me, that in thy steade be myght haue ministred vnto me in the bondes of the ghospell. Neuertheles, without thy mynde woulde I do nothyng, that the good which thou doest should not be as it were of necessitie, but wyllyngly.
Wherfore hauyng the experience of these so many matters, whereby thou declarest thy selfe to be a true folower of Christ, I trusted excedynglye, that I myght obteyne of the what I wyll, albeit I commaunded the only, as the fa∣ther his sonne, and as an Apostle his disciple, namely in a matter of it selfe in∣different and agreable to the gospelles doctryne, that thou professest: whiche commaundeth, that we by experience felynge the mercye of the Lorde in forge∣uyng our debte, shoulde lykewyse forgeue other, yet I had rather to obteyne this at thyne handes by charitie, than by myne authoritie: and I woulde ra∣ther desire the, as one brother desyreth another, than commaunde the as a mai∣ster his scholar. And thou shalt not disdayne suche a desyrour. For in what thyng canst thou saye me naye that I desyre the? yea euen I, fyrst Paule (whan I speake of Paule, I meane maters vnto the that are not small) than an olde man. And muche is wonte to be graunted to a man for his age sake. But thys geare is no nouelties to thee. And nowe also a prisoner. And in makyng of de∣syres euen the miserie of the besecher hath no small weight. Last of al, I am the prysoner of Christe Iesu. And to suche a prisoner all ought to beare their fa∣uour that professe the doctrine of Christe. To a man that desyreth by so manye wayes thou couldest not saye nay, althoughe he shoulde entreate the for anye man. But nowe I entreate thee for my sonne, whom I loue so muche the more renderly, that I begate him not vnto Moses, but vnto Christ, not to the world but to the ghospell: yea and I begate hym in my bondes nowe whan I shall shortely goe out of this worlde. For parentes are wonte to loue their chyldren more inwardely, whom they begate in their extreme olde age. This is euen Onesimus, that in tymes past whan he had robbed his mayster tunne a waye frome hym, litell agreably to hys owne name, that is to wete, profytable and trustie, nowe is cleane chaunged into an other sort, and shal not only be trusly for thy profyte herafter, but also he was profytable to me wyth hys seruyce in pryson. Therfore I sende him to the home agayne, for nowe he is become an o∣ther man. And yf thou be the man, that I trust thou art: and yf olde Paule the prisoners commendacion standeth of any effecte with the, thou shall receyue Onesimus, not nowe as a runneagate seruaunt, but as the thynges that I s•••• moost stoore by, and my syngularly welbeloued sonne. It is agaynst my wyll that I sende him home agayne. For I had rather kepe him styll with me, if it were but for this cause, that he should represent thee vnto me in these bondes. For I doubt not, but inasmuche as thou shewest so muche charitie towardes all others for the ghospelles sake, thou woldest in case thou were here, minis•••••• also to me in these bondes, where with I am tyed for the gospelles sake. But nowe he is founde vnsought for, by whom thou mayest ministre vnto me be∣yng absent thy selfe. Howbeit I woulde do nothing without thyne aduise, •••••• yf in vsyng myne autoritie I shoulde do it vpon myne owne head, although thou wouldest haue taken my dede in good parte, yet thy well doinge should haue the lesse commendacion, yf it semed to be ioyned with any necessitie. Not I sent him home agayne, so as it maye be in thy choyse eyther to kepe hym•••••••• with the, or to sende him to me agayne. Yf thou sende him agayne, thy doinge shall haue so muche the more prayse, in that it is not enforced but freely do••••