The Confutation of the Abbot of Crosraguels Mass, Dedication
The Epistle. To the moste Noble, potent, and godly Lorde Iames, Earle of Murray, the Author wisheth grace, mercy, peace, and increase of heauenly giftes of the Spirite of God.
THis consuetude hath of long antiquitie obteyned, moste mighty Lorde, that in weighty matters, and argumentes of consequence, euer the Patrociny, fauor and authoritie, of some great & princely man, hath bene implored. The occasions and causes hereof, althoght they may appeare many and diuers, yet alwayes may be comprehended in a certane nomber: for some trauelling in an haitefull argument, subiect to inuy, and tonges of many, iudgeth the help and protectiō of such, as placed in authoritie, are most reuerēced of the people, and ether by wisedome in iudgement, or by prowes in warrely effaires, hath cōciliat creadite and beneuolence of the stronger, iudged the help (I say) of such, moste requisite and necessarie: promising to themselues securitie and quietnes vnderunder there shaddowe, as it were, authoritie and power: as that we obserue commonly, and be teached by experience in all aiges, euer the muses to hauehave followed the impire, dominion, & monarchie, yea, and with them flitted and remoued. During the impire of the orient, that is, Assirians, Chaldeans, and Persians, the Gymnosophistes were in price, the Magians authorished, and Egypt, and east partes, moste frequented: but this power being deuolued to the Grecians, we read, how suddenly amongest them, all sciences and …nowledge florisheth, that (as it were out the hors of Troye) starteth vp hundrethes and thousandes, most eloquent in tongue, moste witty in iudgement, yea, and most solide in erudition. This their zeal & emulation continueth so long as they had the vpper hand, whereof they being spoiled, it wes not so lamentable and greuous their decay in power, and fall frome dominion, as the lose of those, wherein their principall glorie and reioycing did consist, sciences, to wit, and erudition, which alltogether with the impire flitteth. This, no dout, as it proceadeth of the cairful ꝓuidence of our God, erecting, & ouer whelming Realmes at his good pleasure & wil, so is it, as it wer, moste kyndely and naturall, that the muses delicat, tender and Daines louing of quietnes, still persue to be in greatest securitie and honour: which taken away, then do they incontinently vanishe.
Others, to whom the horne of aboundance is shute vp, are driuen to dedicate their lauboures, to such as they hauehave found mercyfull and beneficiall towardes them, to witnes their gratitude and thankfull mynde, on that one parte: & on the other, to satisfie the moste iuste and reasonable desyre of their manteiners, who preafed hereby to redeame their memories▪ from eternall and euerlasting obliuion.
Alexander the great, howsoeuer he hath exceaded and excelled all, that hath passed before, in amplytude of impyre and conques, yit in this iudgeth and pronounceth him self vainquest, and inferiour to Achilles, that he neuer culde hauehave such one as Domerus, to write the historie of his valiant Actes, and to set furth his praises. Penurie & lacke of mantenance, as they be great enimies to good letters, so is there nothing in this earth, whereby we are encuraged more nor by the esperance and thriste of that glorius immortalytie, which maketh the Fathers, howsoeuer depriued of this lyfe of many aiges past, yet to liue still, and their memories to be moste happy and blessed.
This is the glorie of the children of God, seing the caire of their God, to vendicat their Names from darcknes, committing them moste diligently and faithfully to Register, that albeit their staire and condition be moste deplored and miserable, yet their memories are at all tymes in Gods presence, moste recent and bliss…d. All do trauelle to be spoken of, but in the meanes standeth the diuersitie: the tyrrāne preaseth to this: what obteineth he? He is called a proude tyrrāne: the bloodthristy, cruel: the ambitius receaueth the same hyre: and the same rewarde proponed & abydeth all the wicked: the solide glorie apperteaneth to the godly. Others causes may be gathered besydes these two touche… by me, yet because they may be referred to these two heades, I will not wearie my pen in recyting them.
Some, and of them a great nomber, we know to hauehave abhorred this, conteyning them selues, as it were, within their owen walles, and determined to sing to them selues (as is in the Prouerb) and to the muses: which sorte of men, as I darre not damne, so had I proposed with my self to follow them. For being younge in yeares, & voide of experience, nether yet at any tyme before exercised in the lyke a…gument, such houres as I might cut of from the publicque charge and occupation, my mynde wes to bestowe in suche kynde of Declamations, as Quintilyane tearmeth by the Greik word foreign and there appointeth and reco…mendeth to them, as are not yet able for the sonne and the feildes, whereby they shal proue them selues, and trye their forces. But as commonly commeth to pas, that, are we rathest disapointed of, that we moste ea… nistly conclude with ourselues, before that euer I coulde put any parte of my deliberation in practeis, the charge came to me, and moste straitly, to vndertake the matter, and procead with all dil…gence commanded.
This command…ment, at the beginning, albeit it wes somwhat fearful to me, vnderstanding hereby the Church vtterly to repugne to my mynde, yet because I wes determined to examine my self in the same argument, I refused not plainely, resolued, that, that mater should not come to light, which I had chosen to my particulare exercise. The worke is not yet finished, when the bruit ryseth of the abbotes great danger of death, the …eicknes beīg so inualessed that he could not escape. Here is herde the complaint of the godly, thinking and laying before their eyes, the wicked speaking and braling of his fauorers, who of our continuall silence, should hauehave taken accasion to blawe vp, & if caice any thing shoulde come to lyghte after his death, wold seme to hauehave inst cause to accuse our long and fearfull silence. Then were the eyes of all turned and fixed vponupon me, hearing that the charge hath bene laide to me, and that I had proceaded therein. The mater wes verie fore, and heauy vntounto me, rauished in sindrie, and they contrarious thoghtes: harde it wes to me, who hath still bene, as it were, in the shaddow, to come to the light, to euenture my fame, to expone me to the tongues and iudgements of all, to enter in a fearful and terrible battal, with a proude and wyde blowing Goliath: on the other part, I wes no les moued, at the earnest sutte and request of the brethren, the commandement of the Church, and moste of all, touched in conscience, with the staite of the cause and condition of tyme. The word still increasing of his suddane death, yet suffer I not my self to be vainquest vtterly, but this farre I inclyne that I shew my labours to the brethren: which way, as it wes subtilie diuised by them, so did it wholie disapoint and frustrat me of all I had determined. For neuer could I obteane it of them, no… procure q…ietnes to my self till it wes copied and send to the Abbote.
Thus wes my silence broken, my purpose dissolued, and I pulled furth to the sonne: and as it commeth oftentymes to pas, that there is none bolder nor the cowarde, when all way and euasion is foreclosed, so did I feale my self moued: for the charge being laide to me, to pas in Carrick, I glaidly obeyed, thinking that I could not, but refute that by tongue, which I had conuicted of Idolatrie by pen. In that iorney, what wes protected, I referre the iudgement to others.
Now that this my trauell, commeth laitter to light nor that ether my opinion wes, and the earnest desyre of the godly: ether yet the staite of this action, and the iniquitie of the tyme, yea, and the loithsome stomaches of a great nomber, weareing and abhorring all good thinges did require: the causes are, my continual occupations, which (God be praised) groweth and increaseth: being firste appointed to Carrick, and immediatly after my returning, called to the same office in Court, before you my Lorde, and my Lordes of Councile: wherein, what relaxation I hauehave had or can hauehave, your Lordship may be a moste suthfast and faithfull witnes,
The other impediment wes, and that greater nor the forma…e, that seing I had deliuered the answer to the Abbote, necessarie it wes to awaite vponupon him, and tarie til he should reply, least I should be driuen to make two of one. Whereof, being now dispared, and assured by some of his familiares, that he myndeth no such thing, at the earnest request of freindes, and cōmandement of them, whome I reuerence I hauehave committed the Sailles to the windes (as Quintiliane speaketh Elegantly) and will call to God for a good and prosperus viage, to them that louseth in insist still in the similytude. The counsell of Horatius … Quintiliane, is not to be contemned in suche caces, desyring vsus to lay asyde our workes, for a certane tyme, till that the hait of the inuention be culed, and we spoyled of the Fatherly affection, as it were, towardes our owen workes, may take them againe, and so iudge of them, as of the workes of others.
Well this, whatsoeuer it hath bene, my trauell, I hauehave caused appeare in your Name, my Lorde, partly to ridde me of the fals and calūnius speakinges of a great mainie, who as they be altogether borne, and doe wholy liue to their Bellies, so repleanished with inuy, and Idill do delyte theme selues in preposterus and wicked interpretation of euerie manes laboures and occupatiōs: partly that it may remane with you at all tymes, as a sure pledge and monument of my great ready minde towardes your Lordeship, ceading in facultie and power to many, but in will, geuing place to none. The gift is not so much to be esteamed and mesured, by the quantitie and excellēcy of the gift it self, as by the free and liberall hart of the giuer. A cuppe of cold watter lacketh not the praise at some tyme, and our Maister pronounceth, that the poore wyfe that hath offreth two smal peaces money, hath bene more liberall, nor they who hath casten in moste. These then my firste fructes▪ I offer vntounto you, my Lorde, whereby ye will know that I hauehave not bene Idle, in this my shorte absence from Court, but as I aduertest your Lordeship by writing, faithfully bestowing my laboure and tyme, in that action, that oght to be more deare and precius vntounto vsus, nor all the dignities of the earth, riches, honour, pleasure, voluptie, yea, the lyfe it self. I dout not, but in what parte soeuer the iudgements of others shall inclyne, yet your Lordeship shal (as the Poete speaketh, and after him Plinius to the Emperour Domitiane, esteame these my …owes to somwhat. If at any tyme, it should please the goodnes of God, to moue the hart of the Quenes Maiestie, to take this Treatie in hand, and read it, then had I reported the full pryce of my laboure: then were I fully satisfied. In reading ye know, my Lorde, how we oght to lay asyde all affection, weye the arguments, consider and examine the pith of them, hereafter pronounce and iudge, for there can be no greater inimie to the treuth, … A foreconceaued opinion of error, confirmed by long antiquitie, and a certane progres of yeares, and yet we know, as Peregrinus the Philosopher sayeth, that the treuth is doughter to the tyme, howsoeuer it shalbe suppressed and buried, as Democritus sayeth, in the pit, yet wil our God bring it to light, and declaire that, that is not the treuth, that is approued of many, but that, that he hath reueiled. If thus, I say, our Souerane should enter in work, then I dout not, but she should consider the equitie of our cause, then she should hauehave a florishing common wealth, then should her G. Liges be assured of tranquilytie & obediēce, that as she craueth the seruice of our bodies and substance, so we may moste hartly and glaidly discharge our selues before God, and the whole earth: our hartes being ioyned together in vnitie of doctrine, which is the onelyonly and most sure bande (as Augustine speaketh) whereby the hartes of all are conciliat, ioyned, yea, and reteyned together.
Thus I commit her Maiestie to the protection of the moste heigh, who hath in his handes the hartes of Princes, and turneth them to and fro, at his good pleasure; and will: and wisheth lykewise to your Lordeship, the increase and aboundance of the giftes of his holy Spirite, that as he hath begunne the worke in your handes, so he will assist you to the end, as we may luke continually for the lyke conforte. And so faire well in the Lorde Iesus Christe. At Edinburgh, the penult day of Iuly. 1563.
Your Lordeshipes moste humble and obedient Seruiture. George Nay.