The answere to the fyrst parte of the poysened booke, which a namelesse heretyke hath named the souper of the lorde. By syr Thomas More knyght

The. xiii. chapyter.

BUt now at laste he concludeth all togyther thus.

For I am not comen to rebeme the world onely, but also to chaunge theyr lyfe. They therfore that by∣leue

in me, shall transforme theyr lyfe after myne ensample and doctryne, and not after any mannye tradysyone.

¶ I wyll not here holde a longe dy∣spycyon with maister Masker vpon mannes tradycyōs, by whyche word he wold haue all the lawes made by menne vtterly sette at nought / and wolde haue man bounde but eyther by the playne worde of scrypture, or ellys by his own expresse agrement and consent. For Luther sayth that neyther man nor angell can make the bonde of any one syllable vppon any chrysten man, without his owne ex∣presse consent / so that no sawe can be made by that wise reasō, by the prince and the people, to hange vp eyther these or murderer, or to burne vp an heretyke, but yf the theuys, murde∣ters, and heretykes wyll consent and agree therto them selfe. Nor no law made thys daye, can bynde hym

that shall be borne to morow, tyll he come to good age & agretherto fyrste hym selfe, as our souerayne lorde the kynges grace most prudentely layed agaynste Luther.

¶ But I lette thys foly of mayster Masker passe / and thys also that the tradycyons, whiche these heretykes be wurste content withall, be the tra∣dycyons of the apostles, whych they delyuered to the chyrche, as Chryste not by wrytynge but by tradycyō, de∣lyuered the thynges to theym. For which saynt Poule sayth, Ego enim* 1.1 accepi a 〈◊〉〈◊〉 quod tradidi vobis, For I haue receyued the thynge of oure lorde by tradycyon, without wrytyng the which I haue also delyuered vn∣to you. As though he wold say, as I haue receyued it by tradycyō or dely∣uery of our lord, so without wrytyng I haue deliuered it by tradiciō to you

¶ I wyll lette passe all these auaū∣tages (whych I myght as ye se take agaynst mayster Masker here) and I wyll well allow these wordes of his for thys onys, so that hym selfe wyll stycke aud stande by them styf∣fely, and confesse that they that trans forme not theyr lyfe after Chrystes ensample and doctryne, haue eyther theyr bylyefe in vayne, or els make as though they byleued, and haue no bylyefe at all.

¶ This onys agreed bytwene hym and me: I yf he wyll rayle vppon the prestes and prelates of the catho∣syke chyrche for doynge of the con∣trary, let hym name who they be and wherin they do it, and by my trouth in suche euyll doynge / they shall ne∣uer be defended for me.

¶ But than of reason must mayster Masker gyue me leue agayn, to put

hrm in remembraunce of the prestes and prelates of theyr heretykes sec∣tes / and I wyll speke of none but by name. Frere Luther I wyll name hym the chyefe and pryncypall au∣thour of theyr heresies. I wyll name hym frere Lambert / dane Othe the cartusyan, zungtius the preste, and the preste Pomeran, & frere Duys∣kyns the frere brigittane. These be lo the very prelates and bysshoppes metropolytanys and postles of theyr sectes.

¶ Now wyll I than aske mayster Masker what ensample of Chryste or what doctryne of Chryste he can shewe, by whyche those holy prela∣tes of these new sectes euyll chrystē caytyffes that haue so wed all this se∣dycyō, haue brokē theyr holy vowes and promyses made vnto god, and runne out of theyr orders / and to the

shame of matrymony & holy orders bothe, speke of the spyryte, and fall to the flesshe? which whyle they haue all done, agaynste the doctryne and ensample as well of Chryste as of all holy doctours and sayntes, & of al good chrysten people syth the deth of Christ vnto this theyr own wreched tyme; and now teche it forth for a doc tryne, reason it is that mayster Mas∣ker confesse, that all the prelates of his sundry sectes, erther haue but a vayne sayth, or 〈◊〉〈◊〉 make as they had faythe and haue no fayth at all. And than are there no mannes 〈◊〉〈◊〉 so euyll as are theyr owne, beynge theym selfe so euyll men as they be. And why shold we than here maister Masker preche, eyther theyr fayth or tradxcyons eyther, whyle theyr fayth is eyther vayne fayth or ellys false and none at all, and theyr

doctryne as deuylysshe doctryne as them shelfe are deuylysshe men / and more deuelysshe I wene is scant the deuyl hym selfe.

¶ Thus haue I good readers no∣ted you certayne pyeces of mayster Maskers exposicyon, by whyche as by a taste of a draught or twayne, ye may se what poysened drynke is in the whole vessell. And now shall I come to hys argumentes, whiche he maketh in generall agaynst all them that expowne thys place of Christe wordes in the syxte chapiter of saynt Iohn, to be spoken or ment of that eatynge, by whyche we eate Chryste blessed body in the blessed sacramēt.

Notes

• * 1.1

  1. 〈◊〉〈◊〉. 11