mightely crepeth and euery where preuaileth in these latter endes of the worlde, that it suffreth neither rest in cōmon weales, nor peace in the church, nor any sparkle of charitie almost to remaine in þ^e life of mē. MarginaliaThe discorde of Christians scourged by the Tukes.And what meruell then, if þ^e Lord seing vs so farre to degenerate, not onely frō his preceptes & counsailes, but almost frō the sense and bounde of nature, that brother with brother, vncle with nephew, bloud with bloud cā not agree in striuyng, kyllyng, and fightyng for worldly dominions, do send therefore these cruell Turkes vpon vs so to scourge & deuoure vs? Of whose bloudy tyrannye, and daly spillyng of Christian bloud, hereafter (by the grace of Christ) we will discourse more at large, whē we come to the peculiar consideration of the Turkishe storyes. In the meane tyme, this shall be for vs to note and obserue, not somuch the scourge how greuous it is: but rather to beholde the causes which bryng the whippe vpon vs, whiche is our owne miserable ambition and wretched warres among our selues.

MarginaliaDiscorde and dissension in the church noted.And yet if this Christian peace and loue, left & commended so hartly vnto vs by the mouth of the sonne of God, being now banished out of Christian realmes and ciuile gouernaunce, might at least finde some refuge in the Churche, or take sanctuarie among men professyng nothyng but Religion, lesse cause wee had to mourne. Now so it is, that as we see litle peace & amitie among ciuill potentates: so lesse we finde in the spirituall sorte of them, whiche chiefly take vpon them the administration of Christes Churche. So that it may well be doubted, whether þ^e scourge of the Turke, or the ciuill sword of princes haue slayne moe in the fieldes, or the Popes keyes haue burned moe in townes and cities. And albeit such as be professed to the church, do not fight w^t sword and tergat for dominions and reuenewes, as warlyke princes do: MarginaliaAmbition and auarice of the church of Rome.yet this ambition, pride, and auarice, appeareth in them nothyng inferiour to other wordlye potestates, especially if we beholde and aduise the doynges and insatiable desires of the court of Rome. Great argument and proufe hereof neither is hard to be found, nor farre to bee sought. What realme almost through all Christēdome hath not onely seen w^t their eyes, but haue felt in their purses the ambitiō intolerable, and auarice insatiable of that deuouryng churche, and also haue cōplayned vpon þ^e greuaūce therof, but yet neuer could be redressed? What exactions & extortions haue bene here in Englād out of Bishoprikes, Monasteres, Benefices, Deanries, Archdeaconries, and all other offices of the churche, to fill þ^e popes coffers: & when they had all done, yet euery yeare brought almost some new inuētion frō Rome, to fetche in our English money: & if all þ^e floudes in England (yea in all Europe) did runne into the sea of Rome, yet were that Oceane neuer able to be satisfied.

In Fraunce lykewise, what floudes of money were swalowed vp in this sea of Rome, it was openly complained of in the Coūcell of Basill, as is testified by Henry Token, Canon and Ambassadour of the Archbyshop of Maidenburg, written in his booke intituled Rapularium, MarginaliaEx Rapulario Henrici Token.where as he writeth that in the Councell of Basill. an. 1536. the Archbishop of Lyons did declare, that in the time of Pope Martine, there came out of Fraunce to the court of Rome. ix. millions of gold, which was gathered of the Bishops and Prelates, besides those which could not be counted, of the poore clergie, whiche dayly without number, rūne vnto the court of Rome carieng with them all their whole substaunce. MarginaliaThe sea of Rome is turned into an Oceane that hath no bottome.The Archbyshop of Turonne sayd also at Basill, in the yeare of our Lord.1439 that three millions of golde came vnto Rome in his time, within the space of. xiiij. yeres, frō the prelates and prelacies, wherof no accompt could be made, beside the poore clergy, whiche dayly runne to that court. Let the man whiche feareth God, iudge what a deuouryng gulfe this is. MarginaliaWhat a Million is.A million conteineth x. hundred thousand.

And what made Pope Pius the. 2. to labour so ear-nestly to Lewes the. xi. the French king (who as is afore sayd, was a greate enemie to the house of Burgoine) that he would (accordyng to hys former promise) abolishe and vtterly extinct the constitution established before, MarginaliaConcilium Bituriense.at the Councell of Bitures, by kyng Charles the. 7. his predecessor, called Pragmatica Sanctio, but onely the ambition of that sea whiche had no measure, and their auarice whiche had no ende? The storye is this: King Charles the. vij. the French kyng, willing to obey and folowe the Councell of Basill, did sumon a Parlament at Bitures, where by the full consent of all the states in Fraunce, both spirituall and temporall, MarginaliaPragmatica Sanctio.& certeine constitution was decreed & published called Pragmatica Sanctio, wherein was comprehended briefly the pythe and effect of all the Canons and decrees cōcluded in the Councell of Basill. The whiche constitution þ^e said kyng Charles willed and commaunded through all his realme, inuiolablye to be obserued & ratified, for the honour and increase of Christian Religion for euer. MarginaliaEx Ioan. Mario Belga. de Schismat. et Concilijs. cap. 24.This was. an. 1438. It folowed, that after the decease of this foresaid Charles the. vij. succeded K. Lewes. xi. who had promised before, being Dolphine to pope Pius, that if he euer came to the crowne, the foresayd Sanctio Pragmatica should be abolished. MarginaliaPope Pius laboureth that Pragmatica Sanctio should be abolyshed.Wherupon Pope Pius hearing hym to bee crowned, did send vnto him Iohn Balueus a Cardinall, with his great letters patent, willyng him to be mindfull of his promise made. The kyng either wyllyng, or els pretendyng a will to performe, and accomplishe what he had promised, directed the Popes letters patente, with the said Cardinall, to the counsaile of Paris, requiryng them to consulte vpon the cause.

Thus the matter beyng brought and proposed in the Parlament house, the kynges atturney named Ioannes Romanus, a man well spoken, singularly witted, & well reasoned, stepping forth, with great eloquence, & no lesse boldnes, proued the said Sanction to be profitable, holy and necessary for the wealth of the realme, & in no case to be abolished. MarginaliaThe councail of Paris appealeth from the pope to the generall Councell.Vnto whose sentence the Vniuersitie of Paris adioynyng their consent, did appeale from the attemptes of the Pope, to the next generall Councell. The Cardinall vnderstandyng this, tooke no litle indignation therat, frettyng and fumyng, and threatnyng many terrible things against thē: but al his minatorie wordes notwithstandyng, he returned agayne to the kyng, his purpose not obteined. an. 1438. Ex Ioan. Mario.

MarginaliaVide supra pag. 829.Thus the Popes purpose in Fraunce was disapointed, whiche also in Germanie had come to the like effect, if Fridericke þ^e Emperour had there done his part likewise towarde the Germaines: MarginaliaThe cōplaint of the Germaines to the Emperour, for helpe & ayde, against the oppression of the pope.Who at þ^e same time bewayling their miserable estate, went about with humble sute to perswade the Emperour, that hee shoulde no lōger be vnder the obedience of the Popes of Rome, except they had first obtained certaine thinges of them as touching the charter of Appeales, declaring their estate to be farre worse (although vndeserued) then the Frēchmen or Italians: whose seruauntes (& speacially of the Italians) they are worthely to be called, excepte þ^t their state were altered. The nobles & cōminaltie of Germany, did instantly intreate w^t most waighty reasons & examples, both for þ^e vtilitie & profite of þ^e Empire, to haue the Emperours aide & helpe therin, for þ^e which he was bound vnto thē by an othe: alledging also þ^e great dishonour & ignominie in þ^t they alone had not þ^e vse of their owne lawes, declaring how the French nation had not made their sute vnto their king in vaine against þ^e exactions of popes: by whom they were defēded, which also prouided decrees and ordinaunces for the libertie of his people, and caused the same to bee obserued: the whiche thing þ^e Emperour ought to forsee within his Empire, and to prouide for hys people & states of his Empire, as wel as other kings do. For what shal come to passe therby, if that forreine nations hauyng recourse vnto theyr