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

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Tyndale neuer spake better then he doth euyn here. For [ A] of trouth good crysten reader it is hygh tyme to awake and loke euery man wyth hys owne eyes / and that tyme was neuer so conuenyent as now. For in all other heretykes be∣fore thys tyme / euery man was not able to perceyue them with hys owne eyes. Heresyes were comenly sumwhat sub∣tyle and hadde apparent textes in scrypture, that falsely ta∣ken semed to make for them. And then had theyr lyuynge such a pretence of honesty and clennesse / that these thynges so blered the vnlerned peoples eyes, that they were not able to iudge these men and theyr maters euery man hym selfe wyth hys owne eyes / but they folowed the iudgement of wyser and better and better lerned / and by theyr teachynge and good holy doctryne, they sawe and perceyued y^e tother [ B] fayned and false.

But mary now god hath (lawd and thanke be to hym) brought these felowes and theyr heresyes in a nother case. For he hath suffred them of hys hygh goodnes to shewe thē selfe at laste, & to falle in to such open bestely fawtes, frerys & nunnes crepyng to bedde to gyther, and then to preche & teche theyr shameles lechery boldely about for god & laufull matrymony, that they haue therby now set out theyr gere so syghtely, that euery man maye well & playnly se suche open rybawdry wyth hys owne eyes, and well and easely iudge the thynge for synne and bestely bychery, and the defence therof for a shamefull shameles heresye, and the prechers therof for more then monstruose heretykes. And therfore of thys be Tyndales wordes well verefyed / that euery man [ C] maye and must awake, and se wyth hys owne eyes thys abo¦mynable bychery of these bolde bestely prechers, that laye frerys and nonnys abedde togyder and call them man and wyfe. This must euery man iudge for abomynable heres••e / yf we wyll not be iudged of Cryste whē he cometh to iudge.

And therfore when Tyndale closeth vp hys preface with a solempne threte / byddynge men to remembre now that he whych is warned hath none excuse yf he take none hede: he sayth as trewe as the gospell but all agaynst hym selfe. For thys open heresye of frerys fylthy matrymony gyueth vs so playne and open warnynge of theyr worldly flesshly de∣uylysshe spyryte, so playne agaynste all holy scrypture and all good honest men: that we neuer coude haue excuse afore

[ A] god, yf we wolde gyue suche prechers so bolde in suche ry∣bawdry, eyther fayth or credence or fauorable herynge: na∣mely syth there was neuer in all crystendome syth the fayth fyrst begā any holy doctour, nor doctour good or bad before Luthers dayes that any thynge hath wryten / but he hath abhorred and detested it to the deuyll of hell, that euer any person eyther man or woman, that hath vowed them selfe monke, frere, or nunne / sholde afterward ronne out of theyr relygyon, caste theyr vowe at theyr bakke, and fall to fleshe and wedde.

And therfore good crysten reders, syth holy scrypture hath warned you of suche techers as Tyndale is y^t techeth suche bestely weddyng wyth contempt of theyr holy vowys made before to god / and syth that all holy men that haue [ B] wryten vppon scrypture haue gyuen vs warnyng that it is playnly prohybyted, as well by the trew sense of scrypture as by the playne open wordes / and all good honest people of crystēdome thys .xv. hundreth yere haue had such bestely weddyng in grete abomynacyon / and now ye se that all the captaynes of these pestylent heresyes whiche Tyndale now techeth you, haue gyuen you warnynge them selfe by theyr owne dedes in theyr named wedlocke theyr very synfull le∣chery, that they them selfe be suche as all this .xv.C. yere be∣fore, the scrypture hath reproued and all the worlde hath wondred on / and syth ye se Tyndale now teche and allowe theyr lechery and auowe it solempnely for god and laufull matrymony: I nothynge fere your iudgement in this ma∣ter. For I make me bolde in our lorde, that ye be so wyse in [ C] the wisedome of god and so fastened in his fayth, that when ye here an hyghe holy worde come out of suche a mouth as prayseth munkes maryages and mokketh Crystes sacramē¦tes, and then precheth lyke a player in a fonde enterlude / & playeth somtyme the frere, sometyme the fox, sometyme the fole, and somtyme the oute ryght rybawde: ye wyll not be so vnwyse to wene that he were an holy man and therfore herken to hym / but take hym such as ye se he is, and let the deuyls dysour go. Delyte not in his deuelyshe doctryne, y^t ye se your selfe is nought, what so euer he set therewyth to make yt seme solemne: but cleue ye fast to y^e fayth of Criste which Tyndale goth aboute to destroy / and byleue the olde fathers y^t ye se be sayntes in heuen. For as Tyndales inter¦pretacyon of scrypture and the vices byelded theruppon, is

the very brode waye to lede men to hell: so is those holy sayntes exposycyons with the vertues that they taught and [ A] shewed, the very strayt path that ledeth folke to heuen. In whyche our lord for his paynfull passyon gyue vs all grace so to walke / y^t we come to gether to y^t place, where we may fynde our charyte not chaunged but increaced & perfay¦ted, our hope turned in to hauynge and possessyon of blesse, and our fayth cōuerted & chaunged in to clere and lyghtsom knolege / of whych fayth Tyndale so preacheth vs the name, that who so byleue hym well, is lyke to lese all the frute