MarginaliaAn. 1555. Iuly.you lead be in the fayth of the sonne of God: MarginaliaWe must liue in the fayth of christ.For the iuste doth lyue by fayth, which fayth fleeth from al euyll, and foloweth the worde of God, as a Lanterne to her feete and a light to her steppes: her eyes be aboue where Christe is: MarginaliaThe property of fayth.shee beholdeth not the thynges present, but rather thynges to come: shee glorieth in affliction, shee knoweth that the afflictions of this lyfe are not lyke to be compared to the glory which God wyll reueale to vs, and in vs. Of this glory God graunt vs here a liuely taste: then shall we run after the sent it sendeth foorth. It wyll make vs valiaunt men to take to vs the kingdome of God: whyther the lord of mercye bring vs in hys good tyme thorowe Christe our Lorde, to whom with the father and the holy ghost, three persons and one God, be all honour and glory, world wythout ende. Amen.

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My dearely beloued, I would gladly haue geuen here my bodye to haue bene burned for the confirmation of the true doctrine I haue taught here vnto you. But that my Countrey must haue. Therefore I pray you take in good part this significatiō of my good wyl towards euery of you. Impute the want herein to tyme and trouble. Pardon me myne offensiue and negligent behaueour when I was amongest you.  

With me repent, & labor to amend. Continue in the truth which I haue truely taught vnto you by preaching in al places where I haue come, Gods name therfore be praysed. Confesse Christ when you be called, what soeuer commeth thereof, and the God of peace be with vs all. Amen. This. xi. of Februar. an. 1555.

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Your brother in bondes for the
Lordes sake, Iohn Bradford.

MarginaliaAn other letter of M. Bradford to the vniuersitye of Cambridge.TO all that loue the Lord Iesus and his true doctrine, beyng in the Vniuersitie and towe of Cambridge, Iohn Bradford a most vnwoorthy seruaunt of the Lorde, now not onely prisoned, but also condemned for the same true doctrine, wisheth grace, peace, and mercy, with increase of all godlynes from God the father of al mercy, through the bloudy passion of our alonely Saueour Iesus Christ, by the liuely working of the holy spirite for euer. Amen.

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Although I looke hourely when I should be had to the stake  

(my right dearly beloued in the Lorde) and although the charge ouer me is great and strayt: yet hauyng by the prouidence of God secretely pen and ynke, I coulde not but something signifie vnto you my solicitude which I haue for you, and euery of you in the Lord, though not as I woulde, yet as I maye. You haue often and openly heard the truth, (especially in this matter wherein I am condemned) disputed and preached, that it is needeles to doo any more but onely to put you in remembrance of the same: but hytherto you haue not hearde it confirmed, and, as it were, sealed vp, as nowe you doo and shall heare by me, that is, by my death and burnyng. For albeit I haue deserued (through my vncleannes, hypocrisie, auarice, vainglory, idlenes, vnthankfulnes, and carnalitie, whereof I accuse my selfe, to my confusion before the worlde, that before God through Christe I might, as my assured hope is I shall, finde mercye) eternall death and hell fire, muche more then this affliction and fire prepared for me: yet my dearely beloued, MarginaliaThe Martyrs persecuted of the prelates not for their sinnes, but only for Christ.it is not these or any of these thynges, wherefore the Prelates doo persecute me, but Gods veritie and truth: yea euen Christe hym selfe is the onely cause and thing wherefore I nowe am condemned, and shall be burned as an heretike for because I wyll not graūt the Antichrist of Rome to be Christes vicar generall and supreme head of his Church here, and euery where vppon earth, by Gods ordinaunce, and MarginaliaThe cause of his condemnation declared.because I wyll not graunt suche corporall, reall, and carnall presence of Christes body and bloud in the Sacrament, as dooth transubstantiate the substance of bread and wine, and is receyued of the wicked, yea of dogges and myse. Also I am excommunicated, and counted as a dead member of Christes Church, as a rotten braunch, and therfore shall be cast into the fire.

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Therefore ye ought hartily to reioyce with me, and to geue thankes for me, that God the eternall father hath vouched safe our mother to bring vp any childe in whom it would please him to magnifie hys holy name as he dooth, and I hope for his mercy and truthes sake, wyl do in me and by me. Oh, what such benefite vpon earth can it be, MarginaliaA great mercy of God to turne the death of his saintes iustly deserued, to serue for a confirmatiō of his owne gloryas that that which deserued death by reason of my sinnes, shoulde be diuerted to a demonstration, a testification, and confirmation of Gods veritie and truth? Thou my mother the Vniuersitie haste not onely had the truth of Gods woorde plainly manifested vnto thee by reading, disputing, & preaching publikely and priuately: but nowe to make thee altogether excuselesse, and as it were, almost to sinne against

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the holy ghost, if thou put to thy helping hande with the Romishe roate to suppresse the veritie, and set out the contrary, thou hast my life & bloud as a seale to confirme thee, if thou wylt bee confirmed, MarginaliaCantabrigiensienses bene moniti.or els to confound thee & beare witnes against thee, if thou wylt take part with the Prelats and Clergie, which nowe fill vp the measure of their fathers which slew the Prophetes and Apostles, that al righteous bloud from Abel  

to Bradford, shedde vpon the earth, may be required at their handes.

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Of this therefore I thought good before my death, as time & libertie would suffer me (for loue and duetie I beare vnto thee) to admonish thee good mother, and my sister the Towne, that you would cal to minde from whence you are fallen, and study to doo the first workes. Ye know (if you wyl) these matters of the Romish supremacie and the Antichristian transubstantiation, whereby Christes supper is ouerthrowen, his priesthood euacuate, his sacrifice frustrate, the ministery of his woorde vnplaced, repentance repelled, fayth fainted, godlines extinguished, the Masse mainteyned, idolatrie supported, and al impietie cherished: you knowe I say (if you wyll) that these opinions are not onely besides Gods word, but euē directly against it, and therfore to take part with them, is to take part against God, against whom you can not preuaile.

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Therefore for the tender mercy of Christ, in his bowels and bloud I beseech you, to take Christes collyrium  

and eye salue to annoynt your eyes, that you may see what you doo & haue done in admitting (as I heare you haue admitted, yea alas authorised, & by cōsent cōfirmed) the Romish rottē rags, which once you vtterly expelled. Oh be not Marginalia* The dog returned to his owne vomite.canis reuersus ad vomitū, be not * Sus lota reuersa ad volutabrum cœni.   Marginalia* The sow that was washed returned to her wollowing in the mire. 2. Pet. 2.Beware lest Satan enter in with seuen other spirites, and then postrema   shalbe worse then the first. It had bene better ye had neuer knowen the truth, thē after knowledge to run from it. Ah, wo to this world & the thinges therein, which hath nowe so wrought wyth you. Oh that euer this dirt of the diuel should daube vp the eye of the realme. For thou (O mother) art as it were the eye of the Realme. If thou be light and geue shine, all the body shall fare the better. But if thou the light be darknes, alas how great wyl the darknes be? What is man whose breath is in his nostrels, that thou shouldest thus be afraid of hym?

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MarginaliaThe glory of this world a vain thing.Oh what is honour and lyfe here? Bubbles. What is glory in this world, but shame? Why art thou afraid to cary Christes Crosse? Wylt thou come into his kingdome, and not drinke of his cup? Doest thou not knowe Rome to be Babylon? Doest thou not knowe that as the olde Babylon had the children of Iuda in captiuitie, so hath this Rome the true Iuda, that is, the confessors of Christ?MarginaliaBabilō hath Iuda in captiuitie. Doest thou not knowe, that as destruction happened vnto it, so shall it doo vnto this? And trowest thou that God wyll not deliuer his people nowe when the tyme is come, as he dyd then? Hath not God commaunded his people to come out from her? and wylt thou geue ensample to the whole Realme to runne into her? Hast thou forgotten the woe that Christ threatneth to offence geuers? Wylt thou not remember that it were better that a Mylstone were hanged about thy necke, and thou throwen into the sea, then that thou shouldest offend the litle ones?

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And alas, how hast thou offended? yea and how doest thou styll offend? MarginaliaThe church standeth not in the outward shew.wylt thou consider thinges according to the outward shewe? Was not the Synagogue more seemely and like to be the true Churche, then the simple flocke of Christes disciples? Hath not the whoore of Babylon more costly aray, & rich apparrel externally to set forth her selfe, then the homely housewife of Christ? Where is the beautie of the kinges daughter the church of Christ? without or within? Doth not Dauid say, within? Oh remember that as they are happy which are not offēded at Christ, so are they happy which are not offended at his poore Churche. MarginaliaThe pope pretendeth to make much of the wife, but maketh nothing of the husband.Can the Pope and his prelates meane honestly whiche make so much of the wife, and so litle of the husband? The Church they magnifie, but Christe they contemne. If this Churche were an honest woman (that is, Christes wife) except they would make much of her husband Christ and his word, she would not be made much of them.

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Whē Christ and his apostles were vpon earth, who was more like to be the true Church, they, or the Prelates, Bishops, and Synagogue? MarginaliaCustome. Vnitie. Antiquity. Consent of multitude are markes deceaueable.If a mā should haue folowed custome vnitie, antiquitie, or the more part, should not Christe & his company haue bene cast out of the doores? Therefore bade Christ: Searche the Scriptures. And, good mother, shal the seruant be aboue his maister? shall we looke for other entertainment at the handes of the world, then Christ and his deare Disciples founde? who was taken in Noes tyme for the Church? Poore Noe and his familie, or others? Who was taken for Gods Churche in Sodome? Lot, or others?

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