a certaine doubt or demaund Benn. Card. pag. 179. MarginaliaVide supra pag. 179.Southly if sir Iohn Oldcastle had taken the body of king Henry the v. and throwne hym into the fire, the fact beyng so notoriously certaine as this is, I would neuer haue bestowed any word in his defence. And could this, and so many other haynous treasons passe through your fingers (M. Cope) and no other to stick in your pen but the Lord Cobham.

Finally and simply to conclude with you (M. Cope) and not to flatter you, what is the whole working, the procedings, actions, and practises of your religion, or hath bene almost these v. C. yeres, but a certaine perpetuall kynde of treason, to thrust downe your princes and magistrates, to derogate from their right and iurisdiction, and to aduaunce your owne maiesties and dominations: as hath bene sufficiently aboue proued and laide before your faces, in a parlament holden in Fraunce by the Lord Peter de Cugnerijs. vid. pag. 358. MarginaliaVide supra pag. 358.Wherfore if the assemble of these fornamed persons, either within or without S. Giles fielde be such a great mote of treason in your eyes, first looke vpon þ^e great blocks and milstones of your owne traytors at home, and when you haue well discussed the same, then after poure out your wallet of your trifling Dialogues or Trialogues if ye list, agaynst vs, and spare vs not. Not that I so thincke this to be a sufficient excuse to purge the treason of these men, if your popish Calenders and legantes be founde ful of traytours, Multitudo enim peccatū non parit errori patro cinium. MarginaliaReligion commonly maketh treason among the papistes.But this I thinke, that þ^e same cause which made them to suffer as traytors, hath made you also to rayle agaynst them for traytors, that is, mere hatred onely agaynst their religion, rather then any true affectiō you haue to your princes and gouernours. Who if they had bene as feruent in your poperye, and had suffered so much for the holy father of Rome, or for the liberties of the holy mother Churche of Rome, I doubt not, but they as holy children of Rome had bene rong into your Romish Calender with a festū duplex, or at least with afestum simplex of. ix. lessons, also with a vigill peraduenture before them.

Now because they were on the contrary profession, and enemies to your Magna Diana Ephesiorum, you playe with them, as the Ephesian caruers did with Saint Paule and worse. Ye thrust them out as seditious rebels, not onely out of lyfe and body, but also can not abyde them to haue any poore harbour in their owne friends houses, among our Actes and Monuments to be remembred. In the whiche Actes and Monumentes, and if gentle maister Ireneus, with his fellow Critobulus in your clerkely Dialogues, will not suffer them to be numbred for Marcirs: yet speake a good word for them (M. Cope) they may stand for testes or witnesse bearers of the truth. And thus much for defence of them.

MarginaliaAūswere to the second part of Copes accusation, concerning his vntrue charging of the booke of Actes and Monum.Now to the other part of hys accusation, wherin this Alanus Copus Anglus in hys xxx or sexfold Dialogues contendeth and chafeth against my former edition, to proue me in my history to be a lyer, forger, impudent, a misreporter of truth, a deprauer of stories, a seducer of the world, and what els not? whose virulent wordes, and contumelious termes, how well they become his popish person, I knowe not. Certes for my part I neuer deserued this at his handes wittingly, that I do know. Maister Cope is a mā whom yet I neuer saw, and lesse offended, nor euer heard of hym before. And if he had not in the fronte of hys booke intituled hymselfe to be an English man, by hys writing I would haue iudged hym rather some wylde Irishman, lately crept out of Saint Patrikes Purgatory, so wyldely he writeth, so fumishly he fareth.

But I cease here, and temper my selfe considering not what M. Cope deserueth to be sayd vnto, nor how farre the pen here could run if it had hys scope, but considering what the tractation rather of such a serious cause requireth. And therfore seriously to say vnto you (M. Cope) in this matter, where you charge my history of Actes and Monumentes so cruelly, to be full of vntruthes, false lies, impudent forgeries, deprauations, fraudulent corruptions, and feyned fables, brefly and in one word, to aunswer you, not as the Lacones aunswered to the letters of their aduersary, with si, but with osi. MarginaliaThe booke of Actes and Monum. to true, if it had pleased God otherwise.Would God (M. Cope) that in all the whole booke of Actes and Monumentes, from the beginnyng to the latter ende of the same, were neuer a true story, but that all were false, all were lyes, and all fables. Would god the cruelty of your Catholikes had suffered all them to lyue, of whose death ye say now that I doe lye. Although I deny not but in that booke of actes and monuments conteyning such diuersitie of matter, some thing might ouerscape me: yet haue I bestowed my poore diligence. My entent was to profit all men, to hurt none.

If you (maister Cope) or any other can better my rude doyngs, and finde things out more finely or truely, with allmy hart, I shall reioyse with you and with the common wealth, taking profit by you. In perfection of writing, of wyt, cunning, dexterity, finenes or other indumentes required in a perfect writer, I contend neither with you, nor any other. I graunt that in a laboured story, such as you seme to require, conteyning such infinite varietie of matter, as this doth, much more tyme would be required: but such time as I had, that I did bestow, if not so laboriously as other could, yet as diligently as I might.

But here partly I heare what you will say: I shuld haue taken more leysure, and done it better. I graunt and confesse my fault, suche is my vice, I can not sitte all the day (M. Cope) finyng and mynsing my letters, and comyng my head, and smoothing my selfe all the day at the glasse of Cicero. Yet notwithstanding, doing what I can, and doing my good will, me thinkes I should not be reprehended, at least not so much be rayled of at master Copes hād. Who if he be so pregnant, in finding faultes with other mens labours (which is an easy thing to do) it were to be wyshed, that he had enterprised hymselfe vppon the matter, and so should haue proued what faultes might haue bene found in hym. Not that I herein doe vtterly excuse my selfe, yea rather am readye to accuse my selfe, but yet notwythstanding thinke my selfe vngently delt with all at Maister Copes hand: Who beyng myne owne countreyman, an English man, as he sayth, also of the same vniuersitie, yea colledge and schole that I was of: knowyng that the first edition of these Actes and Monuments, was begen in the far partes of Germany, where few frendes, no conference, small information could be had. And the same edition afterward translated out of Latin into English by others, while I in the meane tyme was occupied about other Registers. And now the sayd Cope hearing moreouer and knowyng that I was about a new edition of the same Actes & Monumentes, at this present tyme, to be set forth, for þ^e amēding of diuers things therin to be reformed: if he had known any fault nedefull to be corrected, he might gentlely by letters admonished me therof. Gentlenes so would haue required it. Tyme would wel haue suffered it. Neither was he so far of, but might sooner haue written a letter to me, then a boke against me. Neither was I so ingratefull and inhumane, but would haue thanked him for his monition: neither yet so obstinate, but beyng admonished, would haue corrected willingly where any fault had bene committed.

But herein your nature (maister Cope) both right well appeare. MarginaliaVngentlenes noted in Cope.First in þ^e sayd booke of Actes and monumentes, where many other good thinges be conteyned, not vnfrutefull nor vnprofitable perauenture for þ^e instruction of your conscience, and wherin my labours perhaps might haue deserued your thankes, all that you dissemble and passe ouer, onely excerping those matters which make for cauillation. Thus the blacke spider out of pleasaunt flowres sucketh his poyson. And what booke is so pleasaunt or frutefull, though it were the Popes own Portous, yea his own Decretals, yea his own very masse booke, to the reading wherof if I brought the like mynde so disposed to cauill, as you bryng to the reading of my historie, but I coulde finde out twise as many mendacia, maculas, impudentias, dolos malos, fabulas, fucos, as you haue done in these Actes and Monumentes. And yet you haue done pretely well.

Besides all this, yet better to marke the goodnes of your gentle nature: Be it so I had bene in some piece of my story deceiued, as I do not iustifie my selfe in all pointes therein: yet you vnderstanding that I was about the correction of my booke agayne, might either haue taken the best, and left the worst: or els gently take the paynes to haue aduertised me of such notes as you had, without further exclamation: or at least might haue differred your Dialogues for a tyme, till the commyng out of my booke, to see first what would in the latter edition be altered. But belike your gall was full, your hast could not tary, your venim must needes brust out.

Et si non aliqua nocuisses, mortuus esses.  

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Unattributed verse

Foxe text Latin

Et si non aliqua nocuisses, mortuus esses

Translation

J. Barrie Hall

And if you had not done harm in some way you would have died.

Seyng therfore the order of your doyngs to be such, and disposition of your nature so farre from all humanitie, dealyng with me so extremely, if I thus prouoked with your extremitie again, should now after this your currish nature shape you a name accordingly, MarginaliaCopus Sycophanta.and in stede of Cope godfather you to be a perpetuall sycophant, could you much blame me? and doth not your sycophanticall booke well deserue it? or thinke you, I could not repay you againe w^t like extremity as you bring, & dresse your drousy or rather lousie dialogues in their right colours, if I were so disposed? But my purpose is with patience to spare you, & rather to pray for you, God make you a good man. Perauenture he may hereafter call you. And rather had I to win you, then to sting you.