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

More.

Lo he that redeth this and hereth not thanswere, excepte [ B] hym selfe be well ryped in the mater: maye wene that Tyn∣dale in these wordes had quyt hym selfe lyke a man, & borne me ouer quyte / he solueth the obieccyon so playnely, & play∣eth therwith so pleasauntely. But now when ye shall vnder¦stande that neuer man was so madde to make thys obieccy∣on to Tindale but hym selfe: then shall ye laughe to se that he wresteleth all alone & gyueth hym selfe a fall, and in hys mery solucyon mokketh also no man but hym selfe.

I sayed in my dyaloge that the chyrche was before the gospell was wrytē, and that the fayth was taught and men were baptysed, and masses sayd and the other sacramentes mynystred amonge crysten people, before any parte of the newe testament was put in wrytynge / and that this was done by the word of god vnwryten. And I sayed also there, [ C] and yet say here agayne / ••hat the ryght fayth whiche Adam had and suche as in the same fayth succeded hym, longe ere wrytynge beganne, was taught by the worde of god vnwry¦ten / and so went from man to man, fro the father to y^e sonne by mouth. And I sayed that thys worde of god vnwryten / is of as greate authoryte as is the worde of god wryten.

I shewed also that the chyrche of Cryste hath ben, is, and ••uer shall be, taught and instructed by god and hys holy sp••ryt wyth hys holy worde of eyther kynde / that is to wyt bothe wyth hys worde wryten and hys worde vnwryten / and that they whyche wyll not byleue goddes worde but yf he put it in ••••••••ynge, be as playne infydeles as they y^t wyll not byleue it wryten / syth goddes worde taketh hys autho∣ryte of god th•••• s••eketh it, an•• not of man that wryteth it.

And there is lyke suertye and lyke certayne knowledge of [ A] the worde of god vnwryten, as there is of the worde of god wryten / syth ye knowe neyther the tone nor the tother to be the worde of god, but by the tradycyon of the chyrche. which chyrch as all crysten men byleue, and the scripture sheweth, and saynt Austayne declareth, and Luther hym selfe confef¦seth, and the deuyll hym selfe sayeth not nay / the blessed spy¦ryte of god hath inwardely taught, teacheth, and euer shall teache, to know, iudge, and dyscerne the worde of god from the worde of man / and shall kepe the chyrche from errour ledynge in to euery trouthe / as Cryste sayth hym selfe in the .xvi. chapyter of saynt Iohn̄s gospell. whych he dyd not yf he suffered the chyrche to be dampnably deceyued in ta∣kynge the worde of man for y^e word of god / wherby it sholde in stede of seruyce to be done to god, fall in vnfaythfulnes, [ B] and wyth idolatry do seruyce to the deuyll.

And therfore I shewed in my sayd dyaloge / and yet the kynges hyghnes mych more playnely shewed in hys moste erudyte famouse boke agaynst Luther out of which I toke it: that the word of god vnwryten is of as grete authoryte, as certayne, and as sure, as is hys worde wryten in the scry¦pture / whyche poynt is so faste and sure pytched vppon the rokke our sauyour Cryste hym selfe, that neyther Luther, Tyndale, nor Huskyn, nor all the hell houndes that the de∣uyll hath in his kenell, neuer hytherto coulde, nor whyle god lyueth in heuen and the deuyll lyeth in hell neuer heraf∣ter shall (barke they, bawle they neuer so faste) be able to wreste yt out.

And that they be all as I tell you so feble in this poynte, [ C] whereuppon theffecte of all theyr hole heresies hangeth (for but yf they veynquysh this one poynt, all theyr heresyes ful¦ly be burned vppe and fall as flatte to asshen as yt were all moyse all obstinate heretyques dyd) ye maye se a clere ••roue by these wordes of Tyndale, whyche he hath sette so glory∣ously forth in the fore fronte of his batayle, as th••••gh they were able to wynne the hole felde. For where as I sayed y^t the gospell and the worde of god vnwryten was byfore th•• chyrche / and by yt was the chyrche begonne, gathered, and tought / and that the chyrche was byfore that the gospell y^t now is wryten was wryten, that is to wyt byfore any par•••• of the gospell was wryten / for as for all y^e hole gospell, 〈◊〉〈◊〉 is to wyt all the wordes of god that he wold haue 〈◊〉〈◊〉

[ A] byleued, and kepte, was yet neuer wryten: this beynge the thynge that I sayd, Tyndale wyth all the helpe he hath had of all the heretyques in Almayne this two or thre yere to ge¦ther / is yet in such dyspayre to be able to matche therewith, that he is wyth shame inough fayne to forgete that I sayed the chyrche was byfore the gospell wryten, whyche thynge hym selfe can not denye, and is fayne to frame the doute & make the obieccyon / as though I had sayed that the chyrch had bene byfore the gospell and the worde of god vnwriten / wherof hym selfe knoweth well that I sayed clene the con∣trarye. And therfore good readers hauynge this thynge in your remembraunce: take now the payne to reade Tyn∣dales wordes agayn, and ye shall haue a pleasure to se how fondely he iugleth afore you. For now his crafte opened & [ B] declared vnto you: ye shall perceyue y^t he playeth nothynge clene / but fareth lyke a iugler that conuayeth his galies so craftely, that all the table spyeth them.