ing? So weak and blunt is your sword, to strike at one of the offenders of this crooked and perverse generation.

28. And this is, by reason that the chief instrument of your law, yea, the chief of your council, and he which hath your sword in his hand, to whom also all other instruments are obedient, is always a spiritual man, which hath ever such an inordinate love unto his own kingdom, that he will maintain that, though all the temporal kingdoms and commonwealths of the world should utterly therefore be undone.

29. Here leave we out the greatest matter of all, lest we, declaring such an horrible carrion of evil, against the ministers of iniquity, should seem to declare the one only fault, or rather the ignorance of our test beloved minister of tightwiseness, which is to be hid, till he may be learned, by these small enormities that we have spoken of, to know it plainly himself. But what remedy to relieve us, your poor, sick, lame, and sore bedemen? To make many hospitals for the relief of the poor people; nay truly, the more the worse; for ever the fat of the whole foundation hangeth on the priests beards.

30. Divers of your noble predecessors, kings of this realm, have given lands to monasteries, to give a certain sum of money yearly to the people, whereof, for the ancient of the time, they give never one penny. They have likewise given to them to have certain masses said daily for them (the dead) whereof they never said one: if the abbot of Westminster should sing every day as many masses for his founders, as he is bound to do by his foundation, a thousand monks were too few. 31. Wherefore, if your grace will build a sure hospital, that never shall fail to relieve us, your bedemen, so take from them all those things set their sturdy loobies abroad in the world to get them wives of their own, to get their living with their labour, in the sweat of their faces, according to the commandment of God, Gen. iii. to give other idle people, by their example, occasion to go to labour: tye these hely, idle thieves to the carts to be whipped naked about every market-town till they will fall to labour, that they may, by their importunate begging, not take away the alms that the good christian people would give unto us, sore, impotent, miserable people, your bedemen. Then shall as well the number of our foresaid monstrous sort, as bauds, whores, thieves, and idle people decrease: then shall these great yearly exactions cease: then shall not your sword, power, crown, dignity, and obedience of your people be translated from you: then shall you have full obedience of your people: then shall the idle people be set to work.

32. Lastly, then shall matrimony be much better kept then shall the generation of your people be increased: then shall your commons increase in riches: N. B. then shall the gospel be preached: then shall none beg our alms from us: then shall we have enough, and more than shall suffice us, which shall be the best hospital that ever was founded for us. Then shall we daily pray to God for your most noble estate long to endure.

Domine, salvum fac Regem.

OR,

God save the King.

VOL. I.

AN EPISTLE

OF THE

MOSTE MYGHTY AND REDOUTED PRINCE,

HENRY THE VIII.

By the Grace of God, Kyng of England, and of Fraunce, Lorde of Irelande, Defender of the Faithe, and Supreme Heed of the Churche of England, nexte vnder Christe,

WRITEN TO THE EMPEROURS MAIESTIE,

To all Christen Princes, and to all those that trewly and syncerely professe Christes Religion.

In this epistle bothe the causes are playnely declared, why the Kynges Hyghenes owght neyther to sende nor go to the council indicted at Vincence, and also how perylouse a thinge it is for all suche, as professe the trewe doctrine of Christ, to come thether.

Herevnto also is annexed the protestation made the last yere, by the Kynges Hyghenes, his holle counsayle and clergye, as touchinge the councille indicted at Mantua, &c.

Rede bothe, O Christen reader, truthe is comynge home, longe afore beynge in captyuytye; steppe forth and meete her by the waye: yf thou see her presente, embrace hir, and shewe thy selfe gladde of here retourne. London, printed by John Berthelet 1538. Octavo, containing nineteen pages.

As the following small Piece is one, if not the very first publick Declaration of King Henry the Eighth, against the Pope, now extant, I apprehend, that it will be doing great Service to the English History, to preserve it in this Collection.

The occasion was the King's being cited by the Pope, in concert with the Emperor, to appear before a general council, as he pretended to be held at Mantua, to answer to such accusations there to be laid against him.

The King communicated this summons to the convocation, then sitting, and demanded their advice; who answered in writing, that, before a general council could be called, it was necessary to consider, who had authority to call it. 2dly, whether the reasons for calling it were weighty. 3dly, who should assist as judges. 4thly, what should be the order of proceeding. 5thly, what doctrines were to be discussed. And lastly, that neither the Pope nor any other Prince, without the consent of all the sovereigns in Christendom, had power to call a general council. And,

Henry, well knowing that he must lose his cause before such a council, as proposed, he had been unwise to submit to its decisions: therefore,

Pursuant to this declaration of his clergy, the King protested against this council, in which protestation he speaks very plainly and freely of the designs and conduct of the Pope; being informed of the council's being moved to Vicenza, he repeatcth the same protestation to the Emperor in this letter following.

Henry the VIII. By the Grace of God, Kynge of Englande, and of Fraunce, &c. saluteth the Emperor, Christen Princes, and all true Christen Men, desyringe Peace and Concorde amonges them.

a

counsayles names, whyche bothe conteyned many causes, why we refused the councylle, than by the bysshoppe of Romes vsurped power fyrste indycted atte Mantua, to be kepte the xxiii, daye of May, after proroged to Nouembre, noo place appoynted where it shulde be kepte. And where as the same boke doth sufficiently proue, that oure cause coulde take no hurt, neyther with any Thynge doone or decreed in suche a companye of addicte men to one secte, nor in any other councille called by his vsurped power, we thynke it nothynge necessarye so ofte to make new protestations, as the Bysshop of Rome and his courtes, by subtyltye and crafte, doo inuente wayes to mocke the worlde by newe pretensed generall councilles. Yet not withstandynge, bycause that some thynges haue nowe occurred, eyther vppon occasion gyuen vs, by chaunge of the place, or els throughe other consyderations, whyche, nowe beynge knowen to the Worlde, maye do moche good, we thought we shulde do, but euen as that loue enforceth vs, which we owe vnto Christis fayth and relygion, to adde this epistell: and yet we proteste, that we neyther put forth that boke, neyther that we wolde this epistle to be set afore it, that thereby we shulde seme lesse to desyre a Generall Councille, than any other prynce or potentate, but rather more desyrous of it, so it were free for all partes, and vniuersall. And further we desyre all good princes, potentates, and people, to esteeme and thynke that noo prynce wolde more wyllingly be present at suche a councille than we, suche a one, we meane, as we speake of in our protestatyon, made concernynge the councille of Mantua. Trewely as our forefathers inuented nothynge more holyer than generall councils, vsed as they ought to be; so there is almost nothynge, that may do more hurt to the christian common welth, to the faith, to our religion, than generall councils, if they be abused, to luker, to gaynes, to the establyshement of errours. They be called generall, and euen by their name doo admonysshe vs, that all Christen men, which do discent in any opinion, maye in them openly, frankely, and without feare of punysshement or displeasure, say theyr mynde. For seynge suche thinges, as are decreed in generall councils, touche egally all men that gyue assent therevnto, it is mete that euery man maye boldely saye there that he thinketh. And vercly we suppose, that it ought not to be called a generall councylle, where alonlye those men are harde, which are determined for cuer, in all poyntes, to defend the Popysk

part, and to arme theym selfes to fyght in the byshoppe of Romes quarelle, though it were against God and his scriptures. It is no generall council, neyther it ought to be called generall, where the same men be onely aduocates and aduersaries, the same accused and iuges. No it is agaynste the lawe of nature, cyther that we shuld condescende to so vnresonable a lawe against our selfes, eyther that we shuld suffre our selfes to be lefte withoute all defence, and, beynge oppressed with greattest iniuries, to haue no refuge to succour our selfes at. The Byshop of Rome*, and his, be our great ennemyes, as we and all the worlde may well perceyue by his doynges. He desyreth nothinge more than oure hurte, and the destruction of oure realme: do not we then violate the judgement of nature, yf we gyue hym power and auctoritie to be our iudge? his pretended honour fyrste gotten by superstition, after encreased by vyolence, and other wayes, as euylle as that his power sette uppe by pretense of relygyou, in dede, both agaynste relygyon, and also contrary to the worde of God: his Primacye, borne by the ignorancye of the worlde, nourysshed by the ambition of bysshops of Rome, defended by places of scripture, falsely vnderstande. These iii. thynges we saye, which are fallen with vs, and are lyke to fall in other realmes shortly, shall they not be establyshed again, yf he maye decyde our cause as hym lysteth? yf he maye at his pleasure oppresse a cause moste ryghtuouse, and set vp his, moste againe truth? certaynely, he is verye blynde, that seeth not, what ende we maye loke for of our controuersic, if suche our ennemye may gyue the sentence.

We desyre, yf it were in any wyse possible, a councill, where some hope maye be, that those thynges shall be restored, which, nowe beinge deprauate, are lyke, if they be not amended, to be the vtter ruine of Christen relygyon. And as we do desyre suche a councyll, and thinke it mete, that all men, in all their prayers, shoulde craue and desyre it of God; euen so we thinke it pertayneth vnto oure office, to prouyde bothe that these popyshe subtylties hurt none of our subiectes, and also to admonysshe other Christen Princis, that the Bysshope of Rome maye not by their consent abuse the auctoritie of kynges, eyther to the extynguyshing of the true preaching of scripture, that now begynneth to spryng, to grow, and spred abrode, eyther to the troublyng of princes liberties, to the dimynishynge of kynges auctoritics, and to the great blemysshe of theyr princely maiestie. We dout nothing but a reder, not parciall, wyll soone approue suche thynges, as we write in the treatyse folowynge, not soo moche for oure excuse, as that the worlde maye perceyue both the sondry deceytes, craftes, and subtylties of the Papistes, and also, how moch we desyre, that controuersyes in relygyon maye ones be taken awaye. All that we sayde there of Mantua, maye here well be spoken of Uincence. They do almoste agree in all poyntes. Neyther it is lyke, that there wolle be any more at this councille at Uincence, than were the last yere atte Mantua. Trewelye he is worthy to be deceyued, that, beynge twyse mocked, wolle not beware the thyrde tyme. Yf any this last

Published a bull of excommunication against him; and tried to excite all princes of Christer • dom, against Henry, and offered his kingdom to the King of Scotland, &c.

yere made forth towarde Mantua, and, beynge halfe on their waye, thanne perceyued, that they hadde taken vppon them that iourney in vayne, we do not thynke them so foolysshe, that they wolle hereafter ryde farre oute of towne to be mocked. The tyme also, and the state of thynges is suche, that matters of relygion maye rather nowe be broughte farther in trouble, as other thynges are, than be commodiousely intreated of and decyded. For where as, in maner, the hole worlde is after suche sorte troublyd with warres, so incombred with the great preparations that the Turke maketh, canne there be any manne so agaynste the setlynge of relygyon, that he wolle thynke this tyme mete for a generall councill? Undoubtedlye it is mete that such controuersics, as we haue with the byshoppe of Rome, be taken as they are; that is moch greatter, than that they maye eyther be discussed in this soo troublesome a tyme, or elles be committed vnto proctours, without our greate icoperdic, all be it the tyme were neuer so quiete. What other princes wyll do, we can not tell; but we will neyther leaue our realme at this tyme, neyther we wyll truste any proctour with oure cause, wherein the holle staye and welth of our realme standeth, but rather we wyll be atte the handlynge therof our selfe. For excepte both an other judge be agreed vppon for those matters, and also a place more commodiouse be prouyded, for the debating of our causes, all be it al other thynges were as we wolde haue them, yet maye we lawfully refuse to come or sende any to his pretended councylle. We wolle in noo case make hym our arbyter, whyche, not many yeres paste, oure cause not harde, gaue sentence agaynste vs. We wolle that suche doctrine, as we, folowynge the scripture, do professe, rytely to be examinyd, discussyd, and to be brought to scripture, as to the onely touche stone of true lernynge. We wyll not suffre them to be abolyshed, ere euer they be discussyd, ne to be oppressed, before they be knowen: moche lesse we wyll suffre theym to be troden downe beinge so clerely trewe. No, as there is no iote in iote in scripture, but we wolle defende it, thoughe it were with icoperdie of our lyfe, and peryil of this our realme: so is there no thynge, that doeth oppresse this doctrine, or obscure it, but we wolle be at continuall warre therwith. As we haue abrogated all olde Popishe tradicions in this oure realme, which eyther dyd helpe his tyranny or increase his pryde: soo, yf the grace of God forsake vs not, we wyll wel forsee, that no newe naughtye tradicions be made with our consente, to bynde vs or our realme. Yf men wyll not be willyngely blynde, they shall casyly see euen by a due and euident profe in reson, though grace dothe not yet by the worde of Christ enter into theym, howe small thauctorytie of the bysshop of Rome is, by the lawful denyall of the Duke of Mantua for the place. For yf the bysshoppe of Rome dydde ernestly intende to kepe a councyll at Mantua, and hath power, by the lawe of God, to calle prynces to what place hym lyketh; why hath he not also auctoritie to chose what place hym lysteth? The Bysshop chose Mantua, the Duke kepte hym oute of it. Yf Paule, the bysshoppe of Romes auctoritye, be so great, as he pretendeth, why coulde not he compel Fredericus, Duke of Mantua, that the councille myghte be kepte there?

The Duke wolde not suffre it. No, he forbadde hym his towne.