deny, that no man doubteth of? Whose peuishe sausines, Hierome w^t these words did well represse: holde thy peace (said he) thou monke, thou hipocrite And thus the monke being nipped in the head, sate downe dumme. After whom started vp an other, who with a loude voyce cryed out: I sweare (sayd he) by my conscience, that to be true, that thou doest deny. To whom sayd Hierome agayne, speaking in latine: Heus inquit, sic iurare per conscientiam tutissima fallendi via est. That is, thus to sweare by your conscience, is the next way to deceiue. An other there was, a spitefull and a bitter enemy of his, whom he called by no other name then dogge, or asse. After he had thus refuted them: one after an other, that they could finde no crime against him, neyther in this matter nor in anye other, they were all driuen to keepe silence.

MarginaliaFalse witnes.This done, then were the witnesses called for, who cōming in presence, gaue testimony vnto the Articles before produced. By reason wherof, þ^e innocent cause of Hierome was oppressed, and began in the councell to be concluded. Then Hierome rising vp begā to speak, forsomuch (sayth he) as you haue heard mine aduersaries so diligētly hether to, conuenient it is, that you should also nowe heare me to speake for my selfe.MarginaliaAudience hardly geuē to Hierome to speake for himselfe. Whereupon w^t much difficultie, at last audience was geuē in þ^e Councell for hym to say his mind Which being granted, he from morning to noon continuyng, entreated of diuers and sondry matters, with great learning and eloquēce. Who first beginning with his praier to God, besought him to geue him spirite, habilitie and vtterance, which might most tend to the profite & saluation of his own soule. And so entring into hys Oration.

MarginaliaThe oration of Hierome had before the councel.I Know sayth he, reuerend Lords, þ^t there haue bene many excellēt men, which haue suffered much otherwise thē they haue deserued, being oppressed with false witnesses, & condemned with wrong iudgementes. And so beginning with SocratesMarginaliaSocrates. he declared howe hee was vniustly condemned of hys countrimen, neither woulde he escape when hee might: taking from vs the feare of two thinges, whiche seeme most bitter to men, to wit, of prisonment and death. Then he inferred the captiuitie of Plato,MarginaliaPlato. the banishment of Anaxagoras,MarginaliaAnaxagoras and the tormentes of Zeno.MarginaliaZeno. Moreouer he brought in the wrongfull condemnation of many gentiles as the banishment of Rupilius:MarginaliaRupilius. reciting also the vnworthy death of BoetiusMarginaliaBoetius. and of others, whom Boetius himselfe doth write of.

From thence he came to the examples of the Hebrues, and first began with MoysesMarginaliaMoses. the deliuerer of the people, & the law geuer, how he was oftentimes slaundered of hys people as being a seducer and contemner of the people. IosephMarginaliaIoseph. also, sayth he, for enuy, was sold of hys brethren, and for false suspicion of whoredome, was cast into bandes. Be sides these, he reciteth Esayas,MarginaliaEsayas. Daniell,MarginaliaDaniell. and almost all the Prophetes,MarginaliaThe Prophetes. who as contemners of god, and seditious persons, were oppressed with wrongfull condemnation. Frō thence he proceeded to the iudgement of Susanna,MarginaliaSusanna. and of diuers other besides, who being good and holy men, yet were they vniustly cast away with wrongfull sentence. At the length he came to Iohn Baptist,MarginaliaIohn Baptist and so in long processe he descended vnto our sauiour,MarginaliaChrist. declaring how it was euident to all men, by what false witnesses both he and Iohn Baptist, were condemned. Moreouer how Stephen was slayne by the Colledge of the priestes, and how all the ApostlesMarginaliaThe Aapostles. were condemned to death, not as good men but as seditious styrrers vp of the people, and contemners of the Gods, and euil doers. It is vniust sayth he, vniustly to be condemned one priest of an other, and yet he proued that þ^e same hath so happened most vniustly in that Councell of Priestes. These thinges did he discourse at large, w^t marueilous eloquēce, and with singuler admiration of all that heard hym.

MarginaliaThe false witnesse of Hierome refelled.And forasmuch as all the whol summe of the cause dyd rest only in the witnesses, by many reasons he proued that no credite was to be geuen vnto them, especially seing they spake all thinges of no truth, but onely of hatred malice, & enuy. And so prosecuting the matter, so liuely and expressely he opened vnto them the causes of their hatred, that hee had almost perswaded them. So liuely and likely their hatred was detected, that almost no trust was geuen to their testimonies, saue onely for the cause and quarrell wherein they stood touching the popes doctrine. All mens mindes here were moued and bending to mercye towardes hym. For he told them how that he of hys owne accord came vp to the Councell, and to purge hymselfe he did open vnto them all hys life and doinges, being full of vertue & godlines. This was (sayth he) the old maner of auncient and learned mē and most holy Elders, that in matters of fayth they did differ many times in argumentes, not to destroy the fayth, but to finde out the veritie. So did Augustineand Hierome dissent, not onely being diuers, but also contrary one from the other & yet w^tout al suspition of heresy.

All this while the popes holy Councell did wayt still, when he would beginne to excuse himselfe, and to retracte those thinges, whiche were obiected agaynst him, and to craue pardon of the Councell. But he persisting still in hys constant oration, did acknowledge no errour, nor gaue any signification of retractation.

MarginaliaHierome commendeth the life, and bewayleth the death of Iohn Hus.At last entring into the prayse & commendation of M. Iohn Hus, he affirmed that he was a good, iust, and holy man, and much vnworthy that death, whiche he did suffer. Whom he did know from his youth vpward, to be neither fornicator, drunkard, neither anye euill or vicious person: but a chast & sober man, & a iust and true preacher of þ^e holy Gospell: and whatsoeuer things mayster Iohn Hus and Wicklyff had holden or written specially agaynst the abuse and pompe of the clergie, he would affirme euen vnto the death, that they were holy and blessed men, and that in all pointes of the Catholicke fayth, he doth beleue as the holy Catholicke Church doth hold or beleue. And finally he did conclude that al such articles, as Iohn Wickleffe & Iohn Hus had written & put forth agaynst þ^e enormities, pompe and disorder of the Prelates, he would firmely & steadfastly, without recantation, hold & defend euē vnto the death. And last of all, he added þ^t al the sinnes that euer he had cōmitted, did not so much gnaw and trouble his conscience, as did þ^t onely sinne, whiche he had committed in that most pestiferous fact, when as in his recantation, he had vniustly spoken against that good and holy man & his doctrine,MarginaliaHierome repenteth his speaking against Iohn Hus. & specially in cōsenting vnto his wicked cōdēnation concluding þ^t he did vtterly reuoke & deny that wicked recantatiō which he had made in that most cursed place, & that he dyd it through weakenes of hart and feare of death: And moreuer that whatsoeuer thing he hath spokē against that blessed man, he hath altogether lyed vpō him, and that he doth repent him with his whole hart, that euer he did it.

And at the hearing hereof, the hartes of þ^e hearers were not a little sory. For they wished and desired greatly that such a singular man shold be saued if otherwise their blind superstition would haue suffered it. But he continued still in his prefixed sentence, seeming to desire rather death then lyfe. And persisting in the prayse of Iohn Husse, he added moreouer, MarginaliaHus neuer maintained any doctrine against the Churche of Rome: but onely spake against their naughtie lyfe.that he neuer mayntayned anye doctrine agaynst the state of the Church, but onely spake agaynst the abuses of the clergye, against the pride, pompe and excesse of the Prelates. For somuch as þ^e patrimonies of the churches were first geuen for the poore, then for hospitality and thirdly to the reparations of the Churches: it was a griefe to that good man (sayd he) to see the same misspent and cast away vpon harlots, great feastings, and keping of horses and dogges, vpō gorgeous apparell and such other things vnseming Christian Religion. And herein he sheweth him selfe marueilous eloquent: yea neuer more.

MarginaliaHierome did put them to silence.And when his oration was interrupted many tymes by diuers of them, carping his sentences as he was in speaking: yet was there none of all those that interrupted hym which scaped vnblanckt, but he brought them all to confusion, and put them to silence. When any noise began, he ceased to speake, & after began againe, proceeding in his Oration and desiring them to geue him leaue a while to speak whō they hereafter should heare no more: neither yet was his mind euer dashed at all these noyses and tumults.

MarginaliaHierome in prison 340. dayes.And thys was marueilous in him to behold, notwithstanding he continued in strait prison, 340. dayes, hauing neither booke, nor almost light to read by: MarginaliaThe excellent memory in M. Hierome.yet how admirably his memory serued him: Declaring howe all those paynes of his strait handling, did not somuch greeue him, as he did wonder rather to see their vnkind humanitie towardes him.

When he had spoken these and many other thinges as touching the prayse of Iohn Wickleffe, & Iohn Hus, they which sat in the Councell, whispered together, saying: by these his wordes it appeareth that he is at a poynt w^t hym selfe. Then was he agayne caried into prison, & greeuously fettered by the hands, armes and feete with great chaines and fetters of yron.

MarginaliaM. Hierome brought agayne before the coūcell.The Saterday next before the Ascension day, early in the morning he was brought with a great number of armed men vnto the Cathedral Church before the open congregation, to haue his iudgement geuen hym. There they exhorted him, that those thinges which he had before spokē in the open audience, as is aforesayde touching the prayse and commendation of M. Iohn Wickleffe, and M. Iohn Hus, confirming and establishing their doctrine, he would yet recant the same: but he merueilous stoutly without all feare, spake agaynst them, & amōgst other things said vnto them: I take God to mywitnes, and I protest here be-