Actes and monuments of matters most speciall and memorable, happenyng in the Church. [vol. 2, part 2] 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.

An other examination of Tyms and Drakes, and the rest, before the Bishop of London.

THe xxiij. day of the same moneth next after, the Bishop sent agayne for Tyms and Drakes, and Ex officio did obiect vnto them certayne Articles,* 1.1 the summe and maner wherof were the same which before obiected to Whittell, Greene, Tudson, Went, Burn, Eliza••. Foster, Lashford, looke pag. 1589. And the 26. day of the same month, he sent for the other foure ministring vnto thē also the same gene∣rall articles.* 1.2 Unto the which they all in effect answered in matters touching theyr fayth, as did y^e sayd Bartl. Grene and the rest. Other appearinges they had, as the Bishops common maner of proceding was, more (as I haue often sayd) for order and forme of law, thē for any zeale of iustice.

But in conclusion,* 1.3 the xxviij. day of this Moneth of March, William Tyms and Robert Drakes with the o∣ther 4. aboue named, were brought to the open Consistory in Paules before the sayd Bishop of London to be condē∣ned for heresy.

The bishop first began in this or like sort: Tyms, quoth he, I will begin with thee firste,* 1.4 for thou art and hast bene the ringleader of these thy companions, thou hast taughte them heresies, & confirmed them in their erroneous opini∣ons, and hast indeuored as much as in thee lyeth, to make them like vnto thy selfe. If thy faulte had not tended to the hurt of other, I would thē haue vsed thee more charitably, and not haue brought thee to this open rebuke, I woulde according to the rule of Christ in the 18. of Mathew, haue told thee thy fault betwene me & thee:* 1.5 if thou wouldest not haue heard me, I would not so haue lefte thee, but I wyth two or thre other, would haue exhorted thee: if that would not haue serued, then woulde I haue told the Church. &c. But for that thy fault is open & manifest to the world, and thou thy selfe remainest stout in thine error, this charitable dealing is not to be extended towardes thee, I haue ther∣fore thought good to proceed by an other rule, whereof S. Paule speaketh. 1. Tim. 5. Such as sinne, rebuke thē openly, that other may feare.* 1.6 For this cause art thou brought before me in the face of this people, to receiue iudgemēt according to thy deserts. Let me see what thou canst say, why I should not proceed agaynst thee as thine Ordinary.

My Lord (quoth Tyms) will you now geue me leaue to speake? yea quoth the Bishop. Then sayde Tyms:* 1.7 My Lord, I maruell that you will begin with a lye. You call me the ringleader & teacher of this cōpany, but how vntru¦ly you haue sayd, shall shortly appeare: for there is none of all these my brethren, whiche are brought hither as priso∣ners, but when they were at liberty and out of prison, they dissented from you and your doinges, as much as they do at this present: and for that cause they are now prisoners.

So it is euident that they learned not their Religiō in prison. And as for me, I neuer knew them, vntil such time as I by your commaundement was prisoner with them: how could I then be their ringleader and teacher? So that

al the world may see how vntruly you haue spokē. And as for my fault which you make so greuous, whatsoeuer you iudge of me. I am wel assured that I hold none other reli∣giō, thē Christ preached, the Apostles witnessed, the prima∣tiue church receiued, & now of late the Apostolicall and E∣uangelical preachers of this realm haue faithfully taught: for the which you haue cruelly burned them, and now you seeke our bloud also. Proceed on hardly by what rule you will: I force not, I do not refuse you for my Ordinary.

* 1.8Then sayd the Bishoppe, I perceyue thou wilt not be coūted their ringleader. How sayst thou, wilt thou submit thy selfe to the catholicke Church as an obedient childe: in so doing thou shalt be receiued and do wel enough, other∣wise thou shalt haue iudgement as an hereticke.

* 1.9Then one of the prisoners (whose name is not certain∣ly knowne) sayd: my Lord, you are no vpright Iudge, for you iudge after your owne lust. But if you will iudge vs according to the holy Testament of Christe, whiche is the word of truth, we will accord to your iudgement: for vnto that word we wholy submit our selues. But as for your iudgement without that truth, God shall condemne. And this prisoner was very earnestly in hand with the bishop, that they might be iudged by the word of God.

With this the Bishop was offended, calling him busye knaue, and commaunded him to holde his toung, or els he should be had away to a place of smaller ease.

Then Tyms aunswered and sayd: My Lord, I doubt not but I am of the Catholicke Church,* 1.10 whatsoeuer you iudge of me. But as for your Church, you haue before this day renounced it, and by corporall oth promised neuer to consēt to the same. Contrary to the which you haue recey∣ued into this realme the Popes authority, & therefore you are falsly periured & forsworne all the sort of you.* 1.11 Besides this, you haue both spoken and written very earnestly a∣gaynst that vsurped power, & now you do burne men that will not acknowledge the Pope to be supreme head.

Haue I, quoth the bishop? Where haue I written any thing agaynst the church of Rome?

My Lord, quoth Tyms, the Bishoppe of Winchester wrote a very learned Oration intituled De vera obedientia,* 1.12 which conteineth worthy matter agaynst the Romish au∣thority. Unto the which booke you made a Preface, inuey∣ing largely agaynst the Bishop of Rome, reprouing hys tyranny and falshood, calling his power false and pretēced. The booke is extant, and you cannot deny it.

Then was the Bishoppe somewhat abashed, and loo∣king vpō such as were presēt,* 1.13 spake very gētly saying: Lo, here is a goodly matter in deed. My Lord of Winchester be¦ing a great learned man, did write a booke agaynst the su∣premacy of the Popes holynes, and I also did write a pre∣face before the same booke, tending to the same effect. And thus did we because of the perilous world that then was. For then was it made treason by the Lawes of this real∣me to mainteine the Popes authority, and great daunger it was to be suspected a fauourer of the See of Rome, and therefore feare compelled vs to beare with the time for o∣therwise there had bene no way but one. You know when any vttered his conscience in mainteining the Popes au∣thority, he suffered death for it.

And then turning his tale vnto Tyms, he sayd: But since that time, euen sithence the cōming in of the queenes maiesty, when we might be bold to speake our conscience, we haue acknowledged our faults, and my Lord of Win∣chester himselfe shamed not to recant the same at Paules Crosse. And also thou thy selfe seest that I stande not in it, but willingly haue submitted my selfe. Do thou also as we haue done.

My Lord, quoth Tyms, that which you haue written agaynst the supremacy of y^e pope,* 1.14 may be wel approued by the scriptures. But that which you now do, is against the word of God, as I can well proue.

Then an other, I suppose it was Doctor Cooke, sayd: Tyms, I pray thee let me talke with thee a little, for I thinke we two are learned alike. Thou speakest much of the scripture,* 1.15 and yet vnderstandest it not. I will tell thee to whom thou mayest be compared. Thou art like to one which intending to goe on hunting, riseth vp earely in the morning, taketh his houndes, and forth he goeth vp to the hils, and downe into the vallyes: he passeth ouer y^e fieldes ouer hedge and ditch, he searcheth the woods and thickets: thus laboureth he all the whole day without finding any game. At night home he cōmeth weery of his trauell, not hauing caught any thing at all: and thus fareth it by thee. Thou labourest in reading of the Scriptures, thou takest the letter, but the meaning thou knowest not, and thus thy reading is as vnprofitable vnto thee, as hūting was vn∣to the man I spake of euen now.

Syr quoth Tyms, you haue not well applyed your si∣militude: for I prayse God,* 1.16 I haue not read the scriptures vnprofitably: but God, I thanke hym hath reuealed vnto me so much as I doubt not is sufficient for my saluation.

Then said the Bishop: You brag much of knowledge, & yet you know nothing: you speake much of scripture, & you know not what scripture is. I pray thee tel me: How knowest thou that thing to be the worde of God, whiche thou callest Scripture.

To this aunswered Rob. Drakes,* 1.17 that he did know it to be the word of God, for that it doth shew vnto thē theyr saluation in Christ, and doth reuoke & call backe all mē frō wicked life, vnto a pure and vndefiled conuersation.

The bishop replied, that y^e heathē writers haue taught precepts of good liuing, as wel as the scripture,* 1.18 & yet theyr writings are not estemed to be Gods word.

To this answered Tyms, saying: the olde Testament beareth witnes of those things which are writtē in y^e new,* 1.19 for (quoth he) there is nothing taught in the new Testa∣ment, but it was foreshewed in the law and Prophets.

I will denye all, quoth the Bishop, I wyll denye all:* 1.20 what sayest thou then? Then Robert Drakes alledged a sentence in Latin out of the Prophet Esay in the 59. chap. of his prophecy: Spiritus meus qui est in te. &c My spirit whi∣che is in thee, and my words which I haue put in thy mouth, shall not departe out of the mouth of thy seede, nor out of the mouth of the seede of thy seede, from hence forth euen for euer: mea∣ning therby to proue, that he which had the spirit of God, could thereby discerne and iudge truely which was Gods word: but before he could explicate his minde, he was in∣terrupted by the bishop, who spake vnto Doctor Pendle∣ton, saying:

Mayster Doctor,* 1.21 I pray you say somewhat vnto these folkes that may do them some good. Then D. Pendleton, as hee leaned nere vnto the Bishop, couered his face with both his handes, to the end he might the more quietly de∣uise what to say, but other talke was presently ministred, so that for that time he sayd nothing.

And thus much William Alesbury witnesse hereof be∣ing present thereat, so farre as he heard, hath faythfully re∣corded and reported. What more was spokē and there said (for they made not yet an end a good while after) because he departed then out of the house, he doth not know, nor dyd not heare.

Then the bishop after this and such like communicatiō thus passed betwene them, proceding at length in forme of law, caused both his articles and aunsweres to the same, there and then to be openly read: the summe of which hys confession recorded and left by his owne hand writing, tē∣ded to this effect as foloweth.

Notes

• * 1.1

  March. 2••.
• * 1.2

  Drakes and W. Tyms with the rest agayne ex∣mined.
• * 1.3

  March. 2••.
• * 1.4

  B. Boners wordes to W. Tyms.
• * 1.5

  Math. 18.
• * 1.6

  1. Tym. 5.
• * 1.7

  The aunswere of W. Tyms to B. Boner.
• * 1.8

  B. Boners wordes.
• * 1.9

  One of the pri∣soners aunswe∣reth to B. Boner.
• * 1.10

  W. Tyms a∣gayne aunswe∣reth.
• * 1.11

  B. Boner char∣ged with per∣iury, and incon∣stancye.
• * 1.12

  Boners preface to Winchesters booke De obe∣dientia.
• * 1.13

  B. Boner excu∣seth himselfe by feare.
• * 1.14

  Tyms agayne replyeth to the Bishop.
• * 1.15

  An hunters pa∣rable against W. Tyms wisely applyed.
• * 1.16

  The an∣swere 〈◊〉〈◊〉 Tym•• 〈…〉〈…〉. B. Boners reason.
• * 1.17

  Robert Drakes answereth.
• * 1.18

  Boner re∣plyeth.
• * 1.19

  Tyms ••••∣swere•••• to Boner.
• * 1.20

  Boner de∣nying the principle•• of diuinitye. Esay. 59.
• * 1.21

  B. Boner calleth for more help••. D. Pendle∣ton studi∣eth for talke.