¶ And he had power to geue a sprete vnto the ymage of the beast, and that the ymage of the beaste should speake, and should cause, that as many as woulde not worship y• ymage of the beaste shoulde be kylled. And he made all bothe small and great, riche and poore, fre and bonde, to receaue a marke in their right handes or in their forheades. And that no man might by or sell, saue he that had the marke or the name of the beaste, other the nomber of his name. Here is wysdome. Let him that hath witte, counte the nomber of the beaste. ••or it is the nomber of a man, and his nomber is syxe hundred, three score and syxe.
This bringethe the dragon to passe, to establyshe and confirme the wor∣shipping of ymages, whiche began to doe miracles, and dyd speake, (to the great wonder of all men) somtyme with the helpe of nicromancie the science of the deuyll: by the whiche science, many of them came vnto the papacye as their owne stories doe testyfie. Out of this, dothe it folowe afterwarde, that whoso euer wyll not worship this ymage, the same must dye, euen as the papacye wyll haue it yet vntyll this daye. And with parcialite, geue them markes, that is excommunicate them, and dysherite them of their kyngdomes and here∣tages, suche as wyll not worshyppe and honour their ymages. Here must men speake warely and circumspectly, that they dysplease no man, that they maye enioye lyfe, bodye, estimacion and goodes quietly. But goddes worde and wyll commaundeth otherwyse, and is an other maner of wysdome. God willeth, that this beastes nomber and errour shoulde haue an ende. Reken* 1.1 from the yeare of our Lorde, a thousande v. hundreth and .xx. backewarde this nomber of .vi. hundreth .iii. score and .vi. yeares and looke what tyme it was thā with the popes and the Emperours.