A Dialoge or Communicacyon
to be had at a table betwene .ii.
chyldren, gathered out of the holy scriptures
by Iohan Bale for his two yong
sonnes, Iohan and Paule.

Paulus iunior filius.
FOr so much as God hath co~stitute
me a creature reasonable,
and indued me wyth an vnderstandynge,
I am naturally desperouse
to knowe, to what ende I am created.

Ioannes senior filius. Than wyl it be necessary
for yow to haue fayth. For he yt
shal haue a do with god or with godlynesse,
must fyrste of all beleue after the
sacred scrypturs.
Paulus. Than tel me
what faith is, by those same sacred scriptures.
Ioannes. After the saynge of S.
Paule, it is a certen assuraunce of godly
thynges, whyche we trust vnto, and
a grounded euydence in the sprete of
heaue~ly causes that neuer are seane wt
the eye.
Paul. What suppose ye moste
fytt to dyrect me in thys faythe.
Ioannes.
The eternall Testament or Gospell
of Iesus Christ, for that is ye power
of the Lorde into saluacyon to all them

A.ij.

that beleue.
Paul. What shal I esteme
the tradicions of men besides that gospel?
Ioannes. The leuen of Pharisees,
chaffe, cockle, tares, stubble, swylle,
swines draffe ydelnesse, ydolatry, whordome
of the sprete, fylthynesse, false
worshyppynge, the call of straungers,
the fearfull curse of God and abhominacion
standing in the holy place.
Paulus.
Wha~ was this gospel first taught
Ioannes. Sone after the worldes beginning,
wha~ Ada~ had ones offended, least
he shulde haue fallen into vtter dispair
and so haue bene lost for euer.
Paulus.
And hath the Gospell contynued euer
sens to the confort of manne?
Ioannes.
Yea, truly hath it, & oft sens that time
bene confirmed by more earnest promises
from age to age, tyll that meke
lambe come, whyche toke awaye the
synnes of the worlde, thorough the shedynge
of his most innocent bloud. For
the scrypture sayth, that hys mercye
was plenteouse, from kyndrede to
kyndred to them that feared the Lord.
Paulus. Hath all menne bene called to
grace by that Gospell of saluacyon?
Ioannes. Yea doubtlesse haue they, yet

haue they not al tha~kefully receyued it.
So well was it taught of our fyrste father
Adam to Cain, as to Abel. So wel
to the fleshely chyldren of menne as to
the ghostly chyldren of God. So well
ded Noe preache it vnto Cham, as vnto
Sem and Iapheth. So well ded Abraham
shewe it to Ismael, as to Isaac. So
well Moyses to Pharao, as to the people
of Israel. Dauid to Amnon, and
Absolon, as to Salomo~, & Nathan. Helias
to Achab & Iesable, as to the moste
faythfull beleuers. No lesse ded Christ
open therof to Iudas, than to Peter Iohan,
& Iames. And so forth the Apostles
with other true preachers to this present
day, so that non is without excuse,
Paulus. How cometh it then to passe,
that so many are lost, and still yet doth
dayly peryshe through their lewde co~uersacyon
and lycencyouse lyuyng.
Ioannes.
No faute can be ascribed to the
Gospel, but to their vnthankeful receiuing
of ye frutes therof, so frely offered
them, as I sayd afore. The disdayneful
spurninge a syde or throwinge at their
tayles of that necessary health in Christ
is cause of their decaye, and not the set

A.iij.

ordinaunce of God, whych willeth all
menne to be saued.
Paulus. If Adam
thus receyued thys gospel, & so taught
it vnto his posterite, it hath continued
much longer then I supposed.
Ioannes. The gospell is as ye Lord is, euerlasting.
For as wytnesseth the Apostle
saynt Iohn. In the beginninge was the
word, & the word was wt God, & God
was that word.

Paulus. The~ was not
Mathew the fyrst wryter therof wyth
the other Euangelistes, as the popyshe
churche hath taught vs?
Ioannes. No,
God wrote it fyrst in the naturall hart
of man, & so yt remained here styll tyll
Moyses and the prophetes ded leaue
it in outward wrytinge to the peoples
farder erudicyon. For as S. Paule doeth
wytnesse, all they ded eate fro~ the
first beginninge of one spiritual meate
& dranke of one spiritual drynke, yt harde
rocke folowinge the~ which was Iesus
christ. And this is a clere toke~ that
one gospel hath reigned in ye people of
god sence ye worldes beginninge.
Paulus.
Yonge infantes departinge hence
in their chyldehode, shoulde seme to be
no partyners therof.
Ioannes. How so

I pray you? What is your reaso~.
Paulus.
For they neuer haue it taught the~.
And yf they had, yet shuld it lytle profyght
the~ hauing so smal vndersta~ding
Ioan. God neuer distributeth his gyftes
to ye measure of age & discressio~, for
then had Annas bene more faythfull
then Peter, and Caiphas more godlye
then Iohan. For they were both elder
and wyser. As fayth is an vnknowne
gyft of God, so is it of hym secretelye
ministred. We knowe not fro~ whe~ce it
cometh whe~ menne are borne of the spirit.
Iohan Baptist knewe Christ in his
mothers wo~be, & yet had he neither age
nor vnderstanding that was sene. God
is their secrete instructour & preacher,
which taught it first withoute voyce &
wrote it without penne in the hydden
hart of man. As the spirite of prophecy
ded happen vnto menne by the fre gift
of god without age, so doth fayth to ye
infantes. As he gaue that benefyght of
his grace to the babe Hieremye, so doth
he secretely ministre vnto the~ that necessarye
health of saluacion. He alone
made ye child Daniel rightlye to iudge
ye vngodlye, The Apostles spoke not of

A.iiij.

them selues, but out of the abundau~ce
of hys eternal spirit also. The aged are
left to the outwarde gospell, the chyldren
are reserued to Gods secrete workynge.
And therfore Christe said vnto
hys Apostles suffre the childre~ to come
vnto me, for to the~ belongeth the kingdome
of heaue~.
Theyr angels are euermore
beholdinge the face of my father
which is in heaue~. Suche secrete doubtes
ought not to be moued. For nothing
perteyne that vnto vs, whych is aboue
our compasse.
Paulus. For the nature,
tyme, and passage of this gospel, I am
wel satisfied. But now tel me what shal
here after become of them whych hath
not of all this longe season in the true
feare of god, regarded the swete promises
therof?
Ioannes. As they haue in
their vnfaythfulnesse here, bene left to
them selues to worke al vngodlynesse,
and so departed hence with a desperate
conscience. So shall thy at the latter
daye be condempned to eternall fyre
wyth the deuyll and hys angels.
Paulus.
Oure mercyfull redemer defende
vs from that malediccyon. But what
shall moste spedylye brynge me to that

Gospel of health?
Ioannes. The meke
knowlege of thy selfe, that thou art of
nature the synnefull sonne of Adam,
iustlye condempned in his transgressio~
besydes thyne owne wycked doynges,
and so lost for euer were not that recouer
whiche thou hast in Christe Iesu.
Paulus. Shewe me by what meanes
I maye come to that knowlege.
Ioannes.
Seke fyrste vnto the lawe, whych
the Lorde taught by Moyses, and that
shall declare the a synner.
Paulus.
Will the lawe do nothinge els but manifest
my synne?
Ioannes. Yes, it wyl
shewe the also thy condempnacyon.
Paulus. If these be the only fruites of
the lawe, I will not ones beholde it,
least I by the searche, therof do fall into
dispayre.
Ioannes. Then shalt thu
not do wyselye. For yf thou know not
thy sore, thou shalte not be occasyoned
to seke the remedye. When thu
hast therfore in ye law as in a clere myrrour
beholde~ thy manyfolde mysheues
& co~sidered the depe daungers of the~,
thu shalt of necessite be moued to seke
vnto Christe as vnto an onlye relefe,
health, co~fort, peace, attonement, grace,

A.v.

righteousnesse, wysedome & rede~pcion.
Paulus. Why, is there non other saluacion,
but that which is in Christ?
Ioannes.
No surely frynde, he alone is ye
lambe, which taketh awaye the synnes
of the worlde.
Paulus. What shall we
the~ call our spiritual sacrifiars, which
saye they delyuer vs from synne wyth
their masses, absolucions, blessinges,
vnccions, & holy water.
Ioannes. Not
sauers but deceyuers, lyke as Christ of
the~ hath prophecyed. Manye seducers
(sayeth he) shal come in my name and
saye: Here is Christe, and there is thy
maker. But beware they deceyue you
not.
Paulus. Where shall I then seke
to open vnto hym my grefe, and so to
haue remedy for my soules disease?
Ioannes.
Not out of thy selfe, to thy soules
behoue. For thy faythful hart is the
temple of God, or that holy habitacio~
that Christ hath promised to dwell in.
The false worshippers seke him in outwarde
thinges, & neuer finde him. But
seke thu him in spirite and verite, and
thou shalt haue hym present.
Paulus.
Then is he not vnder the deliueraunce
of menne, nor yet bounde to their dispe~sacyon?

Ioannes. No trulye is he not,
nomore than are the other gyftes of
God, as wysdome, vnderstandinge,
counsell, strengthe, science, pyte & the
iust feare of God. For as testifyeth
saynt Iames. Euerye perfyght gyft is
from aboue, & commeth downe vnto
vs fro~ the father of lyght immediatlye.
Paulus. By this your hole protestacio~
it should seme than vnto me, that I am
ordayned of God to this ende. First to
acknowlege my selfe a wycked synner,
than to aryse from it through true repentaunce,
and so to leade a newe lyfe
after the gospell, tyll suche tyme as my
eternall father shall wytsaue to call me
from this corruptible mansyon, thys
foren lande, this vale of myserye, this
castell of synne, and thys habytacle
of deathe, into the eternall heretage
of hys sonne Iesus Christe. To
whom with the holye ghost
be euerlastynge prayse,
honour and glorye
worlde wythout
ende.
Amen.