how Luther vseth þ^e same waye of seducing the people of Christe, as hath þ^e venemous viperMarginalia * If the doinges and properties of Mahomete be rightly considered, none should bee founde so aptly to resemble hym, as the pope him selfe. He declineth from the worde of God, & setteth vp an other law, so doth the Pope. He killeth & sleaieth the contrary part, so doth the Pope. He holdeth Saluation by workes of the lawe: so doth the Pope. And if Mahomete geue libertyie of fleshe: so doth not Luther, but the Pope both taketh it, and also dispenseth with the same. Mahomet would not haue his Religion reasoned vpon: no more will the pope. Briefly, as the secte of Mahomet is deuided into many sundry sortes of Religion, and of Religious men: so hath the secte of the Pope, hys Friers, Monkes, Nunnes, Heremites & other swarmes of an infinite varietie. * Mahomet practised in deceiuing so many thousandes of soules, in permitting to thē þ^e liberty of those things which flesh desireth, & afterward in exempting them from such things as be more sharpe in þ^e law, but that Luther a litle more temperatly handleth the matter, wherby he may deceiue more effectually:  

For Mahomet geueth licence to haue many wiues, & to diuorce, & marry other at their pleasure. This Luther, to draw vnto him the fauor of nunnes, monkes, & priests, such as be lasciuious in flesh, preacheth that vowes of perpetual cōtinencie be vnlawful, much lesse to be obligatorie: and therefore permitteth vnto them that they may mary, forgetting by the way what the apostle writeth of young widowes, saying: That vvhē they vvaxe vvanton against Christ, then vvyl they marry, hauyng condēnation, because they haue made voyd their first faith.   Marginalia1. Tim. 5.

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These & other such like reasons, being opened & laid before thē, you shal thē in our name exhorte þ^e foresaid princes, prelates, & people to awake, & employ their diligence howe to gainstand: First the iniurie of these Lutherians toward god & toward his holy religion: Secondly their villany toward þ^e whole nation of the Germanes & their princes, and especially the shamefull contumely toward their fathers & elders, whō in effect they codemne to hel. In consideration wherof you shal cal vpō thē, to remēber thē selues, & to procede effectually to the execution of þ^e apostolical sentēce, & of the emperours Edict,  

geuing pardon to thē that wil amend & acknowledge their fault: the other which obstinately persist in their error, punishyng with the rod of district seuerity according to the decrees of the Canons and lawes of the Church, that by their example, such as stand, may remayne in fayth, and they which are fallen may be reduced.

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And if any shal obiect againe, þ^t Luther was condēned by the apostolike see before he was heard, a & þ^t his cause ought first to haue ben heard & iudged, before he were conuinced:  

you shal answeare, thatMarginalia* Here the pope agreeth rightly with Mahomet, for hee will not haue hys Religion reasoned vpon, no more will the Pope haue his. * those thinges whiche perteine to faith, are to be beleued for their owne authoritiy, & not to be proued. Take avvay (sayth Ambrose) arguments: vvher faith is sought, there the fishers, not the Philosophers must be trusted. Truth it is, & we graunt no lesse, but þ^t lawful defense & hearing ought not to be denyed in such cases, where the question is of the fact, whether it were done or not, as whether he spake, preached, writ, or not? But where the matter is of Gods law, or in cause of the sacraments, there must we alwaies stand to þ^e authoritie of holy fathers & of the church. Now al things almost wherin Luther dissenteth from other, are reproued before by diuers Councels.MarginaliaGraunt this to the Pope and he may playe the Lorde of misrule and doe what he listeth. Neither ought those things to be called into questiō, which haue ben defined before by general Coūcels, & þ^e vniuersal church, but ought to be receiued by fayth: For els he dooth iniury to the Synode of the church, whoso bringeth againe into controuersie things once rightly discussed & setled. Otherwise what certaintie can there be amongest mē, or what end shal there be of contēding & disputing, if it shalbe lawful for euery lewde & presumptuous person, to decline from the things which haue ben receiued and ratified by the consent not of one, nor of a fewe, but of so many ages, so many wise heades, and of the Catholike church, which god neuer permitteth to erre in matters vnto fayth apperteynyng? And howe can it otherwise be chosen, but that all must be ful of disturbance, offences, and confusion, vnlesse the thinges which haue bene once, yea many tymes by ripe iudgement cēstituted, be obserued of al men as inuiolable? Wherfore, seing Luther and his felowes do cōdemne the Councels of holy fathers, do burne the holy Canons,   do confoūd al things at their pleasure, and do disquiet þ^e whole worlde, what remayneth but that they are to be reiected and exploded, as enemies and perturbers of publike peace?

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Further this you shal say vnto thē, that we confesse our selues, & deny not, but þ^t God suffreth this persecution to be inflicted vpon his church, for the sinnes of men, especially of priestes and prelates of the clergie. For certaine it is, that the hand of the Lord is not shortened, that he can not saue: but our sinnes haue diuided betvvene God & vs: & therfore he hideth his face frō vs, that he vvil not heare vs.MarginaliaEsa. 59. The scripture testifieth that the sinnes of the people do issue out first from the sinnes of the priestes.  

And therfore (sayth Chrysostome) Christ going aboute to cure the sicke citie of Hierusalē, first entred into the temple, to correct the sinnes of the priestes, like a good phisition, vvhich first begynneth to cure the disease from the very roote. We knowe that in this Marginalia[illegible text]* holy Sea, there haue ben many abhominable thinges of Marginaliain externall lyfe, are seene and practised: such ambition in the prelates: such pride in the Pope, such auarice in the Court: and finally, where such corruption is of all thynges, as you your selues doe here confesse, and can not denye? long tyme wrought and practised: as abuses in matters spiritual, and also excesses in lyfe and maners, and al things turned cleane contrarye. And no maruell if theMarginalia * True it is that the sicknes hath begonne in the head: that is, at the very triple crowne: and therfore the sicknes being great, and hauing neede of a sharpe Phisition, God hath sent Luther vnto the Pope (as Erasmus writeth of hym) as a meete Phisition to cure his disease. Yet he refuseth to be healed. * sicknes first beginnyng at the head, that is, at the high Bishops, haue descended afterward to inferiour prelates. Al we (that is, prelates of the Churche) haue declined euery one after his owne way. Neyther hath there ben one that hath done good, no not one.MarginaliaCayphas himselfe could neuer prophecie more truely. Wherfore neede it is that al we geue glory to God, and that we humble our soules to hym, considering euery one of vs, from whence he hath fallen, and that euery one do iudge hym selfe, before he be iudged of God in the rod of his furie. For the redresse wherof you shall insinuate vnto them, and promise in our behalfe, that in vs shalbe lackyng no diligence of a better reformation, first beginnyng with our owne court,   MarginaliaThe Pope promiseth reformation of his owne court, but when beginneth hee? that like as this contagion first from thence descended into all the inferiour partes: so reformation and amendement of al that is amisse from the same place againe, shal take his beginnyng. Wherunto they shal finde vs so muche the more readye, for that we see the whole worlde so desirous of the same. We our selues (as you knowe) neuer sought this dignitie, but rather coueted, if we otherwise might, to leade a priuate lyfe, and in a quiete state to serue God. And also woulde vtterly haue refused the same, had not the feare of God, and the maner of our election, and misdoubting of some schisme to folowe after, haue vrged us to take it. And thus tooke we the burden vpon vs, not for any ambition of dignitie, or to enriche our frendes, and kinsfolkes, but onely to be obedient to the wyl of God, and for reformation of the Catholique Church, and for reliefe of the poore, and especially for the aduauncent of learnyng and learned men, with such other thinges moe, as apperteyneth to the charge of a good Bishop and lawful heyre of S. Peter. And though all errours, corruptions, and abuses, be not streight wayes amended by vs, men ought not thereat to maruel. The sore is great and farre growen, and is not single, but of manifold maladies together cōpacted, and therfore to the curyng therof we must proceede by litle and litle,MarginaliaYou procede so by litle & litle, that nothing at all is seene. first begynnyng to cure the greater and the most daungerous, least while we intend to amend al, we destroye al. All sodeine mutations (saith Aristotle) in a common wealth, are perilous.Marginalia Sodeine mutations be not for the popes purpose: but the Lord promiseth to come sodenlye when he is not looked for. And he that vvryngeth too harde, strayneth our bloud.  

Commentary     Close

This is a paraphrase of Proverbs 30: 33.

Prou. 30.

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And whereas in your last letters you write, that the Princes complayne, howe this See hath bene and is preiudiciall to their ordinaunces and agreementes: hereunto you shal thus answeare: That suche excesses whiche haue bene done before our tyme, ought not to be imputed to vs, who alwayes haue misliked these derogations, and therefore byd them so assure them selues, that though they had required no suche matter, we of our owne accorde, woulde haue refrayned the same, partly for that it is good, right, & reason, that eueryone haue that whiche is due vnto hym: and partly also that the sayd noble nation of Germany shal haue by vs no hynderance, but furtherance rather, somuch as in vs shal lye to do for them.

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And as touchyng the processes, whiche they desire to haue remoued away a Rota,MarginaliaRota is some office in the Court or Chauncerye of Rome and to be referred down to the parties, you shal signifie vnto them, that we wyll gratifie them herein as much as honestly we may. But because our auditours are now presently absent from the citie by reason of the Plague, we can not be infourmed as yet, touching the qualitie of those processes. As soone as they shall returne (which we hope wylbe shortly) we shall doo in the Princes fauour, what reasonably we may.  

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Further, whereas we vnderstande, that there be many freshe florishyng wyttes in Germanie, and many wel learned men, whiche are not seene vnto, but be reiected and vnlooked to, while in the meane tyme, through the Apostolical prouisions, dignities, and promotions are bestowed vppon tapsters and daunsers, and vnfitte persons:MarginaliaThe Pope flattereth for aduauntage. we wyl therefore that you inquire out what those learned men are, and what be their names, to the intent that when any such vacation of benefices in Germanie do fal, we of our voluntarie motion, may prouide for them accordingly. For why, we consider how much it is against Gods glorye, and agaynst the health and the edification of soules, that benefices and dignities of the church haue nowe so long tyme bene bestowed vpon vnworthy and vnable persons.MarginaliaAnd why then haue you abused the church so long with these your Apostolicall prouisions, and yet doe not redresse the same.

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As touching the subsidy for the Hungariās,  

we send no other information to you, but that which we gaue you at your departure, saue onely that we wyl you to extend your diligence therein, as we also wyl do the like, in solliciting the matter with the princes and cities of Italy, that euery one