denue of theeues. All abuse, all extorcion, is more exercised a hundreth folde in your iudgement seates, then wyth any seculare tyraunt.MarginaliaAcception of person. Ye make lawes & keepe not the same, and ye dispence wyth your dispensations as it pleaseth you, you iustifie the wicked for rewardes, and ye take away the iust mans desart from him. And briefly ye perpetrate or cōmit all kynde of mischiefe euen as it is our wyll ye should.MarginaliaBribery.
Loue of lucre.
Extortion. And ye take much payne for lucres sake in our seruice, and especially to destroy the Christian fayth. For now the lay people are almost in doubt what they may beleue, because that if ye preach any thing to them at sometimes (although it be but seldome seene, and that negligently inough, euen as we would haue it) yet not withstanding they beleue you not, because they see manifestly that ye do cleane contrary, to that ye say.MarginaliaPeruerting of Iustice.
Destruction of true fayth.
The life of papistes contrary to their teaching Wherupon , the common people, doyng as ye do, which haue the gouernement of them, and should be an example to them of well doing: now many of them leaning to your rules, do runne hedlong into a whole sea of vices: And so continually a very great multitude flocketh at the strong and well fenced gates of our dungeon.MarginaliaThe Pope encreaseth hell. And doubtles, ye send vs so many day by day of euery sort and kynde of people, that we should not be able to entertayne them, but that our insatiable chaos wyth her thousande rauening iawes is sufficient to deuoure an infinite nomber of soules. And thus the souereintie of our Empire, by you hath bene reformed, and our intollerable losse restored. Wherefore, most specially we commende you, and geue you most hartie thankes: Exhorting all you, that in any wise ye perseuere and continue, as hetherto ye haue done: neither that you slake henceforth your enterprice. For why, by your helpes we purpose to bring the whole world againe vnder our power and dominion.MarginaliaAntichrist. Ouer and besides this, we commit vnto you no small authoritie, to supply our places in the betraying of your brethren, and we make and ordayne you our vicares, and the ministers of Antichrist our sonne, now hard at hand, for whom ye haue made a very trimme way and passage.MarginaliaThe pope a fayned procurer of peace betwene princes. Furthermore, we counsell you which occupy the highest roomes of all other, that you worke subtilly, and that ye (faynedly) procure peace betwene the princes of the worlde, and that ye cherishe and procure secrete causes of discorde.MarginaliaThe Romayne empire craftely subuerted by the pope. And lyke as craftely ye haue destroyed and subuerted the Romaine Empyre: so suffer ye no kyngdome to be ouermuch enlarged or enriched by tranquilitie and peace. Least perhappes in so great tranquilitie (all desire of peace set aside) they dispose themselues to vew and consider your most wicked workes, suppressing on euery side your estate: and from your treasurers take away such substance, as we haue caused to be reserued and kept in your handes, vntyll the commyage of our welbeloued sonne Antichrist. We would ye should do our commendations to our entirely beloued daughters, pride, deceit, wrath, auarice, bellichere, and lechery, and to all other my daughters:MarginaliaSymonie the popes nurse. and especially to Lady Symony, which hath made you men and enriched you, and hath geuen you sucke with her owne breastes, and weaned you, and therfore in no wise see that you call her synne. And be ye lofty and proude, because that the most high dignitie of your estate doth require such magnificence. And also be ye couetous, for whatsoeuer ye get and gather into your fardell, it is for Saint Peter, for the peace of the church, and for the defence of your patrimony and the Crucifixe, and therefore ye may lawfully doe it.MarginaliaPromoting of proud and rich Cardinals. Ye may promote your Cardinals to the highest seate of dignities wythout any let in all the worlde, in stopping the mouth of our aduersary Iesus Christ, and alledging agayne: that he preferred hys kinsfolkes (being but of poore and base degree) vnto the Apostleship, but you do not so, but rather call, as ye do, those that lyue in arogancy, in hautines of mynde, and filthy lechery, vnto the state of welthy riches & pride, and those rewardes and promotions, which the followers of Christ forsooke, do ye distribute vnto your frends.MarginaliaCloked holines. Therfore as ye shall haue better vnderstanding, prepare ye vices cloked vnder the similitude of vertues.MarginaliaWrasting of scripture. Alleadge for your selues the gloses of the holy scripture, and wrest them, directly to serue for your purpose. And if any man preach or teach otherwise then ye will, oppresse ye them violently wyth the sentence of excommunication, and by your censures heaped one vpon an other, by the consent of your brethren.MarginaliaTyrannie & cruelty by the pope. Let hym be condemned as an hereticke, and let hym be kept in most straight prison, and there tormented tyll he die, for a terrible example to all such as cōfesse Christ. And setting all fauour apart, cast hym out of your temple: least paraduenture the ingraffed worde may saue your soules, which worde I abhorre, as I do the soules of other faythfull men. And do your indeuour, that ye may deserue to haue the place which we haue prepared for you, vnder the most wicked foundation of our dwelling place. Fare ye well, with such felicitie as we desire and intend finally to reward and recompence you with.

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¶ Geuen at the centure of the earth, in that our
darke place, where all the rablement of Deuils
were present, specially for thys purpose called
vnto our most dolorous Consistory, vnder the
Charecter of our terrible seale, for the confirma-
tion of the premisses.
Ex Registro Herefordensi ad verbum. MarginaliaEx Registro Hereford.

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Who was the true author of thys poesie or epistle aboue written it is not euidently knowē: neither yet doth it greatly skill. The matter beyng well considered of their part, which here be noted: may minister vnto them sufficient occasion of holesome admonition, eyther to remember themselues what is amisse, or to bethinke with themselues what is to be amended. Diuers other writynges of like argumēt both before and since, haue bene deuised: as  

one bearing the title Luciferi ad malos principes Ecclesiasticos, imprinted first at Paris in Latin. And vnder the writing therof, bearing thys date. Anno a palatij nostri fractione, consortiumq; nostrorum subtractione. 1351. Which if ye count from the Passion of the Lord: reacheth well to the tyme of Wickliffe. 1385. which was aboue sixe yeares before the examination of this Walter Brute.

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MarginaliaEpist. Lucif. ad prælatos. There is also an other epistle of Lucifer, prince of darcknes, ad prælatos, mencioned in the Epistle of the schoole of Prage, to the vniuersitie of Oxford, set forth by Huldericus Huttenus, about the yeare of our Lord (as is there dated) 1370. which semeth to be written before this epistle.

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MarginaliaVincent. spec. hist. lib . 25. ca. 89. Also Vincentius in Speculo histo. lib. 25. cap. 89.  

inferreth like mention of a letter of the fiendes infernall, vnto the clergie mē as in a vision represented before, 400. yeares. In which, the deuils geue thankes to the spirituall men, for that by their silēce and not preaching the Gospell, they send infinite soules to hell, &c.

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Diuerse other letters also of like deuise, haue bene written, and also recorded in authors. Wherunto may be added, that one Iacobus Cartusiensis, writynge to the Byshop of Wormace, alleageth out of the prophecie of Hildegardis in these wordes:MarginaliaEx prophetia Hildegardis. Ideo et diabolus in semetipso de vobis sacerdotibus, ait: Escas epulantium, conuiuia et omnes voluptates in istis inuenio, sed et oculi, et aures, et venter meus, et venæ meæ, de spuinis illorum plenæ sunt, et vbera mea plena sunt diuicils illorum, &c. 1. Therfore sayth he, the deuill may say of you priestes in hymselfe: The meates of banketting dishes, and feastes of all kynde of plesure, I finde in these men: Yea also, myne eyes, mine eares, my belly, and all my vaynes be full of theyr frothyng: and my brestes be full stuffed with their riches, &c. Furthermore, sayth he, they labour euery day to rise vp higher with Lucifer, but euery day they fall wyth hym more deepely.

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Hereunto also appertayneth a story written, & commonly found in many olde written bookes. In the yeare of our Lord 1228. at Paris in a Synode of the clergie, there was one appointed to make a Sermon. Who beyng much carefull in hys minde and sollicitous what to say, the deuil came to hym, and askyng why he was so carefull for his matter, what he should preach to the clergie say thus, quod he:MarginaliaThe deuill geueth thankes to clergie men. The princes of hell salute you (Oh you princes of the Church) and gladly geue you thankes,MarginaliaThe silence of priestes for not preaching the Gospell dāneth many a soule. because through your default and negligence, it cōmeth to passe, that all soules go downe to hell. Adding moreouer, that he was also enforced by the commaundement of God to declare the same, yea and that a certayne token moreouer was geuen to the sayd clerke for a signe, wherby the sinode might euidently see, that he did not lye. Ex catal. Illyr. Fol. 546.

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MarginaliaThe popes letter to the B. of Hereford. BOnifacius Bishop, seruant of the seruauntes of God: To the reuerend brother Iohn Bishop of Hereford, sendeth greeting and Apostolicall benediction.  

We meane to write vnto our welbeloued sonne in Christ (Richard the renowmed king of England, in forme enclosed within these presentes. Therefore we will and commaunde your brotherhood, that as much as ye may, ye study and endeuour your selfe to exhorte and induce the same Kyng, to doe those thinges which we haue written vnto hym, as it is sayd before. And notwithstanding, that nowe many a day you ought to haue done it of your self, and not to looke that we should perswade you to that effect by vs written: you may proceede as well by our authoritie, as by your owne, for as

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