MarginaliaM. Glouer counselled to put in bondsvpon bondes. To whom my aunswere was (to my remembraunce) after this sorte: For as much as the Maisters haue imprisoned me hauyng nothyng to burdein me withall, MarginaliaRob. Glouer refuseth to enter into bondes.if I should enter into bondes, I should in so doyng accuse my selfe: and seyng they haue no matter to lay to my charge, they may aswell let me passe without bondes, as with bondes.

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Marginalia1555. Septemb.Secondarily, if I shall enter bondes, couenaunt, and promise to appeare, I shall do nothyng but excuse, colour, and cloke their wickednesse, and endaunger my selfe neuerthelesse, beyng bound by my promise to appeare. They alledged many worldly perswasiōs vnto me to auoyde þ^e present perill, & also how to auoyde the forfiture, if I brake my promise. MarginaliaWorldly perswasions not receaued.I sayd vnto thē I had cast my penyworth by Gods helpe. They vndertooke also to make the bonde easie.

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And when they were somewhat importune,  

I sayd to Maister Hopkins, that libertie of conscience was a precious thyng, and tooke as it were a pause, liftyng vp my hart to GOD earnestly for his ayde and helpe that I might do the thyng that might please him. MarginaliaM. Glouer agayne visited with Gods holy comfort.And so, when they had let their sute fall, my hart, me thought, was wonderfully comforted. Maister Dudley commoned with me in like maner: whom I aunswered in effect as I did before.

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Afterward debatyng the matter with my selfe, these considerations came to my head: I haue from tyme to tyme with good conscience (GOD I take to record) moued all such as I had conference withall, to be no dalyers in Gods matters, but to shewe them selues after so great a light and knowledge, harty, earnest, constaunt, and stable in so manifest a truth, & not to geue place one iote contrary to þ^e same. MarginaliaM. Glouer reasoning with him selfe.Now thought I, if I shall withdraw my selfe, and make any shiftes  

to pull my owne necke out of the collor, I shall geue great offence to my weake brethren in Christ, and aduauntage to the enemyes to sclaunder Gods word. It will be sayd, he hath bene a great boldner of others to be earnest and feruent, to feare no worldly perils or daungers, but he him selfe will geue no such example.

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MarginaliaM. Glouer taketh courage, all feare and daungers set aside.Wherefore I thought it my bounden duty both to God & man, beyng (as it were) by þ^e great goodnes of GOD, maruelously called and appoynted hereunto, to set aside all feare perils, and daungers, all worldly respectes and considerations, and like as I had heretofore, accordyng to the measure of my small gift, within the compasse of my vocation and callyng, from the bottome of my hart vnfaynedly moued, exhorted, and perswaded all that professe Gods woorde, manfully to persiste in the defence of the same, not with sworde and violence, but with sufferyng and losse of lyfe, rather then to defile thēselues agayne with the whorish abhomination of the Romish Antichrist: so the houre beyng come, with my fact and example to ratifie, confirme, and protest the same to the hartes of all true beleuers: and to this end (by the mighty assistaunce of Gods holy spirite) MarginaliaM. Glouer resolued in hym selfe to abyde the vttermost, in the Gospels cause.I resolued my selfe with much peace of conscience, willyngly to sustaine what soeuer the Romishe Antichrist should do agaynst me, & the rather because I vnderstode the Byshops commyng to be at hand, and considered that poore mens consciences should be then sharpely assaulted. So remayned I prisoner in Couētry by þ^e space of. 10. or 11. dayes, MarginaliaThe Papists procede with M. Glouer against the lawes of the Realme.beyng neuer called to my aunswere of the Maisters, contrary to the lawes of the Realme, they hauing neither statute, law, proclamatiō, letter, warrāt, nor cōmaundemēt for my apprehēsion. They would haue layd all the matter vpō the sumner.  

Who beyng examined, denied it before their faces (as one of my frēdes told me) saying MarginaliaCommaundement geuen to the Sumner agaynst Iohn Glouer, and not against Robert Glouer.that he had no cōmaundemēt cōcernyng me, but for my elder brother.   God lay not their extreme doyngs agaynst me, to their charge at the great day.  

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The second day after the Byshops commyng to Couētry, M. Warren came to the Yeldhall, and willed the chief Iayler to cary me to the Byshop.MarginaliaThis Byshops name was Doct. Banes. I layd to Maister Warrens charge the cruell seekyng of my death: and when hee would haue excused himselfe, I told him he could not wype his handes so: he was as giltie of my bloud before God, as though he had murthered me with his owne handes.MarginaliaM. Warren of Couentry persecutor of Rob. Glouer.

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And so he parted from me saying, I needed not to feare if I would be of his belief, GOD open his eyes if it be his will, and geue him grace to beleue this, which he and all of his inclination, shall finde (I feare) to true for their partes: MarginaliaA lesson for all persecutors.that is, that all they whiche cruelly, maliciously, and spitefully persecute, molest and afflict, the members of Christ for their conscience sake, and for the true testimonie of Christes word, and cause them most vniustly to be slayne and murthered: without speedy repentaunce, shall dwell with the deuil and his Aungels in the fiery lake euerlastyngly, where they shall wishe and desire, cry and call, but in vayne (as their right companion Epulo didMarginaliaLuke. 16.) to bee refreshed of them, whom in this world they contemned, despised, disdayned, as slaues, misers, and wretches.

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When I came before the Bishop in one Dentōs house,

hee began with this protestation, that he was my Byshop for lacke of a better,  

and willed me to submit my selfe.MarginaliaRob. Glouer brought before Banes B. of Lichfield and Couentrye.

I sayd to him, I am not come to accuse my selfe: what haue you to lay to my charge?

He asked me whether I was learned. I aunswered, smally learned.

Maister Chauncellour standyng by, sayd MarginaliaM. Rob. Glouer M. of Arte in Cambridge.I was a master of Art.

Then my Lord layd to my charge, my not commyng to the Church.MarginaliaRob. Glouer charged for not comming to the Church.

Here I might haue dalyed with him and put him to his proofes, for asmuch as I had not bene for a long season in his Dioces,  

neither was any of þ^e Citizens hable to proue any such matters agaynst me. Notwithstandyng I aunswered him through Gods mercyfull helpe, that I neither had nor woulde come at their Churche as long as their Masse was vsed there, to saue (if I had them) v. hundreth liues. I willed him to shew me on iote or title in the scripture for the proofe and defence of the Masse.

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He aunswered, he came to teach and not to be taught.

I was content (I told him) to learne of him, so farre as he was able to teach me by the word of God.

Byshop. Who shall iudge the word?

Glouer. Christ was content that the people should iudge his doctrine by searchyng the Scriptures, and so was Paule: me thinketh ye should clayme no further priuiledge or preeminence then they had.

Thus spake Robert Glouer offeryng him further, that he was content the primitiue Churche next to the Apostles time, should iudge betwixt the Byshop and him. MarginaliaThe Byshop refuseth to be iudged by the primatiue Church.But he refused also to bee iudged by that. Then hee sayd he was his Byshop and therfore he must beleue him.

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Glouer. If you say blacke is white my Lord (quoth Glouer) must I also say as you say, and beleue the same because you say it is so? Maister Chauncellour here noted me to be arrogāt, because I would not geue place to my Byshop.

Glouer. If you wil be beleued because you be a Byshop, why finde you fault with the people that beleued Maister Latymer, Maister Ridley, Maister Hoper, and the residue of them that were Byshops?

Byshop. Because they were heretickes.

Glouer. And may not you erre (quoth I) as well as they? I looked for learning at my Lordes hand to perswade me, and he oppressed me onely with his authoritie. Hee sayd I dissēted from the Church, and asked me MarginaliaWhere was the church before K. Edwardes Tyme.where my Church was before kyng Edwardes tyme.

I desired him to shewe me where their Church was in Helias tyme, & what outward shew it had in Christs time.

MarginaliaThe Byshop could not shew where Gods church was in Israell, nor where any prophet was in all Iuda, in Helias tyme.Byshop. Helias complaint was onely of the x. tribes that fell from Dauides house, whom he called heretickes.

Glouer. You be not able to shew any Prophetes that the other two tribes had at the same tyme.

My Lord makyng no aunswere to that, Maister Rogers one of the Maisters of the citie commeth in the meane season, taking vpon him as though he would aunswere to the texte. But my Lord forth w^t cōmaunded me to be committed to some Tower if they had any besides the common Iayle, saying hee would at the ende of his visitation of his Dioces, weede out such wolues. Maister Rogers willed him to cōtent himselfe for that night till they had taken further order for me. Euen where it pleaseth you, sayd I to my Lord, I am content: and so I was returned at that tyme to the cōmon Iayle agayne from whence I came.

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MarginaliaRob. Glouer somewhat discouraged at the first hearing that he should be remoued from Couentry to Lichfield.On the Friday mornyng beyng the nexte day after, I had warnyng by one of the prisoners to prepare my selfe to ride with my fellowe prisoners the same day to Lichfield, there to bee bestowed at the Byshoppes pleasure. Whiche tidynges at the first somethyng discouraged me, fearyng lest I should, by the meanes of my great siceknesse, through extreme handlyng (whiche I looked for) haue dyed in the prison before I should come to my aunswere. But I rebuked immediately wyth Gods worde, this infidelitie in myselfe, and by the same corrected myne owne mistrust and fantasie after this manner: What make I of GOD? Is not his power as greate in Lichfield as in Couentry? Doth not his promise extende as well to Lichfield, as to Couentry? MarginaliaRobert Glouer comforted againe wyth the meditation of the Scripture and Gods promise.Was he not with Abacucke, Daniel, Misaach, and Ieremy in theyr most daungerous imprisonmentes? Hee knoweth what thynges we haue neede of. He hath nūbred all the heares of our head. The Sparow falleth not on the ground with out our heauenly fathers will: much more will hee care for vs if we be not faithles, whom hee hath made worthy to bee witnesses of his truth. So long as we put our trust in him, we shall neuer be destitute of his helpe, neither in prison, neither in sickenesse nor in health, neither in life nor in death, neither before kynges nor before Byshoppes: not the Deuill him selfe, much lesse one of his ministers shall be able to preuayle agaynste vs. With suche like meditations, I

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