VNthankefull, vngodly, and* vnkynde, thei be in sparing from thankesgeuing, chiefly too God the authour of all goodnes, and next to the Quenes maiestie our naturall soueraigne lady, for the restitucion of thancient and Page  96 true religiō of this realme, which of late was putte to exile, and in stede of the same a straunge and base woman called Heresye inter¦taigned, who hathe so polluted* this countrey with bastardes & misbegotten children, that on∣les it had pleased the diuyne ma∣iestie to haue ioyned in mariage the moste excellente and vertu∣ouse Phylip our Kyng and seue∣raign, nowe with the true inhe∣ritour and moste Godly matrone Mary oure sayde Quene, the bloud of the sayde basebegotten children had vnnethes bene abo∣lyshed. And yet the ingratitude of vs their subiectes is such (especi∣ally the Protestantes) that al∣moste it is intollerable. The vn∣kindenesse* of vs in this so ample & benefite is extended soo farre, Page  [unnumbered] that in maner we deny any bene∣fite receyued at all. Yea and for the moste parte in recompence of that benefite alredy receyued we rendre vnthankefulnes. But I feare me, as Salomon sayeth: He that doeth render an euyll* turne for a good, euyll shall not departe his house. I praye God to spare that plague from thys realme, whiche for vnthankeful∣nes it iustly deserued. I feare me a great many in these dayes, for that they see not the deuyses of theyr vnthankeful heartes come forwardes, which daily they ima¦gine againste the Magistrates, plaie Achitophels part, who seing* that his practyses was not exe∣cuted against kyng Dauid accor¦ding to his cancred stomake, wēt home to his house & hanged hym Page  97 selfe. But in these oure ingrate doinges we are much worse then the poore beastes of the yearth,* which would remēbre a benefite long after they haue receiued it. And no marueil. For as our crea∣cion farre excedeth y^e brute beast, so is our liuyng in some thynges to theirs inferior. What murmu∣ring, grudging, slaūders, rumors lyes, bookes, tales, are in these daies caried abroad in the world against all sortes of magistrates, whom we ought to obey for con∣science sake, according to the ad∣monition of saint Paule. But if* stay might be made here to touch the particuler abhominations v∣sed of these loitring lubbers, this volume would growe to an infi∣nite bignes. May not the kyng & Quenes maiesties saye to these Page  [unnumbered] murmurers, as the valiant The∣mistocles* sayde to the Atheniens, whiche murmured againste his laudable feates done for the li∣bertie of the citie. Why make you these tumultes and rumours against them, of whō by manifolde waies you haue receiued so many cōmo∣dities? May not oure Byshoppes and other ecclesiasticall gouer∣nors, say the like to this carelesse multitude, that Pompeius sayd too Marcellinus, whoo receiuyng* many benefytes at his handes, forsoke him and ranne to Caesar, that afterwardes he was not a∣shamed to reuile Pompeius open∣ly in the Senate house at Rome? But with a connenient & mode∣rate taunt Pōpeius said these wor¦des: Art thou not ashamed Marcell{us} to speake euil of him, by whose be∣nefite,Page  98of a domme and spechelesse man thou art made eloquent, and of an hungry sterueling, thou art now so well satisfied, that thou canst skarce refraine vomite? What shal I say more of this their ingrati∣tude, whiche in ciuile lyfe is a thing moste odious? But exhorte al men to take a new purgacion, and to purge their stomakes of this their malancolike grudgin∣ges, least the matter do growe to suche abundance, that no purga∣cion wyll serue. Let them cōsider the plague, which redounded vp∣on the murmuring stomakes of Chore, Dathan, and Abiron, who* for grudging against the autho∣ritie of Moyses, were swallowed into the yearth. And let all suche as will seke for none amendment loke for no lesse, if not the like, yet Page  [unnumbered] as terrible.