Persecuters.

Martyrs.

The Causes.

About ix. monethes he remained in prison with great misery, bewayling excedyngly his former lyfe: albeit there was no man that could charge him outwardly with any crime. Thēen came downe letters, wherupon the Iudges began to procede to his condēnation, & he had greater fetters put vpon him, which he tooke for a token of his death shortly to folow. After that, he was examined with tormēts. One of the MarginaliaTormentes. head presidents came to him, & shakyng him by the beard, bad him tell what felowes he had of his Religion. To whō he aunswered, saying that he had no other felowes, but such as knew, and did the will of God his father, whether they were nobles, marchaūtes, husband men, or of what degree so euer they were. In these tormētes he endured ij. or iij. houres, beyng but of a weake body, with these words cōfortyng himself: This body (sayd he) once must dye, but the spirite shall liue: the kingdome of God abydeth for euer. In the time of his tormētying he swounded. Afterward coōmyng to himselfe agayne, he sayd, O Lord Lord, why hast thou forsaken me? To whō the president: Nay wicked Lutherane (sayd he) Thou hast forsakē God. Then sayd Aymōdus: Alas good maisters, why do you thus miserably torment me? O Lord I beseech thee forgeue them, they know not what they do. See (sayd the President) this caytife, how he prayeth for vs. Neuertheles so cōstāt was he in his paines, þ^t they could not force him to vtter one mans name: saying vnto thē, that he thought to haue found more mercy with men: Wherefore he prayed God that he might finde mercy with him.

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On the next Saterday folowing, sentence of cōdemnation was geuen agaynst him. Then certaine Friers were appoynted to heare his confession. Whō he refused, chusing to hyim one of his own order, þ^e parish priest of S. Christophers, biddyng the Friers depart from him for he would cōfesse his sinnes to the Lord. Do not you see (sayd he) how I am troubled enough with men? will ye yet trouble me more? Other haue had my body, will you also take frō me my soule? Away from me I pray you. At last when he could not be suffered to haue the Parish priest, he thē tooke a certain Carmelite, byddyng the rest to depart, with whom he hauing long talke, at last did cōuert him, vnto the truth. Shortly after came vnto hym the Iudges, Cassagnes, and Lōga, with other counsailours moe, vnto whom the sayd Aymondus began to preach and declare hys mynde, touchyng the Lordes Supper: But Lōga interruptyng him, demaunded of hym thus.

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MarginaliaPurgatory.

First declare vnto vs your mynde what you thinke of Purgatory.

In Scripture all these are one, to purge, to clense, & to wash. Wherof we read in Esay, in the Epistles of S. Paule, and of S. Peter. He hath washed you in his bloud. Ye are redeemed not with golde, but with the MarginaliaHeb 9. bloud of Christ. &c. And how often do we read in the Epistles of S. Paule, That we are clensed by the bloud of Christ from our sinnes? &c.Marginalia1. Pet. 1.

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Those Epistles are knowen to euery child.

To euery child? Nay, I feare you haue scarce read them your selfe.

M. Aymond, with one word you may satisfie them, if you will say, that there is place where the soules be purged after this lyfe.

That I leaue for you to say, if you please. What? would you haue me damne myne owne soule, and to say that which I know not?

Doest not thou thinke, that whē thou art dead, thou shalt goe to purgatory? And he that dyeth in veniall sinne, that he shall passe streight into Paradise?

Such trust I haue in my God, that the same day, when I shall dye, I shall enter into Paradise.

Where is Paradise?

There, where the maiesty and glory of God is.

The Canons do make mention of Purgatory, and

Persecutors.

Martyrs.

The Causes.

you in your Sermons haue vsed alwayes much to pray for the poore.

MarginaliaThis Fryer taketh praying for the poore which be aliue and those that be dead to be all one.

I haue preached the word of God, & not the Canōs.

Doest thou beleue in the Church?

MarginaliaThe church. I beleue as the Church regenerated by the bloud of Christ, and founded in his word, hath appointed.

What Church is that?

The Church is a Greeke worde signifying as much,as a Congregation or assemble: & so I say, that whē so euer the faythfull do congregate together, to the honor of God, and the amplifying of Christian religion, the holy ghost is verily with them.

By this it should folow, that there be many Churches. And where as any rusticall clownes do assēble together, there must be a Church.

It is no absurde thyng to say that there be many Churches or congregations among the Christians: And so speaketh S. Paule: To all the Churches which are in MarginaliaGalat. 1. Galatia. &c. And yet all these congregations make but one Church.

The Church wherein thou beleuest, is it not the same Church, which our Creede doth call the holy Church?

I beleue the same.

And who should be the head of that Church?

MarginaliaThe head of the Church. Iesus Christ.

And not the Pope?

No.

And what is he then?

A Minister, if he be a good man, as other Byshops be: of whom S. Paule thus writeth: 1. Cor. 4. Let a man so esteme of vs, as Ministers, and dispensers of the secretes of God. &c.

What then, doest not thou beleue the Pope? MarginaliaThe Pope what he is.

I know not what he is.

Doest thou not beleue that he is the successor of Peter?

If he be like to Peter, and be groūded with Peter, vpon the true rocke Christ Iesus, so I beleue hys workes, and ordinaunces to be good.

Theē the Iudges leauing him w^t þ^e Friers, departed frō him, countyng him, as a dāned creature. Notwithstādyng, Aymundus puttyng his trust in God, was full of comfort, saying with S. Paul: Who shall separate me from the loue of God? Shall the sword, hunger or nakednes? No, nothyng shall plucke me from hym. But rather I haue pitie of you (sayd he) and so they departed. Not lōg after, he was brought to the place of execution, singyng by the way, the Psalme. In exitu Israel de Ægypto. &c. And as he passed MarginaliaPsal. 114.by the place, where he before had bene emprisoned, he called to his prison felowes, exhortyng them to put their confidence in the Lord, and told them that he had spoken for them, and declared their miseries vnto the President. He thanked MarginaliaAymond speaketh for hys prison fellowes. moreouer the keeper, and desired hym to be good to his poore prisoners. And so takyng his leaue of them, and desiryng them to pray for him, also geuyng thankes to the maistres keeper, for her gentlenes shewed vnto him, he proceded forward toward his execution. As he came agaynst the Churche of S. Andrew, they willed hym to aske mercy of God, and of blessed S. Mary, and of Saint Iustice. I aske mercy (sayth he) of God, and of his Iustice, but the virgin, blessed S. Mary, I neuer offended, nor did that thyng, for the whiche I should aske her mercye. From thence he passed forward to the Churche of S. Le-

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