Here after ensueth two fruytfull sermons, made [and] compyled by the ryght Reuerende father in god Iohn̄ Fyssher, Doctour of Dyuynyte and Bysshop of Rochester

THe thyrde maner of pleasures be those that be indyfferent / so that neyther we shall haue greate rewarde for theym, ne yet great punysshment. And these pleasures, be ne∣cessary eatyng, drynkyng, kepyng, walkyng, &

spekynge, and necessary recreacyon. For these we shall neither haue euerlastyng punysshmēt, nor yet the rewarde of euerlastyng lyfe. These pleasures be comon to all folke, and indifferent to good & bad / without these pleasures no man may contynue. Euery man must eat, drynke, & slepe. And in these, so longe as they passe nat y^e bondes of necessytye, neyther make a man good ne bad, nor make it to deserue other ponysshmēt or any rewarde by theym. Thus ye perceyue what is ment by these thre maner of frutes.

¶ Now secondly I wyll shew vnto you whan the tastynge of this fruyte is dedly synne.

¶ Loke man or woman, whan thou folowest the desyres of thy body: Eue is the ruler.

Whan thou folowes the desyre of thy soule & of thy reason: than Adam is orderer. Therfore saynt Austyn sayth. whan y^u begynnest to fele in thy selfe any vnlefull pleasure aryse: there Eue he sayth, tastyth of the apple, and offreth it vnto Adam for to eat / yet Adam is at his lyber¦ty whether he will taste of this apple, ye or nay. That is to say, after that the body be styred to vnclennes, the ••••reasonable soule is at his ly∣berty whether it wyll assent to the styrynges & vnclene delytes of the flesshe ye or nay. But yf it assent, than Adam eteth of the Apple.

¶ Also yf thy reason and thy wyll do assent to this vnlefull pleasure: than doste thou taste of this dedly fruyte of deth. For by this fruyt is betokened (as I sayd before) all vnlefull plea∣sures / specyally those which be contrary vnto the commaūdement of almyghty god. ¶ whā so

euer for our pleasure to be done, we breke y^e cō∣maūdement of almighty god: than we taste of this myscheuous fruyt. Our flesshe & carnall de¦syres, are {pro}ne & redy to tast of this fruit of deth, & of all y^t nought is & perillous vnto our soules. Our flesshe wolde haue y^e carnall pleasures, the worldly rychesse, the cōmodytees & honours of this life. All these desyres aryse in vs by the rea¦son of our flesshe / & no man lyueth, but he felyth in him selfe som desyre of these. Neuertheles, yf his soule & wyll assent nat vnto these desyres: yet Adam hath nat tastyd of the fruyte of deth, nor hath as yet broken the cōmaūdement of al∣mighty god. Many a good man, & many a good woman, felyth in them selfe great temptacyōs, great mociōs, & styringes / now to lechery, now to pryde, now to couetise. But if they be sory for them in theyr soules, & resyst & wrastyll against them, & kepe them selfe so, that they do nat assēt inwardly by theyr wylles to folow these same mocyons, Yet they kepe them fro the eatyng of the apple. This is no synne in them / but it shall be gretly to theyr meryt. These batailes which they make agaynst the sterynges & desyres, so longe as Adam is nat wyllyng to take & folow this pleasure, all is well. So long as the reason of man is content to forbere, & stryueth, there is no synne. But whan Adam (that is to say mā∣nes reason & wyll) agreeth to the eatyng of this apple, whan he doth assent & is content to take any pleasure contrary to the commaundement of god: than is synne done, than is synne com∣mytted in thy soule, though thou neuer made

further in doyng the dede. This consent is syn. ¶ Marke what I say. Thou man seest perad∣uenture a fayre woman, & thou haste a carnall lykynge of her, & a pleasure to beholde her / so y^t thy body is styred & moued with an vnclene de∣syre to haue her at thy wyll / yf thy soule do nat assent vnto this steryng & mocyon of thy body, yet art thou safe front any certayne syn / except thy negligence to repell this thought fro the, & y^e suffraūce of it to abyde in thy mynde w^tout any resistence / which by the fathers is thought to be synne. But yf thy wyll ones assēt to this desyre of thy flesshe, though they neuer go any forther, or though thou neuer come to the actuall dede, thou doost offende and synne deedly by this only consent of thy selfe. Neuerthelesse, yf thou reuoke this consent betymes, & repēt thy selfe, it is moche lesse offece, & more pardonable, than yf thou perfourmed thy desyre w^t the actuall dede. ¶ By this that I haue sayd, thou mayst {per}ceyue whan thou doest synne by tastyng of this fruyt. Now let vs here the great foly of synners.

¶ Many there be whiche folow the steppes of the olde Adam / they leue the moost profytable fruyte and take the worse. ¶ Adam lefte the fruyte of lyfe, and tastyd of the fruyte of dethe.

¶ Adam, all the whyle that he was in Para∣dyse, he neuer touched the tree of lyfe / as playn∣ly it dothe appere by the wordes wryten in the same storye. Ne forte sumat etiam de ligno vite et comedat et viuat in eternū. That is as moche to saye, leest peraduenture he eate of the tree of lyfe, and so lyue for euer.

¶ Almyghty god wolde betymes haue hym ex∣cludyd out of paradyse, leest he sholde haue etyn of the tree of lyfe, lyke as he had done before of the tree of dethe. Adam tasted of the tree of deth, & so brake the cōmaundement of almyghty god thereby / wherby he became mortall, & was assu¦red for to dye. But yf he had absteined therfro & kept hym selfe to the fruyt of the tree of lyfe: he sholde neuer haue dyed, but haue lyued euer la∣styngly. Thus all synners do / they leue the gra¦cyous fruyt wherby they myght meryt the lyfe euerlastyng, & boldly taste & eat of the pestylent fruit, wherby they deserue the deth euerlastyng. Yf Adam had had any lyke example before hym of som punysshment taken for synne, as was ta¦ken vpon hym selfe for brekyng of this cōmaun dement: it is full lyke that he wolde haue esche wed that offence / but he neuer saw example of suche ponysshement. And for this cōsyderacyon the madnes of synners in tastyng of this vnle∣full fruyte is moche more greuous & odyous be∣before the tyē of god / for whā they haue nat on∣ly y^e example of this sore punisshment, but many other mo before theyr iyes: yet they wyll nat be∣ware, but styll cōtynue in theyr foly & madnes. This one example, yf there were no mo wryten in all scrypture, myght suffyse to make the syn∣ner to represse & leue his wretchyd pleasures that be agaynst the lawes & cōmaundementes of almyghty god / seyng so greuous punysshmēt was taken vpon the fyrst man Adam for so ly∣tle a defaut. This greuous punysshmēt was ta∣ken vpon hym for eatyng of an apple. Thus he

y^t was so {per}fytely created & made by the handes of god nat many houres before & was lifted vp to suche a dygnyty. Yet for the fyrst faut y^t euer he made, & for so lytle a faut, he was spoyled of his dygnyte: & cast out of Paradyse, the place of excellēt pleasures, into mysery & wretchydnes / & fynally striken with dethe / & nat only in hym selfe, but in all his postorytye. ¶ Yf this one de∣faut in hym that neuer herde ne saw any exam¦ple of punysshment before, were thus sore pu∣nysshed / how greuously shall in other men the multytude of defautes be toutmentyd, whiche hath herde and sene many great & greuous pu∣nysshmentes taken for synne, & for brekyng of the commaundementes of almighty god?. ¶ Yf this lytle defaut was thus roughly intreated / how roughly shall be punysshed the horryble & abhomynable trespasses that stynke before the nostrels of god, & crye vengeaunce at his eares, whan so openly without any chaunge, they be commytted & done before the face & iyen of god, & prouoke hym to be reuengyd of them. ¶ For what may ye suppose or thynk, whan this fyrst defaut of man which neuer offended before, nor saw any correccyon done before for synne, was thus straytly correctyd, but y^t moche more strait¦ly the contynuaunce & longe lyuyng in syn, he∣pyng syn vpon syn from day to day / and after so many examples of correccyon done & shewed before, shall at the last be greuously correctyd & punysshed, yf betymes they wyll nat repent thē selfe and sue for remedy.

¶ The great foly of Adam, apereth many wyse.

¶ First in that, y^t he wolde preferre the pleasure of his lyfe before the pleasure of god, Secondly in that, that he lefte the fruyt of the tree of lyfe, & tastyd of the fruyte of the tree of dethe. For by this meanes he lefte the Joyes of Paradise, the which he myght haue kept, & also was throwen out therof into the myseryes of this lyfe, whiche he endured by y^e space of. M. yeres almost. And at the last he suffred deth, which he myght haue eschewyd. And fynally after his deth was kept in the pryson of darkenes, called (limbus patrū) frō the face of almyghty god, & fro the ioyes of heuyn by thre thousande yeres. And all this po¦nysshmēt fell vpō hym for the tastyng of an ap∣ple. was nat this a wonderfull foly?.

¶ But yet greater is the madnes of them that folow his steppes / in the whiche condycyon be all synners that breketh the commaundement of almyghty god. They preferre the pleasures of theyr flesshe, before the pleasure of god. They taste of the fruyte of the tree of dethe, and leue y^e fruyte of lyfe vntastyd of. ¶ And therfore as Adam lost the Joyes of Paradyse: so they lese the Joyes of a clere conscyence. As Adam was cast into mysery: so they euer after indure my∣sery, and suffre the frettynge and gnawynges of theyr troubled conscyence, whiche hath a con¦tynuall remors & a corsy of theyr synfull dea∣lynge. ¶ Adam suffred temporall dethe / and they shall suffre euerlastynge dethe. Adā was kept in darke pryson fro the face of god, and fro the Joyes of heuyn by thre. M. yeres / and they shall be kept in the pryson of hell from the face

of god and all the gloryouse court of heuyn, by innumerable thousandes & thousades of yeres / that is to say, for euer.

¶ By this than ye may lerne to know the great foly of synners, that for a lytle transytory plea∣sure, they do exclude them selfe from the place of euer lastynge pleasure, and for the same also they must nedes be throwen into euer lastyng mysery. ¶ Adam, as ye haue herde, myght haue continued many yeres in Paradise / and fynal∣ly at the last sholde haue ben translate into the Joyes of heuyn / but for the castynge of an ap∣ple contrary to the commaundement of god, he was soon excluded from thens, and so lyued in this worlde in payne and mysery almoost. M. yere / and after his dethe, yet was he kept fro the syght and face of almyghty god by the space of thre thousande yere and more.

¶ But ye wyll say vnto me after this maner. Syr we were borne and ordeynyd for to haue the Joyes and pleasures of heuyn for our inhe¦rytaunce / and it was derely bought for vs by the bytter passyon of our sauyour Chryste Je∣su, and by the same it was assuredly promysed vnto vs.

¶ To this I answere and say, that no mannes inherytaunce is so sure vnto hym, but he may lese it by his foly. ¶ we haue herde of many no∣ble men, & great Erles & Dukes, that for theyr mysbehauour agaynst theyr Prynce, for theyr treason & traitoury haue lost theyr inheritaūce, & yet they were borne vnto the same, & theyr aū∣cetours many yeres before, had possessyō therof.

¶ And y^u crysten man, whan so euer y^u cōmyttest any dedly iyn, y^u deest great treason vnto thy Prynce ye, vnto y^e prynce of all prynces our sa¦uyour cryste Jesu / for to hym y^y hast {pro}mysed to kepe thy fayth & treuth, & to forsake the deuyll & all his workes. This promise thou made whan thou becam a crysten man & receyued the sacra∣ment of Baptyme. But contrary to this {pro}myse thou haste done many tymes y^u hast falsed this promyse, thou haste vyolate this promyse, & be∣trayed thy prynce. Thou hast folowyd the coun¦cell of his enemy & set at nought the cōmaunde∣ment of thy moste gracyous & louynge prynce. That strong holde which he most specyally de∣syred, & with blody swete laboured to haue gotē & kept vnto hym selfe (y^t is to say thyne hart) y^u hast betrayed into the handes of his enemy the deuyll, & let hym haue entresse there, & suffereth hym to reigne there, & there to make his dōghyll agaynst thy promise, against the cōmaundemēt of thy prynce, & therfore ryghtwysly thou shalt be excluded from thyne inheritaūce. And where thou sayst that our sauyour cryste Jesu bought this inheritaunce with his moste bytter passion for the it is of a trouth. But this is more to thy condempnacyon. For the more payne y^t he hath taken to bryng the to this inheritaūce, the grea¦ter is thyne vnkyndnes, & the more odyous & de¦testable is thy treason & traytory towarde hym But know this for a certayn / he nether bought this inherytaūce for the, ne made promyse ther∣of, but with condicion / which condicyon yf thou kepe, y^u shalt be sure to haue this inherytaunce /

and yf thou breke it, than shalt thou be sure to forgoo the same.

¶ Ye here dayly of promyses and of leases that be made with certayne condycyons / that he that taketh this lease, shall do thus or thus as the case requyryth. And yf case be that he ob∣serue these condycyons, well / this lease is good and sure. But yf the condycyon be broken, the lease is of no valew.

¶ Oh chrysten man, the very condycyon of thy lease, is this. Si vis ad vitam ingredi, serua man∣data. Yf thou wylt entre into the kyngdome of lyfe, thou must obserue and kepe the commaun∣dementes of god. This condycyon obseruyd, thou shalt entre. But yf this condycyon be bro∣ken, than farewell, thy lease is broken.

¶ And therfore man, yf thou wylt nat obserue this condicyon (that is to say) yf thou wylt nat kepe the commaundementes of our Sauyour Chryste, neyther loke for to haue this inhery∣taunce, nor that any promyse shall be perfour∣med vnto the, or that any benefyte shall aryse vnto the by the passyon and precyous blood of our sauyour chryste Jesu.

¶ Oh wretchid synners, Oh most stynkyng le∣chours, that lyue thus synfully against y^e lawes & commaundementes of our sauyour Jesu that so waste your bodyes and dystroye your soules in the foule synne of Lechery / to you this aun∣swere appertayneth. ¶ And you moost horry∣ble bawdes, the whiche kepe this foule bawdry and brodelry in your houses, stynkynge bothe

in the syght of god and also before the worlde. And you that vse these blasphemous othes and great periuryes, and that breke your holy days ordeyned by the chyrche. To you and vnto all other suche that breketh the lawes and com∣maundementes of our lorde, this worde apper∣tayneth. ¶ I say vnto you that ye shall neuer enioye that inherytaunce aboue in heuen, by∣cause ye wyll nat endeuour your selfe to kepe the condycyons therunto belongynge. Ye wyll nat labour to get a ryghtwyse lyfe / and ther∣fore nat I, but our sauyour sayth vnto you the wordes aboue rehersyd, Nisi abundauerit iusti∣tia vestra plus{quam} Scribarum et Phariseorum nō intrabitia in regnum celorum.