the snare of the deuill. If thou shalt keepe pacience, he shal be ashamed of his doing, and thou maist bow & bend hym to repentaunce, and take him out from the snare of the deuil, and cal him backe againe to charity. MarginaliaPatience commended in priuate causes among Christen brethren.If thou resist, and perchauce by resisting doest strike againe, his fury shalbe the more kindled, & hee being stirred vp to greater wrath, peraduenture shal either slay thee, or thou him. Touching they self, thou art vncertaine, if thou go about to make resistance, whether thou shalt fall from charity, and then shalt thou goe backwarde from the perfection of Christes commaundement: MarginaliaThe inconuenience of priuate resistance amōg Christen brethren.Neither doest thou knowe but that it may happen thee so greatly to be moued, as that by the heate & violence of wrath, thou shalt slay him. Whereas if thou wouldest dispose thy selfe to pacience (as Christ teacheth) thou shouldest easily auoide all these mischieues, aswel on the behalfe of thy brother, as also of thyne owne parte. Wherefore, the obseruing of charitie as the precept of pacience is to be obserued.

Fifthly, I do maruel why that for the alowing of thys corporall resistaunce, he doth say in the same Chapter: that MarginaliaPaule being striken, did not break the rule of Christen patience, neither made any bodely resistance.Paule did not fulfill the precept of the pacience of Christ, when as he being stroken in the place of iudgement by the cōmandement of the high Priest, did say, God strike thee, O thou painted wal: Doest thou sit to iudge me according to the law, and doest thou cōmand me to be striken against the lawe? It is manifest that Paule made resistance in nothing, though he spake a word of instruction to the Priest, who against the law commanded him to be striken. And if Paul had ouerpassed the bounds of pacience, through the grief of the stroke: what of that? Must the deede of Paules impaciencie for this cause be iustified, and the commandement of paciēce taught by Christ, be left vndone for Pauls deede, and corporal resistance be allowed? God forbid. For both Paule and Peter might erre. MarginaliaThe fact either of Paul or of any other, doeth not derogate to the doctrine of our Sauiour.But in the doctrine of Christ there may be found no errour. Wherefore, we must geue more credence & beliefe to Christes sayings, then to any liuing mans doings. Wherefore, although Paule had resisted, which I do not perceiue in that Scripture: it followeth not therof, that corporall resistance must be approued, which is of Christ expresly forbidden. I much maruel that alwayes they seeke corners and shadowes to iustifie their deedes. Why doe they not marke what great thyngs Paule reciteth hymselfe to haue suffered for Christ? And where I pray you haue they found, that hee after his conuersion, stroke any man that did hurt him? Or where doe they finde that he in expresse word doth teach such a kinde of corporal resistance? But as touching pacience, he sayth in plaine words to the MarginaliaRom. 12. Rules of Christen patience.Romanes: Be not wise in your owne conceits: Render ill for ill to no body: prouiding good things not onely before God, but also before all men, if it be possible: Be at peace with all folkes as much as in you lieth: not defending your selues, my most dearely beloued, but geue you place vnto anger. For it is wrytten, vengeance is mine, & I will recompence them, sayth the Lorde. But if thine enemie shalbe an hungred, geue hym meate. If he be a thirst, geue him drinke For thus doing, thou shalt heape coales of fire vpon his head. Be not ouercomen of euill, but ouercome thou euill with good.

To the Marginalia1. Cor. 5.Corinthians the 5. as touching iudgement and contention, whych are matters of lesse weyght then are fightings, thus he wryteth: Nowe verely there is great faulte in you, that you be at lawe amongst your selues. Why rather take yee not wrong? why rather suffer yee not deceit? And generally in all his Epistles he teacheth, that pacience shuld be kept, and not corporall resistance by fighting, because charitie is pacient, it is curteous, it suffereth all things. MarginaliaHe meaneth such warres of Christiās, as the pope aloweth: rising rather of priuate reuenge of princes, for wordly glory or affection, thē for any publike necessitie.I maruaile howe they iustifie and make good the warres by Christians, sauing onely the warres against the deuill and sinne. For seeing that it is plaine, that those things whych were in the olde Testament, were figures of things to be done in the new Testament: Therfore we must needes say, that the corporall warres being then done, were figures of the Christian warres against sinne and the deuill, for the heauenly countrey, whych is our inheritance. It is plain that it was wrytten thus of Christ. The mighty Lord, and of great power in battaile, hath girded himselfe in force and manlynesse to the warre: and he came not to sende peace into the earth, but warre. In thys warre ought Christian people to be souldiours according to that manner whych Paule teacheth to the Ephesians the last.MarginaliaEphe 6. Corporall wars in the old Testament, be figures of the spirituall warres in the new Testament, against sin, and the deuill. Put vpon you the armour of God, that you may be able to stande against the deceites of the deuill. For wee haue not to wrastle against flesh and bloude, but against princes & potestates, against the rulers of these darknes of the world, against spirituall wickednesse in heauenly things, whyche are the high places: Wherefore take yee the armour of God, that yee may be able to resist in the euil day, and to stand perfectly in al things. Stande you therefore girded about in truth vpon your loynes, hauing put vppon you the brest plate of rightuousnesse, and yourfeete shoed in a readinesse to the Gospel of peace, in all things taking the shield of fath, wherwith you may quēch all the firy darts of that wicked one. And take vnto you the helmet of saluation, and the sworde of the spirite, which is the worde of God.

By these thyngs it is plaine, what are the warres of Christians,MarginaliaWhat be the wars most proper to Christians. and what are the weapons of theyr warfare. And because it is manifest, that this Testament is of greater perfectiō then the former: we must now fight more perfectly then at that time. For nowe spiritually, then corporally: nowe for an heauenly euerlasting inheritance: then for an earthly and temporall: now by pacience, then by resistance. For Christ sayeth, blessed are they that suffer persecution for righteousnesse, for theirs is the kingdome of heauen. MarginaliaAll this taketh not away the lawfulnes of warres, in case of publike necessitie, but onely in priuate case for temporall goods.He saith not, blessed are they that fight for righteousnes. How can a man say, that they may lawfully make warre, & kill theyr brethren for the temporall goodes, whych peraduenture they vniustly occupy, or vniustly intende to occupy? For he that killeth an other, to gette these goods whyth an other body vniustly occupieth: doeth loue more the very goodes, then hys owne brother. And then hee falling from charitie, doth kill hymselfe spiritually. If he goe forwarde without *Marginalia* Note this word without charitie. charitie to make warre: then doeth he euill, and to hys owne damnation. Wherefore he doth not lawfully nor iustly in proceeding to the damnation of his own selfe & his brother, whome though he seeme vniustly to occupy his goods, yet he doth intend to kil. And what if such kinde of warresMarginaliaSuch kynde of wars, that is, suche kinde as be for priuate reuenge of temporall goods. were lawfull to the Iewes: thys argueth not, that now they are lawfull to Christians, because that theyr deedes were in a shadow of imperfection, but the dedes of Christians in the light of perfection. It was not said vnto them, All people that shal take the sword, shal perish with the sworde. What if Iohn the Baptist, disallowed corporal fightings, and corporall warfare, at such time as the souldiours asked him saying. And what shall we do? Who sayth to them, See that you strike no man, neither picke ye quarels against any, and be yee contented with your wages. Thys saying of Iohn alloweth not corporal warfare amongest Christians. For Iohn was of the Priests of the olde Testament, and vnder the law, neyther to hym it appertayneth to follow the lawe, but to warne the people to the perfect obseruation of the lawe.MarginaliaHow Iohn Baptist alowed war. For he being likewyse demaunded of the publicanes what they should doe, sayde vnto them, Doe no other thyng then is appoynted vnto you. But Christ the author of the newe Testament and of greater perfection, then was the perfection of the old law, which gaue newe things, as it plainly appeareth by the Gospel. So that, Christians ought to receiue information of Christ, not of Iohn. For of Iohn also doth Christ speak: Verely I say vnto you, there hath not risen amongest the children of women, a greater then Iohn Baptist: but hee that is lesse in the kingdome of heauen, is greater then he.MarginaliaThey that be lesse in the kingdom of heauen, greater then Iohn Baptist, expounded. In which saying Christ sheweth that those that be least in the kingdome of heauen in the tyme of grace, are placed in greater perfection thē was Iohn, which was one of them that were the elders, & he liued also in þ^e time of the law in greater perfection. And whē as certain of Iohns disciples sayd vnto him, maister, he that was beyōd Iordan, to whō thou gauest witnesse, beholde he baptiseth, and all people come vnto him. Iohn answered and sayde: A man cannot take any thing vppon him, vnlesse it shall bee geuen him from aboue. You your selues doe beare me recorde, that I sayde I am not Christ, but that I was sent before hym. He that hath the bride, is the bridegrome, as for the bridegromes frende, who standeth and heareth him: reioyceth wyth greate ioy to heare the voyce of the bridegrome. Thys therefore my ioy is fulfilled: he must increase, and I must bee diminished. Hee that commeth from an hie is aboue all. Hee that is of the earthe is earthy, and speaketh of the earthe: Hee that commeth from heauen, is aboue all folkes: that which hee hath seene and heard, the same doth he witnesse, and yet his witnessing doth no body receiue. But he that receiueth his witnessing, hath put to his Seale, that God is true. For he whome God hath sent, speaketh the wordes of God.

By whych things it plainely appeareth, that credence is to be geuen neither to Iohn, nor yet to angell, if he teach any thing that is not agreeable to Christes doctrine. For Christ is aboue the Aungels, because that God infinitely passeth them in wisdome. Nowe if Moses the seruaunt of God a minister of the old testament was so much to be beleued, þ^t nothing could be added, nor yet any thing diminished from the commandements that were geuen by hym, (for so Moses had sayd, the thyng that I commaund thee, that do thou onely to the Lorde, neither adde thou any thing, nor diminish.) How much more ought we not to adde nor to take away from the commandements geuen by God himselfe, and also the sonne of God? In the primitiue Church because the Christians had feruent loue and charity, they obserued these precepts as they were geuē: but their feruent