MarginaliaAnno. 1555. October.bee written at Rome, and it to bee called of hym in the same Epistle in plaine termes, Babilon? by the abominacions thereof, I vnderstande all the whole trade of the Romishe religion, vnder the name & title of Christ, whiche is contrary to the onely rule of all true religion, that is Gods woorde. What woorde of God hath that Deuilish drabbe,  

for the maintenaunce of her manifolde abominations, and to sette to sell suche marchaundise, wherewith (alas the madnesse of manne) the wicked harlot hath bewitched almost the whole world? Did not Peter the verie true Apostle of Christe, of whom this stinkyng strumpet beareth her self so high, (but falsely and without all iuste cause) did not he, I saie, giue all the worlde warnyng of her pelfe   & trashe, of her false Doctours and Apostles (for this Whore and Beast will be called Dominus Apostolicus, who so euer saie naie) after this maner in his latter Epistle? Marginalia2. Peter. 2.There was amōg the people in tymes past false Prophets, as all shalbe their among you in tyme to come false teachers, which shal priuely bryng in pestilēt sectes, euen deniyng the Lord which hath bought them, and redemed them, procuryng to them selues swift damnatiō, and many shall followe their damnable waies, by whō the waie of truthe shall bee railed vpon, and through coueteousnesse by counterfaite tales or sermons, they shall (saieth Peter) make marchandise vpon you. &c. And doeth not Iohn likewise in his reuelation, after he hath reckened vp a great rablemēt of this MarginaliaThe mysticall marchandise of the Babylonical strumpet.whores mystical marchādise, at the last (as though he would knit vp all in plaine wordes, without any mist at all, setting out the whores marchandise) recken vp among the rest, and concludeth saying, Et animas hominum:  

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Ridley

Foxe text Latin

Et animas hominum

Foxe text translation

and the soules of men to?

that is to say, and the soules of men to? Whereupon I pray you els rose this true prouerbe in Latin: MarginaliaAll thinges at Rome for money.omnia Romæ venalia:  

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Ridley, quoting from Sallust, Bellum Iugurthinum (but cf. Cattley-Pratt, vii. 570. n.2.)

Foxe text Latin

omnia Romae venalia

Foxe text translation

All things for money are set to sale at Rome?

All things for mony are set to sale at Rome? was not that a worthy commendation of Christes Vicar in earth that was written of our holy father, one of the Alexanders a Byshop of Rome, thus I weene, in Latin?

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Vendit Alexander cruces, altaria, Christum.
Vendere iure potest, emerat ille prius.  

☞ These two verses in Latin, I haue read thus of one translated into English rime.MarginaliaVerses agaynst Pope Alexander.

Alexander our holy father the Pope of Rome,
selleth for money both right and dome:
And al kind of holines the holy father doth not sticke,
to set to sell, ready money for to get.
And eke Christ him selfe he dare be bolde,
to chop and chaunge for siluer and golde.
And why should any thinke this to be sore,
For what doth he sell, but that he bought before?  

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I graunt these verses to be light gere,  

and the verse is but rude, but (alas) suche conditions were more wicked and leud then any wit could expresse. If these had bene but the faults of one or a few in numbre, they had beene lesse pernicious, and might haue bene taken for personal crimes, not to be imputed vnto that Sea: but now (alas) the matter is more then euident to all that haue godly vnderstanding, that these crimes bee grounded vpon lawes, be establyshed by custome, and set forth by all kinde of wicked doctrine, falshod, and craft, and therefore are not nowe to be estemed for any one mans or a few mens personal crimes, but are now by lawes, custome, and doctrine incorporated into that wicked Sea, and maketh in dede the body of the Beast whereupon the abominable whore doth sit.

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But you would know which be those marchandise whiche I said this whore setteth forth to sell, for the which all her false Prophets with all their iuggelings & crafty gloses can not bring one iote of Gods worde. Surely, surely, they be not only all these abominatiōs which are come into the church of England already (wherof I haue spoken somewhat before) but also MarginaliaAbominations, and wicked abuses of þ^e Sea of Rome declared.an innumerable rablement of abominations and wicked abuses which now must nedes folow: as popish pardōs, pilgrimages, Romish purgatory, Romish masses, Placebo & Dirige,  

with trentals   and Scala cœli,  

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Romish terminology?

Foxe text Latin

Placebo & Dirige ... Scala coeli ... a poena & culpa

Foxe text translation

Not translated.

dispensatiōs and immunities from all godly discipline lawes and good order, pluralities, vnions, and tot quottes,   with a thousand moe. Now shall come in the flattering friers, and the false pardoners and play their olde prancks and knauery as they were wont to do. Now you shall haue (but of the Sea of Rome onely, and that for money) canonizing of such saintes as haue stand stoute in the Popes cause, shriuing of reliques,

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and from any kind of wickednes (if you will pay well for it) clere absolutiō a pœna & culpa,  

with thousands of yeres, yea at euery poore bishops hande and suffragan, ye shall haue halowing of churches, chappels, altares, superaltares, chalices, and of all the whole houshold stuffe and adornament which shall be vsed in the church after the Romish guise, for all these things must be esteemed of such high price, that they may not be done but by a consecrate bishop onely. O Lord, all these thinges are such, as thy Apostles neuer knew. As for coniuring (they cal it halowing, but it is coniuring in dede) of water and salt, of christening of bels and such like light thinges, what neede I to speake? for euery priest that can but read, hath power (thei say) not onely to do that, but also hath suche power ouer Christes body, as to make both God and man once at the least euery day, of a wafer cake.

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After the rehersall of the sayd abominations, and remembrāce of a number of many mo, which (the Lord knoweth) irketh me to thinke vpon, and were to long to describe: when I consider on the other side the eternall worde of God that abideth for euer, and the vndefiled law of the Lord which turneth the soule from all wickednes and geueth wisedome vnto the innocent babes, MarginaliaThe true word of God and the office of þ^e same declared.I meane that milke that is without all guile, as Peter doth cal it, that good word of God, þ^t word of truth which must be grauen within the hart and thē is able to saue mens soules, that wholsome seede, not mortall but immortall of the eternall and euerliuing God, whereby the man is borne a new, and made the childe of God, that seede of God wherby the man of God so beyng borne can not sinne, as Iohn sayth (he meaneth so long as that seede doth abide in him) that holy scripture which hath not beene deuised by the wit of man, but taught from heauen by the inspiration of the holy ghost, which is profitable to teach, to reproue, to correct, to instruct and geue order in all righteousnes that the man of God may be whole & sound, ready to performe euery good worke: when (I say) I consider this holy and wholesome true word that teacheth vs truely our bounden duety towardes our lord God in euery point, what his blessed will and pleasure is, what his infinite great goodnes and mercy is, what he hath done for vs, how he hath geuen his owne onely dearly beloued sonne to death for our saluatiō and by him hath sent vs the reuelation of this blessed will and pleasure, what his eternall worde willeth vs both to beleue and also to doe, and hath for the same purpose inspired the holy Apostles with the holy ghost & sent them abrode into all the world, and also made them & other disciples of Christ inspired by the same spirit, to write & leaue behinde them the same thinges that they taught (which as they did procede of the spirit of truth, so by the confession of all them that euer were endued with the spirit of God, were sufficient to the obteyning of eternall saluation:) and likewise when I consider that all that man doth professe in his regeneratiō whē he is receiued into þ^e holy Catholicke church of Christ, and is now to be accounted for one of the liuely members of Christes owne body, all that is grounded vpō Gods holy word, and standeth in the profession of that fayth, and obedience of those commaundements which are all contayned and comprised in Gods holy worde: and furthermore when I cōsider whom our Sauiour Christ pronounceth in his gospell to be blessed, and to whom Moses geueth his benedictiōs in the law, what waies the law, the Prophets, the Psalmes, and all holy Scriptures both new and old doth declare to be the waies of the Lord, what is good for man to obtain and abide in Gods fauour, which is that faith that iustifieth before God, and what is that charity that doth passe and excell all, which be the properties of heauenly wisedome, and which is that vndefiled religion, that is allowed of God, which things Christ himselfe called the weighty matters of the law, what thing is that which is onely auaileable in Christ, and what knowledge is that, that Paule estemed so much, that he coūted himselfe only to knowe, what shall be the maner of the extreme iudgemēt of the latter day, who shal iudge and by what he shall iudge, and what shall be required at our handes at that fearful day, how all things must be tried by the fire, and that that onely shall stand for euer which Christes words shall allow, which shall be the iudge of all fleshe to geue sentence vppon all fleshe and euery liuing soule either of eternall damnation or euerlasting saluation, from which sentence there

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