doctour of the law: What is the greatest commaundement in the lawe? answered. Thou shalt loue the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soule, and with all thy minde:MarginaliaThe law of loue commaunded in the Gospel. This is the principall & greatest commandement. And as for the second, it is like vnto this: Thou shalt loue thy neighbor as thine owne selfe. In these two commaundements, doth the whole law and Prophets depend. And in an other place Christ sayeth: All maner of things therefore, þ^t you would that men should do to you, the same also do ye vnto them. For thys is the lawe and the Prophets. And in MarginaliaIohn. 13.Iohn the 13. chap. sayth Christ. And now doe I say vnto you, I geue you a new commandement, þ^t you shuld loue eche other: as I loued you, in like maner that you also shuld loue one an other. In this shal all men know that you are my disciples, if you shall haue loue one towardes an other. And MarginaliaIohn 15.Iohn 15. chapter: This is my commaundemēt that you loue together as I haue loued you. Greater loue then this, hath no body, that a man shuld geue his life for his frendes. The Apostle PeterMarginalia1. Pet. 4. sayth in his first Epistle 4. chapter: Aboue all things, hauing continually charity one towards an other, for charitye couereth the multitude of sinnes. Be yee harborers, and intertaine ye one an other without grudging: euery one as hee hath receaued grace, so let him bestowe it vpon an other man, as the good stewards of the manifold graces of God. If any mā speak, let him speake as the word of God. If any man doe ought for an other, let it be don with singlenes and vnfained verity, ministred of God to vs ward, that in all thyngs God may be honoured through Iesus Christ our Lord. Marginalia1. Iacob. 2.Iames in his Epistle the 2. chapter. If ye performe the royal lawe according to the Scriptures (thou shalt loue they neighbour) ye do wel: But if ye be parcial in receiuing and preferring mens personages, ye worke wickednes being blamed of the law as transgressors. And againe, so speake ye, and so do ye, as ye should nowe begin to be iudged by the law of libertie. What shall it auaile (my brethren) if a man say he haue faith, and haue no workes? Neuer shall þ^t faith be able to saue him. For if a brother or sister be naked, and haue neede of daily foode, and some of you say to them, goe ye in peace, be ye made warme and satisfied: and if ye shall not geue those things that are necessary for the body, what shall it auaile? Euen so faith, if it haue not workes, is dead in it selfe.

Marginalia1. Iohn. 3.Iohn in his first epistle the 3. chap. This is the tidings whych you haue heard from the beginning, that you shuld loue one another. And againe, we know that we are translated from death to life, if we loue the brethren: He that loueth not, abideth in death. And again, herein do we know the loue of God, because that he hath laide downe hys life for vs, & we ought to lay down our liues for the brethren. He that shall haue the substaunce of thys world, and shall see his brother haue neede, and shall shut vp hys bowelles from him: howe abideth the loue of God in hym? My little children, let vs not loue in worde nor tounge, but in deede and truth. Marginalia1. Iohn. 4.And againe 4. chap. Most dearly beloued, let vs loue together. For loue is of God, he þ^t loueth not, knoweth not God, for God is loue. In thys thing hath the loue of God apeared in vs, that God hath sent his only begotten sonne into the world, that we shuld liue by him. Herein is loue: not þ^t we haue loued God, but that he hath first loued vs, and hath sent hys sonne an attonement for oure sinnes. Most dearly deloued, if God haue loued vs: we so ought to loue together. No mā hath sene God at any time: if we loue together, God abideth in vs, & hys loue is perfect in vs. And againe, let vs loue God, for he hath first loued vs. If a man shall say, I loue God, & do hate hys brother, he is a lyar. For he that loueth not his brother whom he seeth, how cā he loue God whom he seeth not? And this commaundement haue we of God, þ^t who so loueth God, should loue his brother also. Paule the Apostle in his MarginaliaRom. 13.epistle to the Rom. 13. chapter. Owe ye nothing to no body, sauing that ye should loue together, for he that loueth hys brother hath fulfilled the lawe. For thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not murther, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not beare fals witnes, thou shalt not couet thy neighbors good: and if there be any other commaundement, it is plētifully fulfilled in this word: thou shalt loue they neighbor as thy selfe. Wherfore the fulfilling of the law is loue.

Marginalia2. Cor. 5.Paule to the Corinthes 5. sayeth: If I shoulde speake with the tonges of men and angels, and yet haue not charitie, I am become as it were a peece of sounding mettal or tinkling cimball. And if I shall haue all prophecie, & know all misteries, and all knowledge, and shall haue all faith, so that I might remooue mountaines, and yet shall not haue charitie: I am nothing. And if I shall geue abroade all my goodes to feede the poore, and shall geue vp my body to be burned, and yet haue not charitie: it profites mee nothing.To the MarginaliaGalatians 5.Galathians 5. sayeth Paule: For you my brethren, are called into liberty: doe ye not geue your liberty for an occasion of the flesh, but by charity of the spirit, serue ye one an other. For all þ^e law is fulfilled in one saying: thou shalt loue thy neighbour as thine owne self. To the MarginaliaEphes. 4.Eph. 4. chap. he saith: I therfore that suffer bonds in the Lord, do beseech you, that you would walke worthy of the calling wherew^t ye are called, with all humblenes and mildnes, with patience forbearing one another in loue, being carefull to kepe the vnitie of the spirit, in the bond of peace: that you be one body, and one spirite, euen as you be called in one hope of your calling. And againe MarginaliaEphes. 5.in the 5. chap. Be ye followers of me, as most deare children, and walke ye in loue as Christ also hath loued vs, and hath deliuered vp hymselfe for vs, an offring and sacrifice to God of a sweete sauour. To the MarginaliaPhilip 1.Phil. thus hee speaketh in the 1. chap. Onely let your conuersation be worthy of the Gospell of Christ, that eyther when I shall come and see you, or els in mine absence I may heare of you, that you stand stedfast in one spirit, laboring together with one accorde for the faith of the Gospell. And in nothing be ye afraide of the aduersaries, whych is to them a cause of damnation, but to you of saluation, and þ^t of God. For to you it is geuen, not onely that you should beleue in him, but also that you shuld suffer wyth him, you hauing the lyke fight and battaile that both you haue seene in me, and also now do heare of me. If therefore there be any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of charitie, if any felowship of the spirite, if any bowels of compassion fulfill you my ioy, that you may be of one iudgement, hauing one and the selfsame charitie, being of one accord, of one maner of iudgement, doing nothing of contention, nor of vaine glory, but in humblenes, accompting other amongst you, euery one better then your selues, not euery body looking vppon the things that be hys owne, but those that belong vnto others. And to the MarginaliaColos. 3.Coloss. 3. chapter thus he writeth: You therefore as the electe of God, holy, and beloued, put vpon you the bowels of mercy, gentlenesse, humblenesse, lowlinesse, modestie, pacience, bearing one wyth an other, & geuing place to your selues (if any haue a quarel against any body) euen as the Lord forgaue you, so do you also. Aboue all things haue ye charitie, which is the bonde of perfection, and let the peace of Christ triumph in your hearts, in whych peace you also are called in one body. And be yee kinde & thankefull. And to the MarginaliaThes. 4.Thessalonians thus Paule writeth in the 4. chapter. As concerning brotherly charity, we haue no neede to wryte vnto you: for you your selues haue learned of God, that you shoulde loue one an other. And the same thing ye do towards all þ^e brethren throughout all Macedonia.

Out of all these & many other places of the holy scripture it sufficiently appeareth, that the law of Christ is charitie, neither is there any vertues commaunded of Christ, or any of hys Apostles to be obserued of the faithfull people, but that it commeth out of charitie, or els doeth nourish charitie.

The lawe is geuen by Moses, and the truth by Christ. Christ came not to vnlose the lawe and the Prophetes, but to fulfill them. But yet many things were lawful & might haue bene obserued in the time of the law, whych in þ^e tyme of grace must not be obserued.MarginaliaMany thinges obserued in the old lawe, which be not obserued nowe. And many things wer vnlawful to them that were vnder the law, which in the time of grace are lawful inough.MarginaliaMany thinges vnlawful in the old law, which be lawful now. After what sort then he did not loose the lawe, but did fulfill it, it is necessary to declare, for those thyngs which hereafter must be sayd.MarginaliaHow Christ did loose and not loose the lawe. For amongest Christians, many things are iudged to be lawfull, because in the former testament in the law, they were lawfull: and yet they be expresly contrary to Christes Gospell. But the authors of such thinges doe argue and reason thus: Christ came not to loose the law of the prophets. Now after what sort he did uot vnlose them, it is manifest by the holy scripture: that the law geuen by Moses, was written in tables of stone to declare the hardnes of þ^e peoples hart towards the loue of God, or of Christ. But Christ hath wrytten his law in the harts and in the minds of his, that is to say, the law of perfect loue of God & of Christ. Which law whosoeuer obserueth, he doth obserue the law of Moyses, & doth much greater works of perfection, then were the works of þ^t law. Thus therefore were the morals of the old law fulfilled in the law of the charitie of Christ, and not vnloosed: because they are much more perfectly obserued, then of the Iewes. This I say, if the Christians doe obserue the commandements of Christ in such sorte, as he commanded the same to be obserued. Christ hath fulfilled the lawes morall of the old testament, because that the morals and iudicials were ordained, that one person should not do iniury to an other, & that euery man should haue paid him that is hys. Now, they that are in charity, wil do no iniury to others,