Page 252
Chap. 1. the. 2. Diuision.
I wishe that euery minister were a preacher, but that beeing vn∣possible as the state is now, I see not how you can cōdemne reading* 1.1 ministers, seeing reading is necessarie in the Church, & fayth cōmeth aswel by reading the scriptures in the booke, as by rehearsing of thē without booke. In the. 31. of Deut. it is thus written: Leges verba legis huius coram omni Israel. &c. Thou shalt reade the vvords of this booke before all Israell. &c. S. Paule sayth in the. 15. to the Rom. 〈◊〉〈◊〉 scripta sunt. &c. VVhatsoeuer is vvritten. &c. But I neuer heard reading of the scrip∣tures,* 1.2 reading of prayers, reading of Homilies, taken out of the scripture condemned, but onely by the Authors of this booke, and by the zuinfildians.
If you should beget, and be a father of many bookes, and all your children like their eldest bro∣ther, you would (without better aduise) shake many groundes of our religion. For heere agayne you wishe that all pastors were able to teache, but that beeing vnpossible (as the state is nowe) you are content with Pastors or ministers, that can doe nothing but reade. You throughout your whole booke make this a maruellous good estate, and alwayes turne the best side outwarde, and when men goe about to vrge the deformities thereof, to the ende they mighte be remedied, then you lay open the shame and nakednesse of it, and make it greater, than it is in deede. For as I haue shewed before, the Church standeth not so muche in neede of your reading ministers, as you would make the worlde beleeue. And although it be a great deformitie, and sore plague of the Churche, whiche you here speake of, and confesse at vnwares, yet you will let no man come neare to heale it. There be some make a gayne by sores, and sore legges, and therefore they haue a medicine to keepe their woundes alwayes greene, that they should not heale.
I hope you do not of purpose keepe the Churche in this estate, but this I dare say, that the chiefe of your gayne, and of your honour, consisteth and is grounded in the ruines of the Churche, and therefore I desire you to tooke vnto it.
I omit whatsoeuer you héere speake agaynst my person, for I am purposed to ab∣steine* 1.3 from requiting you in like sorte, onely I will answere for my selfe where you labour to slaunder me. The cause of lacke of a sufficient number of méete ministers in this Church, is neyther the religion professed, nor the gouernment that is vsed, nor yet the gouernours: But partly the crueltie of the times past, wherein numbers of méete ministers haue bin consumed: partly the vn willingnesse of mē in this present time, which haue not that zeale to enter into this calling, that is to be wished: and partly (nay chiefly & principally) you & your schismes, which haue caused some to cast off their ministerie wholly, some to forsake their pastorall charges, and yet to kéepe their Prebendes and other liuings: some to depraue the ministerie, condemne it, and by all meanes possible alienate as many from it, as they can. And therefore nothing that I confesse of the scarsitie of méete & able ministers, derogateth any thing eyther from the doctrine professed in this Church, or frō the kinde of gouernment, or the Ma∣gistrates: but rather cōmendeth the same, bicause notwithstanding al the former im∣pediments, yet hath it a number of excellent ministers, & doth continually bréed mo.
If any confession tende to the condemnation of any, it is of you & your adherents, who haue more hindred & slaundered the Gospel in this realme of England, than the Papists eyther haue done, or could possibly do. And I am fully persuaded, that one of the greatest deformities suffered in this Church, is lacke of discipline towardes you, who be so farre from healing any sore in the Church, that the more you be suffered, the greater doe you wounde it: And in very déede the reformation you pretende, is no∣thing but a méere confusion, or rather subuersion bothe of the Churche and common wealthe also.