A Christian instruction, conteyning the law and the Gospell. Also a summarie of the principall poyntes of the Christian fayth and religion, and of the abuses and errors contrary to the same. Done in certayne dialogues in french, by M. Peter Viret, sometime minister of the Word of God at Nymes in Prouince. Translated by I.S. Seene and allowed according to the Queenes Maiesties iniunctions.

VVhat differēce ther is betvvene true & perfect repentance, faith, & charitie.

M.

IT must néedes be then, y^t thou put differēce betwéen true & perfect repē¦tāce, & true faith & charitie.

P.

Euē so thee is differēce.

M.

What is it?

P.

To make thée y^e better to vnderstād it, I wil shewe thée it by exāmple.

M.

I like well y^e maner of declaration.

P.

Take then for exāple a yong chyld, wilt thou say y^t he is a perfect man?

M.

No, till such time as he be come to y^e age in which men do accōpt the per∣fection of man.

P.

But wilt thou denie y^t he is a very mā before he be come to that age?

M.

I am not yet wel resolued howe to answer thée to this demaūd.

P.

It shal be easy for thée to resolue, if thou cōsider what it is to be a man, & what is his na∣ture: for thou canste not denie, y^t who so hath an humane body & a soule participāt of reason & vnderstanding, is a man.

M.

I graunt it.

P.

No more canst thou denie, that a chylde, howe yong soeuer he be, is

compounded of suche a bodie and suche a soule, notwithstanding y^t men do not yet sée in effecte in him, so great a perfection of the bodie, and of reason and vnderstan∣ding, and of other gifts, as wel of the bo∣die as of the spirite, as in a perfecte man.

M.

I do wel vnderstand y^t thou wilt say, that albeit a child may grow both in big∣nesse, force, discretion, prudence, know∣ledge, & in such like vertues, therby to at∣taine to greater perfection, yet notwith∣standing this same letteth not at all, but that he is alreadie a very man.

P.

No, for somuche as he hath in him all the partes that make a verie man, and the séedes of all things required in mans nature, notwythstanding that the frutes as yet appeare not, for albéeit that a thing be∣gone, be not yet fully perfected, it follo∣weth not for all that, but that the be∣ginnings are true and sounde, and that it is true and perfect, forsomuch as is al∣readie of it.

M.

Thou wilt then saye in lyke sorte, that albeit that repentaunce, faith and charitie, be not in vs so greate & so perfect, that no more may be wished for, yet for all that they leaue not to be

true and whole, prouided that wée haue the true séedes therof in vs, and the true beginnings of all the partes required in the same.

P.

Thou hast very well cōpre∣hended that whiche I would haue saide. And forasmuch as all these things are al∣redy begon in vs, by the grace of God, we do dayly continue the reading of the Gos∣pell and the administration of the Sacra∣mentes, to the ende we may daily growe more & more, in that which is alredy be∣gon in vs, and that we may be dayly the better confirmed, to witte, in true repen∣tance and true faith & charitie,* 1.1 and in all the other gifts of god, euen vntil the time that from the infancie in the whiche wée now are cōcerning these gifts and graces, we do come euen to y^e age of a perfect mā, and that we do therein dayly profite as the childe dothe dayly growe vntill the time that he be a perfect man.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Ephes. 4. c.