The co[n]futacyon of Tyndales answere made by syr Thomas More knyght lorde chau[n]cellour of Englonde

More.

ye mary marke I praye you. For this is mych to be mar¦keth lo, y^t Tyndale can not bere the flesshelynes of oure spy¦rytualtye, bycause the flesshelynes of theyr chyrch is spyry∣tuall. [ C] For the flesshely wedded harlotes of theyr chyrche be theyr chyef holy spyrytuall fathers, and holy spyrytuall mothers, monkes, freres, and nunnes. And bycause theyr holy chyrch is but new bygonne / Tyndale wolde we shold wene, that this .viii. hundred yere and more Criste hath had no chyrch in the worlde at all. For so longe sayth Tyndale all hath be nought / by the reason that all this whyle the cler¦gye hath falsyfyed the scrypture, and hyred men wyth gyf∣tes, and compelled them wyth the swer••e to byleue them / & so all this .viii. hundred yeres sayth Tyndale by these mea∣nes all the crysten nacyons haue in ••tede of true fayth byle∣ued false lyes, and so haue ben out of the fayth & all nought.

If Tyndale dyd not lye now, as blyssed be god he doth /

[ A] here had ben a grete gappe in crystendome thys .xv.C.yere. And where had Crystes promyse ben then all thys whyle? with his electes? Nay yf this chyrch haue had all this while false sacramentes / Cryste hath had none electes all thys whyle. For they haue vsed what so euer Tyndale saye, the same sacramentes that theyr neyghbours dyd.

I wolde also that he had tolde vs how mych more then xv.C. yeres the chyrche hath had false sacramētes / lest that y^t he calleth now more, he shall hereafter call yet mych more. For therto shall he be faine to fall, or els to call these .viii.C. bakke agayne, and confesse the sacramentes true / or fy∣nally (whyche he is most lykely to do) bable on styll agaynst all reason agaynst all good men and agaynst all scrypture / and so that he be talkynge neuer care what, whereof, nor [ B] how. For I am sure that in the sacramentes and in y^• know∣lege of the chyrche, hys malycyouse folye is reproued by the olde holy doctours aboue hys .viii.C. yere almoste as many mo, and ouer that by playne scrypture to.