The seconde tome or volume of the Paraphrase of Erasmus vpon the Newe Testament conteynyng the epistles of S. Paul, and other the Apostles : wherunto is added a paraphrase vpon the reuelacion of S. John.

The texte.

Let no man saye when he is tempted, that he is tempted of God. For as God cannot be tempted to euyll, so neyther he hym self tempteth any man. But euery man is tempted, when he is drawne a way & entysed of hys own concupiscence. Then when lust hathe con∣ceaued, she bryngeth forth synne: & synne whē it is fynyshed, bryngeth forth death. Do not erre, my deare brethren. Euery good gyfte, and euery parfecte gyfte, is from aboue, and commeth downe from the father of lyghtes, with whome is no variablenesse, nether is he chaunged vnto darkenes. Of hys owne will begat he vs with the worde of trueth, that we shoulde be the fyrste trutes of hys creatures. Wherfore (deare brethren) let euery man be swyfte to beare, slowe to speake, slowe to wrath. For the wrathe of man worketh not that whiche is ryghteous before God. Wherfore, laye aparte al fylthynes & superfluytie of malicyousnes, and receaue with mekenes, the worde that is graffed in you, which is able to saue youre soules.

Whether a man loue God purely, the pleasures of this worlde dooe trye, but muche more doeth the hurly burly of affliccions. And it is in vs, that being furnyshed with the helping ayde of God, we maye nether become tendre nyce∣lynges through vayne pleasures, ne moued with terrible turmoylinges. But if a manne be moued with the delices of the worlde from the right state of mynde, or if a man be led by y^e sorow of afflicciōs out of true godlines, he hath nothing to laie vnto Goddes charge. He y^• getteth the victorie, getteth the victory by the helpe of God: and he that is ouercomme, is ouercome through hys own faulte. For God doeth not geue menne occasyon to synne, but the thynge that he ge∣ueth according to his own goodnes for the nouryshment and encreace of god∣lines, our mindes being corrupte, and as it were cralled with affeccions, turneth to thoccasyon of theyr owne destruccion. For God doeth somtymes geue vs the vse of habundaunce of goodes, and the commodities of life, to the intent that being prouoked by his liberall goodnes we should tendre thankes vnto him. Againe, he suffreth vs somtymes to bee afflicted with aduersities, that he may both make our godlines more notably seene, & encreace our rewarde. And if the matter turne to the cotrary parte, it is our faulte & not his. For like as he being by nature good, can not bee prouoked w^t any euilles, euen so doth he en∣tice noman vnto euil. The thing is of vs, that turneth the goodnes of God vn∣to oure euil. He geueth pleintie of meates, he geueth the liquor of wyne, that beyng moderately refreshed, we shoulde geue prayses to the maker. And shall he that is dronken with wyne call God vnto the lawe? no in no wyse:

let him accuse his owne mynde, whose vicious gredynes entised and drewe him to dronkenes. Ther is a certayne readynes vnto vice graffed in oure hartes of our fyrste parentes vice, and that is as it were a sede of synne. And if it bee receaued in to the harte and receaue nourishment, than the mynde hathe as it were all ready conceaued synne. And onles the vicious desire be dryuen out of mynde, the stynking smell of it groweth and waxeth strong by litell and litell, till deadly synne be cōmitted. Whiche, whan it is in his nombres consūmately done, beginneth to bring forthe frute it self agayne. And the frute that it bring∣eth forthe is the naughtiest frute of all, euen deathe euerlasting: And this is the most heauy frute of that pleasure that is delectable in outwarde appea∣raūce, and promysing swete geare, I wote not what, while it hydeth vnder the bayte of pleasure, the very angling hoke of death. Like therfore as thys lower worlde hath nothing pure and perfite in euery parte, but the good thinges are corrupt with the badde, and the thinges that are of gladnes are enterchaun∣geably myngled with sadnesse, corrupcion enfecteth the ayer, disease and age decayeth the strength of bodye, darkenes hyndreth the fauour of light: euen so in our myndes, as longe as they are entangled with these bodyes, there is scarcely any thynge in all partes blessed and pure, but it is corrupt with some spotte of humaine desires or with the darkenes of errour and ignoraunce. But what so euer naughtynes is in vs, we ought to impute it vnto oure selues and not to God. For if we were of pure affeccions, if we put oure truste with oure whole harte in God, if we breathed with all oure inwarde powers vnto the thinges that are euerlasting and heauenly, what so euer shoulde bee layed a∣gaynste vs in this life, whether it were mery or sory, it woulde turne to the in∣creace of Godlynes. Therfore deare brethren, doe not you as the commune sort of folish men doeth, who to thintent they may excuse theyr synnes, pleade with the maker of nature at law, as though he were the autor of synne. Farre be this errour from you, whiche haue learned the Gospells philosophie. Like as God of his owne nature is purely and moste chiefly good, euen so doeth there no∣thing procede from him but that whiche is good. Yf any naughtynes ther∣fore be in vs, let vs not ascribe it vnto God but vnto oure owne selues: and yf any good thyng, yf any true lyght, yf any vndefyled wysedome be in vs, let vs ascribe it wholy vnto God the autor. Yf this grosse worlde haue any lyght, it hathe it of the heauenly bodies, and especially of the sunne. What true knowlage so euer is in vs, what pure and syncere affeccion so euer be in vs, it ariseth not of vs (for we are nothyng elles but synners and ignoraunt per∣sones,) but it procedeth from aboue: what so euer is truly good, it commeth from the autor of all goodnes: what so euer lawfull and perfite thing there be, and such thing as maketh you acceptable vnto God, it cometh from the foun∣tayne of all perfeccion: what so euer is truly light, the father and prince of all true light sendeth it vnto vs frō him self. These thinges he bestoweth not vpō oure desertes, but he geueth them vnto vs frely, as he is liberall of nature. They are giftes rather than rewardes, it is a liberall larges rather than a hire. It is not right therfore that we chalenge any thing therof vnto vs, but for our naughtynes let vs call vpon the mercie of God: for goodnes bicause it is not ours, let vs geue thankes vnto his liberalitie. Like as he of his owne nature is the beste, euen so he cannot geue but the thynges that are beste: lyke as he is

vnchaungeable, and alwayes like hymselfe, so there is nothing with him, that is obscured with any course of darkenes. This our daye is taken awaye of the night folowing, and caste about with cloudes goyng betwene, humayne wise∣dome is darkened with errours of opinions, mans vprighteousnes is infected with naughty desires. With him there is no mixture of euylles, no courses of darkenes. It behoueth vs therfore also to conforme our selues to the vttermost of our powers according to his simplicitie, that geuing our selues vnto godly studyes, and being apte more and more to receyue his giftes, we maye be as it were transformed in to hym. For it is conuenient, that children resemble the nature of their parent. We haue vnthirftyly resembled Adam the prynce of this grosse and corrupt birthe. He being obscured with the darkenes of synnes hath begotten vs that are entangled with darkenes. In that we lothe heauenly thinges, in that we are gredy of earthy thinges, we resemble the disposicion of hym. In that we are blynde, in that we doe at al auentures as y^• blinde man cas∣teth his staffe, and in that we fall, it is of our carthy parent. But the father of heauen hathe more happyly begotten vs agayne, that being as it were created newe agayne, we myght conforme our selues like vnto our newe b••••the in In∣nocencie of life, and knowlage of euerlasting trueth. That earthy father being seduced with the false deceatefull promisses of the serpent, begate vs. vnto darkenes. And this heauenly father begate vs agayne, not of the corrupt sede of our earthye father, but of the most pure sede of the eternall and trueth spea∣king worde. The serpentes worde was a lyeng worde, and casie downe manne from the state of Innocencie. But the worde of the Gospelles doctrine is tr••••, whereby we are chosen into the enheritaunce of Immortalitie, and called in to the felowe shippe of Iesu Christe the sonne of God. He was the true light pre∣ceding of the moste high light, whose doctrine hathe made bright mens myn∣des and set them free from the doctrine of this worlde. And the heauenly worde is of suche efficacie, that it doeth not onlye chaunge vs, but transformeth vs as it were vtterly in to other men, abhorryng now the thynges that we loued muche before, and loue that we before abhorred. And this is the honoure that the heauēly father worthyed vs withal not prouoked by our merites, but of his own free goodnes, wherby he so determyned from euerlasting, that he woulde, by suche meanes as hathe not ben hearde tell of, make a newe creature in the earthe, and woulde that we shoulde bee as it were the fyrst frutes of thys newe estate, in that we are called amonge the fyrste vnto the doctrine of the Gos∣pell. Forasmuche than as God hathe endued vs with thys honour frely, it remayneth, that we conforme oure selues lyke vnto hys hounteous goodnes to the vttermost of our power againe: we are frely admitted vnto this felicity, but we might fall from it agayne for all that through our owne fault, onles we studie to kepe through godly forcastes, that which is frely geuē. It were of non effecte for vs to be chosen through baptisme, and professing of the Gospelles doctrine in to the felowship of the sonne of God, excepte we frame oure selues through chast and cleane maners like vnto our profession. That like as euer∣lastyng lighte hathe geuen vs light by the sonne of God, so muste all oure life beare witnes, that we belonge to the felowship of light. We once caste of the olde manne with hys errours, with his affectes, with hys vices, now it is rea∣son that we ensue the cleane contrary thynges. Heretofore you had rather seme maisters than disciples, for so ambicion perswaded you, that the commune

people woulde recon him the better learned, that was moste ful of bablyng: you had rather haue ben angrye with hym that counsailed you aright, than to ac∣knowlage your faulte: you had rather haue folowed wicked outragious luste, than ensue those thinges that bring saluacion: Now my deare brethren, who so will be coumpted a new man, let him be slow to speake, swyft to heare, and ready to learne of any manne. Howbeit let no manne rashly nor ouer hastyly take vp∣on him to be a teacher. And like as he is not voyde of peril to fall, that is hastye to speake, euen so is that manne inclined to doe iniurie, whiche is lightly mo∣ued in hys mynde. For it is requisite that godly menne bee farre of, not only from all reuengement, but also from all euill speaking. For he shalbe the more safe from chyding, that maketh no aunswer: and he shal do no man wrong, that whan he is prouoked, is not angrye. Among men peraduenture he shall seme a iuste man, that requiteth one euil worde with an other, one euell dede for an o∣ther, but yet he shalbe a greate deale wyde from the iustice of God, who by hys sonne hathe taught vs, to speake well of them that backbyte vs, to wishe well to them that wishe euil to vs, to doe good for them that doe euil vnto vs. These thinges he dooeth not, that letteth his tongue runne at large, whiche is a warb∣ling membre and a slyppery, nor he that hathe wrathe secretly. These maner of lustes, like as they ouerthrowe and cheoke the sede of Goddes woorde, that whan it commeth vp it bring forthe no frute in you, euen so doe they lette that it canne not bee sowen in to the fielde of the mynde. It taketh no rote in a bri∣ery place, ne in marice, nether in the sande that fleeteth awaye, but it requireth a pure, a trymme and a substaunciall grounde. Therfore if ye will, that the sede of the worde of the Gospell, that is once cast; bring frute in you, frute (I say) not for a season, or a commune frute wherwith the bodyes may be refreshed, but the eternall saluacion of your soules: make cleane the fielde of your harte not onely from the tumulte of euil speaking and of wrathe, but also from al gredy lustes, wherwith mans mynde is defiled: from the thornes of coueteousnes from the grauell of rashenes, from the slyme of outragious lust, from the stones of pride and wilfulnes. For in dede the mynde that is burthened with thys geare, is not hable to receaue the worde of the Gospell, which knocketh in vayne at the tym∣pane of the eares, onles it light depe in to the inwarde partes of the harte. And if it once settle in to your myndes, it shall not bee baren, but shote forthe and shewe it selfe with godly workes.