The paraphrase of Erasm[us] Roterdame vpon [the] epistle of sai[n]t Paule vnto his discyple Titus lately tra[n]slated into englysshe and fyrste a goodly prologue

uered his olde bryghtnes / & shy∣neth so abrode now / y^t euen they whose inwarde eyes be blynded with false perswasyons of man and couetyse & vayneglorye per∣ceyue a twynkeling of this light. For they can not deny but y^t they haue erred in many thynges and were fer wyde fro y^e square / how lothe so euer they be to heare it of laye men / or of suche as beynge good preestes / wolde fayne call theym agayne to his doctryne / who alone is the waye / y^e trouth & lyfe. And what can be a more euydent token of y^e hye indygna∣cyon of the godhed agaynste the chyrche of Rome, then that this Pharao and all his egyptiens be so hardened in theyr hertes, that they wyll in no wyse receyue the truthe & doctryne of hym whose folowers they professe themselfe

to be. Of whome may full well be affyrmed the wordes of y^e pro∣phete Dauid. Eyes they haue / & shall not se. Eeres they haue, and shall not heare. wherfore no mer∣uayle / for they are so drowned in the desyres of worldly worshyp, y^t where as they shold saye with y^e apostles to Chryst, Marci. x. lo we haue left all / & haue folowed y^e / they can not saye (yf they shall not lye) but the clene contrary / y^t they forsake nothyng / but catche all to them selfe and forsake him. wherfore the same prophet Da∣uid fearyng this displeasure and greate angre of god fallen vpon the papystes / and desyrynge the grace shewed now to vs / pray∣eth on this wyse. Lord make thy waies knowē to me / & teache me thy pathes. And why prayeth he so▪ For as he writeth in an other

place. Cursed be they good lorde that swarue from thy commaū∣dementes. Now who swarueth more from the cōmaundementes of god / thē he which taketh vpō hym to be an herdes man / and a feder of Crystes shepe / & dryueth them away from theyr mete / nor playeth the good & iust husbond of goddes house / so wynge spiry∣tual thynges & repynge therfore carnall, but he repeth carnall thi∣ges / for y^e sowyng of y^e vnthrifty cockle of most foule and abomy∣nable errors / and seducynge the people of god after his moste de∣testable lustes. which word good redar I wold not y^t thou sholdest thynke to be spoken generally of all spyrytuall men. For there are among thē thanked be god hyely therfore, men endued with great cōnynge / wysedom / & vertuous

liuing. whose workes according to the cōmaundement of the gos∣pell, do shyne afore all men to the glorye of the father of heuyn. A∣gaine thou must not so interprete my sayenges as I sholde thynke it vnlauful for the clergy to haue ony possessyons at al. Luc. x. eue∣ry workeman saythe Chryste is worthy to haue his wages. And the apostle wrytyng to y^e Corin∣thyens sayth / who is he that ser∣ueth in warre at his owne coste? who planteth a vyne and eateth not of y^e frut therof? who feadeth a flocke and eateh not of y^e mylke of the flocke? But I meaned of suche as haue possessyons & do∣mynyons more lyke to kynges & em{per}ours then spyritual fathers. not noryshynge with them prea∣chers of goddes worde and theyr nedy bretherne, but for preachers

of Crystes lawes / thei fede suche as p̄ache theyr decrees. And thē y^e lyke Annas / Cayphas / Ioēs and Alexandre / of whome men∣tyon is made in the actes of the apostles forbyd men to speake or teache ī y^e name of Iesu / for they will not haue his gospell taught nor spoken of, which Christ wold haue preached vpon houses. To rede y^e new testament with them is heresy, which is no thyng elles saue Chrystes wordes & his dys∣cyples. And for norysshynge of poore folke, they maȳtaine other, litle or nothyng regarding them that they shold regarde / but euen passe them by / as our lorde men∣cyoneth in the gospell of y^e preest & leuyte / that were moued with no pytye to socour the man that laye in y^e way robbed & wounded. Agaynste suche preestes / and all

suche as by fayned holynes and hypocrycy seduce goddes people from his teachyng & y^e instructy∣ons of his apostles to theyr fay∣ned dremes. Agaynst thē, cryeth scrypture in many places. Harke what Hieremie writeh in y^e. xxiii. chapitre. wo be to she{per}des which dysperple & all to teare the flocke of my pasture, therfore these wor∣des sayth the lord god of Israell to sheperdes that fede my people. You haue scatered myne herde & throwne them out and not visy∣ted them. Lo I shall visite vpon you the malyce of your studyes saythe our lorde. And Ezechyell in the .xxxiiii. chapytre. wo be to the sheperdes of Israell / whiche dyd fede them selfe. Be not her∣des fed of theyr herdesmen / you dyd eate the mylke and with the wolles you were couered, & what

so euer was fatte / you kylled it. But my flocke you dyd not feade you dyd not consolidate y^t which was weake / you healed not that whiche was syk / you bound not to gyther y^t whiche was broken / you brought not againe y^t which was abiecte / and you sought not that which was lost / but you ru∣led them with austerite & power. And my shepe were skatered a∣brode, because there was no shep∣herd / and they were deuoured of all the beastes of the feelde & dys∣perpled. My herdes haue erred in all mountaynes / and in euery hy hyll / & vpon all the face of the erthe my herd hath ben all to ska∣tered / & none there was y^e wolde seke them. Therfore shepherdes here you the wordes of our lord. I lyue saith y^s lord god. Bycause that my flockes haue bene made

in to rapyne and my shepe to the deuouryng of beastes of y^e felde / bycause there was no shepeherd / nor the shepeherdes dyd not seke my flocke / but the shepherdes did feade them selues / & they dyd not feade my herdes / therfore shepe∣herdes heare you the wordes of our lord. This sayth y^e lord god. Lo I shall requyre of the shepe∣herdes myne herde oute of theyr honde / and I shall make them to cease that they feade no more my flocke / nor that y^e shepherdes can no more feade theym selues. And I will deliuer my flocke frō theyr mouth / & it shall be no more eatē vp of them. &c. Se here most gē∣tle reader the angre of god eny∣dently fallen vpon the bysshop of Romes tyrannye / and his adhe∣rentes whose proude power day∣lye decreaseth according to y^e say∣enges

of this prophete / for theyr deuourynge of Chrystes flocke. And se also on the other syde the greate goodnes of god towarde our Englysshe nacyon / whiche hathe delyuered vs oute of his rauenyng mouth / and gyuen vs our hed & herdes man our moste redoubted souerayne / whome he hath made the veray defender of the fayth and an hed shepherd to set suche herdes men vnder hym / which shall fede vs & not deuour vs. Is not this a greate token gentle redar / that almyghty god is well content with this gracy∣ous & veray fortunate maryage / whiche hath sente vs the light of his lawes sens that tyme & hath brought vs out of the thraldome of yll bysshops. And as he made kynge Dauid keper of his herd of Israell as it is expressed of the

prophet in the forsayd chapytre / euen so he hath by the voice of his people / chosen our most noble & vertuous kynge Henry to be hed of his Englishe flocke, as well in spirituall gouernaūce as in erth∣ly domynyon. Let here no man murmour as some do yet / y^t his grace is electe to be hedde of the chyrche in his realme / no forther then goddes lawes do permyt / as who saith, there is in y^t pointe an obstacle. For why sholde not by goddes lawe our kynge and souerayne lord be our hed herdes man as well as Dauid beynge a lay prynce was hed shepehered to his flocke of Israell? Now wher can ony of them fynde one iote in scripture that proueth theyr most holy father to be aboue kynges or temporall rulers? peraduenture, they wyll brynge forth for them,

that Peter sayde to our lorde, lo lorde here be. ii. swerdes & therof inferre / that he & his successours had giuen to them hy power both ouer spyrytuall & also temporall. In good soth this is a ioyly smal reason and worthy to come oute of a profoūde sophysters mouth, euen as who wold say. Yf when the kynges grace rydeth in to the forest on hūtyng / one shewe him an hart or two, ergo by and by he is chefe foster of y^e hole londe. Ad populū phaleras / as {per}sius saith. Let them blere good sely pore sȳ∣ple folkes eyes / with these gew∣gawes / for other men seith their lygyer de mayne well ynoughe. what saith Peter him selfe doeth he ascrybe ony such power to him or ony other of his teachyng. Be you obedyente saythe he to euery humayne creature for our lordes

sake / eyther to the kynge as most excellente (marke you he calleth kinges most excellent, & vsurpeth no suche tytle to hym selfe) or to other guydes as sente of hym. Saint Paule sayth that all tem∣porall power is of god / & he byd∣deth in diuers places to be obedi∣ent to temporall prynces. Some hystoryes also make mencyon, y^t y^e bysshop of Rome toke not vpon hym to be hed of the chyrche tyll y^e yeare of our lord. C. x••v. Ergo then yf this hystorye be true it is a false tale to saye y^t this double power was giuē to Peter of god, seyng that neyther he nor a dosen mo of his successours (graunted y^t he was pope) toke it not vpon theym tyll one vyctor waxed so stoute / & yet he vsurped no tēpo∣rall power, how that came in I report me to them. Saint Paule

neuer sayde of the apostles that they bare ony swerde, but of tem∣porall prynces he sayd that they here not a swerde without cause. It is meate for vs then to gyue to god that is his / & to our kyng y^t is his. who as thou seest hathe the rule ouer vs vnder god & not y^e bysshop of Rome. And hyghly we are bounde to thanke the bles∣sed Trinite / that y^e eyes of faith∣full people be vncouered to se the truthe. wherfore I confesse that I was my selfe a greate whyle blynded & went asyde in the coū∣sell of wycked men. psal. j. & stode a longe season in the way of syn∣ners / yea & sate fast in the chayre of pestilence. But I thanke our blessed sauyour whiche dyuerslye calleth whome he lyft to hym / he hath vncouered myn eyes which were blyndfelde with two foule

cloutes of ygnoraunce and false perswasion / & he hathe made me haue an occasyon to loke better on his doctryne / and to perceyue the errour that I was deceyued in / as Horace saythe. specie recti. and thynkynge there to be ryght where none was / & there wrong where the ryght was. wherfore sens as I truste I haue escaped the foule storme of false beleue. For what shall I call els y^e trust in papystycall power. I haue to y^e entent to help other set forth in englisshe thept'e of saint Paule to his discyple Tyte which techeth howe moche and howe straytly we be bounde to obey next God our kyng & souerayne lorde. For as he writeth in the. xii. chapitre to the Romaynes / who resisteth agaynste them resysteth agaynst the ordinaunce of god. And who

〈1 page duplicate〉〈1 page duplicate〉

〈1 page duplicate〉〈1 page duplicate〉

resyste agaynst gods ordynaūce, they purchase theyr owne damp∣nacyon. Agayne yf chrysten men be bounde to obey theyr prynces though thei be miscreaūtes, how moche more be we bounden to o∣bey our most vertuous & christen kyng & lord / which so dyligently laboreth with all his hole entent to haue vs the veraye shepe of Chrystes folde and to delyuer vs also / from y^e daūger of rauenyng wolues. wherfore no doubte but god of his goodnes wyll longe preserue hym & defend hym from his enemyes. Besyde this epystle sheweth euery man both spirytu∣all and temporall, how he ought to vse him selfe, that he may after this lyfe be pertener of that lyfe / wherunto we are all bought / & shall yf we lyue well not fayle to come to, not by pardons bought

from Rome / but by the merytes of Chrystes passion. wherfore I with hole hert and mynde besech the good redar yf thou fynde ony frute herein / as no doubte but y^• shalte, and that largely / endeuer thy selfe as nere as god will giue y^• grace to liue according to saint Paules doctryne, & next to praye the blessed Trinite to graunt me his grace to leue from hens forth the blyndnes of synne and to lyue after y^e lawes of god & my prince. And to thentent y^u shalt y^e better perceyue what this holy apostle hathe wryten: I haue added to / y^e paraphrase of Erasmus which shall make all thyng playne to the. The grace and peace of God be w^t the and me and all good chrysten people. Amen.