thou not that with what measure thou measurest, þ^e same shall be measured to you agayne? Doth not the scripture say: Vnto me belongeth vengeance, and I will render agayne sayth þ^e Lord? How can any man say that these men can with charitie keepe these iudgementes of death? Who is it that offendeth God, and desireth of God iust iudgement for his offence? He desireth not iudgement, but mercy. If he desire mercy for him selfe, why desireth he vengeance for his brother offending? Howe therefore loueth he his brother as himselfe? Or how doest thou shewe mercy vnto thy brother (as thou art bound by the commaundement of Christ) which seekest the greatest vengeance vpon him that thou canst inferr vnto him? For death is the most terrible thing of all, and a more grieuous vengeance then death, can no man inferre. Wherefore, they which wil keep charitie, ought to obserue the commaundements of Christ touching mercy: aud they *Marginalia* He meaneth of the pope and of the clergie.Marginalia* He speketh against the desire of reuenge: not against the execution of necessary law done by magistrates. which liue in the law of charitie ought to leaue the lawe of vengeance and iudgementes. Ought we to beleue, that Christ in his comming, by grace abrogated the most iust law whiche he himselfe gaue vnto the Children of Israell by Moses his seruaunt, and established the lawes of the Gentiles being not so iust to be obserued of his faythfull? Doth not MarginaliaThe dreame of Nabuchodonozor, concerning the image expounded by Daniel.Daniell expounding the dreame of Nabuchodonozer the king cōcerning the image whose head was of gold, the brest and armes of siluer, the belly & thies of brasse, the legges of iron, one part of þ^e feete was of iron, and the other part of clay. Nabuchodonozer saw that a stone was cut out of a mountaine w^tout hands, and strake þ^e Image in his feete of iron and of clay, & brake them to peeces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brasse, the siluer and gold broken altogether, and became like þ^e chaffe of the sommer flower, which is caryed away by the winde and there was no place found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountayne, and filled the whole earth. He applieth therfore 4. kingdomes vnto the 4. partes of the Image, namely: the kingdome of the Babilonians vnto the head of the gold: The kingdome of the Medes and Persians vnto the brest and armes of siluer: The kingdome of the Grecians vnto the belly and thighes of brasse: But the fourth kingdome whiche is of the Romaynes, he applyeth vnto the feet and legges of iron. And Daniell addeth: In the dayes of their kingdomes, shall God rayse vp a kingdome which shall neuer be destroyed: And hys kingdome shall not be deliuered vnto an other, but it shal breake and destroy those kingdomes: and it shal stand for euer, according as thou sawest, that the stone was cut out of the mountayne without handes, and brake in peeces the clay and iron, brasse siluer and golde. Seeing therfore it is certain that this stone signifieth Christ whose kingdome is for euer: it is also a thing most assured, that he ought to raygne euery where, and to breake in peeces the other kingdoms of þ^e world. Wherfore if terrestrial kinges and the terrestriall kingdom of the Iewes, and their laws and iudgementes haue ceased by Christ the king, calling the Iewes vnto the perfection of his gospel, namely, vnto Fayth and Charitie: MarginaliaThe Iudaicall necessitie of those lawes, hee meaneth to cease, notwithstanding Christen princes may borrow both out of those lawes, and out of al other, what they thinke good & expedient for their common weale.It is not to be doubted, but that the kingdome of the Gentiles which is more imperfect & their lawes, ought to ceasse among the Gentiles, departing frō their Gentillitie vnto the perfection of the Gospell of Iesus Christ. For there is no distinction betwene the Iewes and Gentiles being conuerted vnto the faith of Christ, but all of them abiding in that eternall kingdome ought to be vnder one lawe of Charitie and of vertue. Therefore they ought to haue mercy, and to leaue the iudgments of death, and the desire of vengeance. Wherfore they which do make lawes marke not the parable of Christ, saying: The kingdome of heauen is like vnto a man whiche sowed good seede in hys field: but when men were on sleepe, the enemy came and sowed Tares in the midst of the wheate, & went his way. But when the herbe was growne and brought forth fruite, then appeareth the Tares. And the seruauntes came vnto the good man of the house and sayd vnto him, Lorde didst not thou sowe good seede in thy field? From whence then come these Tares? And he sayd vnto them: The enemy hath done this. And the seruauntes sayd vnto him: Wilt thou that we goe and gather them up? And he sayd no: least peraduenture gathering vp the Tares ye plucke vp the wheate by the rootes: Suffer them both to grow vntill the haruest, I will saye vnto the haruest men, gather first the Tares and binde them in the bundels that they may be burnt, but gather the wheate into my barne. Christ himselfe onely expoundeth this parable in the selfe same chapter, saying: He which soweth the good seede is the sonne of man, but the field is the world, and the good seede, those are the children of the kingdome. But the Tares are the naughty children. And the enemy which soweth them is the Deuill, And theharuest is the end of the world and the haruest men are the Aungels. Euen as therfore the Tares are gathered and burnt with fire, so shall it be in the end of the world. The sonne of man shall send hys Aungels, and they shal gather out of his kingdome al offendoures, and those which commit iniquitie, and shall put them into a furnace of fire, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teethe.

MarginaliaHis purpose is not that no euill doer should be punished in a common welth, but his relation is, to the 23. q. 5. aforesaid, noting causes of religion, which the Pope and his prelates are wont to punish with death, taking many times for Tares, that which in deed is pure wheate.By whiche playne doctrine it is manifest, that Christ will haue mercy shewed vnto sinners, euen vnto the ende of the world, and will haue them to remayn mingled with the good: Least peraduenture when a man thinketh that he doth right well, to take away the tares, he taketh away þ^e wheat. For how great a sinner soeuer a mā be, we know not whether his end shalbe good, and whether in the end he shall obtayne mercy of God: Neither are we certayn of the time, wherein God will by grace iudge him whom we abhorre as a sinner. And peraduenture suche a one shall more profit after his conuersion in þ^e Church, then he who we think to be iust, as it came to passe in Paul. And if god iustifieth a man by grace (although at his ende) why darest thou be so bold to be his iudge, and to condemne him? Yea, rather although a man seeme to be obstinate and hardened in his euill, so that he is not corrected by a secret correction (correct him before one alone) if he doe not receaue open correction being done before two or three witnesses, neyther passeth vpon a manifest correction when his sinne is made known vnto the Church: Christ doth not teach to punish such a one with the punishment of death. Yea rather he sayth, if he harken not vnto the churche: let him be vnto thee as an Ethnicke and Publicane. And Paule following this doctrin in the Marginalia1. Cor. 5.1. Corin. 5. chapter saith: There goeth a common saying that there is fornication among you & such fornication as is not once named among þ^e gentiles that one shold haue hys fathers wife. And ye are puffed vp, and haue not rather sorrowed, that he whiche hath done this deede, might be put from among you. For I verily as absent in body, but present in spirite, haue already determined, as though I were present: that he whiche hath done this thing, whē ye are gathered together and my spirit, in the name of our Lord Iesus Christ that such one by the power of our Lorde Iesus Christ, be deliuered vnto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirite may be saued in the day of the Lord Iesus. Paule teacheth not to kill this man (as some gather by this text) but to separate him from the other faithfull, and so frō Christ, which is the head of the Church of the faithfull, and so is he deliuered vnto Sathan, which is separated from Christ: that the flesh may be killed, that is, that that carnall concupyscence, whereby he luxuriously lusted after þ^e wife of his father, may be destroyed in him, by such a separation, that þ^e spirite may be saued, & not that his body should be killed. as some say, as it is most manifest in the selfe same chapiter, where he sayth: I wrote vnto you in an Epile, that ye shoulde not keepe company with fornicatours, and I ment not of all the fornicators of this world, eyther of the couetous, or extorcioners or Idolaters, for then must yee nedes haue gone out of the world. But now I haue written vnto you, that ye keepe not company together, if anye that is called a brother be a fonicatour, or couetous persō, or a worshipper of Images, eyther a cursed speaker, or dronkard, or an extorcioner: with him that is such, see that ye eate not.

By whych it is manyfest, that Paule woulde haue the foresayd fornicatour separated from the fellowship of the faithfull: that his carnall concupiscence might be mortifyed, for the health of the spirit, and not that the body should be killed. Wherefore, they do ill vnderstand Paule, which by this saying, do cōfirme þ^e killing of mē. And forasmuch as heresie is one of þ^e most greuous sinnes (for an heretike leadeth men in errours, wherby they are made to stray frō fayth, without which they cannot be saued) it doth most great hurt in the Church.MarginaliaHereby it appeareth, that all his relation in this matter: toucheth onely the cases of heresie and opinions in religion.

Further as concerning such a wicked man. Paul thus speaketh, flye from the man þ^t is an heretike after the first and second correction, knowing that such a one is subuerted and sinneth, forasmuch as he is by his owne iudgemēt condemned. Behold Paule teacheth not to kill thys man, but with Christ to separate him frō the fellowship of the faythfull. But some say, that Peter in þ^e primitiue Church slewe Ananias and Saphyra for their sinnes, wherefore they say it is lawful for them, to condemne wicked men to death. We wil declare in shewing the whole processe how falsly they speake in alleaging of Peter, for to iustify their errour.MarginaliaBy this it appeareth againe, that his respect is onely to the pope and his prelates of the church and not to ciuill magistrates.

In the 4. chap. of the Actes it is written, that as many as were possessours of landes or houses, they solde them & offred the prices of that whych they solde and layed it be-