likely to me, if I consented to your will: I shoulde herein by mine euill example in it, as farre as in me were, slea many folke ghostly, that I should neuer deserue for to haue grace of God, to the edifieng of his church, neither of my selfe, nor of none other mans lyfe, and vndone both before God and man. But sir, by example chieflye of some whose names I wil not now reherse, of H. of I. P. & B. and also by the present doing of Philip Rampentō, MarginaliaPhil. Repingtō made bish. and a persecutor.that is now become bishop of Lincolne: I am nowe learned (as many mo hereafter thorow gods grace shalbe learned) to hate and to flee all such sclaunder that these foresaid men chieflye haue defiled, principallye them selues with. And in it that in them is, they haue enuenemed all the church of God, for the sclaunderous reuoking at the crosse of Paules, of H. P. and of B. and how now Philip Rampenton pursueth Christes people. And the fayning that these men dissemble by worldly prudence, keepyng them cowardly in their preaching and cōmuning within the bondes and termes (which without blame may be spoken and shewed out to the most worldly liuers) wyll not bee vnpunished of God. For to the poynt of truth that these men shewed out sometime, they will not now stretch foorth their lyues. But by example, eche one of them as their woordes and their woorkes shewe, busie them thorow their faining, for to sclaunder and to pursue Christ in his mēbers, rather thē they wil be persued.

And the Archbishop said to me: These men the which thou speakest of now, were fooles and heretickes, when they were counted wyse men of thee and other such Losels. But now they are wyse men, though thou and such other deeme thē vnwise. Neuertheles I wist neuer none that right sayd, that anye whyle were enuenemed wyth your contagiousnes, that is, contaminated and spotted doctrine.

MarginaliaHappy be they that continue to the ende.And I sayd to the Archbishop: Sir, I thinke wel that these mē and such other are now wyse as to this world: But as their wordes soūded somtime, and their workes shewed outwardly, it was likelye to moue me that they had earnest of the wisdome of God, and that they shuld haue deserued mikle grace of God, to haue saued theyr own soules and many other mens, if they had continued faithfully in wilfull pouerty, and in other simple vertuous liuing: and specially, if they had wyth these foresaid vertues continued in their busy fruitfull sowing of Gods word: as to many mens knowledge they occupied them a season in all their wits, ful busily to know the pleasant wyll of God, traueling all their members full busily for to do thereafter, purely and chiefly to the praising of the most holy name of God, and for grace of edification and saluation of christen people. MarginaliaWo worth false couetise.But wo worth false couetise, and euill counsell and tiranny, by whych they and many men and women are led blindly into an euill end.

Then the Archbishop said to me: Thou and suche other Losels of thy sect, would shaue your beards ful nere for to haue a benefice. For by Iesu, MarginaliaIt is pitie these prelates cannot sweare.I knowe none more couetous shrewes then ye are, when that ye haue a benefice. MarginaliaCouetousnes ioyned with popishnes.For lo, I gaue to Iohn Puruay a benefice but a myle out of this Castel, and I heard more complaintes about his couetousnes for tithes and other misdoinges, then I did of all men þ^t were auaūced within my dioces

And I sayde to the Archbishop: Sir, Puruay is neyther with you now for the benifice that ye gaue him, nor he holdeth faithfully with the learning that he taught & writ before time: and thus he sheweth him selfe neyther to be whot nor colde, and therefore he and his fellowes, may sore dread, that if they turne not hastely to the way that they haue forsaken: peraduenture they bee put out of the number of Christes chosen people.

And the Archbishop said: though Puruay be nowe a