Fyrst here foloweth an Epistole vnto the reder by the same byshop.

My dere brother or syster in our
sauiour Christe Iesu / who so euer ye
be / yt shall fortune to rede this queare
our lorde for his great mercy graunt
you his grace / that the redyng therof some what
may proffit your soule.
Fyrst I shall beseche you nat to misconstrue myn
ente~t / in puttyng forthe this queare to be printed /
but that ye take it to the best. For verily my wyll
and mynde is / that some frute myght ryse by the
same vnto the christe~ people / whiche be the spouse
of Christe. Vnto whom though vnworthy I am
ordeyned a minister for my lytell porcion. My duty
is to endeuer me after my poure power / to resist
these heretickes / the whiche seasse nat to subuert
the churche of Christe. If we shall syt styll and let
them in euery place sowe theyr vngratious heresies /
and euery where distroye the soulis / whiche
were so derely bought with that moste precious
blode of our sauiour Christe Iesu / howe terribly
shall he lay this vntyll our charge / whan we shalbe
called vntyll a rekenynge for this matter? It
shalbe moche rebukefull and moche worthy punishement /
if we for our party shall nat gyue dilige~ce
for the defence of the true christen people / fro
these heresies / as these heretickes gyue for the
corruption of the same / specially whan we be certayne /
that our labour shall nat be vnrewarded /

A.ii.

as saint Paule dothe promyse / sayeng / Vnusquisque
propriam mercedem accipiet secu~du~ suum laborem: Euery
man shall take his owne rewarde accordynge to
his labour. And so moche the more diligence we
muste gyue / bicause that the wretched nature of
man is more prone to euery thynge / that nought
is / than it is to that / whiche is of greatter frute.
The dry te~der is nat more redy to be kendled with
the leaste sparkell of fyre / than we be redy to be incensed
to all euyll. Our hartes by the olde corruption
of synne / be of that molde / that they withoute~
any great diligence of them selfe / brynge forthe all
maner of vices: but nothynge that vertuous is /
withouten a great labour. And assuredly these heresies
be lyke the stynkynge weedes / the whiche
i~ euery erthe sprynge by them selfe: for as these euyll
weedes nede no settynge / no sowynge / no waterynge /
no wedynge / nor suche other deligence /
as the good herbes require / but sprynge anone
withouten all that busines: and where they haue
entered ones in any grounde / it is veray herde to
delyuer that grounde from them: euen so it is of
these heresies / they nede no plantynge / they nede
no wateryng / they nede no lowkyng / nor wedyng /
but rankly sprynge by them selfe / of a full lyght
occasion. Contrary wyse it is of true doctryne of
god / this is lyke vnto the good herbes / whiche
wil nat euery where lightly growe / but they must
be set or sowen in a chosen erthe / they must be watred /
they muste be weded / and haue moche attendaunce /
or els they wyll anone myscary. Ye
may se this euidently by the begynnyng of Christis
churche. Our sauiour whan he hym selfe dyd
sowe his doctryne / he complayned of the vntowardnes
of mennes hartes / and sayd: Sermo meus
non capit in vobis: This sede of my worde taketh no
rote in the erthe of your hartes. And vpon a tyme
a great nombre of his disciples forsoke hym and
cast hym vp: For theyr hartes coude nat sauour
his doctrine. If this doctrine sowen by this most
myghty and counnynge sower / toke none effecte
in these persons hartes / ye may se / that the erthe
of our hartes by it selfe can nat receyue this sede.
Saint Paule / the whiche in lyke maner gaue his
diligence to plante and to water this sede / yet as
moche as he proffitted by his preachynge in one
place / he lost by his abse~ce in an other place. Doth
he nat crye out therfore vpon ye Galathes / bicause
that this doctrine / whiche he had sowen amonge
them / sone after his deperture from them / dyd
wyther in theyr hartes? O insensati Galathe / quis
vos fascinauit no~ obedire venritati? O ye folishe people /
who hath thus witched you / that ye do nat obey
vnto the trouth? And euery where the same saint
Paule fighteth agaynst the heretickes / and is
veray solicite and carefull / lest the flocke of Christe
shalbe corrupted by theyr heresies. In so moche
yt he sayth vnto ye Corinthies: Timeo / ne sicut serpe~s
Euam seduxit astucia sua / ita sensus vestri corrumpantur a
simplicitate / que est in Christo: I drede me / lest as the
serpent desceyued the fyrste woman Eue by his
wylynes / so your sences shalbe corrupted by these

A.iij.

heretickes / and so fall fro~ the symplicite of faithe /
whiche ye haue in Christe. And therfore a litel after
he calleth them / Pseudo apostolos / & oparios subdolos
tra~sfigura~tes se i~ apostolos Christi. that is to say / fals
apostles / disceytful workers / prete~dyng to be the
messangers of Christe / and be nat in veray dede.
If ther were suche perill of heretickes in the tyme
of saint Paule / as it dothe appere in all his epistoles:
and if ye heresies tha~ so lightly toke roote in ye
hartes of men: And if the sede of the doctryne of
Christe with suche difficultie did sprynge & growe
in the hartes of the people / whiche were in that
maruelous & plentuous tyme of all grace: what
wonder is it that lykewyse nowe / in this miserable
tyme / these heretickes multiply / and theyr heresies
do sprede? Whan hit was prophesied before
nat onely by our sauiour Christe / but also by saynt
Peter in his epistoles / and by saynt Paule in his
bothe / and by saynt Iude / that suche heresyes
shulde ryse / and specially towarde the ende of the
worlde. Nowe therfore whan so litell diligence is
done about the ministryng of this true doctryne /
it is necessary that all tho that haue charge of the
flocke of Christe / endeuour them selfe to gaynestande
these pernitious heresies. Wherin doutles
the moost Reuerend father in god my lorde legate
hath nowe meritoriously traueiled / and so entendeth
to perseuer and to continue / to the full extirpatio~
of the same. For heresy is a perillous wede /
it is the sede of the deuyll / the inspiration of the
wicked spirites / the corruption of our hartes / the
blyndyng of our sight / the quenching of our faith /
the distruction of all good frute / and fynally the
mourder of our soules. And therfore some what
to resist this wicked sede / by the mocion of dyuerse
perso~s / I haue put forth this sermon to be redde /
whiche for ye great noyse of ye people within ye churche
of Paules / whan it was sayde / myght nat be
herde. And if paraue~ture any disciple of Luthers
shall thynke / that myn argumentes and reasons
agaynst his maister be nat sufficient: Fyrste let
hym consider / that I dyd shape them to be spoken
vntyll a multitude of people / whiche were nat
brought vp in ye subtyll disputations of the schole.
Seconde. if it may lyke the same disciple to come
vnto me secretely / and breake his mynde at more
length / I bynde me by these presentes / bothe to
kepe his secreasy / and also to spare a leysoure for
hym to here the bottum of his mynde / and he shal
here myne agayne / if it so please hym: and I trust
in our lorde / that fynally we shall so agre / that either
he shal make me a Luthera~ / or els I shal enduce
hym to be a catholyke / and to folowe the doctryne
of Christis churche. And one thynge I do
acertayne hym / that though his maister Luther
dyd lyue neuer so well and perfetly / yet for as moche
as his doctryne is dyuerse from the doctryne
of the churche he is to be fled: for so teacheth vs
ye holy mertyr Ignacius in his epistole ad Hereneum /
sayeng: Omnis igitur qui dixerit preter ea / que tradita
sunt / tametsi fide dignus sit / tametsi ieiunet / tametsi
virginitate~ seruet / tametsi signa faciat / tametsi prophetet /

5

lupus tibi appareat in grege ouium / corruptionem faciens.
That is to say / who so euer affermeth contrary to
the traditions and doctrine of ye churche / though
he for his lyfe be worthy to be beleued / though he
fast neuer so moche / though he kepe his virginite /
though he worke miracles though he prophecy
of thynges for to come / for all this take hym
but as a wolfe / intendynge corruption amonge a
flocke of shepe. Wherfore whan Luther hath in
hym none of these good conditions aboue rehersed /
as we shall proue here after / that is to say /
he neither is faith worthy / bicause of his repugnant
doctryne / nor he chastiseth nat his body by
fastynge / nor he kepeth nat his virginite / nor he
doth no miracles / nor he is no prophet of thynges
for to come / and yet neuertheles he techeth clene
contrary doctrynes vnto the doctryne of the
churche / he is to be reputed as a wolfe
corruptyng the flocke of Christe.
Thus fare ye well in
our lorde Iesu.