A Mystery of Iniquity Disclosed and Confuted, Part 10
A mysterye.
1 Next after him Is his chefe lym.
2 One Melanchtonus. Nequaquam bonus.
3 Euanuerun… in cogitationibus sut…. …. …
The openinge. 1.
IN this processe folowynge is Pantolabus compelled to playe Myhell make shyft. No longar will his wittes serue him to cōtinue forth his genealogie by anye maner waye of naturall propagacyon. But now he boroweth a lymme of him / & an other lymme of him. Now seketh he to fatche in that cōmer in and that captayne a brode. Philip Melanchton is here brought in for a lymme of Martyn Luther / and after that Peter Franke for a lymme of Lambert / yet were they neuer cuntre menne. Oecolampadius with zwinglius is made a cōmer into helpe here at a pynche / …o is Barnes with Garade and Hierome. And poore Iohan Frith is fatt out a farre of / to playe the symple captayne. So that we are lyke ere we come to the ende / to close germanes lyppes / which neuer came togyther (they saye) by seuen myles. First he begāne his hygh thetorykes in subtyle tropes of allegorye with Blynde obstinacie / Dame ignoraunce / Debate / Ambicion / and so forth. And when that wolde no longar serue him / he stept to the playne storye / and brought forth out of that / Wyclef / Husse / and Luther by name. As moche agre they .ii. in one veyne of speakynge / as doth fyre and water / which be of a contrarye nature. And therefore we are lyke to hauehave a wyse conclusyon. yet yf all other thinges fayl… / we shall hauehave the frutes of an folysshe ydle brayne.
2 Now cometh he to the declaracyon of the two subtyle verses which went afore / wherin ye shall fynde moche good lernyng / yf ye marke them wele whan he hath expowned them. One Melanchtonus (he sayth) nequaquam bonus / and he sheweth nomore of him. Is not here thynke you a lompe of good doctryne: Doth not the prelates of Englande moche to the common welthe of the realme / to sende forth soche an wholsom teacher: yes marrye I trow / and they wolde be sorye to sende forth anye other. Here is Philip Melanchion (whom all Christendome commendeth for his most excellent leruynge) detected for an heretyque of this braynelesse hypocrite and blasphe mouse beastlye babler / non artycles of heresye expressed. But neuer the worse is the fayre fyne golde / though the fylthye ratte beshyteth it. For nought is it not that this is done in Latyne he shuld not els apere so well lerned. Sumwhat we must hauehave to sprede forth oure shyrtes with / & to hauehave oure phylacteri…s seane / all were not els worth a fart. But yf Nequa quam bonus / with insipiēs colonus / had be put to Hōtyngtonꝰ / it had made a better sonus. O insipient papistes / that ye hauehave nomore wytt but to vttre soche folyshnesse. All the worlde maye se by this and soche other / how vayne ye are in youre stodyes / and soydle in youre fantasyes.
3 The scripture that ye hauehave brought forth here / out of saynt Paules Epistle to the Romanes / Euanuerunt in cogitationibus suis is as ryghtlye youre owne good as is possyble. For yt is spoken there vntounto them that withholde the truth of God in vnryghtousnesse / as you do here in this iest of yours / and as doth youre whole popysshe generacyon / becōmynge all vayne in youre thoughtes / & hauynge youre folysshe hartes so darkened. But I maruele sore whan ye redde that chapter / whye ye marked not this clause folowynge. Propterea tradidit vos Deus in passiones ignominie &c. For youre obstynate frowardnesse hath the sorde geuen you ouer into most shamefull lustes / and suffred you to worke fylthynesse amonge yourselues leauynge the naturall vse of women. This hath he geuen you as a due rewarde of your errour / for that ye hauehave turned his verite to a lye / and serued the creature rathe… than y• creator or maker. This therfore doth rather perteyne to you than to Melanchton: for yo… contempne marryage / & not he / you are the Sodomites / and not he. you are the abhominable ydolaters / sensynge styll stockes and stones / and not he. It is you most execrable papistes that are there now noted to be full of iniquite / malyce / fornicacyon / … / falshede / enuye / murther / contencyon / fraude / frowardnesse / and so forth as foloweth there in course / and not these godlye men.