Wherfore with this short admonition to close vp þ^e matter, as I haue exhibited in these histories þ^e terrible ends of so many persecuters plagued by Gods hand: so woulde I wish all such, whom Gods lenitie suffereth yet to liue, this wisely to ponder with thē selues, that as their cruell persecution hurteth not the saints of God, whom they haue put to death: so the pacience of Christes church suffryng them to lyue, doth not profite them, but rather heapeth the great iudgement of God vppon them in the day of wrath, vnlesse they repent in tyme, which I pray God they may.  

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After a short prayer for the swift return of Christ to establish his kingdom on earth, the 1570 edition ends here.

¶ An Oration of I. H. to the Queenes maiestie, and deliuered to her maiestie by a certayne Noble man, at her first entrance to her raigne.  

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John Hale's Oration

This oration was first written on Elizabeth's accession to the throne but it was not published by Foxe until the 1576 edition. The oration threatens Elizabeth with divine displeasure if she does not thoroughly purge the church of all 'Romish' abuses. Printed in 1576, after the vestments controversy and the admonition to parliament, this became a caustic indictment of Elizabeth. (See Thomas S. Freeman, 'Providence and Prescription: The Account of Elizabeth in Foxe's "Book of Martyrs"' in The Myth of Elizabeth, ed. Susan Doran and Thomas S. Freeman [Basingstoke: 2003], pp. 42-44).

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A copy of this oration is in Foxe's papers: BL, Harley MS 419, fos. 143r-148v.

ALbeit there be innumerable gyfts and benefits of almighty God, wherof euery one would wonderfully comfort any person, on whō it should please his goodnes to bestow it: yet is none of them either separate by it self, or ioyned with any other, or yet al myngled together, to be compared to this one: that it hath pleased God of his mercye to deliuer this Realme our countrey from the tyrannie of malicious Mary, and to commyt it to the gouernement of vertuous Elizabeth. MarginaliaGreat benefites and treasures do nothing profit, where the vse of them can not be enioyed.For if a man had al the treasure of Salomon, & might not be suffered to haue the vse therof: in what better case were he thē miserable Tantalus, ouer whose head þ^e apples continually hong, yet beyng hunger sterued, could he neuer touch them? If a man had as strong a body as had Sampson, and besides were as whole as a fishe, as the prouerbe is, yet if he were kept in bands, what should it auayle hym? Yea rather, if it be wel considered, it is a hurt to hym, if continuance of torments and paynes may be a hurt.

If a man had as many chyldren as had Gedeon the Iudge, and might not be so suffred to bring them vp in the feare of God, and good knowledge and maners? had he not bene more happy to be without them, then to haue them? If a man had as muche knowledge of God as had Saint Paul, and durst not professe it openly with mouth, as he is commaunded, but for feare of death shoulde declare the contrarye in deede, sclaunder the worde of God, and denye Christe, which is forbydden, shoulde it not rather be a furtherance to his damnation, then otherwise?

And to be short, if any one man had all these gyftes together, or generally all the gyftes of Fortune, the bodye, the mynde, and of grace, yet if he mought not haue the vse of them, what should they profite hym? Veryly nothyng at all. MarginaliaFelicitie not in hauing but in vsing.For felicitie is not in hauyng, but in vsing, not in possessing, but in occupying: not in knowledge, but in dooynge.

But alas, our naturall Mother Englande, whiche hath bene coumpted to be the surest, the richest, and of late also the moste godly Nation of the earth, hath bene these whole fiue yeares most violently by Tyrantes forced to lacke the vse of all the gyftes and benefites that GOD and nature hath endued her. Her naturall and louyng chyldren coulde not be suffered to enioye their right inheritaunce, whereby they might relieue and succour her or them selues: but what soeuer they had, was eyther by open force or by craftye dealyng pulled from them. And surely this had bene tollerable, if none other mischiefe had bene therwith intended.

He is a gentle theefe (if theeues may be counted gentle) that onely robbeth a man of his goodes, and refrayneth violent hands from his parson. For such losse with labour and diligence may be recouered. He may be called a mercyfull murtherer, that onely kylleth the aged Parentes, and vseth no force on the chyldren.

For nature hath made all men mortall, and that in like space, and to kyll the parentes, is as it were but a preuention of a short tyme, if it were to the vttermost enioyed. MarginaliaWicked practises of most cruell Tyrantes.But these Tyrantes were more vngentle then common theeues, more emptye of mercye, then common murtherers. For they were not onely not contented to haue the goodes of the people, but they would haue it deliuered to them by the owners owne handes, that it might be sayd to the world, they gaue it with the hart: and were not therwith pleased, but they would haue their lyues, that they should not bewraye them, and yet herewith they were not satisfied, but they meant to root out the whole progenie and nation of English men, that none shoulde be leaft to reuenge or crye oute on their extremities, and to bryng our Coūtrey into the Spaniardes dominion.

It is an horrible crueltie for one brother to kill an other, much more horrible for the chyldren to lay violent and murtheryng handes on their parētes, but most horrible of al

to murther the chyldren in the sight of the parentes, or the parentes in the sight of their chyldren, as these most cruell tormenters haue done.

But what doo I stande in these thynges which haue some defence, because the Turkes perchance vse so to doo, and Ethnykes kyll one an other, to make Sacrifice of men to their phantastical Gods?

It was not enough for these vnnaturall English tormentours, Tyrantes, and false Christians, to be Lordes of the goodes, possessions, and bodyes of theyr brethren and Countrey men, but being very Antichristes and enemies of Christes Crosse, they would be Gods, and raigne in the consciences and soules of men. Euery man, woman, and chyld, must deny Christ in worde openly, abhorre Christe in their deedes, sclaunder his Gospell with word and deed, worship and honour false Gods as they wouldE haue thē and them selues did, and so geue body and soule to the deuyll their maister, or secretly flee, or after inward torments to be burned openly. MarginaliaCrueltie of late dayes, farre exceding all cruelties committed by the auncient and famous tyrauntes in tyme past.O crueltie, crueltie, farre exceedyng al cruelties committed by those ancient and famous tyrantes and cruell murderers, Pharao, Herode, Caligula, Nero, Domitian, Maximine, Diocletian, Decius, whose names for their cruell persecution of the people of God, and their open tyrannie practised on the people, haue ben, be, & euer shalbe in perpetuall hatred, & their soules in continuall torment in hel. If any man would take vpon him to set forth particularly all the actes that haue bene done these full fiue yeares by this vnnaturall woman: No, no woman, but a monster, and the deuyll of hell couered with the shape of a woman, as it is most necessary for the glory of God, and the profite of his Church, and this Realme it should be don, he shal find it a matter sufficient for a perfect great History, and not to be conteyned in an Oration, to be vttered at one tyme by the voyce of man. But to cōprehend the summe of all their wickednes in fewe wordes: behold, what soeuer malice in mischiefe, couetousnes in spoyle, crueltie in punishyng, tyrannie in destruction could doo, that al hath this poore English nation these ful fiue yeares eyther suffered already, or should haue suffered, had not the great mercy of God preuented it.

And albeit there haue ben many that haue hasarded and lost their lyues to shake of this most rough brake (wherwith this Viragin rather thē Virgin as she woulde be called and taken) boasted her selfe to be sent of God, to ryde and tame the people of England, albeit there haue ben many that haue gone about to loose their brethren out of the yoke of this most miserable captiuitie: and albeit some haue proued to breake the bandes of this most cruel tyrannie, yet could they neuer bring to passe, that they so earnestly labored, and so manfully attempted.

And it is nothing to be wondred, let þ^e papistes boast thereof what it pleaseth them. For almighty God beyng a most indifferent gouernour, punishyng euyll, & rewardyng good, could not of his iustice suffer his scourge so soone to be taken from this Lande, if he meaneth the saluation of the people, as most manifestly it appereth he dyd. For hauing once geuen to this Realme the greatest Iewel that might be, that is, the free vse of his liuely word, which if they had imbraced and folowed, would haue refourmed al disorders and sinnes. Wherfore his wrath is kyndled and prouoked, the people nothing regarded it, but eyther vtterly contemned it, or abused it, and many made it a cloke and colour to couer their mischiefe. So that if he should sodaynly haue withdrawen this plague, as tyrantes & euyl gouernors be the plague of God,MarginaliaTyrantes and euell gouernours be the plague of God. they would neither haue passed on his iustice, nor yet should they haue fealt the sweetnes of his mercy. For cōmonly the people regard but things present, and neither remember thyngs past, nor yet passe on things to come, vnlesse they be warned by exceedyng extremities.

MarginaliaGod worketh all thinges to his owne glory.Besides this it is most euident, that he had determined to make this noble conquest alone with his owne hande and mighty power, and would not that it should be done by man, least man should impute any part of the glory of this victorye, to his owne strength, or to his owne policie, or that Fortune shoulde seeme to beare any stroke in so glorious conquest, and so be partaker in mens opinions of the triumph so worthy.

Neither dyd his almighty power worke this when man would haue it dispatched, that is, as soone as the enemies began to gather their force, for it is not so great a victory to discomfit a few dispersed people as it is to destroy a perfectly vnited army, but he suffred them to make their force as great as was possible to worke what soeuer mischiefes by spoyle, banishment, prisonment, hangyng, headyng, burnyng, or otherwise could be imagined.

Neither would his most prouident wisedome doo it out of seasō: but as þ^e good husbādmā doth not crop his tree, tyl it haue rendred his fruite: so would he not roote out these