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

More.

Tyndale here putteth many questyons to me, whyche he wyll that I muste nedys answere bycause the oyle in the ma¦kynge of a preste is not of necessyte / but surely these questy∣ons be to y^e mater of mych lesse necessyte. How be it bycause I must nedys answere to men of suche authoryte, when the questyons be so solempnely put: I saye that yf a bysshoppe [ B] sacre the tone oyle and the tother bothe alyke, there is no more vertue in the tone then is in the tother. But I say that the oyle beynge all one / it is in the anoyntynge of the preste an holy ceremony / and in the anoyntynge of the chylde at confyrmacyon it is the mater of an holy sacrament / and in y^• anelyng of y^e sycke also, and euery of these two is one of the seuen, whyche the spyryte of god hath taught the chyrche of Cryste to knowe and vse for .vii. souerayne meanys of very specyall grace.

And therfore such dyfference is there, as is bytwene the halowed water standynge in the font before it be occupyed, or yf it were sprynkled vppon a man for holy water / and the same holowed water beynge occupyed in the crystenynge of a chylde at the tyme in whyche it is applyed thereto. For in [ C] that tyme besyde the goodnes that it hath of the halowyng / it hath a nother effectuall goodnes by goddys ordynaunce, whereby it is made a meane of purgyng the soule fro synne and•• infusyon of goddys grace, and of enablynge the newe regendred creature to inherytaunce of heuyn.

And when Tyndale asketh me in any of these thynges y^e cause & y^e reason why: I myght as well aske hym y^e cause and reason why, in the nature and properte of any naturall thynge, beste, herbe, tre, or stone. whych yf I were so madde to loke that Tyndale were able to tell me: what had he more to saye, then that god had planted that nature and properte therin•• whych answere shall also serue in these holy ceremo∣nyes and ••a••ramētes / wherof the vertues be caused by god¦des ordyna••••ce thorow his holy wordes, whereof the pro∣fyte is lymyt•••• and po••••••n••d after such rate and degrees••

as is to no man full & perfitely knowē but onely to god that [ A] gyueth it. And thus answere I Tyndale to these qstyones.

He asketh farther from whence y^e oyle cōmeth, and wher¦of yt is made: what is y^t any more to y^e mater, then frō whēs the water is fet y^t is put in to the fonte, or of what grapes y^e wyne was made y^t Cryst at his maūdye turned īto his blood

Now where he asketh me why the byshope selleth it vnto the curates wherewith they anoynt y^e sycke: thereto I saye that the byshoppe sendeth yt to the curates, bycause they shold therwith anoynte y^e sycke in the sacramēt of anoylyng

But why he selleth yt to the curates yf he so dyd: therof can I not tell the cause / but yf yt were peraduēture bycause he wold be payed therfore. But I cā tell well y^t the byshop selleth it not to curates nor no man ellis, but y^e curatis haue it sent thē fre, but if they reward y^e brynger of theyr courtesy [ B] with a grote, which brynger is yet y^e archidecons seruaūt, & not y^e byshops. And this I can tell for I haue inquyred for y^e nonys. And by this cā I tell as well y^• Tindale here bylyeth the byshope shamfully for the nonys.