heresy. And I am sure that their living is not more perfect than St. Paul's was, concerning the outward works of the law before he was converted. Also the king and prophet David was not ashamed to forsake his good intent in building of the temple, after the prophet Nathan had showed him that it was not the pleasure of God that he should build any house for him: and notwithstanding Nathan had before allowed and praised the purpose of David, yet he was not ashamed to revoke his words again when he knew that they were not according to God's will and pleasure. Wherefore they are sore drowned in worldly wisdom who think it against their worship* to acknowledge their ignorance. I pray to God that your grace may espy and take heed of their worldly wisdom, which is foolishness before God; that you may do that which God commands, and not that which seems good in your own sight without the word of God; that your grace may be found acceptable in his sight, and one of the members of his church: and according to the office that he hath called your grace unto, you may be found a faithful minister of his gifts, and not a defender of his faith; for he will not have it defended by man or man's power, but by his word only, by which he hath evermore defended it, and that by a way far above man's power or reason, as all the stories of the Bible make mention. Wherefore, gracious king, remember yourself, have pity upon your soul, and think that the day is even at hand when you shall give account of your office and of the blood that hath been shed with your sword. In which day that your grace may stand steadfastly and be not ashamed, but be clear and ready in your reckoning, and have (as they say) your quietus est, sealed with the blood of our Saviour Christ, which only serveth at that day, is my daily prayer to Him that suffered death for our sins, who also prayeth to his Father for grace for us continually. To whom be all honour and praise for ever, Amen. The Spirit of God preserve your grace. Anno Domini 1530, 1 die Decembris.§ * Honour. †The pope's title given to king Henry a short time before.-Fox. + Acquittal. § In this letter of Master Latimer to the king we have many things to consider: First, his good conscience to God, his good will to the king, the duty of a right pastor unto truth, his tender care to II. Extracts from a Letter of M. Latimer to M. Morice, concerning the Articles written, which were falsely and untruly laid against him. RIGHT worshipful, and mine own good Master Morice, I salute you in Christ Jesus. And I thank you for all your hearty kindness, not only heretofore showed unto me, but also that now of late you vouchsafed to write unto me, to my great comfort among all these my troubles. I trust and doubt not but God will reward you for me, and supply abundantly mine inability. Master Morice, you would wonder to know how I have been treated at Bristol, I mean by some of the priests, who at first desired me, welcomed me, made me cheer, heard what I said, and allowed my saying in all things whilst I was with them. But when I was gone home to my benefice, perceiving that the people favoured me so greatly, and that the Mayor had appointed me to preach at Easter, they privily procured an inhibition for all who had not the Bishop's license, which they knew well enough I had not, and so craftily defeating Master Mayor's appointment, pretendthe commonwealth, and specially to the church of Christ. Further, we have to consider the abuse of princes' courts, how kings many times are abused by flatterers and wicked counsellors about them; and specially we may note the subtle practices of prelates, in abusing the name and authority of kings to set forth their own malignant proceedings. We may see, moreover, in the said letter, and rather marvel at the great boldness and divine stoutness in this man, who, as yet being no bishop, so freely and plainly without any fear of death adventured his own life to discharge his conscience, and durst so boldly, to so mighty a prince, in such a dangerous case, against the king's law and proclamation set out in such a terrible time, take upon him to write, and to admonish that, which no counsellor durst once speak unto him, in defence of Christ's gospel. Whose example if the bishops and prelates of this realm, for their parts likewise in like cases of necessity would follow (as indeed they should) so many things peradventure would not be so out of frame as they are, and all for lack that the officers of God's word do not their duty. Finally, moreover, in the said letter is to be noted, how blessedly Almighty God wrought with his faithful servant, whose bold adventure, and wholesome counsel, though it did not prevail through the iniquity of the time; yet notwithstanding God so wrought with his servant in doing his duty, that no danger, nor yet displeasure rose to him thereby, but rather thanks and good will of the prince; for not long after the same he was advanced by the king to the bishopric of Worcester.-Fox. ing that they were sorry for it. They procured also certain preachers to blatter* against me, as Hubberdin and Powel, with others, whom when I had brought before the Mayor and the wise council of the town, to know what they could lay to my charge, and wherefore they so declaimed against me, they said they spake by information: how beit no man could be brought forth that would abide by any thing. So that they had place and time to belie me shamefully, but they had no place nor time to lay to my charge when I was present and ready to make them answer. God amend them, and assuage the malice that they have against the truth and me, &c. Our Lady was a sinner. So they did belie me to have said, when I had said nothing so. But to reprove certain both priests and beneficed men, who give so much to our lady as though she had not been saved by Christ, who is a whole Saviour both of her, and of all that are and shall be saved, I reasoned after this manner that either she was a sinner, or no sinner: if a sinner, then she was delivered from sin by Christ: so that he saved her, either by delivering or preserving her from sin, so that without him neither she, nor any other, either are or could be saved. And to avoid all offence I showed how it might be answered, both by certain Scriptures which make all generally to be sinners, and how it might be answered unto Chrysostom and Theophylact, who make her namely and specially a sinner. But all would not serve, their malice was so great: notwithstanding five hundred honest men can and will bear record. When they cannot reprove what I do say, then they will belie me, as if I said that they can reprove, for they will needs appear to be against me.t Ave Maria. As for the Ave Maria, who can think that I would deny it? I said it was a heavenly greeting, or saluting of our blessed lady, wherein the angel Gabriel, sent from the * Rail. + Latimer then proceeds to show that his words had been in like manner misrepresented as to the worship of saints and pilgrimages. It appears that he had already been enabled to perceive and to reject the absurdity and unscriptural nature of the Romish doctrines on these subjects, but had not yet clearly discerned the full scriptural truth upon these points. Father of heaven, did annunciate* and show unto her the good will of God towards her-what he would, and to what he had chosen her. But I said it was not properly a prayer, as the Pater noster, which our Saviour Christ himself made for a proper prayer, and bade us say it for a prayer, not adding that we should say ten or twenty Ave Marias withal. And I denied not but that we may well say Ave Maria also, but not so that we should think that the Pater noster is not good, a whole and perfect prayer, nor cannot be well said without Ave Maria: so that I did not speak against well saying of it, but against superstitious saying of it, and of the Pater noster too, and yet I put a difference betwixt it, and that which Christ made to be said for prayer. No fire in hell. Who ever could say or think so? how beit good authors put a difference betwixt suffering in the fire with bodies and without bodies. The soul without the body is a spiritual substance, which they say cannot receive a corporeal quality, and some make it a spiritual fire; and some a corporeal fire. And as it is called a fire, so is it called a worm, and it is thought of some not to be a material worm, (that is, a living animal,) but it is a metaphor. For a fire it is, a worm it is, pain it is, a torment it is, an anguish it is, a grief, a misery, a sorrow, a heaviness inexplicable, intolerable, whose nature and condition in every point who can tell, but he that is of God's privy council, saith St. Augustine. May God give us grace rather to be diligent to keep out of it, than to be curious to discuss the property of it: for certain we are, that there is little ease in it, yea none at all, but weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth, which are two effects of extreme pain, or rather certain tokens what pain there is, than what manner of pain there is. No purgatory. He that shows the state and condition of it, does not deny it. But I had rather be in it, than in Lollards' Tower, the bishop's prison, for divers causes.† * Announce. Ave Maria is the salutation of the angel to the virgin Mary. (Luke i. 28.) It is often repeated by ignorant Romanists in Latin, as a prayer, with the Lord's prayer. + Latimer here reproves the cruel proceedings of the Romish prelates, by an ironical comparison between the sufferings of the Protestants in Lollards' Tower, and the state of souls in the Romish purgatory. This passage is so characteristic of Latimer, and so fully exposes First, in this* I might die bodily for lack of meat and drink: in that I could not. Item, in this I might die spiritually‡ for fear of pain, or lack of good counsel: there I could not. Item, in this I might be in extreme necessity: in that I could not. Item, in this I might need charity: there I could not. Item, in this I might lose my patience: in that I could not. Item, in this I might be in peril and danger of death: in that I could not. Item, in this I might be without surety of salvation: in that I could not. Item, in this I might dishonour God: in that I could not. Item, in this I might murmur and grudge against God: in that I could not. Item, in this I might displease God: in that I could not. Item, in this I might be displeased with God: in that I could not. Item, in this I might be judged to perpetual prison as they call it in that I could not. Item, in this I might be craftily handled: in that I could not. Item, in this I might be brought to bear a fagot:§ in that I could not. Item, in this I might be discontented with God: in that I could not. Item, in this I might be separated and dissevered from Christ: in that I could not. the absurdity of purgatory, that it has been retained, although a brief explanation may be desirable. The reader will bear in mind, that the Church of Rome defines purgatory to be "A middle state of souls which depart this life in God's grace, yet not without some lesser stains or guilt, which retard them from entering heaven;" and that "the souls detained therein are helped by the suffrages of the faithful, that is, by the prayers and alms offered for them, and principally by the holy sacrifice of the mass." See "The Profession of Faith" published by Pope Pius IV. For these prayers and masses the priests required payment, so that it was a source of enormous gain to the church of Rome, and was called by Latimer and other reformers “Purgatory pick-purse." He here shows that according to their own doctrine, notwithstanding the dreadful representations they made of purgatory, it was not so bad as one of their bishops' prisons! It is unnecessary to observe how much more impression this mode of argument would make upon the people than a more scholastic refutation of the doctrine. *Lollards' Tower. + Purgatory. § Recant. Destroy my soul. |