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

More.

I wold fayne with of Tyndale in what place of my boke he fyndeth that I make that conclusyon / wyth whyche yt pleaseth hym to bylye me to swete his owne answere wyth. For I neuer concluded nor sayde that we were bounden to byleue all that is shauē in all that euer he sayth. But I then sayd and yet I say, that these wordes of our sauiour Criste, who so hereth you hereth me / were no more proper cōmaun¦dement to bynde any man to byleue the apostles, then to by¦leue the whole catholyque chyrche and generall counsayls, that represent that whole body of the catholique chirch / and [ C] that they were not spokē to the apostles onely, no more then the holy goost was promysed by Cryste to be sent vnto the apostles onely. And Criste no more promysed to send the ho¦ly goost vnto thapostles onely / then he promysed to be with the apostles onely, all the days vnto the ende of the worlde.

Now these wordes of Criste, if any mā here not y^e chirch, take hym for an hethen: euery man well wotech that thys is manifestly spokē not of the apostles onely for theyr tyme, but of the chirch as longe as y^e world shall laste. For so long shall the chirch endure, do these heretikes what so euer they can to the contrary. And as yt is trew of euery partyculare chirche and the gouernours therof, as long as yt swarueth not from y^e whole body of y^e chirch vnyuersall: so is it mych more properly ment of the whole vnyuersale chirche yt self /

and of the counsayles generall representynge that hole chyr¦che, [ A] wherof euery pertyculer chyrche is but a member.

And therfore where as Tyndale sayth he wolde fayne fynde in what fygure the syllogysme is made, whyche he sayth I conclude: he muste go lyghte a candle and seke vp that hym selfe / for it is hys owne syllogysme and not myne, for hym selfe maketh that conclusyon and not I.

But my syllogisme is thys. Euery crysten man refusyng to here, byleue, and obaye, the chyrche / is to be taken as an heretyke and an hethen. But so it is that Tyndale beynge a crysten man, and takynge vppon hym in the vnderstādyng of s••rypture, to controll and condempne the chyrche / refu∣seth to here, byleue, and obaye the chyrche: ergo Tyndale is to be taken as an hethen man and an heretyke.

Thys syllogysme is myne. And thys syllogysme yf Tyn¦dale [ B] wolde fayne wyt in what fygure it is made: he shall fynde it in y^e fyrst fygure, & the thyrd mode / sauyng y^t the my¦nor caryeth his profe with hym, whych wold ellys in y^e same fygure and the same mode haue made another syllogysme.

Now knytteth he vp all thys gere wyth another syllo∣gysme of hys owne makynge. And in what fygure he ma∣keth that, lette hym tell that can / for surely that can I not. These are hys wordes.