if it had his scope, but cōsideryng what þ^e tractation rather of such a serious cause requireth. And therfore seriously to say vnto you (M. Cope) in this matter: wher you charge my historie of Actes and monumentes so cruelly, to be full of vntruthes, false lies, impudent forgeries, deprauations, fraudulent corruptions, and feyned fables, brefly and in one worde, to aunswere you, not as the Lacones aunswered to the letters of their aduersary, with si, but with osi. MarginaliaThe booke of Actes & Monum. to true, if it had pleased God otherwyse.Woulde God (maister Cope) þ^t in all the whole booke of Actes and monumentes, from the beginning to the later end of the same wer neuer a true story, but that all were false, all were lyes, and all fables. Would God the crueltie of your Catholiques had suffered all them to lyue, of whose death ye say now that I do lye. Although I denye not but in that booke of Actes & monuments cōteinyng such diuersitie of matter, some thyng myght ouerscape me: yet haue I bestowed my poore diligence. My entent was to profit al men, to hurt none. If you (maister Cope) or any other can better my rude doynges, and finde thynges out more finelye, or truely, withall my hart, I shall reioyse with you & with the common wealth, takyng profit by you. In perfection of writing, of wyt, cunnyng, dexteritie, fines or other indumentes required in a perfect writer, I contend neither with you, nor any other. I graunt that in a laboured story, such as you seme to require, conteyning such infinite varietie of matter, as this doth, much more time would be required: but such time as I had, that I did bestow, if not so laboriously as other could, yet as diligently as I might. But here partly I here what you wil sai: I shuld haue taken more laisure, & done it better. I graunt & confesse my fault, suche is my vyce, I can not sit all the day (maister Cope) finyng and mynsing my letters, and coming my head, & smothing my self al the day at the glas of Cicero. Yet notwithstanding, doyng what I can, and doyng my good will, me thinkes I should not be reprehended, at least not so muche be rayled of at M. Copes hand. Who if he be so pregnant, in finding faultes with other mēs labours (whiche is an easy thing to do) it were to bee wished, that he had enterprised him selfe vpon the matter, and so should haue proued what faultes myght haue bene found in him. Not that I herein do vtterly excuse my self, yea rather am ready to accuse my selfe, but yet notwithstādyng thinke my selfe vngently dealt with all at mayster Copes hande: Who beyng myne owne countrey man, an Englishe man, as he sayth, also of the same vniuersitie, yea colledge and schole that I was of: knowyng that the first edition of these Actes and Monuments, was begon in the far partes of Germany, where few frendes, no conference, small information could be had. And the same edition afterwarde translated out of latin into English by others, while I in the meane time was occupyed about other regesters. And now the sayd Cope hearing moreouer & knowing that I was about a new edition of the same Actes and Monumentes, at this present tyme, to be set forth, for the amendyng of diuers things therin to be reformed: if he had knowē any fault nedefull to be corrected, he might gentlely by letters admonished me therof. Gētlenes so wold haue required it. Time would wel haue suffered it. Neither was he so far of, but might sooner haue written a letter to me, then a booke agaynst me. Neither was I so ingrateful & inhumane, but would haue thanked him for his monitiō: neither yet so obstinate, but being admonished, wold haue corrected willyngly where any fault had ben cōmitted. But herein your nature (maister Cope) both right well appeare. MarginaliaVngentlenes noted in Cope.First in þ^e sayd boke of Actes and Monuments, where many other good things be cōteined, not vnfrutfull nor vnprofitable perauenture for the instruction of your conscience, and wherin my labours perhaps might haue deserued your thankes, all that you dissemble and passe ouer, onely excerpying those matters whiche makefor cauillation. Thus the blacke spyder out of pleasaunt flouers sucketh hys poyson. And what booke is so pleasaunt or frutful, though it wer the popes own Portous, yea his owne Decretals, yea his owne very Masse boke, to the readyng wherof if I brought the like mynde so disposed to cauill, as you bryng to the readyng of my hystory, but I could finde out twise as many mendacia, maculas, impudentias, dolos malos, fabulas, fucos, as you haue done in these Actes and Monumentes. And yet you haue done pretely well. Besides all this, yet better to marke the goodnes of your gentle nature: Be it so I had bene in some peece of my story deceiued, as I do not iustifie my selfe in all pointes therein: yet you vnderstanding that I was about the correctiō of my booke again, might either haue taken the best, & left the woorst: or els gentlye take the paynes to haue aduertised me of suche notes as you had, without further exclamation: or at least might haue differred your dialogues for a tyme, till the comming out of my booke, to see fyrst what wold in the latter edition be altered. But belike your gaule was full, your hast coulde not tarye, your venim muste needes brust out.

Et si non aliqua nocuisses, mortuus esses.  

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Unattributed verse

Foxe text Latin

Et si non aliqua nocuisses, mortuus esses

Translation

J. Barrie Hall

And if you had not done harm in some way you would have died.

Seyng therfore the order of your doings to be such, & disposition of your nature so far frō all humanitie, dealing with me so extremely, if I thus prouoked with your extremitie again, should now after this your currish nature shape you a name accordingly, MarginaliaCopus Sycophanta.and in stede of Cope godfather you to bee a perpetuall sycophant, could you much blame me? and doth not your sycophanticall booke well deserue it? or thinke you, I could not repay you againe with like extremitie as you bring, and dresse your drousy or rather lowsy dialogues in their right colours, if I were so disposed? But my purpose is with pacience to spare you, and rather to pray for you, God make you a good man. Perauēture he may hereafter call you. And rather had I to wynne you, then to stynge you. Leauing therfore the consideration of your ingratefull doyngs, I will now consider onely the pointes wherein you charge me in your booke, aunsweryng briefly vnto the same. Briefly I say, because the greatnes of this volume, and abundaunce of other more frutefull matter, geueth me litle laysure at thys present to stande about brawlyng wordes.

MarginaliaThe Calendare of the Actes & Mon. defēded.First he semeth highly to be greued with me, for my Calendare prefixed before the booke of Monumentes. Wherin he hath no cause either to be offended with me, or to chafe with hym selfe. As touchyng whiche Calendare I haue sufficiently and expresly declared before so much, as might quicklye satisfie this scruple of maister Cope if he either would haue takē the paines, or els had had the laysure to read þ^e words contayned in þ^e Latyne preface before þ^e boke prefixed, whych are thus: MarginaliaEx prœmiū ad lectorem.Quanq̃ a me quidē non aliter Calendarium hoc institutum est, nisi vt pro Indice duntaxat suum cuiusque Martyris mensem et annum designante, ad priuatum lectoris seruiret vsum. &c. In whyche woordes preuenting before the cauillyng obiection of the aduersary, I forewarned the reader aforehande, touchyng the Calendare, wherefore it was ordeyned and prefixed, for no other purpose, but to serue the vse onely of the reader, in steade of a Table, shewyng the yeare and moneth of euery Martyr, what tyme he suffered &c. What hurt I pray you in this Calendare prefixed before the booke of Monumentes, more then in the Table of maister Copes booke, set after his Dialogues? But maister Cope had no laysure to peruse this place: it made not for his humor.

MarginaliaObiection for Martyrs in the Calendar.But this greueth hym in the Calendare, and that very sore. For that I place in this Calēdar, syr Iohn Oldcastle, Syr Roger Acton, Browne, Beuerley and other for Martyrs, and displace for them, other holy auncient Martyrs and saints, as Antholius, Sother, Dorothe, Cla-