taking away the sacraments of the church from the true pastors, receiuing almes of the poore, diseased, and miserable, and also associating them selues with the common people, hauing familiaritie with women, instructing them howe they shall deceiue their husbandes and friendes by their flatterye and deceitfull wordes, and rob their husbandes to geue it vnto them; for they will take all these stollen and euill gotten, and say, geue it vnto vs, and we will pray for you, so that they beying curious to hide other mens faultes, doe vtterly forget their owne, and alas, they will receiue all things of rouers, pickers, spoylers, theeues and robbers, of sacrilegious persons, vserers, adulterers, Heretikes, Schismatikes, Apostataies, whores and baudes, of noble men, periurers, merchantes, false iudges, souldiours, tyrantes, princes, of such as liue contrary to the law, and of many peruers and wicked men, following the persuasion of the deuil, the sweetnes of sinne, a delicate and transitory life, and fulnes euen vnto eternall damnation. All these things shall manifestly appeare in them vnto all people, and they day by day shal waxe more wicked and hard hearted; & whē as their wickednes and disceits shalbe found out, then shall theyr gifts cease, and then shal they go about their houses hungry, & as mad dogs loking down vpon the earth, & drawing in their necks as doues, that they might bee satisfied with bread, then shall the people crye out vpon them: Woe be vnto you ye miserable children of sorow, the worlde hath seduced you, the deuil hath brideled your mouthes, your flesh is frayle, and your heartes without fauour, your mindes haue bene vnstedfast, and your eyes delighted in much vanitie and folly, your daintie bellies desire delicate meates. Your feete swift to runne vnto mischiefe; remember when you were apparantly blessed, yet enuious, poore but rich, simple, mightie deuout flatterers, vnfaithfull betrayers, peruerse detracters, holy hypocrites, subuerters of the truth, ouermuch vpright, proude, vnshamefast, vnstedfast teachers, delicate marters, confessours for gaine, meeke slaunderers, religious, couetous, humble, proude, pitifull, hard harted liers, pleasant flatterers, peace makers, persecutors, oppressors of the poore, bringing in new sects newly inuented of your selues, mercifull, wicked, louers of the world, sellers of pardons, spoylers of benefices, vnprofitable orators, sedicious cōspirators, dronkards, desirers of honor, maintainers of mischiefe, robbers of the worlde, vnsaciable, preachers, men pleasers, seducers of women, and sowers of discorde; for Moyses the glorious prophet, spake very well of you in his song: A people without coūcel or vnderstanding, would to God they did know, vnderstand and foresee the end. You haue builded vp an high, and when you could ascend no hier, then did you fall euen as Symon Magus, whom God ouerthrew, and did strike with a cruel plage; so you likewise thorowe your false doctrine, naughtines, lies, dectractions and wickednes, are come to ruine; and the people shall say vnto them, goe yee teachers of wickednesse, subuerters of the truth, brethren of the Sunamitie, fathers of heresies, false apostles, which haue fained your selues to follow the life of the Apostles, and yet haue not fulfilled it in no part, sonnes of iniquitie, we wil not follow the knowledge of your waies; for pride & presumption hath deceiued you, and insaciable cōcupiscence hath subuerted your erroneous hearts. And whē as yet would ascēd hier thē was mete or comely for you, by the iust iudgement of God, you are fallen backe into perpetual opprobry and shame. Thys blessed Hildegardis whose prophecy this is, flourished about the yeare of our Lord a 1546. as it is wrytten in Martins chronicles  

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At this point, the citation of Flacius ends and the text resumes with Hus's defence of Wiclif.

Also Hugo in his second boke of sacraments, in the 2. parte, 3. MarginaliaHugo de sacramentis part. 2. chapter and 7. sayeth, the laity forsomuch as they entermedle wyth earthly matters necessary vnto an earthly life, they are the least part of the body of Christ. And the clergy for so much as they doe dispose those things which pertaine vnto a spirituall life, are as it were the right side of the body of Christ, and afterward interpreting both these partes him selfe, he sayeth: A spirituall man ought to haue nothing, but such as pertaineth vnto God, vnto whom it is appoynted to be sustained by the tithes and oblations whych are offered vnto God: But vnto Christian and faithfull laietie, the possession of the earth is graunted, and vnto the cleargie the hole charge of spiritual matters is committed, as it was in the old Testament. And in his 7. chapter he declareth howe that certaine things are geuen vnto the Church of Christ, by the deuotion of the faithfull, the power and authority of the seculer power reserued, least there might happen any confusion: For so much as God him selfe cannot alow no disordered thing. Wherupon oftētimes the worldly princes do graunt the bare vse of the church, and oftentimes vse and power to exercise iustice, which the clergy cannot exercise by any Ecclesiasticall minister, or any one person of the clergy. Notwithstāding they may hauecertain lay persōs, ministers vnto that office. But in such sort sayeth he, that they do acknowledge the power which they haue to come from the seculer prince or ruler, and that they do vnderstand their possessions can neuer be alienate away from the kings power, but (if that necessity or reason doe require) the same possessions in all suche case of necessity do owe him obeisance and seruice. For like as the kings power ought not to turne away the defence or sauegarde whichhe oweth vnto other: so likewise the possessions obtained and possessed by the clergy, according to the duty and homage which is due vnto the patronage of the kings power cannot by right be denied. Thus much wryteth Hugo.

MarginaliaAlmes. Mercy. VPon this article it is to be noted, that for so much as almes is a worke of mercy, as S. Augsutine, Chrysostome, and others do ioyntly affirme, and that mercy (according to Lincolniensis minde) for the present is a loue or desire to helpe the miserable out of his misery: and for so much as the misery of mankinde is double: MarginaliaTwo kindes of miseries.that is to say spirituall and bodily: the whiche is the want or taking away of the good, and the goodes of man is eyther the goodes of the soule or of the body: MarginaliaTwo kindes of goodnes.And the goods of the soule is double (That is to say: the lighting of the minde, & the vprightnes of affection) the misery of the soule is also double as the darcknes of ignorance and a froward and wilfull sweruing from the truth. And both the goodes of the soule are wont to be comprehended vnder one title of name: MarginaliaWisdome. Follye.that is to say, wisdom, and both the miseries of the soule vnder the name of follie. Wherupon all the hole goodness of the soule is wisdom, and all the hole misery therof is ignoraunce, the miseries of the body are lacke of meat, that is to say, hunger, and lacke of drinke called thirst: and briefly all misery is the want of some thing which is desired. MarginaliaThe miseries of the minde and bodie.Also these are bodely miseries, nakednes, lacke of harbour, sicknesse, and imprisonment. All the miseries therfore being nombred together, are but one of the soule, the which is folly and lacke of wisdom; and 6. of the body, the which the Lord in the 25. of Mathew doth plainly reherse. There are also commonly appoynted 7. bodely almes, that is to say, to feede the hungry, to geue drinke vnto the thirsty: To clothe the naked, to harber the stranger or haberles, to visit the sick, & to bury the dead; the which altogether are cōteyned in these verses.

Visito, poto, cibo, redimo, tego, colligo, condo.

The which verse is thus Englished, word for word.

Visite the sicke, the hungry feede,
Geue drinke to the thirsty, cloth the naked:
Bury the dead, the captiue redeme,
The harbourles receiue to thy lodging.

MarginaliaWhat is almes. There be also 7. other spirituall almes appoynted, whych are these; to teache the ignoraunt, to councell him that is in dout. To comfort him which is in heauinesse. To correct the offender. To forgeue him which hath offended against thee. To beare those which are greeuous. And to pray for all men; the which are also conteined in these verses following.

Consule castiga solare remitte fer ora.

The which verse is thus Englished, word for word.

Instruct the ignorant, the weake confirme,
Comfort the heauy hart, and correct sinne:
Forgeue the offender, beare with the rude,
Pray for all men both euel and good.

So that notwithstanding vnder the same, counselles and doctrine be comprehended. Thus writeth Thomas in the 2. part of the 2. quest. 32, article. 2.

Secondly it is to be noted, that in the present article our intent is only to intreat of bodely almes (the which as Thomas writeth in his 2. part 2. questi. 32. Arti. 1.) according vnto some mens mindes is this defined. MarginaliaWhat almes is. Almes is a worke whereby any thing is giuen vnto the needy of compassiō for Gods sake. And for so much as this dcfinition serueth as well for the spirituall, as for the corporall almes. Therefore to the purpose, almes is a worke, whereby anything is giuen vnto the needy in body for compassion, & for Gods sake. Or that is giuen of compassion or pitie vnto the bodely needy for Gods sake.

Whereupon it is manifest that almes as S. Augustin & other holy men say, is a worke of mercy, as also to geue almes. As it appeareth by the name, for in the Greeke it is deriued frō this word Misericordia, which is mercy; for as in the Latine, this word Miseratio, which signifieth pitie, is deryued of Misericordia, which is mercy, so this word Eleemosyna, which signifieth almes, is deryued of the Greeke word Elemonia, which is to say mercy, and of the word Sina, which is to say commandement, as it were a commaundement of mercy, or otherwise of this Elemonia. By this letter I, which is to say God, and this worde Sina, which is commaundement. As if it were said, the commaundement of God, as Ianuensis in his booke intituled Catholicō affirmeth.

For our Sauiour doeth commaunde in the xj. of Luke to geue almes, saying, geue almes and behold all thinges are cleane vnto you: least that in this point there may be any equiuocation it is supposed presently, that the almes giuē of mē is a corporal almes giuen simply vnder the name of almes. MarginaliaTythes. Secondly, it is to be noted, that Tythes in this effect are the tenth part of goods of fortune, giuen by a man simply vnder the name of almes for Gods sake.

These things being thus noted and supposed the article is thus proued. Euery gift of fortune, or temporal gift, simply giuē vnder