MarginaliaGod only forgeeueth sin, man only can counsel to leaue sinne.neth onely to god to forgeue sinne: It suffiseth in this cause, to counsel mē and women for to leaue their sinne, and to comfort thē that busie them thus to do, for to hope stedfastly in the mercy of god. And agayneward, priests ought to tell sharply to customable sinners, that if they will not make an end of their sinne, but continue in diuers sinnes while that they may sinne, all such deserue paine without any end. And herefore, priests should euer busie them to lyue well and holyly, and to teache the people busely and truly the woorde of god, shewyng to all folk in open preachyng and in preuy counselyng, that þ^e Lorde god onely forgeueth sinne. And therfore, those priestes that take vpon thē to assoyle men of their sinnes, blaspheme god: since that it perteineth only to the Lord, to assoile men of all their sinnes. For no doubt, a thousād yeare after that Christ was mā, no priest of Christ durst take vpon hym to teach the people, neither priuely nor apertly, that they behoued nedes to come to be assoyled of them, as priestes now do. But by authoritie of Christes word: priests bound indurat customable sinners, to euer lastyng paynes, which in no tyme of their liuing, would busie thē faithfully to know the biddyngs of god, nor to kepe thē. And again, all they that would occupy all their wittes to hate and to flye all occasion of sinne, dreadyng ouer all thyng, to offende god, and louyng for to please hym continually: to these men and women, priests shewed, how the Lord assoileth them of all their sinnes. And thus Christ promised to confirme in heauen, all the binding and loosing that priests by authoritie of hys word, bynde men in synne that are indurate therein, or loose them out of sinne here vpon earth, that are verely repentaunt. And thys man hearing these woordes sayde, that hee myghte well in conscience consent to thys sentence. MarginaliaShrift and confessiō to priestes.But he sayd, Is it not nedeful to the lay people that can not thus do, to goe shriue them to priestes? And I sayd, If a mā feele himself so distroubled with any sinne, that he can not by hys own witte auoyde thys sinne without counsell of them that are herein wiser than he: In such a case, the counsel of a good priest is full necessarie. MarginaliaA good seculer man may be a counseller where a priest faileth, by S. Augustine.And if a good priest fayle as they do now commonly, in such a case S. Augustine sayth, that a man may lefully cōmon and take counsel, of a vertuous secular man. But certaine, that man or woman is ouerladen and to beastly, which can not bring their own sinnes into their mynde, busieng them nyght and daye for to hate and to forsake all their sinnes, doing a sigh for thē after their cunning and power. MarginaliaMorden Monke of Feueriam preaching of confessiōAnd sir full accordingly to thys sentence vpō Midlenton sonday (two yeare as I gesse nowe agone) I hard a Monke of Feuersam that mē called Moredom, preach at Canterbury at the crosse within Christ church Abbey, saying thus of confession. That as thorow the suggestion of the feend without counsel of any other body, of them self many men and womē, can imagen and finde meanes & wayes inough to come to pride, to theft, to lecherye, and to other diuers vices: In contrary wyse this monke sayd. Since the Lord God is more ready to forgeue sinne than the feende is or may be of power, to moue any body to sinne: MarginaliaHarty repētaunce to God, nedith no cōfessiō to a priest.thā who soeuer will shame and sorow hartely for their sinnes, knowledging them faithfullye to God, amending them after their power and cunning, without counsel of any other body thā of God and himself (thorow the grace of God) all such men and women may finde, sufficient meanes to come to Gods mercye, and so to be cleane assoyled of all their sinnes. Thys sentence I sayd sir to thys man of yours, and the selfe wordes as nere as I can gesse.

And the Archbishop sayd. Holy church approueth not this learning.MarginaliaNo nor nothing els that is good.

And I sayd. Sir, holy church of which Christ is head in heauē and in earth, must nedes approue this sentence. For lo, hereby all men and women may, if they will, be sufficiently taught to know and to kepe the commaun-dementes of God, and to hate and to flie continually all occasion of sinne, and to loue and to seeke vertues busily, and to beleue in God stably, and to trust in hys mercye stedfastly, and so to come to perfecte charitie and continue therin perseuerantly. And more the Lord asketh not of any man here now in thys life. MarginaliaChrist geueth fredome The pope geueth thraldome.And certaine, since Iesu Christ died vpon the crosse, wilfully to make mē free: Mē of the church are to bolde and to busie, to make men thrall, bynding them vnder the payne of endles curse (as they saye) to doe many obseruaunces and ordinaunces, which neither the liuing nor teaching of Christ nor of hys Apostles, approueth.

And a clerke sayd then to me: Thou shewest playnly here thy deceit, which thou hast learned of them that trauell to sow popple among the wheat. But I counsel thee to go away cleane from this learning, and submit thee lowly to my Lorde, and thou shalt finde hym yet to bee gracious to thee.

And as fast then, an other clerke sayde to me: Howe wast thou so bold at Paules crosse in London, to stande there hard with thy tippet boundē about thyne head, & to reproue in his sermō the worthy clerke Alkertō, drawing away all that thou mightest: yea, and the same day at after noone, thou meeting the worthy doctor in Watling streete, calledst him false flatterer and hipocrite.

And I sayd: Sir, I thinke certainlye that there was no man nor woman that hated verelye sinne, and loued vertues (hearing the sermon of the clerke at Oxforde, & also Alkertons sermon) but they sayde, or might iustlye say, that Alkerton reproued the clerke vntruly, and slaūdered him wrongfully and vncharitably. For no doubt, If the liuing and teaching of Christ chiefly and of his Apostles be true, no body that loueth God and hys lawe, wyll blame anye sentence that the clerke then preached there: since by autoritie of gods word, and by approued saintes and doctours, and by open reason, this clerke approued all thinges clearly that he preached there.

And a clerke of the Archbishops sayde to me, hys sermon was false, and that he sheweth openli, since he dare not stand foorth and defende hys preaching that he then preached there.

And I sayd: Sir, I thinke that he purposeth to stand stedfastly thereby, or els he sclaundereth fouly hymself, and also many other that haue great trust that hee wyll stande by the truth of the gospell. For I wote well, thys sermon is written both in Latin and English, and many men haue it, and they set great price thereby. And sir, If ye were presēt with the archbishop at Lambeth whēthis clarke appeared and was at hys answer before the Archbishop, ye wote well that this Clerke denyed not there hys sermon, but two dayes hee mayntayned it before the Archbishop and hys clerkes.

And then the Archbishop or one of his Clerkes said (Iwot not which of them) that harlot shal be met with, for that sermon. For no man but he and thou, and suche other false harlots, prayseth any such preaching.

And then the Archbishop said. Your cursed sect is busie, and it ioyeth right greatly to contrary & to destroye the priuilege and fredome of holy church.

Marginalia by truchers.And I sayd. Sir, I know no men that trauell so busilie as this secte doth (which you repreue) to make reste & peace in holy churche. For pride, couetousnes, and simony, which distrouble most holi church: this sect hateth and fleeth, and traueleth busily to moue al other men in like maner, vnto mekenes & wilfull pouertie, and charitie, and free ministring of the Sacramentes: this sect loueth and vseth, and is ful busy to moue all other folks thus to do. For these vertues, owe all members of holye church, to their head Christ.

Then a Clerke sayd to the Archbishop: Sir, it is farre dayes, and ye haue farre to ride to night: therfore make an end with him, for he wyll none make. But the more,