gilty, so as I knew no errour in them, of which I should be gilty, therfore the Byshop sate in dome in myne absence, and demed me an hereticke, a schismaticke, and a teacher of errours, and denounced me accursed, that I come not to correction of the Church. And therfore for this vnrightfull iudgement, I appeale to the kynges Iustices for many other causes.

MarginaliaThe kinges court aboue the Bishops court. One cause is, for the kynges Court, in such matter is aboue the Byshops court: For after that the Byshop has accursed, he may no feare by his law, but then mote he sech succour of the kyngs law, and by a write of Significauit, put a man in prison.

The second cause is, for in cause of heresie there liggeth iudgement of death and that dome may not be geuen without the kynges Iustices. For the Byshop will say: Nobis non licet interficere quenquam, That is: It is not lawfull for vs to kill any man: as they sayden to Pilate, when Christ should be demed. And for I thinke that no Iustice will geue sodenly and vntrue dome as the Byshop did, and therfore openly I appeale to hem and send my conclusions to the Knightes of the Parliament, to be shewed to the Lordes, and to be taken to the Iustices, to be well auiset or that they geuen dome.

MarginaliaWhat is an heretike. The thyrd cause is, for it was a false dome: for no man is an hereticke, but he, that maisterfully defendes his errour or heresie and stifly maintaynes it. And myne aūswere has bene alway cōditionall as the people openly knowes, for euer I sayd, and yet say & alway will: that if they cannen shew me Gods law that I haue erret, I will gladly ben amēdet, and reuoke myne errours and so I am not hereticke, ne neuer more with Gods grace will ben en no wise.

MarginaliaThe bishops law of cōdemnation full of heresies and errours. The fourth cause is. For the Byshops law, that they deme men by, is full of errours and heresies, contrary to the truth of Christes law of the Gospell.

For there as Christes law byddes vs loue our enemies, the Popes law geues vs leaue to hate them & to sley them, and grauntes men pardon to werren agayne hethen men, and sley hem. And there as Christs law teach vs to be mercyfull, the Byshops law teaches to be wrechfull. For death is the greatest wrech that men mowen done on hym that gulty is.

There as Christes law teaches vs to blessen him thatMarginaliaThe contrarietie betwen the pope and Christ. diseazen vs, and to pray for him: the Popes law teacheth to curse them, and in their great sentence that they vsen, they presume to damne hem to hell that they cursen. And this is a fowle heresie of blaspheme, there as Christes law byddes vs be pacient, the Popes law iustifies two swordes, that wherewith he smiteth the sheepe of the Church. And he has made Lordes and Kynges to sweare to defend him and his Church.

There as Christes law forbiddeth vs lechery, the popes law iustifies the abhominable hordome of common women, and the Byshops in some place haue a great tribute or rent of hordome.

There as Christes law bydbes to minister spirituall thynges freely to the people: the Pope with his law selles for money, after the quātitie of the gift, as pardons, orders, blessing, and Sacraments, & prayers, and benefices, & preachyng to the people, as it is knowen amonges them.

There as Christes law teaches peace: the Pope with his law assoiles men for mony to gader the people, Priestes, and other, to fight for his cause.

There as Christes law forbyds swearyng: The Pppes law iustifieth swearyng and compels men therto.

Wheras Christes law teacheth his Priests to be poore, the Pope with his law, iustifies and maintaynes Priestes to be Lordes.

And yet the v. cause is, for the Popes law that byshops demen men by, is the same vnrightful law that Christ was demet by of the Byshops, with the Scribes and with the Pharises. For right as at the tyme they gauen more credens to the ij. false witnesses that witnessed agaynst Christ then they deden to all þ^e people that witnesseden to his trew preachynge and his miraceles: so the Byshops of the Popes law geuen more leeuen by their law to two heretickes & Apostatas, or two comen wymen that woulden witnesseden agaynes a man in the cause of heresie, than to thousandes of people that weren trew and good.MarginaliaThe causes why Swinderby forsooke the Pope And for the Pope is this Antichrist and his law contrary to Christes law, fully I forsake this law and so I reed all Christen men. For thus by an other point of this law, they mighten conquere much of this world: For whan they can by this law present a man an hereticke: his goodes shulen be forfet from hym & from his heyres and so might they lightly haue 2. or 3. false witnesses to recorde an heresie agayne what true man so hem liked. Herefore me thinkes, that whatsoeuer that I am a Christen man I may lawfully appeale frō a false dome of the law, to be righteously demet by the trouth of Gods law. And if this appeale will not serue, I appeale openly to my Lord Iesu Christ that shall deme all the world, for he I wot well, will not spare for no man to deeme a trouth. And therfore I pray GOD almighty with Dauid in the Sauter booke Deus iudicium tuum regi da, & iusticiam tuā filio regis: Iudicare populum tuū in iusticia & pauperes tuos in iudicio. That is. O God geue thy iudgemēt to the kyng, and thy iustice to the kynges sonne: I iudge thy people in iustice, and thy poore ones in iudgement. &c.

MarginaliaA fruitefull letter to the Lords and Burgesies of the Parliament. IEsu that art both God and man helpe thy people that louen thy law, and make knowen through thy grace thy teachyng to all Christen men. Deare sirs, so as we seen by many tokens that this world drawes to an end, and all that euer haue bene forth brought of Adās kynde into thys world shulen come togeder at domesday riche and poore, ichone to geue accompt and receyue after hys deedes, ioye or paynen for euermore: Therefore make we our werkes good, ye while that God of mercy abydes, and be ye stable and true to God, and ye shulen see hys helpe about you. Constantes estote & videbitis auxilium Domini super vos. This land is full of gostly cowardes, in gostly battayle fewe dare stād. But Christ the cōforter of all that falleth (to that his hart barst for our loue) agaynst the fiend that doughty Duke comforteth vs thus: Estote fortes in bello, &c. Be ye strōg in battaile, he sayes, and fight ye with the old adder. State in fide, viriliter agite, &c. Wake ye and pray ye, stond ye in beleue, do ye manly and be ye comfortet, and let all your thynges be done with charitie: For S. Poule biddes thus in his Epistle, that saw the preueties of God in heauen: Euigilate iusti. &c. Awake ye that bene righteous men, be ye stable and vnmoueable: Awake ye quickly and sleepe nought, and stōd now strongly for Gods law. For S. Iohn in þ^e Apocalips says, blesset be he that awakes: for noght to slepers but to wakers God has behite the crowne of life. For the hower is now as Paule sayth to vs, from slepe for to arise, for he that early awakes to me, he shall finde me sayth Christ him seluen. Thys wakyng gostly is good liuyng out of sinne: this sleepe betokens that which cowardeth a mans hart frō gostly cōfort & to stand in þ^e same through a deceaueable slepe is this that lets a man of the blysse of heauen: the fende makes a man bolde in sinne and ferd to do worshyp to God: death is a likenyng to a theefe that preuely steales vpō a man that now is riche, and full of wele, anone he makes him a needy wreche: therfore sayd God by S. Iohn in the Apocalips in this wise: Be thou wakyng, for if thou wake nought, I shal come to thee as a theefe, and thou shalt not wytte what houre. And if the husbandman (sayes Christ) wiste what houre the theefe should come, he should wake and suffer him not to vndermine his house. S. Peter therfore warneth and sayth: wake and be ye ware, suffer ye no man (he says) as a theefe, but wilfully for Gods loue, for it is tyme (as Peter sayes) that dome begyn from the house of God: Ye bene the body of Christ (says Poule) that needes must suffer with the head, or els your bodyes bene but dead and departed from Christ that is the head. And therfore curset be he (says Poule) that loues not Iesu Christ. And who it is that loues him, Christ himselfe tells in the Gospell: he that has my hestes, and kepes them, he it is that loues me. Cursed be he therfore (says Poule) that doth Christes workes deceaueably. Be ye not therfore (says Poule) ashamed of the true witnes of Iesu Christ, for Christ our God says in his Gospell he þ^t shames me, and my words, him shal mans sonne ashame when he shall come for to set in the siege of his maiesty. And eche man he sayes, that knowes me and my wordes before men in this sinfull generation and whorysh, mans sonne shall knowledge him before my father sayes Christ himselfe, when he shall come with his Aungels in the glory of his father: Syth ye therfore bene Christenmen, that is to say, Christes men, shew in deede that ye bene such as ye daren shew you the kynges men: for hit had bene, as Peter sayes, better not to haue knowen the way of truth, that after the knowyng therof to be cōuert backward there frō. We knowē Christ, that is trought, we sayn all through our belefe if we turne frō him for dred, truely we deny the troth: And therfore sith our tyme is short, how short no mā knowes but God, do we the good that we may to Gods worshyp, when we haue tyme: Be true (sayes God) to the death and you shall haue the crowne of lyfe: And thinke on Iudas Machabeus, that was Gods true knight, that cōforted hartely Gods true people, to be the folowers of his law. And geue ye, he sayd, your liues for the Testament of