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

More.

By this answere yt appereth well, that god be thanked he fyndeth not yet the peoples deuocyon so farre fallē from our lady / that he dare be bolde to saye all that he thynketh. For ellys he wolde saye more then he doth. And lyke as he forbedeth folke to pray to her / and specially mysselyketh her deuowt antem of Salue regina: so wolde he not fayle yf he saw the people frame all after hys fantasye, to blaspheme her in this mater of a nother fashion / as other of his felowes haue done byfore his dayes.

But now for the meane whyle he is contente y^t men may thynke them selfe at lybertye to byleue it or not byleue yt as [ C] they lyste, as a thynge of no necessyte to be byleued vppō sal¦uacyon of our soules. And full well he woteth, that though he say now that he can se no reason why to thynke the con∣trary: yet if he could bryng vs ones in the mynde that there is no parell therin, he myght afterward well inough tell vs when he wolde the contrarye / and saye that wyth better lo∣kynge theron, he hath now founden that Eluidius & other elder heretyques of the same sewte, sayde therin very well, and that reason and scrypture is wyth them / and that saynt Austayne and saynte Hierome & all y^e remanaūt say wrong, bycause theyr parte is not wryten in scrypture.

This wyll not Tyndale herafter let to say when he lyst / yf he maye make vs wene in the meane whyle that we maye

[ A] chuse whyther we wyll byleue thys poynt or not.

But I saye that in that poynte Tyndale sayeth wronge. For in any suche thynge as we be bounden to byleue / yf I byleue yt in dede, & yet byleue therwyth that I maye law∣fully chuse whether I wyll byleue yt or not: I saye that in so byleuynge I byleue nought, nor my bylyefe shall not serue me.

Then saye I farther that this artycle is suche, that we be boundē to byleue yt. For he that byleueth yt not is an h••∣retyque / as yt playnely appereth hoth by saynt Austayn in his boke to quod vult deus/and by saynte Hierome in hys boke agaynste Heluidius / and by the other holy sayntes and mar¦tyrs, who as saynt Hierome & saynt Austayne reherse, dyd wryte agaynste heretykes byfore / & called them Antidicho∣marians, [ B] that is to say Maries aduersaryes.

Then say I fynally that for as mych as it well & playne appereth, that all those holy cōnynge men and blessed sayn∣tes / & therwyth all the whole catholyke chyrch bysyde, haue euer hytherto taken the perpetuall virginyte of our blessed lady for so sure a poynte of crysten fayth and bylyefe, y^t they haue euer condemned the contrary for an heresye / and then syth y^• artycle is not in holy scrypture wryten, but y^t the wor∣des of scrypture not well vnderstanden, seme to say the con∣trary: I may & do agaynst Tindale & his felowes well and fully cōclude, that there is some thynge necessary to be byle∣ued, and yet is not writen in scripture. And so to my secund argument, ye fynde his answere fonde. For as for his story fayth / wyth onely whych he sayth we byleue this poynt: I [ C] shall touche yt I trust in ••uch wyse, & his felynge fayth ther wyth when I come thereto / that euery man shall fele wyth hys fyngers endes, that Tyndale feleth neyther fayth, ler∣nynge, reason, wyt, nor grace. I alledged in my dialoge the wordes of saynte P••ule to y^e Corynthies, where he wry∣teth vnto them of the holy howsell: As our lorde hath dely¦uered yt to me, so haue I delyuered yt to you. To this doth Tyndale answere thus.