A Confutation of a Popish and Slanderous Libel, Title page – Dedication
¶A confutation of a Popishe, and sclaunderous libelle, in forme of an apologie: geuen out into the courte, and spread abrode in diuerse other places of the Realme.
¶VVritten by VVilliam Fulke, Bacheler in Diuinitie, and felowe of S. Ihons Colledge in Cambridge.
¶ Imprinted at London, by Ihon Kingston, for William Iones, and are to bee solde at the newe long shop, at the West ende of Poules.
¶ To the right honourable and vertuous Ladie, the Ladie Margaret Strange.
YOur honourable and Godly request (madame) to hauehave this infamous, and Popishe Apologie confuted, maie bee a sufficient testimone, bothe of your loyall affection towardes your prince & countrie, & also of vnfeigned louelove towardes God, and his true religion. For as the libell being sclanderous against our soueraigne and her lawes, & blasphemous against God & his truthe, might be a reioysyng to the obstinate & rebellious, and an offence to the weake and ignorant, if the cloudes of calumniation, and deceiptful reasonyng vsed therin, were not driuē a waie with the blaste of some confutation: so the falshod therof beyng opened, and the crafte discouered, by your L. procuremēt, shalbe a matter of gladnes to the godly, of grief to the wicked, of strenthenyng to the weake, and of learnyng to the ignorant. VVherby trueth beyng mainteined, and errour cōfounded, many men shalbe profited, & God hymself shalbe glorified. And your L. for preferryng so many folde goodnes, may be assured to receiue worthie thankes of men, and plentifull reward of god. But this especially, wherin your L. ought chiefly to reioice, is not to be omitted, that as god hath iustified you in the merites of his sonne through faith cōceiued in your harte, so he hath geuen you an occasion hereby, of his holie name and religion, to make opē profession in the world. VVhē accordyng to the testimonie of the Apostle, as a true and liuely beleif of the hart is necessarie for iustificatiō, so a cleare & open confession of the mouth is requisite to saluatiō. So that this your L. requeste, might seme in all poinctes most fortunat, if it had not founde so meane an instrument, as I am to accōplishe it. For beside that, I am inferiour to verie many of my brethren, that are meate to take suche a matter in hād, I hauehave been for these two yeres almost, as it were sequestered, both frō serious studie, and plentie of such bokes, as for such a purpose, were most conuenient. Notwithstāding, esteming your L. motion, as a prouocatiō sente of god, to occupie my idle tyme, & to employe some parte of gods giftes, to the profite of his Churche, as my duetye bindeth me, I thought good to shew my self, rather vnable, thē willing to satisfie your godly desire. Not that the obiectiōs of the aduersarie were of suche weight, but that thei might easely bee auoyded by many thousand christians, whom God hath indued with meaner giftes of knowledge, & vnderstandyng, then it hath pleased hym to bestowe vponupon me: but that I am priuie to myne owne imperfection, whereby I am lesse apt, to beautifie a matter, with such copy, & eloquence as many other are, & I would wish that this argument might hauehave been handled. Neuertheles, accordyng to my bare, and simple facultie, I hauehave endeuoured to set forthe the truthe, rather with substaunce of matter, then with florishyng of woordes, not caryng howe finely, but howe plainly, I might cause it to appere, seyng it is no lesse charitable to teach the ignoraunt, then it is commendable to please the learned. And this labour I hauehave bestowed for the profite of others, and not for the praise of my self. For whiche cause also I thought it not beste, to encomber the simple reader with many reasōs, or authorities to proue one matter, but to enstructe hym with a few, and those pitthie, & of force to perswade. Sauyng that in one questiō of iustification, in multitude of testimonies, I maie seme to be ouer tedious, if the cause be not considered, whiche prouoked me thereto. For seyng the aduersaries without shame crie out, that our doctrine of iustification, is suche a straunge paradox as neuer was hearde of in the worlde, before our tyme, the same doctrine, beeyng the chiefe foundation of true Religion, I thought it expedient, that the vnlearned were admonished, what plētifull witnesses it hath of antiquitie, as it hath moste manifest aucthoritie in the holie worde of God. To conclude, there were twoo other considerations that encouraged me, to take vponupon me this cōfutation. One because this Popishe apologie discouereth no greate learnyng of the aucthor, there is no greate connyng to bee required, in hym that should make answere to it: & for that it hath presumed, to thrust it self into the princes court, it is not impertinēt that it should be confuted, by one that is attēdant in the same. Thus hauing doen my good will, I moste humbly desire your L. to take it in good parte: besechyng almightie God so to continue and encrease his giftes of vertue, and godlines in your L. that you maie be blessed with true honour, and prosperitie in this life, and afterward, rewarded with eternall ioye, and felicitie.
Your L. to commaunde in the Lorde William Fulke.
An aunswere to a Popishe apologie ¶An Apollogie of a Papiste confuted by W. F.
THere was found in the court, either cast of purpose, or lost of negligence, a certain small pamphlette, conteinyng an Apollogie, or aunswere of a Papiste, to some frendes of his, that perswaded hym to conforme hymself, to the Religion now receiued in the realme, by publike aucthoritie: whiche when it came to my handes, supposyng it might do some hurte emong them that are ignoraunte, I thought good, briefly to confute it. But because the copie whiche was founde, was vnskilfully written, I had some diffultie to reade it in certaine places, and sometymes I mighte plainely perceiue, that the aucthours meanyng was chaunged by vntrue writyng: So that the aucthour, or his frendes, maie hauehave some occasion to cauill at my publishing of the copie, whiche was so muche corrupted: In cōsideratiō wherof, I would hauehave been verie glad, to hauehave had the principall copie of the aucthours owne hande, if I could hauehave knowen how to come by it. But seyng I was out of hope of that, I perused, and restored the copie that I had, as faithfully as I could, desiryng the aucthour, or his frendes, that hauehave the originall, if I hauehave erred in any woorde of any momente, to lette me hauehave knowledge thereof, and I will thereby reforme the apologie, and alter myne answere thereto accordyngly. The writyng had this title.
The Papiste.
Certaine considerations and causes, mouyng me not to bee presente at, nor to receiue, neither vse the seruice of the newe booke, otherwise called the Common boke of praiers.
The aunswere.
If the copie of your title, as it came to my hande, was not peruerted, you shewe your self in your title, to bee a very peruerse▪ and froward persone, that maie not vouchsafe to call the booke, as it is commonly called. Especially whē you pretend to geue it the name, whiche commonly it beareth, for you are not ignorante, that it is called the booke of Common praier, and not the Common booke of praier. But a man maie easely, and peraduenture truely gesse, why you refused to cal it the boke of common praier, leaste any man should conceiue by the onelyonly name, that common praier, which is so necessarie for the Churche of Christe (a forme whereof that booke conteineth) is altogether wantyng in your Popishe Churche, where, in your Missalles, Processionalles, Hymnalles, Grailes, Antiphonalls, and Pontificalls, are not conteined common praiers, to the edification of all the churche, but idle, and vnprofitable ceremonies, to the mainteinaunce of ignoraunce, and superstition.
The Papiste.
The first consideration is, because the saide seruis booke, was condemned as hereticall and schismaticall, Anno domini 1553. both by the clergie and cōuocation of this realme, and by the nobilitie and commons of the same, by al whose consentes ther passed an acte of Parliament, for the repeale therof. Beside that Cranmer, Ridley, and Latimer, the chief aucthours and composers of the saied boke, were therfore openly condemned by the Churche, and Lawes of this realme, & suffered the paines of death in Oxforde. S. Paule in his Epistle willed the hebrues, to hauehave in remembrance their Bishoppes, which preached vntounto them the woorde of God, and diligently to obserue and looke vponupon the ende of their liues and conuersation.