Actes and monuments of matters most speciall and memorable, happenyng in the Church. [vol. 2, part 1] with an vniuersall history of the same, wherein is set forth at large the whole race and course of the Church, from the primitiue age to these latter tymes of ours, with the bloudy times, horrible troubles, and great persecutions agaynst the true martyrs of Christ, sought and wrought as well by heathen emperours, as nowe lately practised by Romish prelates, especially in this realme of England and Scotland. Newly reuised and recognised, partly also augmented, and now the fourth time agayne published and recommended to the studious reader, by the author (through the helpe of Christ our Lord) Iohn Foxe, which desireth thee good reader to helpe him with thy prayer.

Notes vpon the foresayd exhortation.

* 1.1PRinces which exhort to concorde and charitie, doe well, but Princes which seeke out the causes of discord, & re∣forme the same, do much better: The papist and protestant Hereticke, and Pharisee, the old Mumpsimus, and the newe Sumpsimus, be te••mes of variance and dissention, and be (I graunt) Symtomata, of a sore wound in the commō wealth but he that will amend this wound must first beginne to search out the causes, and to purge the occasion thereof: o∣therwise to cure the sore outwardlye, whiche inwardlye doth fester and ranckle still, it is but vayne.

The roote and ground of al this greeuance riseth here of the prelates and clergy of Rome, seeking as it seemeth altogether after riches, pompe, & honour of this world, to mayntayn y^e same vnder pretence of religion, doe in verye deed subuert religiō, vnder y^e title of the church, they bring into the churche manifest errours, & absurdities intollera∣ble, who pretending to be fathers of the churche, if they transgressed but in maners and lightnes of life, or negly∣gence of gouernement, they might be borne withall for peace & concords sake, and here modesty, ciuillitie, quietnes vnitie, & charitie, might haue place amongst modest natu∣res. But now they obscure the glory of the sonne of God, which in no case ought to be suffered: they extinct the light & grace of the Gospell: they clogge mens consciences: they set vp Idolatry, & mayntayn Idols, they bring in false in∣uocation, they restrayne lawfull matrimonye, whereby groweth filthy pollution, adultery, and whoredome in the Church vnspeakable, they corrupt the sacramentes: they wrast the scripture as worldly purposes, they kill and per¦secute Gods people. Briefly theyr doctrine is damnable: theyr lawes be impious, their doinges are detestable. And yet after all this, they crept craftely into the hartes of prin∣ces vnder the title of the Church, & coulor of concord, ma∣king kinges and princes beleue that all be heretickes and schismatickes, which will not be subiect to their ordinary power. Now almighty God, who is a ielous God, & not suffering the glory of his sonne to be defaced, nor his truth to be troden vnder foot, stirreth vp againe the harts of his people to vnderstād his truth & to defend his cause. Wher∣vpō of those two partes, as two mighty flintes thus smi∣ting together cōmeth out the sparcle of this diuisiō, which by no wise can be quenched, but that one part must nedes yeld & geue ouer. There is no neutrality, nor mediatiō of peace, nor exhortation to agremēt that will serue betwene these two contrary doctrines, but either the Popes errors must geue place to Gods word, or els the veritye of God must geue place vnto them.

Wherefore, as the good intent and plausible Oration of the king in this behalf, was not to be discommended in ex∣horting his subiectes to charity: so had he much more de∣serued commendation if he hadde sought the right way to worke charity, & to helpe innocency amongst his subiects, by taking away the impious law of the 6. articls, the mo∣ther of all diuision and manslaughter. For what is this to the purpose, to exhort in wordes neuer so much to charity, and in deed to geue a knife to the murtherers hand, to run vpon his naked brother, which neither in conscience can leaue his cause, nor yet hath power to defend himselfe? As by experience here foloweth to be seene, what charity ensu∣ed after this exhortation of the king to charity, by the rac∣king and burning of good Anne Askew, with 3. other poore subiectes of the king, within halfe a yeare after: whereof shortly you shall heare more declared.

When these Chauntries and colledges thus by Acte of Parliamēt wert geuen into the kings hands as is aboue remembred: which was about the moneth of Decēber, an. 1545. the next Lent following D. Crome preaching in the Mercers chappel, among other reasons and persuatiōs to rouse the people from the vayn opinion of Purgatory, in∣ferred this grounding vpon the sayd act of parliamēt: that if Trentals and Chauntry masses could auayle the soules in Purgatory, then did the Parliament not wel in geuing away Monasteryes, Colledges, & chaūtries, which serued principally to that purpose. But if the parliament did wel (as no mā could deny) in dissoluing them,* 1.2 and bestowing the same vpon the king, then is it a playne case, that such Chauntries and priuate masses do nothing conferre to re∣lieue them in Purgatory. This dilemma of D. Crome, no doubt, was insoluble.* 1.3 But notwithstāding the charitable Prelates, for all the kinges late exhortation vnto charity, were so charitable to him, that on Easter next they broght him Coram nobis,* 1.4 where they so handled him y^t they made him to recant. And if he had not, they would haue dissolued him & his argument in burning fire, so burning hote was theyr charity according as they burned Anne Askew and her fellowes in the moneth of Iulye the yeare folowing.* 1.5 Whose tragicall story and cruell handling now consequēt∣ly (the Lord willing) you shall heare.

Notes

• * 1.1

  The kinges Oration ex∣pēded, with notes vpon the same.
• * 1.2

  D. Cromes Di∣lemma agaynst priuate masses.
• * 1.3

  D. Crome driuē to recant.
• * 1.4

  Anno 1545.
• * 1.5

  The charity of the Bishops.