Co[m]mon places of Scripture ordrely and after a co[m]pendious forme of teachyng set forth with no litle labour, to the gret profit and help of all such studentes in Gods worde as haue not had longe exercyse in the same, by the ryghte excellent clerke Eras. Sarcerius ; translated in to Englysh by Rychard Tauerner.

TO THE MOST HYGHE, and most excellent prynce HENRY the .VII••. by the grace of god kyng of Englande and of Fraunce, defensor of the fayth: Lorde of Irlande, and in erth supreme heed immediatlye vnder Christ of the churche of Englande, his most humble subiect & ser∣uaunte RYCHARDE TAVERNER wis∣sheth all felicite and helthe.

OYuers mortal mē which either knew not, or of weyknes {per}fectly cōsidred not Chryst (most drad •• most gracious soue∣raygne lord) haue de¦uerslye laboured to seke them immortal name and memory: Of which some bicause they could not atteyn it by their worthy actes, haue sought the same by vnworthy and most heynous crymes, as Pausan••as, which only to get hym a {per}petual name, slewe the myghty and victorious king Philip of Macedonia, as also he whiche for the same intent purposed to haue set on fyre the most famous tēple of Diana in Ephesus. Others there haue ben, and at this daye be, men of excellēt litterature & eloquēce, which

with their pen haue ••ought this ••gular fame amonges whome euen they also which haue most of all dispraysed and sharpely rebuked in others this ambicion of name, yet to theyr own workes wherin they haue to vehemēt••y reprehended other, coulde not tempre ne stey themselues from prefixing their own names. So impotent a thynge, ••o vnquencheable is this thurst, this desyre or glory.

Agayne, other some there haue ben, men of most noble hert & high courage, whiche haue laboured to win them renowme and ••ame, ei¦ther by feates of armes, or by prudently coun¦sellyng & administrating cōmon weales: as Philip kynge of Macedonie, Alexandre the great, Themistocles, Phociō, the two Scipi∣ons, Pompey, Iullius Cesar, Lue us Sill••, Cicero, Lygurgus, with in••••ite other.

Socrates (althoughe he knew not Christ, yet for his great sanctimony & purenes of life a m••n more worthy to be reputed a••aynt thē many of our ••omysh sayntes) being demaun¦ded by what wayes a mā might wyn an ho∣nest fame, answered: If thou shalt apply thy¦selfe to be such one in dede as thou de••••••est to be counted, as who sholde saye: wylt thou be counted a furtherer of iullyce, a good prince, a good coun••e••er: Then indeuour thy self to be such in dede. For vndoubtedly like as the shadowe foloweth the body, as a cōpaignion inseparable, euē to doth glory, renowme, and fame accōpany excelēt veues, worthy gestes, and noble qualityes, and that so moche the rather, if the same be vnloked ••or. Of whiche

thinge, albeit there want no goodly exemples euerye where aswell in prophane hystoryes as in the holye scryptures, yet this one acte of a woman & that a famous synner shall at this tyme suffyce. Mary Magdaleyne to whome bycause she loued moche, was moche forgy∣uen, at a souper in whiche Chryste was pre∣sent, whyle her syster minystred at the table before all the gestes, of an excedinge zele and loue she bare to Chryste annoyted w^t a ryght precyous oyntement his feete, and with the very heare of her heed dryed them agayne. Here I dare boldly saye this Magdaleyne loked for no fame by this facte, yet what an∣swered Christ to suche as murmured against her & said, this oyntmēt might haue ben solde for moche money and giuen to the poore Ue∣rely (sayth Chryst) I saye vnto you, where so euer this gospell shal be preached throughout all the world, this also that she hath done shal be told for a remembraūce of her.

But nowe to reflycte my oracyon vnto your mooste royall maiestie, surely I can not but be throughly perswaded as well by the conty••uall procedynges, as by the successe of thynges, that not onely your graces moost delyberate prouydence, but also the prudente counsels of certein of your maiesties faythful counseylours, haue not proceded of any am∣biciō of name, but of a mere zele & ardent loue towardes the publyque weale, & furtheraūce o•• gods sacred trouth. Wherfore where lo e∣uer throughout the worlde the abolyshment of the bysshop of Romes vsurped power shal

be bruted or cronicled, there also shal be rea∣ported the most gloryous actes of Henry the eyght kynge or Englande, as chefe furderer and worker of the fame. And sēblably where so euer his maiesties noble actes shall be bru∣ted there also shal not be forgotten the memo¦ry of certayne his counsellours, namely of the lorde Crumwell, so worthye a counselloure of so worthye a prynce.

But agayne lyke as renowme foloweth excellent vertues, so enuye pursueth hygh re∣nowme. I saye, it is not possible but suche as haue the gouernaunce of thynges, and be in great authoritie shal be hated, maligned, en∣uyed, euyl spoken of amonges the multitude. Alexādre the great when it was shewed him that a certayne lende person had spokē many delyyteful wordes of him, answered to such as were aboute hym, Surely I tell you, it is princely & a thing appropryed to a great and noble man, that when he hath done well, he shall be reaported euyll. So erronyous is the iudgement of the people, so pestyferous is the enuye of malycious & despytefull per∣sons. P••ocion the Atheniense was a coūsel∣lour moche more profytable then pleasaunt. Demosthenes contraryly was rather a plea∣saunt councellour then profytable. This stu∣dyed moch to folow thaffections of y^e people the other egrely resysted the same with his holsome counsels, when on a tyme they mette togither, Demosthenes thus greted Phociō. By the goddes imortal, Phocyon, yf the peo∣ple of Athens begyn ones to rage, they wyll

surely kyll the. Trouth, sayde Phocion, they wyll kyll me in theyr rage, but the will they kyl, when they come to theyr ryght wyites. Doubteles (mooste myghtye and redoubted prince) it can not be dyssembled, but as cer∣teyne or your graces counseyl be highly pray¦sed, extolled, and magnityed of many: So agayne on the contrary part, they be enuyed, malygned, and hated of others, namelye of suche as either haue enuye at theyr vocacion, or be yet styll roted in theyr popyishe super∣stycion▪ Or these some perchaunce in theyr turyous rage, wolde desyre theyr deth.

But agayne the same yf at any tyme they shall retourne to theyr ryght wyttes, wyl ra¦ther wysshe (as not a fewe alredy haue done) the contu••ion of suche, as haue meynteyned them in theyr rebellyous su{per}sticiō. I meane the bysshop of Romes priuy adherent{is}, who withoute questyon do hate all thinges that tend to the aduauncement of gods honour, & detection of theyr cloked hypocresye.

But as the lorde of hoostes hathe hyther∣vnto protected and directed youre excellente maiestie and certayne of your moost fayth∣full counsayllours agaynste the mooste vn∣godlye and pestilent conspiracyes of youre ennemyes in all youre affayres: so I beseche him in suche wise to poure out his grace vpon the rest of your graces louynge subiect, as we all togither with one accorde, tolowynge your highnes as our heed and myghty shepeherde maye vtterly vomyt out of vs all papisticall venym, and hertely at laste imbrase the pure

and syncere verite of gods moost holy worde. To the illustracyon and settynge forth wher∣of, as it is not vnknowen, howe moche your moost faythfull counseyllour myne olde may∣ster and synguler good lorde, my lorde priuy seale hath conferred and holpen, so of his stu∣dyous procedynges and circumspecte per∣seueraunce in the same, this onely thinge suf∣ficiently declareth, that nowe of late he hathe impelled me to translate in to Englysshe this bake of Erasm{us} Sarcerius, a treasure inesti∣mable vnto chrysten men, in whiche boke he hathe so compendiously, so absolutely & frut∣fully handeled all the common places of the chrysten religyon, as neuer afore this tyme hath ben done of any, namely in suche forme.

A daungerous pece of worke doubteles, and full of diffycultie it is, so to handle these maters as shall in all poyntes satisfie the ex∣pectaciō of the readers, as declareth eloquent∣ly wrytinge to your most redoubted maiestie, the excellente clerke Philip Melanchthon in his epystle before his common places, whose iudgement this Sarcerius foloweth welnere in all thinges. Onely in this they differ, that Melanchthon dyrecteth his style to the vn∣derstandyng onely of the lerned persons well exercysed in scriptures. This tempereth his penne also to the capacitie of yonge student•• of scripture and suche as haue not had moche exercise in the same.

Nowe it hathe ben an olde prouerbe and not w^tout cause celebrate of all ages. Quot capita, to••sensus, so manye hedes, so many

myttes, I graunte the godly and lerned men in the pryncipall articles of our faythe do not varye, but do constauntly synge all one note, yet neuerthelesse in other dysputable mat∣tiers (in whiche it is not mete for euery man to wade) as predestynacyon, contyngencye, frewyll, & suche lyke, there hathe ben always, and yet is some dissencion, so that what one aloweth an other disprayseth, what one dis∣{per}ueth, an other approueth. And yet it can not be denyed but there is one symple infallible trouth who so can attayne it.

The cause of this blindnes is, that sithens the fall of Adam, at whiche tyme mankynde was depryued of the similitude of god, vn∣to whiche he was fyrste create, mans wytte hathe ben so darkened and his nature so spot∣ted and cankred with the originall vice, that he can not but be wrapped in infinite errours. Onely god hathe perfecte intellygence, and is true in his wordes. Omnis autem homo mendax. There is no man but he lyeth, but he erreth, but he both disceyueth & is disceyued. Best is he that erreth leest. Saynt Augustyn wrote very moche, but agayne he retracted moche. It is not possyble for one man bothe to wryte moche, aud to write al thynges true that shall nede no reprehensyon. In a longe worke (sayth the poete Horace) a man maye other whyles lawfully slombre. Neyther do I speake this bycause I knowe any notable errour in Sarcerius.

But forasmoche as the iudgementes of men be variable, and namely in this kynde

of wrytynge, it is very harde to satisfye all mens myndes: Therfore if either this excel∣lēt clerke Erasmus Sarcerius in his writin∣ges, or I in my translacion shall not through∣ly answere is your maiesties and other mens expectacion: It shal apperteyne to a christian modestie to interprete all thynges vnto the best parte.

As for exemple: It is not vnknowen what great alteracion hathe lately ben amonges lerned men concernynge frewyl. Some haue put frewyll in no thynges, some on the con∣trary parte haue gone aboute to meyntayne frewyll in all thynges. Agayne other goynge in the meane betwen both these extremes, as Melanchthou & this Sa••cerius, with many other excellent clerkes, haue denyed frewyl onely in spiritual mocyons and that also in such persons as be not yet regenerate and re∣nued by the holy ghost, & yet in the mean sea¦son they take it not so awaye, but they leue them also in spirituall mocions a certeyn in∣deuour or willing, which indeuour neuerthe∣lesse can fyni••she nothinge, onles it be holpen by the holy ghost. This (after my pore iudge∣ment) is the ryghtest and truest waye.

But now, if accordynge to the varietie of mans iudgement, the same shall not forthw^t appere to others, set them not incontinuently damne and gyue sentence of other mens wri¦tynges, but diligently enserche the scripture, which is the only rule & touche stone, where∣with we ought to trye the trouthe from the vntrouth, the pure and syncere doctrine from

the corrupt & hypocriticall. If they shall fynd any thing ryghter or better then this doctrine let them louyngly imparte and communicate their waye vnto vs, yf not, let them vse this waye with vs.

But what so euer this boke is (for to your graces most exacte iudgement I refer it) lyke as by the īpulsion & cōmaundemēt of my said old master my iord priuy seale, I haue trāsla¦ted it ī to oue vulgare tong: So his lordship hath willed me (wher as els I wold not haue ben so bold) to offre and dedicate the same vn¦to your moost noble & redoubted maiestie, to thintent that where as he dyd lately p̄fer me vnto your graces seruice in y^e office of y^e signet (for what qualities he espied in me I can not tel) I might at lest testifie & declare vnto your highnes my prōpt & redye mynde to do your grace such pore seruice as to my habilite may extende. And so consequently that this boke vnder your maiesties protection and patro∣cinie may the more plausibly and gredyly be deuoured of the people, for whose only cause and edificacion youre hyghnes and suche as be your moost prudent counsaylers haue pro¦uyded dyuers holsome bokes to be set forthe in englysshe.

In dilatyng of which ryght excedyng and hygh benefyte with infinyte other wrought to the inestimable vtilitie of the people, I wil not further at this present procede, onely I beseche our lorde, that lyke as your hyghnes hath hyther vnto with moost prudent, godly and gracyous meanes, wonderfullye holpen

the state and publyke weale of youre graces most florishing realme, so your maiestie may procede, and to thende perceuerin y^e same, to the glory of god, your highnes honour, vnitie of your subiectes, welthe of your realme, de∣••ogaciō of the bisshop of Romes vsurped po∣wer, reioyse of your welwillers, confusion of your graces aduersaries. Thus most myghty, most hygh, and most graci∣ous soueraygne lord I commit your hyghnes to the holye Trinite, to whome be all honour, prayse, and glorye for euermore. Amen.

DOMINE SALVVM FAC REGEM.

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