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K. Richard. 2. The submission of P. Leo to the Emp. Ludo. The prophesie of Hildegardis.

of suche as be indurate in their malice, is the casting away of their temporal goods, it followeth, that it is lawful for the king to take away temporallities. Wherfore it shuld seme very maruelous and strange, if that priests riding about, shuld spoile virgins, violently corrupt & defile honest matrones, if in such case it were not lawful for them to take away their armors, weapons, horses, gunnes and swordes from them. The like reason were it also, if they had vnlawfully conspired the death of the king, or that they woulde betray the king vnto hys ennemies.

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Marginalia25. Item, whatsoeuer any of the clergy doth require, or desire of the seculer power, according vnto the law & ordin?ce of Christ, the seculer power ought to performe & graunt the same. But the clergy being letted by riches, ought to require helpe of the seculer power, for the dispensation of the said riches. Ergo the seculer power ought in such case by the law of Christ, to take vpon them the office or duty of getting, keping, & distributing all such manner of riches, the Minor is heereby proued, that no man ought to haue riches, but to that end, that they be helps, preferring & helping vnto the office which is appoynted of God. Therfore in case that seculer possession doe hinder the cleargy from their duetie. The secular power ought to take it away; for so did the Apostles, Actes 6. saying, it is not lawfull for vs to leaue the worde of God vntaught, and to minister to Tables.

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And thus hetherto hath Iohn Hus prosecuted Wyckleffs articles, with long arguments and reasons, the which were to long a trauaile, neither agreable for this place, to alledge all the whole order of his reasons and profes, which he vsed in that desputati?, aboue the nomber of 20. more besides the testimonies of all the wryters before recited, the which hee alledgeth out of the scriptures, decretals, S. Ambrose in his boke of offices, S. August. in his 5. boke & 5. quest. and also vnto Macedo, Isydore, the councell of Nice, Greg his 11. quest. Bernard vnto Eugenius in his 3. booke, and out of Lyncolniensis 61. Epistle, besides many other moe. The sum of al which testimones tend vnto this end, that he might vtterly take away all earthly rule & dominion from the clergy, and to bring them vnder the subiection and censure of kings & Emperors, as it were within certaine bonds; the which is not onely agreable vnto equity and Gods word, but also profitable for the cleargy themselues. Hee teacheth it also to be necessary, that they shuld rather be subiect vnder the seculer power, then to be aboue them; because that els it were dangerous, lest that they being intangled with suche kinde of busines, they should be an easier pray vnto sathan, and soner trapped in his snares. And therby it should come to passe that the gouernance & principality of al things being at the length brought into the hands of the clergy, the lawful authority of kings & princes shuld not only be geuen ouer vnto them, but in a maner as it were growe out of vse, specially for so much as already in certaine kingdoms and common wealths, the ecclesiastical power is growen vnto such height, that not only in Boheme, but also almost thorowout al the common welths, they do occupy the 3. or at least the 4 part of the rents and reuenues. And last of al, he alleageth the ex?ple of Greg. and of Mauritius, & afterwarde the prophecy of Hildegardis wryting in this manner.MarginaliaHildegardis.

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As the Ecclesiastical ministers do willingly receiue rewarde and praise of kings & rules for their good deedes: So also ought they when they do offend willingly suffer and receiue punishm?t at their hands for their euil doings. The consequent holdeth thus, forsomuch as the punishment mekely and h?bly receiued for hys offence doth more profit a man, then his praise receiued for any good work. MarginaliaGregorius ad Maurium. Wherupon S. Greg. wryteth thus vnto Mauritius the Emperor when he did persecute him, saying: I beleue that you do please almighty God so muche the better, in so cruelly afflicting me, which haue bene so euel a seruaunt vnto him. If then thys holy Pope did so humbly and mekely, without any offence suffer thys affliction of the Emperor; why should not any of the clergy, when they do offend, mekely sustaine punishment, at the kings or rulers hands, vnder whom he is bo?den to be subiect? When as the true vicar of Christ sayth the 1. of Peter and 2. chap. Be ye subiect vnto euery creature for Gods cause, whether it bee vnto the kyng, as most excellent; or vnto the rulers, as men sent of God, for the punishing of the wicked, and to the praise of the good; for so is the good will of God.

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MarginaliaPope Leo submitteth himself vnto the Emperour Ludouicus. Wherupon Pope Leo, leaning vnto thys rule, submitted himselfe vnto Ludouicus the Emperour, as it is wrytten the 2. quest. 7. Vnder these words: if we haue done any thing incompetently, or that we haue not obserued the vpright path and way of equitie amongst subiects, wee will amende the same, either by your owne iudgement, either els by the aduise or iudgement of those whych you shal appoynt for that purpose. For if we which ought to correct and punish other mens fauts, doe commit more greuous our selues, we are not then the disciples of the trueth (but as with sorow we speake it) we shalbe aboue al other, the masters of error.

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And inthe 10. distinction hee wryteth thus, as touching the obedience vnto the Emperour, as concerning the precepts and commandements of our Emperors, and our predecessors bishops (the which the glose nameth Emperors, which are annoynted after the manner of Bishops) to be obserued & kept vnbroken, weedo professe our selues by all meanes possible, as much as in vs lieth, or that wee may and can by the helpe of God preserue and kepe them both nowe and euer. And if peraduenture any man do informe, or hereafter shall informe you otherwise, know you him assuredly, to be a lier and slaunderer.

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Marke how this deuout and holy Pope, calling the Emperors bishops, submitted himself according to the rule of S. Peter the apostle vnder the obedience, and also punishment of the Emperor. Wherfore then should not the clergy of the kingdome of Boheme submit themselues vnder the obedience of their king, MarginaliaThe tyranny & pryde of the cleargie. for Gods cause, for to be punished if they do offende, and not onely submit themselues vnto the king, but also vnto the rulers; and not onely vnto the rulers, but vnto euery other creature? For by how much they do so humble, and abase themselues in this world for Gods sake, so much the more shal they be exalted with him; but what is the let therof, but only pride, wherby Antichrist doeth exalt hymselfe aboue the most humble and meeke Lord Iesu Christ?

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MarginaliaThe Prophecy of Hildegardis. Also it semeth to appere by that which is aforesayd vpon the taking away of the temporallities out of the prophecie of Hildegardis the virgin, the which he wryteth in his bokes vnder Eugenius the Pope in the councel of Treuerse approued & allowed by many bishops of France, Italy, & Almany, which were there present; whereas also S. Bernard himselfe was present, the which virgin prophecying, spake in this manner. The kings & other rulers of the world, being stirred vp by the iust iudgement of God shall set themselues against them & run vpon them: saying, we wil not haue these men to raigne ouer vs with their rich houses, & great possessions, and other worldly riches, ouer the which we are ordeined to be Lords and rulers; and how is it mete or comely that those shauelings with their stoles and chisils shuld haue more soldiers or more, or richer armour or artillery then we? So is it not connenient that one of the clergy should be a man of warre, neither a solider to be one of the clergy. Wherefore let vs take away from them, that which they do no iustly, but wr?gfully possesse. And immediately after shee sayeth thus: The omnipotent father equally deuided all things: that is to say, the heauens he gaue vnto heauenly creatures, and the earth vnto the earthly. And by thys meanes was there a iust deuision made betweene the children of men, that the spiritualty shuld haue such things as belongeth vnto them; and the secular people, such things as are mete & necessary for them, so that neither of these 2. sorts shuld oppres eche other by viol?ce; for God doth not c?mand that the one sonne or child should haue both the cloke and the cote, and the other should go naked, but he willed that the one shuld haue the cloke, and the other the cote. Wherefore the seculer sort ought to haue the cloke for the greatnesse of their worldly cares, and for their children, which daily increase and mutiply. The cote hee geueth vnto the spiritualty, that they shuld not lacke clothing, & that they should not posses more then necessity doth require. Wherfore we iudge and thinke it good that al these aforesaid be deuided by reason & equity. And whereas the cloke and the cote are both found, there the cloke be taken away, & geuen vnto the nedy, that they do not perish for lacke or want. These aforsaid spake the virgin Hildegardis, plainly forshewing the taking away of the t?poralities from the clergy by the seculer Lords, and shewing for what cause they shall be so taken away. And what manner of deuision shalbe made of those thinges that are taken away, that they be not consumed, and spent vnprofitably.

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For so much as mention  

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Because Hus referred to Hildegard of Bingen in his defence of the seventeenth article attributed to Wiclif, Foxe inserts here, in the 1563 edition, the section on Hildegard from Matthias Flacius, Catalogus testium veritatis [Strasbourg, 1562], pp. 391-3. (Confusingly, Foxe had already printed this material in 1563, fo. (71)r-v; 1570, pp. 340-341; 1576, p. 264 and 1583, pp. 260-261). The Hildegard passage would be reprinted, along with everything else in the 1563 version of Hus's defence of Wiclif, in the 1583 edition.

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is heere made of Hildegardis, it shall not seme impertinent, moued by the occasi? hereof to geue forth vnto the reader such things as we haue found in certen olde volumes, touching her prophecie of the comming of certaine false Prophets, onely meaning as it seemeth, the begging friers, whych sprang vp shortly after her time. The tenour wherof is this, worde for word, as we finde it wrytten.

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MarginaliaHildegardis prophecying of Fryers & m?kes In those daies, there shall rise vp a people without vnderstanding, proud, couetous, vntrusty, and deceitfull, the which shall eat the sinnes of the people, holding a certaine order of folish deuotion, vnder the fained cloke of beggery, preferring themselues aboue all other, by their fained deuotion, arrogant vnderstanding, and pretended holines, walking without shamefastnes, or the fear of God, inuenting many new mischiefs being strong & stout; but this order shalbe accursed of al wise men, and faithful Christians, they shal cease from labour, and geue them selues ouer vnto idlenes. Chusing rather to liue thorow flattery, th? by begging. Moreouer they shall together study, howe they may peruersly resist the teachers of the trueth. And slay them together wyth the noble men, how to seduce and deceiue the nobility, for the necessitie of the liuing and pleasures of thys worlde; for the Deuill will graft in them foure principall vices: that is to say, flatterie, enuie, hypocrisie and slaunder. Flatterie, that they may haue large giftes geuen them. Enuie, when they see giftes geuen vnto other, and not vnto them. Hypocrisie, that by false dissimulation they maye please men Detraction, that they may extoll and commend them selues and backbite others, for the praise of menne and seducing of the simple. Also they shall instantly preache wythout deuotion or example of the Martyrs, and shall detract the seculer princes,

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taking