lay for a few dayes. A small matter: a matter of no importaunce: a matter easie to be graunted. Notwithstandyng let Panormitane here marke well, that he requireth a delay in a matter of fayth.MarginaliaIn matters of faith & religion, there ought to be no delayes. The verities are already declared: they be already discussed and determined. If now there should be but a litle delay, it would grow to a long delay: for oftētimes the delay of one moment, is the losse of a whole yeare. Hereof we haue many examples. Hanniball when he had obtayned his victory at Cannas, if he had gone strayght vnto Rome, by all mens iudgements, he had takē the Citie. But for somuch as he dyd deferre it vntill the next day, the Romaines hauyng recouered their force agayne: he was shut out, and deserued to here this opprobry.

Vincere scis Hannibal, vti victoria nescis.
Hanniball thou knowst victory to get,
But how to vse it, thou knowst not yet.

Likewise the French men, after they had taken Rome and besieged the Capitoll, whiles that they greedely sought to haue great summes of money, & delayed the tyme in makyng of their truce, Camillus cōmyng vpon them, dyd most shamefully driue them out agayne. But what neede I to rehearse old historyes, when as our owne examples are sufficient for vs? Ye know your selues how often these delayes haue bene hurtfull vnto you, & how often the delay of a few dayes hath growen to a long tract of tyme. For now this is the viij. yeare that you haue spent in delayes: and you haue sene, that alwayes of one delay an other hath sprong and risen.MarginaliaThe eight yeare of the councell of Basill. Wherfore I do require that Panormitan should consider, that the conclusion beyng this day disturbed, we know not whether it will be brought to passe hereafter agayne or no. Many impediments or lets may rise.MarginaliaHow subtelly they sought delayes. Neither doth Panormitane say, that this delaye beyng obtayned, he would afterward consent with his fellowes vnto the conclusions, for he denyeth that he hath any commaūdement thereunto, & (which is more to be considered) he saith that the Ambassadours at their returne frō Mētz, may bryng such newes, whereby these conclusions may be omitted: as though any thyng were more excellent then the truth.

The which thyng doth manifestly declare, that they do not seeke delayes for the better examination of the matter, but for to impugne the conclusions the more strongly. Neither do I agree with Panormitan, as touching the effects, which he sayd should ryse either of the denyall, or graūtyng of the requestes: for I see no cause why the princes should so greatly require any delay. There are no letters of any Prince come vnto vs as touchyng such request, neither is there any man lately come from them, neither is it greatly materiall vnto them, but that the matters of fayth should be determined. But this is a most pernicious conclusion, which Panormitane hath made, and not to be looked for at the handes of those most godly princes, whereas he sayth: if we do please them, they wil take our part. If contrarywise, they will decline vnto Eugenius, and wholy resist and rebell agaynst vs. This is a marueilous word, and a wonderfull conclusion, altogether vnworthy to be spoken of such a man.MarginaliaThe decrees of the councell of Constance. The decrees of the Councel of Constance are, that all maner of men, of what estate or condition soeuer they be, are bounde to the ordinaunces and decrees of the generall Coūcells. But Panormitanes wordes do not tend to that effect, for he would not haue the princes obedient vnto the Councell, but the councell to be obedient vnto the princes.

Alas most reuerend Fathers alas, what tymes and dayes: what maners and conditions are these?MarginaliaIf these thinges seeme so vntolerable, what shall we say, whē as they make the Pope a God? Into what misery are we now brought? How shall we at any tyme bryng to passe, that the pope beyng Christes Vicar (and as they say) an other Christ in earth, should be subiect vnto the Councell of Christians, if the Councell it selfe ought to obey worldly Princes? But I pray you looke for no such thynges at the Princes handes. Do not beleue that they will forsake their mother the Church. Do not thinke them so farre alienate from the truth, that they would haue iustice suppressed.

The conclusions whereupon the controuersie is, are most true, most holy, most allowable. If the princes do refuse them, they do not resiste agaynst vs, but agaynst the holy Scriptures, yea and agaynst Christ hymselfe: which you ought neither to beleue, neither was it comely for Panormitane so to say. Panormitan (by your licence be it spoken you haue vttered most cruell wordes. Neither do you seeme to go about any other matter, then to inculcate terrour and feare into the myndes of þ^e Fathers: for you haue rehearsed great perrilles and daungers, except we submitte our selues vnto the princes

But you most reuerend fathers, shall not be afearde of MarginaliaThey which teach this doctrine, are heretickes & schismatikes: but blessed are those hertickes, for theirs is the kingdome of heauen. them which kill the body, the soule they can not kill: neither shall ye forsake the truth, although you should shedde your bloud for the same. Neither ought we to be any whit more slacke in the quarel of our mother the Church and the Catholicke fayth, then those most holy Martyrs, whiche haue established the Church with their bloud. For why should it be any greuous matter vnto vs to suffer for Christ, which for our sakes hath suffered so cruell & greuous death? Who when he was an immortall God, voyde of all passiōs, tooke vpon him the shape of a mortall man, and feared not for our redemption to suffer tormentes vpon the crosse.MarginaliaA Christian exhortation of constancy and martyrdome. Set before your eyes the Prince of the Apostles, Peter, Paule, Androw, Iames and Barthelmew, and (not to speake onely of Byshops) Marke what Steuen, Laurence, Sebastian & Fabian dyd. Some were hanged, some headed, some stoned to death, other some burned, & others tormented with most cruell and greuous torments suffered for Christes sake. I pray you for Gods sake let vs follow the example of these men. If we wilbe Byshops and succeede in honour, let vs not feare Martyrdome. Alas what effeminate hartes haue we? Alas what a faynt harted people are we? They in tymes past by the contempt of death, conuerted the whole world, whiche was full of gentilitie and idolatrie: and we through our sluggishnes & desire of lyfe, do bryng the Christian Religion out of the whole world into one corner, & I feare greatly, lest that litle also whiche is left, we shall lose through our cowardlynes,MarginaliaThis came so to passe 23. yeares after, when Christēdome lost Constantinople & all the east partes vnto the Turkes. if that by folowyng Panormitanes minde, we do commit the whole gouernaunce and defence of the Church vnto the Princes.MarginaliaExamples of good men dying for their countrey. But now play the stout and valiant men in this tyme of tribulation, and feare not to suffer death for the Church, which Curtius feared not to do for the Citie of Rome: whiche Meneotheus for Thebes, & Codrus for Athens, willingly tooke vpon them.

Not onely the Martyrs, but also the Gentiles might moue and styrre vs to cast of all feare of death. What is to be sayd of Theremenes the Athenien? With how ioyfull hart and mynde, and pleasaunt countenaunce, dyd he drinke the poyson? What say you vnto Socrates that most excellent Philosopher? dyd he either weepe or sigh, when he supped vp the poyson? They hoped for that which we are most certaine of. Not by dying to dye, but to chaunge this present lyfe for a better.

Truly we ought to be ashamed, beyng admonished by so many examples, instructed with so great learnyng, yea and redemed with the precious bloud of Christ, so greatly to feare death.

Cato writeth not of one or two men, but of whole legions, which haue chearefully & couragiously gone vnto those places, frō whence they knew they should not returne. With like courage dyd the Lacedemoniās geue thēselues to death at Thermopilis, of whom Simonides writeth thus.

Dic hospes Spartanos te hic vidisse iacentes,
Dum sanctis patriæ legibus obsequimur.
Report thou straunger, the Spartanes here to lye,
Whiles that their countrey lawes they obeyed willyngly.

MarginaliaThe noble Lacedemonians. Neither iudge the contrary, but that the Lacedemonians went euen of purpose vnto death: vnto whō their Captaine Leonidas sayd: O ye Lacedemonians, go forwarde couragiously, for this day we shall suppe together with the infernall Goddes, but I most reuerend Fathers, do not inuite you vnto the infernals as he did his Lacedemonians, but vnto the celestiall and euerlastyng ioyes of Paradise, if that you can suffer death for the truthes sake, and patiently abide the threatnings of these princes, if there be any threatnynges at all.MarginaliaThe blessed state of the life to come. I call you vnto the eternall glory: where as there is no alteration of state, nothing decayeth or fadeth: where all good and perpetuall thynges do abound: where as no man wanteth, no man enuyeth an other, no man stealeth from an other, no man violently taketh from an other, no man banisheth, no mā murdereth, and finally no man dyeth. Where as all men are blessed and happy, all are of one mynde and one accorde, all are immortall, al are of lyke estate, and that all men haue, euery man hath, and that euery mā hath, all men haue. Which thyngs if we will cōsider, we shall truly aunswere Panormitan, as Theodorus Cyrenensis is sayd to haue aunswered Lismachus the Kyng, when he threatned to hang hym:MarginaliaThe worthy aunswere of Theodorus Cytenensis. who sayd, I pray you threaten these horrible thynges vnto your Courtiers, as for Theodorus, it maketh no matter whether he rotte aboue the ground or vnder the ground. So lykewise let vs aunswere vnto the princes, if there be any that do threaten vs, and let vs not feare their tormentes.

What doth a longer lyfe preuayle or helpe vs? No man hath lyued to short a tyme, which hath obtayned the perfect gift of vertue. And if the death which a man suffreth in the