tine.

appeared to St. Paul, and said to him: Saul, Saul, why Acts xi. dost thou persecute me? But St. Augustine saith, that Christ St. Augusat his ascension spake the last words that ever he spake upon earth. And yet we find that Christ speaketh, saith he, but in heaven and from heaven, and not upon earth. For he spake to Paul from above, saying: Saul, Saul, why dost thou persecute me? The head was in heaven, and yet he said: Why dost thou persecute me? because he persecuted his members upon earth.

And if this please not Master Smith, let him blame St. Augustine and not me, for I feign not this myself, but only allege St. Augustine.

and xvii.

And as the Father spake from heaven, when he said: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am pleased, and also Matth. iii. St. Stephen saw Christ sitting in heaven at his Father's right hand even so meant St. Augustine, that St. Paul, and all other that have seen and heard Christ speak since Acts vii. his ascension, have seen and heard him from heaven.

Now when this papist, going forward with his works, The seeth his building so feeble and weak that it is not able Church. to stand, he returneth to his chief foundation, the Church and Councils General, willing all men to stay thereupon, and to leave disputing and reasoning. And chiefly he shoreth up his house with the Council Lateranense, whereat, saith he, were thirteen hundred fathers and fifteen. But he telleth not, that eight hundred of them were monks, friars, and canons, the Bishop of Rome's own dear darlings and chief champions, called together in his name and not in Christ's. From which brood of vipers and serpents what thing can be thought to come, but that did proceed from the spirit of their most holy father that first begat them, that is to say, from the spirit of Antichrist.

And yet I know this to be true, that Christ is present with his holy Church, which is his holy elected people, and shall be with them to the world's end, leading and govern

Examination before Brokes at Oxford, or in Foxe, Acts and Monuments, vol. ii. p. 425.]

The true

the Church

ing them with his holy Spirit, and teaching them all truth necessary for their salvation. And whensoever any such be gathered together in his name, there is he among them, and he shall not suffer the gates of hell to prevail against them. For although he may suffer them by their own frailness for a time to err, fall, and to die, yet finally, neither Satan, hell, sin, nor eternal death, shall prevail against them.

But it is not so of the Church and see of Rome, which accounteth itself to be the holy catholic Church, and the Bishop thereof to be most holy of all other. For many years ago Satan hath so prevailed against that stinking whore of Babylon, that her abominations be known to the whole world, the name of God is by her blasphemed, and of the cup of her drunkenness and poison have all nations tasted.

AFTER this cometh Smyth to Berengarius, Almericus, faith was in Carolostadius, Ecolampadius, and Zuinglius, affirming that from the be- the Church ever sithence Christ's time a thousand five hunginning, and was dred years and mo, hath believed that Christ is bodily in not taught the sacrament, and never taught otherwise until Berengafirst by Berengarius. rius came, about a thousand years after Christ, whom the other followed.

But in my book I have proved by God's word and the old ancient authors, that Christ is not in the sacrament corporally, but is bodily and corporally ascended into heaven, and there shall remain unto the world's end.

And so the true Church of Christ ever believed from the beginning without repugnance, until Satan was let loose, and Antichrist came with his papists, which feigned a new and false doctrine contrary to God's word and the true catholic doctrine.

And this true faith God preserveth in his holy Church still, and will do unto the world's end, maugre the wicked Antichrist and all the gates of hell. And Almighty God from time to time hath strengthened many holy martyrs for this faith to suffer death by Antichrist and the great harlot of Babylon, who hath embrued her hands, and is made drunken with the blood of martyrs. Whose blood

God will revenge at length, although in the mean time he suffer the patience and faith of his holy saints to be tried.

Church it is

ALL the rest of his Preface containeth nothing else but What the authority of the Church, which, Smith saith, cannot that cannot wholly err: and he so setteth forth and extolleth the err. same, that he preferreth it above God's word, affirming not only that it is the pillar of truth, and no less to be believed than holy Scripture; but also that we should not believe holy Scripture but for it. So that he maketh the word of men equal or above the word of God.

And truth it is indeed, that the Church doth never wholly err, for ever in most darkness God shineth unto his elect, and in the midst of all iniquity he governeth them so with his holy word and Spirit, that the gates of hell prevail not against them. And these be known to him, although the world many times know them not, but hath them in derision and hatred, as it had Christ and his Apostles. Nevertheless at the last day they shall be known to all the whole world, when the wicked shall wonder at their felicity, and say: These be they whom we sometime had in derision ' and mocked. We fools thought their lives very madness, Sap. v. ' and their end to be without honour. But now lo, how

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they be accounted among the children of God, and their 'portion is among the saints. Therefore we have erred from 'the way of truth, the light of righteousness hath not shined unto us, we have wearied ourselves in the way of wickedness and destruction.'

But this holy Church is so unknown to the world, that no man can discern it, but God alone, who only searcheth Psal. vii. the hearts of all men, and knoweth his true children from other that be but bastards.

This Church is the pillar of truth, because it resteth upon God's word, which is the true and sure foundation,

2 Tim. ii.

and will not suffer it to err and fall. But as for the open 1 Tim. iii. known Church, and the outward face thereof, it is not the pillar of truth, otherwise than that it is, as it were, a register

or treasury to keep the books of God's holy will and testa

ment, and to rest only thereupon, as St. Augustine and Tertullian mean, in the places by Mr. Smith alleged.

And as the register keepeth all men's wills, and yet hath none authority to add, change, or take away any thing, nor yet to expound the wills further than the very words of the will extend unto, (so that he hath no power over the will, but by the will,) even so hath the Church no further power over the holy Scripture, which containeth the will and testament of God, but only to keep it, and to see it observed and kept. For if the Church proceed further, to make any new articles of the faith, besides the Scripture, or contrary to the Scripture, or direct not the form of life according to the same, then it is not the pillar of truth, nor the Church of Christ, but the synagogue of Satan, and the temple of Antichrist, which both erreth itself, and bringeth into error as many as do follow it.

And the holy Church of Christ is but a small herd or Luke xii. flock, in comparison to the great multitude of them that follow Satan and Antichrist, as Christ himself saith, and the word of God and the course of the world from the beginning until this day hath declared.

Gen. vii.

For from the creation of the world until Noe's flood, what was then the open face of the earth? How many godly men were in those thousand and six hundred years and mo? Did not iniquity begin at Cain to rule the world, and so increased more and more, that at the length God could no longer suffer, but drowned all the world for sin, except eight persons, which only were left upon the whole earth?

And after the world was purged by the flood, fell it not

Gen. xii. by and by to the former iniquity again? so that within few years after, Abraham could find no place where he might be suffered to worship the true living God, but that God appointed him a strange country, almost clearly desolate and unhabited; where he and a few other, contrary to the usage of the world, honoured one God.

And after the great benefits of God showed unto his people of Israel, and the law also given unto them, whereby they were taught to know him, and honour him, yet how

many times did they fall from him? Did they not from time to time make them new gods, and worship them? Was not the open face of the Church so miserably deformed, nou only in the wilderness, and in the time of the judges, but also in the time of the kings, that after the division of the kingdom, amongst all the kings of Juda there was but only Ecclus.xlix. three, in whose times the true religion was restored, and among all the kings of Israel not so much as one. Were not all that time the true priests of God a few in number? Did not all the rest maintain idolatry and all abominations in groves and mountains, worshipping Baal and other false gods. And did they not murder and slay all the true prophets that taught them to worship the true God? Insomuch that Helias the Prophet, knowing no mo of all the whole people that followed the right trade, but himself alone, made his complaint unto Almighty God, saying: O Lord, they 1 Reg. xix. have slain thy prophets, and overthrown thine altars, and there is no mo left but I alone, and yet they lie in wait to slay me also. So that although Almighty God suffered them in their captivity at Babylon no more but seventy Jerem. xxv. years, yet he suffered them in their idolatry, following their and xxix. own ways and inventions, many hundred years, the mercy Acts xiv. of God being so great, that their punishment was short and small, in respect of their long and grievous offences. And at the time of Christ's coming, the high priests came to their offices by such fraud, simony, murder, and poisoning, that the like hath not been often read nor heard of, except only at Rome.

And when Christ was come, what godly religion found he? What Annasses and Cayphasses? what hypocrisy, superstition, and abomination before God, although to men's eyes things appeared holy and godly? Was not then Christ alone and his Apostles, with other that believed his doctrine, the holy and true Church? Although they were not so taken, but for heretics, seditious persons, and blasphemers of God, and were extremely persecuted and put to villainous death, by such as accounted themselves and were taken for the Church, which fulfilled the measure of their fathers that