A Mystery of Iniquity Disclosed and Confuted, Part 7
A mysterye.
1 After this brother. Came forth an other.
2 His name to discusse. Menne called him husse.
3 He and his cumpanye. Began in Germanye.
4. He… est gens que non audiuit vocer… domini sui. Hiere. 2.
The openinge. 1.
EVermore doth pantolabꝰ pranke forth with his pylde Popyshe Poesyes not vnlyke Iacke of Bedlem with his net full of wolle. From that bryer hath he gathered that lock all tarrye / and from that thorne that patche all dryseled. Lete him that hath eyther lerninge or witt / marke what dyrtye gete this is / and from what good authors borrowed. The grounde therof was first taken out of Pope Benedyct the .xiii. pope Gregorye the .xii. and Pope Iohan the .xxiii. all thre deposed at ones in the generall counsell of Cōstance / & out of the cowyshe actes and proclamacyons of Pope Martyne the fift which after supplied their rome there vponupon the seate of the beast in the darke kyngedom of Anticrist or the chayre of pestylence whether ye wyll. Here is the name of a brother most scornefullye vsed / whiche is in the scripturs both holye and preciouse And no maruele. For crist sayd there shuld come soche swyne as wolde treade the fayre pearles vndre their fete / and soche dogges also as wolde turne ageyne & teare his true disciples. The chefe cause of it is / that his hipocrites eyes can abyde no light. But lete him not thinke so to auoyde the great indignacion of God / nor yet anye other soche scorner as he is.
2 Iohan Husse that holye Apostle and true Martyr of Iesus Christ / moche pyteynge to se y• churche so wretchedlye deformed with hypocresye / pryde / Idolatrye / & other abhominaciōs of Anticrist / after he had sum what perseyued therof by the doctrine of Iohan Wyclef / put forth his owne bodye to y• crosse for it / to suffre the death yf nede shuld require it. The pure lawe of the Gospell wa… the scripturs of both testamētes ded he most constantlye preache to the pople of Boheme ageynst that kyngdom of wyckednesse / detestinge all errours / heresyes / & scysmes. His conuersacion was accordinge to his instruccyons / perfight and holye. Not onlye by the report of .liiii. noble menne of the lande of Morania / but also by the testimonye of his enemyes / Pope Pius otherwyse called E…e as Siluius / Pogius the Florentyne / Platina / Sabellicus / and soche other. In the opē counsell of Constance spared not he to confesse y• true fayth of his Lorde Iesus Christ to the deathe / and was at the last condempned thervnto at the suggestions of the Dominick fryres & other vnlerned sophisters. He sayd that it behoued the Bysshoppes & clergie to be poore after the exāple of christ and not so to fyue in pryde an… voluptuousnesse. And this was the onlye artycle wherfor he was brent there to ashes / though the papistes hath practised other.
3 What Pantolabꝰ meaneth by that cū panye of his which begāne in Germanye / I can not tell / vnlesse they be the Hussytes as the wytlesse Papistes doth call them. I knowe wele that both the Apostles and Prophetes were of that opinion / yet were they no Germanes borne. Nomore dishonour is it to the most worihye lande of Germanye to bescornefullie dispraysed of pantolabus / than it is vntounto golde to be bespryncled with swynes dyrt. Consideringe that after the mynde of Seneca it is so fylthye a thinge to be cōmēded of him that is vyle / as to be cōmended for fylthynesse. But this maketh me greatlye to wondre. That so manye heretiques beynge afore this tyme / as were Hebion / Cerinthus / Carpocras / Marcion / Basilides / Arrius / Cerdo / Pelagius / Eunomius / Nestoriꝰ / Dioscorꝰ / E…tices / Sabinꝰ / Faustꝰ / Donatꝰ / Heluidiꝰ / Manes / Montanꝰ / Nouatꝰ / Porphiriꝰ / Petulianꝰ / Sabelliꝰ / Sergius / Simachꝰ / Vigilanciꝰ / Valens / Macedoniꝰ / Artemon / Symon Magꝰ / & a great nā bre besydes / which were heretyques indede blasphemige the godhede & diuinite of crist besydes his humanite & deathe / yet is there not one of them in all this Genealogie.
The cause parauēture whye he towcheth them not is this. They were for y• more part Bysshoppes & great Prelates / whose quarel he hath here takē vponupon him to defende & not so to blemishe. There were in the olde lawe yll sectes / as Pharisees / Saducees / Herodyanes / & Samaritanes. And in the new law also Saracenes / Turkes / Iewes / & Iacobynes. There hath bene Popes which hath bene poyseners / Byshoppes that hath bē bawdes / Prests that hath ben trayters / fryres / monkes / & chanōs which hath bene hypocrites / so…cerers / & sodomites / & that in a wonderful nōbre / yet is there not one regestred in all this generacion of heresye. Not one heretyque is yet here named / but poore Iohan Wyclef & Iohan Husse / of all the heretiques that hath bene sens christes ascensiō. And they are here regestred because they were the Popes vtter enemies. If anye other heresyes than that had moued the stomake of Pantolabus / all the other coude not thus hauehave bene left out. But a manne maye smell the tree by the frute. He that seyth not some light at this hoole / is wurthye to be blynde alwayes. It wyll not awaye (they saye) that is bred by the bone. Full swete vntounto them is that holye father of theirs.
4 The clause of Hieremye that he hath here vntounto annexed / Hee est gēs que non audiuit vocem dominisui / is not there writen in the seconde Chapter. And yf it were / yet wolde it not serue to proue that Husse and his cumpanye beganne in Germanye / nor yet that the Germanes neglected the voice of God whan they forsoke the Pope. For the Pope is not their Lorde. But in dede this text is in that Chapter. Tenentes legem / nescierunt me. They which hauehave the lawe in their handes knoweth me not. They hauehave walked after their owne fantasies / & are now become all vayne. They hauehave defyled my pleasaunt lande (sayth the Lorde) & turned myne heretage into abhominaciō. The prestes hauehave dishonoured me / and the preachers hauehave done their homage vntounto Baall. They hauehave forsaken me the well of lyuinge water / and dygged them broken pyttes that wyll holde no moystre. They hauehave called y• stocke their father / and the stone their creator. They hauehave stayned my wayes with blasphemie / thei hauehave taught their owne malycyouse mischefe / and vponupon their winges is founde the blood of innocēt sowles. All this with moche more is in that seconde chapter of Hieremie / yet coude it not serue the purpose of Pantolabus / but he must brynge forth a text of his own makinge ageynst the Germanes / bycause they hauehave not obeyed the Pope.