Marginalia1555. February.reioyce in such troubles as shall happen vnto you for the truthes sake, for in that part Christ saythMarginaliaMath. 5. you be happy. Pray also for me I pray you, that I may do in all thynges the will of our heauenly father: to whose tuition and defence I commende you.

¶ To my deare frendes in God Maister Iohn Hall and his wife.  

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This was first printed in Letters of the Martyrs, pp. 136-37.

MarginaliaAn other letter exhorting to stand fast in the truth.THe grace of God bee with you, Amen. I thanke you for your louyng and gentle frendshyp at all tymes, praying God to shewe vnto you such fauour, that what soeuer trouble and aduersitie happen, ye goe not backe from hym. These dayes be daungerous and full of perill, but yet let vs comforte our selues in callyng to remembraunce the dayes of our forefathers, vpon whom the Lord sent such troubles that many hundrethes, yea many thousandes dyed for the testimony of Iesus Christ, both men and women, suffryng with patience and constauncie asmuch crueltie as Tyrannes could deuise, and so departed out this miserable world to the blisse euerlastyng, where as now they remaine for euer, lookyng alwayes for the ende of this sinfull world, when they shall receiue their bodyes agayne in immortalitie, and see the number of the electes associated with them in full and consummate ioyes. And as vertuous men suffring Martyrdome, MarginaliaHeb. 11. Consolation taken by the example of the auncient Martyrs.& tarying a litle while in this world with paynes, by and by rested in ioyes euerlasting, and as their paynes ended their sorowes and began ease: so did their constancy and stedfastnesse animate and confirme all good people in the truth, and gaue them encouragement and lust to suffer the like, rather then to fall with the world to consent vnto wickednes and Idolatry. Wherefore my deare frendes, seyng God of his part, hath illuminated you with the same gift & knowledge of true fayth, wherein the Apostles, the Euangelistes, and all Martyrs suffered most cruell death, thanke him for his grace in knowledge, and pray vnto him for strength and perseueraunce, that through your owne fault, you be not ashamed nor afeard to confesse it. Ye be in the truth, and the gates of hell shall neuer preuayle agaynst it, nor Antichrist with all his Impes proue it to be false. They may kill & persecute, but neuer ouercome. Be of good comfort and feare more God then man. This life is short and miserable: happy be they that can spend it to the glory of God. Pray for me as I do for you, and commende me to all good men and women. 22. December. 1554.

Your brother in Christ, Iohn Hooper.

¶ To my dearely beloued sister in the Lord Maistres Anne Warcop.  

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This was first printed in Letters of the Martyrs, pp. 132-33.

MarginaliaAn other letter written to one Maisteris Warcop by Maister Hooper.THe grace of God be with you. Amen. I thanke you for your louyng token. I pray you burden not your selfe to much. It were meete for me rather to beare a payne, then to be a hynderaunce to many. I did reioyce at the commyng of this bearer, to vnderstand of your constancy, & how that you be fully resolued by Gods grace, rather to suffer extremitie, then to go from that truth in God which you haue professed. He that gaue you grace to begyn in so infallible a truth, will follow you in the same vnto the ende. But my louing Sister, as you be trauelyng this perillous iourney, take this lesson with you, practised by wise men: wherof ye may read in the second of Saint Mathewes Gospell. Such as traueled to finde Christ, folowed onely the starre, and as long as they saw it, they were assured they were in the right way, and had great myrth in their iourney. But when they entred into Ierusalem, where as the starre led them not thether but vnto Bethelem, and there asked the Citizens the thing that the starre shewed before: as long as they taried in Hierusalem and would be instructed where Christ was borne, they were not only ignoraunt of Bethelem, but also lost the sight of the starre that lead them before. MarginaliaThe surest way is euer to follow the Starre.Whereof we learne, in any case whiles we be going in this lyfe, to seeke Christ that is aboue, to beware we loose not the starre of Gods word, that onely is the marke that sheweth vs where Christ is, and which way we may come vnto him. But as Ierusalem stode in the way, and was an impediment to these wise men: so doth the Sinagoge of Antichrist that beareth the name of Ierusalem, which by interpretation is called MarginaliaIerusalem, signifieth the vision of peace.the vision of peace, and amongest the people now is called the Catholicke Church, stand in the way that pilgrimes must go by thorough this world to Bethelem MarginaliaBethelem signifieth as much as the house of bread, or of saturitie.the house of saturitie and plentifulnes, and is an impediment to all Christian trauellers: yea and except the more grace of God be, will keepe the pilgrimes still in her that they shall not come where Christ is at all. And to stay them in deede, they take away the starre of light which is Gods word that it can not be sene: as ye may see how the celestiall starre was hid frō the wise men, whē they asked of the Pha

riseis at Hierusalem where Christ was borne. Ye may see what great daūgers happened vnto these wise men, whiles they were a learning of lyers where Christ was. First they were out of their way, and next they lost their guide & conductour, the heauenly starre. Christ is mounted frō vs into heauen, & there we seeke him (as we say): let vs therfore go thetherward by the starre of his word, & beware we happē not to come into Hierusalem the Churche of men and aske for him. MarginaliaChrist is not to be sought nor asked for, but onely by the scriptures.If we do, we go out of the way and lose also our cōductour and guide that only leadeth vs straight thether.

The Poetes write in fables, that Iasō when he fought with the Dragon in the Ile of Colchis was preserued by the medicines of Medea, and so wan the golden fleese. And they write also that Titan, whom they fayne to be sonne and heyre of the high God Iupiter, would needes vpon a day haue the conduction of the sunne roūd about the world, but as they fayne, he missed of the accustomed course: wher upon when he went to high, he burned heauē, and when he went to low, he burned the earth and the water. MarginaliaExample of Iason and Titan.These prophane histories do shame vs that be Christian men, Iason agaynst the poyson of the dragon, vsed only the medicine of Medea. What a shame is it for a Christian man against the poyson of the deuill, heresie, and sinne, to vse any other remedy, then Christ & his word? Titan for lacke of knowledge, was afeard of euery signe of the Sodiacke that the Sunne passeth by: wherfore he now went to low and now to hygh, and at length fell downe and drowned himselfe in the Sea. Christian men for lacke of knowledge, and for feare of such daungers as Christian men must needes passe by, go cleane out of order, and at length fall into the pitte of hell.

MarginaliaLettes in the way to the kingdome of heauen.Sister take heede, you shall in your iourney towardes heauen, meete with many a monstrous beast: haue salue of Gods word therfore ready. You shall meete husband, children, louers and frendes, that shall if God be not with them (as God be praysed he is, I would it were withall other a lyke) bee very lettes and impedimentes to your purpose. You shal meete with sclaunder and contempt of the world and be accoumpted vngracious and vngodly: you shall heare and meete with cruell tyranny to do you all extremities: you shall now and then see the troubles of your owne conscience, and feele your owne weakenes: you shall heare that you bee cursed by the sentence of the Catholicke Church, with such like terrours: but pray to God, and folow the starre of his word, and you shall arriue at the port of eternall saluation by the merites onely of Iesus Christ: to whom I commende you and all yours most hartly.

Yours in Christ, Iohn Hooper.

¶ Vnto these letters of Maister Hoper heretofore recited, we thought not inconuenient, to annexe also an other certaine Epistle, not of Maister Hoper, but written to him by a famous learned man Henry Bullinger, chief Superintendent in the Citie of Zuricke. Of whose singulare loue and tender affection toward Maister Hoper, ye heard before in the begynnyng of Maister Hopers lyfe discoursed. Now how louyngly he writeth vnto hym, ye shall heare by this present letter, as followeth.

¶ To the most reuerend father M. Iohn Hooper Byshop of Worcester and Glocester, and now prisoner for the Gospell of Iesus Christ, my fellowe Elder and most deare brother, in England.  

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This was first printed in Letters of the Martyrs, pp. 167-70. ECL 260, fos. 28r-29v is a copy of this letter and was Bull's printing cast-off. It is surprising that it was Bull who obtained this letter. Bull apparently never left England, while Foxe had corresponded with Bullinger during Mary's reign and had even asked for information for the Rerum (ZLI, pp. 23, 36 and 42; also see BL, Harley 417, fo. 124r). It is worth noting that material on Hooper which almost certainly came from Bullinger first appeared in 1570. It was very likely that Bull, in obtaining this letter, prompted Bullinger to send his memories of Hooper to Foxe or to Bull who passed it on to Foxe.

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MarginaliaA letter of M. Bullinger to M. Hooper translated out of latin into Englishe.THe heauenly father graunt vnto you, and to all those whiche are in bandes and captiuitie for his names sake, grace and peace through Iesus Christ our Lord, with wisedome, patience and fortitude of the holy Ghost.

I haue receiued from you two letters (my most deare brother): the former in the moneth of September of the yeare past, the latter in the moneth of May of this present yeare, both written out of prison. But I doubtyng lest I should make aunswere to you in vayne, whilest I feared that my letters shoulde neuer come vnto your handes, or els increase and double your sorrow: did refrayne from the duetie of writyng. In the whiche thyng I doubt not, but you wil haue me excused, especially seing you did not vouch safe, no not once in a whole yeare, to aunswer to my whole libels rather then letters, wheras I continued still notwithstandyng in writyng vnto you: as also at this present, after I heard that you were cast in prison, I did not refrayne from continuall prayer, beseeching our heauenly Father through our onely mediatour Iesus Christ, to graunt vnto you and to your fellowe prisoners, fayth and constauncie vnto the ende. Now is that thyng happened vnto you (my brother) the whiche we did often tymes prophecie vnto our selues at your beyng with vs, should come to passe, especially whē we dyd talke of the power of Antichrist and of his felicitie and victories. For you know the saying of Daniel: His