The images of a verye Chrysten bysshop, and of a couterfayte bysshop.

The preface to the reader.

I Do not thynke good chry¦sten reader any re∣asonable or indyf∣ferent persone lyuynge of so vn∣dyscrete and grosse iudgement, nor yet so malycyous or frowar¦de to thynke this holsome & pro∣fytable doctryne of Chryste, his apostles & prophetes in this lyt∣le volume hereafter ensuynge, worthy eyther of checke, condem pnacyon, or sclaunder, for the ve¦hemency therin nowe and then comprysed / yf at the leaste there be any suche vehemency at all to the sight of any, but of them whi¦che feele them selues sensyblye touched, and theyr vyces playn∣ly rebuked in the same. Truthe it is, that there can be nothynge

so wysely warely or syncerely ey¦ther pronounsed or endyted, whi¦che the blasphemous tongues of false detractours & enemyes vn∣to the truthe can not craftely per¦uerte to y^e worste Examples ther¦of be not so care, but y^e thou may¦ste habundauntly fynde of them in euery place ynowe. Go to chry¦ste and his apostles, and se whe∣ther the bysshops, the scrybes, & the pharyseys, dyd not falsely impeche and accuse theym of se∣dycyon, and to proue theyr false and moste vntrue suggestyon by theym made in that behalfe to y^e hygh powers, note & marke well I beseche the in readynge of the serypture, how deuelysshely they do calumpnyate, {per}uerte, wrythe, and wreste theyr deades and do∣ctryne. And yet yf they had ben any thyng so malycious as some

suche theyr successours be nowe a dayes, how many tymes more myght they haue accused theym of the same / As for an example, when the apostles were cōmaun¦ded no more to preache in y^e na∣me of Ihesu / yea & y^e not onely by the bysshops and preest{is}, but also by the auctorytie of the tem∣porall power, and were for the in fryngynge and breakyng of the sayd cōmaundement brought a∣gayne before the hygher power aforesayde, and had made theyr answere, that they were boun∣den to obey god rather then mā. Myghte not (I saye) the Iewes then yf they had ben halfe so ma¦lycyouslye dysposed as ben our Iewes haue peruerted the say∣inges of the apostles to the wor∣ste, and haue accused them of se∣dycyon, yea and of treason after

this maner? ye saye syrs, that ye must obey god rather then men: Ergo your doctryne is not to o∣beye men. Nowe knowe ye that we be no pryuate men, but men in Offyce, auctoryte and power, and to whome bothe you and all pryuate men ben bounden by the lawe of god to obey, and yet ye te¦che to the cōtrary. Wherfore we conclude you to be traytoures bothe to god & man, & mayntey∣ners and styrrers vp of sedycyō, stryfe, and treason. Myght not (I beseche you) the Iewes (as I sayde before) thus haue wrested the wordes of y^e apostles to a fal∣se sence, and otherwyse then euer they ment? I pray you who coul∣de haue let or interrupted them? Or yf they had so done what re∣medy? Must not the poore inno∣cente soules, the Apostles haue

susteyned so wrongfull and gre∣uous iniurye? yes certeyne. Albe it the blyssed Apostles entended nothynge lesse then such detesta∣ble doctryne. But theyr meanyn∣ge was, that where man wolde cōmaunde any thyng to be done contrarye to the wylle of god, expressed in his holye scrypture, that in suche case his cōmaunde¦ment ought not to be obeyed of what estate, power or dygnytye, soeuer he were or myght be. And yet not soo meanynge that he shulde be withstanded with vyo¦lence, but that rather then they shulde assente to the vyolatynge of goddes worde and cōmaun∣demente, they were, wolde, and oughte to be redye to abyde and mekelye to suffre. What soeuer trouble, or persecucy on myghte theron ensue or folowe, to the ex∣ample

of all Chrystes posterytie after them to be borne. And this to be the true vnderstandyng of theyr wordes appereth ryght ma¦nyfestly by y^e practyse of y^e same and that imedyatly where after they had ben sore bet for the prea¦chynge of goddes true worde, whiche they were forbydde to do by man, they departed from the councell ryght ioyous, that god had elected theym to that dygny tie of his infynyte benygnytie & mercy / wherfore (I saye) in lyke maner, it is not impossyble, but that in this lytle boke, or in any boke some thynge may be of ma¦lyce taken to the worste. But let no man malycyously wrynge, or wreste the content{is} & mater ther∣of of a set purpose or festred ran¦coure. And I doubte not but vn¦to all good men, it shall appere,

bothe meke and mylde, godly, & also vertuous, and an argumēt plentuous of profitable erudyci¦on & learnynge. And as for sedy¦cyon and treason I dare boldely affyrme it to be as innocent and farre from them as heuē is from helle. except peraduēture it mete with a sophystycall deuyll, whi∣che can proue whyte to be blacke and truthe to be treason. The bo¦ke descrybeth paynteth and set∣teth forthe before thyne iyes (so that no appelles can do it more excellently) the Images both of a verye chrysten bysshop, and al∣so of a counterfayte bysshop, of a profytable, and of an vnprofy∣table, of a paulyne, and of a pa∣pyste, shortly of a true, and a fal∣se, yea and that it dothe in suche true, naturall, fresshe, and lyue∣ly coloures, that the one of them

ones knowen, it is not possyble but a man muste feele the other euen at his fyngers endes, Al∣beit he were more blynde then y^e Molle. And in this doyng, euen as it is impossyble in descrybyn∣ge the good bysshoppe to saye a∣ny thynge of hym, but that whi∣che is good, honeste, vertuous, and godly, oneles he shuld dead¦lye belye hym: euen so contrary∣wyse in descrybynge the euyll bysshoppe, it is as impossyble to saye any thynge of hym, that good honest or vertuous is, one∣les he shulde deadly belye hym, whiche of truthe were great py∣tye, for (as mē saye) it were synne to belye the deuyll. For asmoche then as there can be no goodnes without great lesynge reported by the euyll bysshop, what mer∣ueyl

then or why shuld any man be dyscontented but an euyll byf¦shop, or the patron and defen∣der of an euyll bysshop / yf your Auctoure do set hym forth in his naturall proporcyon, lyke a mon stre as he is? Why shulde not a man declare a monstre after a mōstruous fasshyon? Is it mete for a man to offre a candell to the deuyll, or to paynte hym ly∣ke a good aungell? Is it not co∣melye and besemynge for euery good and honest man, to exalte, & extolle vertue to y^e vttermoste of his power. And why then shul¦de not it become hym aswell to depryue and suppresse vyce to the vttermoste, and to enuye a∣gaynste it, and agaynst theym that vse it with all that he maye?

Fynally he describeth a good, ho¦nest, vertuous & godly bysshops as doth y^e scripture, whom when thou knowest (except I be begy∣led) it shal be ryght easy to espye and knowe the other / wherin I humblye beseche the father of al¦cōsolacyon ones to make vs per¦fecte, for y^e precyous blode of his swete sone Ihesu, and therto to grannte to vs his holy spyryte.

¶ So be it.

Notes

• Act. 4.
• Act. 5.
• Act. 5.