Cambridge has authority to admit twelve preachers yearly, of whom I am one; and the king's highness, God save his grace, decreed that all admitted by the universities, should preach throughout all his realm as long as they preached well, without distrain* of any man, my lord of Canterbury, my lord of Durham, with such others not a few, standing by, and hearing the decree, nothing gainsaying it, but consenting to the same. Now, as to contemn my lord of London's authority were no little fault in me; so no less fault might appear in my lord of London to contemn the king's authority and decree, yea so godly, so fruitful, so commendable a decree pertaining to edification of Christian souls. To have a book which is not forbidden by the king, is to obey the king; and to inhibit a preacher admitted by the king, is it not to disobey the king? Is it not one king that doth inhibit and admit, and has he not as great authority to admit as to inhibit? He that resists the power, whether admitting or inhibiting, does he not resist the ordinance of God? We low subjects are bound to obey powers and their ordinances; and are not the highest subjects also, who ought to give us example of such obedience? As for my preaching itself, I trust in God my lord of London cannot rightfully nor justly reprove it, if it be considered with the circumstances thereof, and as I spake it, or else it is not my preaching, but his that falsely reporteth it, as the poet Martial said to one who abused his book.

But now I hear say that my lord of London is informed, and upon the said information hath informed the king, that I went about to defend Bilney and his cause, against his ordinaries and judges, which I assure you is not so; for I had nothing to do with Bilney, nor yet with his judges, except his judges did him wrong. For I did nothing but admonish all judges indifferently to do right, and I am not altogether so foolish as to defend the thing which I knew not. It might have become a preacher to say as I said, though Bilney had never been born. I have known Bilney a great while, I think much better than ever my lord of London did, for I have been his ghostly father† many a time. And to tell you the truth, and what I have thought always of him, I have known hitherto few such, so prompt and ready to do every man good after his power, both friends and foes, doing harm designedly to no man, * Hinderance, restraint. + Confessor.

and towards his enemies so charitable; so seeking to reconcile them, as he did, I have known not many. And to be short, a very simple good soul, nothing fit for this wretched world, whose blind fashion and miserable state (yea far from Christ's doctrine) he could as little bear, and would sorrow, lament and bewail it as much as any man that ever I knew. As for his singular learning, as well in Holy Scripture as in all other good knowledge, I will not speak of it. Notwithstanding if he either now of late, or at any time attempted any thing contrary to the obedience which a Christian man owes either to his prince or to his bishop, I neither do, nor will allow and approve that, neither in him nor yet in any other man. We all are men, and ready to fall; wherefore he that standeth, let him beware he fall not. How he ordered or misordered himself in judgment, I cannot tell, and I will not meddle withal: God knoweth, whose judgments I will not judge. But I cannot but wonder; if a man living so mercifully, so charitably, so patiently, so continently, so studiously, and virtuously, and killing his old Adam, that is to say, mortifying his evil affections, and blind motions of his heart so diligently, should die an evil death, there is no more to be said, but let him that standeth beware that he fall not; for if such as he shall die evil, what shall become of me, such a wretch as I am?

But let this go as little to the purpose, and come to the point we must rest upon. Either my lord of London will judge my outward man only, or else he will be my God, and judge mine inward man. If he will have to do only with mine outward man, and will meddle with mine outward conversation, how I have ordered myself toward my Christian brethren the king's liege people, I trust I shall please and content both my Lord God, and also my lord of London. For I have preached and taught only according to Holy Scripture, holy fathers, and ancient interpreters of the same, with whom I think my lord of London will be pacified; for I have done nothing else in my preaching, but with all diligence moved my auditors to faith and charity, to do their duty and that which is necessary to be done. As for things of private devotion, mean things, and voluntary things, I have reproved the abuse, the superstition of them, without condemnation of the things themselves, as it becomes preachers to do: which if my lord of London should do himself (as I would to God he

would do,) he would be reported, no doubt, to condemn the use of such things, by covetous men who have damage, and find less in their boxes by condemnation of the abuse, which abuse they had rather should continue still, than their profit should not continue, so thorny be their hearts. If my lord will needs coast and invade my inward man, will I nill I, and break violently into my heart, I fear me I shall either displease my lord of London, which I would be very loath to do, or else my Lord God, to which I will be more loath: not for any infidelity, but for ignorance, for I believe as a Christian man ought to believe; but peradventure my lord knows, and will know many things certainly, which perchance I am ignorant in, with which ignorance, though my lord of London may if he will be discontented, yet I trust my Lord God will pardon it as long as I hurt no man withal, and say to him with diligent study and daily prayer, "My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed;" so studying, preaching, and tarrying the pleasure and leisure of God. And in the mean season, as Apollos did, when he knew nothing of Christ, but the baptism of John, (see Acts, chapter the eighth,) I teach and preach so far, and no further than I know to be true. There are three creeds, one in my mass, another in my matins, the third common to them that neither say mass nor matins, nor yet know what they say when they say the creed:* and I believe all three, with all that God hath left in holy writ, for me and all others, to believe: yet I am ignorant in things which I trust hereafter to know, as I do now know things in which I have been ignorant heretofore; ever learning and ever to be learned, to profit with learning, and not to annoy with ignorance. I have thought in times past, that the Pope was Christ's vicar, lord of all the world as Christ is, so that if he should have deprived the king of his crown, or you of the lordship of Bromeham, it had been enough: for he could do no wrong. Now I might be brought to think otherwise; notwithstanding I have both seen and heard Scripture drawn to that purpose. I have thought in times past, that the pope's dispensations of pluralities of benefices, and absence from the same, had discharged consciences before God; forasmuch as I had heard texts bended to corroborate the same. Now I might be easily entreated to think otherwise.

*Because it was in Latin.

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I have thought in times past, that the Pope could have delivered from purgatory at his pleasure with a word of his mouth; now learning might persuade me otherwise, or else I should marvel why he suffers so much money to be bestowed that way, which is so needful to be bestowed otherwise, and so deprives us of as many patrons in heaven as he might deliver out of purgatory. I have thought in times past, that if I had been a friar and in a cowl, I could not have been damned, nor afraid of death; and by occasion of the same, I have been minded many times to have been a friar, namely, when I was sore sick and diseased. Now I abhor my superstitious foolishness. I have thought in times past, that divers images of saints could have holpen me, and done me much good, and delivered me from my diseases; now I know that one can help as much as another. And it grieveth mine heart that my lord and such as my lord is, can suffer the people to be so craftily deceived. It were too long to tell you what blindness I have been in, and how long it were ere I could forsake such folly, it was so incorporated in me: but by continual prayer, continual study of Scripture, and oft communing with men of more right judgment, God hath delivered me. Yea, men think that my lord himself hath thought in times past that by God's law a man might marry his brother's wife, but he now both dares think and say contrary; and yet this his boldness might have chanced in Pope Julius' days, to stand him either in a fire, or else in a fagot.* Which thing deeply considered, and pondered by my lord, might something stir him to charitable equity, and to be something remissible toward men, who labour to do good as their power serveth, with knowledge, and hurt no man with their ignorance. For there is no greater distance than between God's law and not God's law: or that it is so, or not so because any man thinketh it: for if it be indeed either so or not, it is so, though all the world had thought otherwise these thousand years.

And finally, as you say, the matter is weighty and ought substantially to be looked upon, even as weighty as my life is worth; but how to look substantially upon it, otherwise I know not, than to pray my Lord God day and night, that as he hath emboldened me to preach his truth, so he will strengthen me to suffer for it, to the edification

* Latimer alludes to the bishop's sanctioning the king's divorce.

of them which have taken, by his working, fruit thereby; and even so I desire you and all others that favour me for his sake, likewise to pray. For it is not I (without his mighty helping hand) that can abide that brunt: but I have trust that God will help me in time of need, which if I had not, the ocean sea, I think, should have divided my lord of London and me before this day. For it is a rare thing for a preacher to have favour at his hand who is no preacher himself, and yet ought to be. I pray God that both he and I may both discharge ourselves, he in his great cure, and I in my little, to God's pleasure, and the safety of our souls. Amen. I pray you pardon me that I write not more distinctly, nor more truly: for my head is so out of frame, that it would be too painful for me to write it again; and if I am not prevented, shortly I intend to rejoice with my parishioners this Christmas, for all this sorrow, lest perchance I never return to them again.*

IV.

The second Letter of M. Latimer to Sir Edward Baynton.

And

RIGHT worshipful sir, and my singular good master, I salute you in Christ Jesus with due commendation, and also thanks for your great goodness towards me. whereas you have communicated my last letters to certain of your friends, who rather desire this or that in me, what I think therein I will not now say, not that there could be any peril or danger in the said letters (if well taken) as far as I can judge; but because they were rashly and unadvisedly scribbled, as you might well know, both by my excuse, and by the letters also, though no excuse had been made. And besides that, you know right well, that where the bee gathers honey, even there the spider gathers venom, not for any diversity of the flower, but for divers natures in them that suck the flower. As in times past, and in the beginning, the very truth in itself was to some offence, to some foolishness, to others who were otherwise disposed, the wisdom of God. Such diversity was in the hearers thereof.

*Sir E. Baynton wrote in reply recommending Latimer to conform his opinions to those generally adopted. See Fox. The substance of his letter may be gathered from Latimer's answer which follows.