Against the New Idol and Old Devil, Title page
A boke made by a certayne great clerke, agaynſt the newe Idole, and olde Deuyll / whiche of late tyme, in Miſnia ſhulde hauehave ben canonyſed for a ſaynt. ❧
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FIrſte of all I do make proteſtacyon, that in this boke myne intent is not that Benno the byſſhope, which is deed many yeres ago / ſhulde eyther be iudged or els condempned. For he hath his iudge, lyke as al other hauehave / whiche hauehave departed frō this lyfe: of whome it is not laufull for any man to pronoūce or gyue ſentence, oneles it be ſo, yt god hathe perauēture reueled it vntounto hym. Fyrſt by wordes, & afterwardes by ſygnes / for we do onelyonly here touche & rebuke yt lyuynge Satan, Satan.which nowe in this tyme (in which yt goſpell is agayne ryſen vp by the grace of god, & ſhineth all abrode) knoweth none other way howe to auenge hym ſelfe / than vntounto the ſcornynge of god, and to the rebuke and ſclaunder of his worde, to take vntounto hymſelfe ſuche maner diſguyſed apparayle / that vnderunder the name of Benno, (whiche forſothe wolde more gladlye hauehave reſted in his graue) he myght ſuffre hym ſelfe with great ordynaunce of golde and ſyluer and with ſolempne and royall pompe to be conſecrated and worſhypped for a ſaynt. But the Ire and wrathe of god worketh this, and bryngeth it to paſſe, that thoſe obſtynate and blynde tyrauntes and purſuers (ſuche as is the Pope with his adherētes) which do not receyue, The Pope.no nor yet can ſuffre the goſpell vntounto theyr owne ſaluacyon: are compelled to beleue leaſynges & great errours, and the diſceytes of the deuyll, 2 Theſſa. ſecundo.As Paule ſaythe vntounto theyr greater condempnacyon. And I do this ſo moch the more gladly, and with more redy mynde, for that I do knowe of a ſuretie, yt it is nothyng pleaſaunt nor acceptable to Benno (yf it ſo be that he is a ſaynt in very dede) to be canoniſed. Lyke wyſe as it was neuer pleaſaunt to any of all ye ſayntes that they hauehave ben cōſecrated of ye Pope / Howe be it this ſame thynge (I meane to be canonyſed) hathe chaunſed to very fewe of them. For theſe mere Papiſtical ſaintꝭ hauehave ben for yt moſt part of them no true chryſtyans, ſpecyally for this cauſe, that (as we do ſe commenly to come to paſſe) of this canoniſacyon and conſecracyon of ſayntes, men do tourne them ſelfes from the grace of god and from the fayth & truſt in Chryſt: & do leane vntounto ye merytes & ſuffrages of ſayntes. And ſo moche goodes and ryches is beſtowed vponupon theyr temples, yt the worke of charyte towardes our neyghbour is well nere extincte / & that the ſayntes are accompted & taken in the ſtede of god / and ſtones & ſtockes in the ſtede of our neyghbour / & of the ſayd goodꝭ,Images. onelyonly ſlowe belyes, & ydell ſwyne are fat fedde in the tēples, churches, and monaſteryes. Nowe to the laufull & very ſayntes, there can be nothynge more pleaſaunt and acceptable: than that pure & vncorrupte faythe and lyuely & ſtronge charyte do indure & contynue amōge men. And for this cauſe god wold yt Moyſes ſhuld be in ſuche wyſe buryed, The Butyaff of Moyſes.that no man ſhuld knowe his graue: leſt els he myght happely in yt place be worſhyhped, called vponupon, and prayed vntounto. Yea moreouer he dyd not ſuffre ſo moche as any honoure or worſhyp to be gyuen vntounto god in any certayne place appoynted, or by any ſpirytuall name, oneles he had cōmaunded it before his owne ſelfe. For whiche cauſe alſo Ezechias dyd breake the braſen ſerpent into peces, Eſechiasalbeit that god had cōmaunded it to be made: becauſe he dyd perceyue that ye Iewes wolde there ſet vp honour vntounto god: though the falſe ꝓphetes alſo dyd often tymes crye, that it was done to the honour & glorye of very god, euen lykewyſe as the Pope with his adherentes dothe nowe of this Benno. Howe moche leſſe thā is it to be ſuffered now theſe dayes, that in the newe teſtamēt, in the clere lyghte of the goſpell any maner honourynge or worſhyppynge of god ſhuld be ſette vp of any mans owne wyttes & deuocyon, beſyde that onelyonly honoure and worſhyppe whiche he hathe cōmaūded in faythe & charytie, The true honourrynge of god.with ye oblacyon & offeryng vp of eueryevery mans owne ſelfe, ſo as Paule dothe teche in the .xii. Chapitre to the Romanes. Fyrſt to begyn at the hygheſt, the matter went gaylye forwarde, yt that Satan was in Miſnia aduaū ſyd & ſet vp by Adryan, Adryan the .vi.(whyles he lyued) his owne peculyer and ſpecyall myniſter and ſeruaunt / For albeit that he was accōpted & taken to be of a certayne good & cōmendable lyfe, (as the fame goeth of hym). Yet (as all ſuche maner Hypocrytes are wonte to be) he was the ſoreſt enemy of all men vntounto god and his worde / becauſe I wyll not ſpeke here, that at Bruxelles he ſuffered yt double murther to be done, and two martyrs to be made vntounto Chryſt and to be taken for very ſayntꝭ, all thoughe he was ygnoraunte therof, Iohan & Henry vetye marters.and it was ſore agaynſt his wyll. For murther was commytted and done, as yf they had ben than heretykes, which in very dede they were not). For true chriſten men, & thoſe in eſpecyall whiche hauehave any admyniſtracyon in ſpirytual thynges? do neyther torment nor ſlee any mā: but they do onelyonly (as Chriſt & Paule teacheth) eſchewe the companye of wycked men, & beware of thē. And thoughe neyther I oughte nor yet can iudge, what maner ende he had at his deth: yet this doubtles I may iudge, that excepte he dyd amende before that he dyd departe from this lyfe, & dyd reuoke or repēt hym of ſuch murther. And dyd with his hert vnfaynedly fauour our goſpell: it is vndoubted, ye he is not free from dampnacyon. This mater no doubte of it is handeled in all poyntes after ye papiſtycall maner. Iohn̄ hus and Hierome of prage.For lykewyſe as in the coū ſell of Conſtance, Iohn̄ Hus, & Hierome of Prage, thoſe verye ſayntes & martyrs of god, were condempned and brente. Thomas de aquino the fountayne of all hereſy.And on the other ſyde Thomas de Aquino the origynall fountayne and ſprynge of all Hereſye, the peſtylence and (as his bokes do wytneſſe) ye ouerthrower & deſtroyer of the goſpell, was canonyſed & made a ſaynt. Euen ſo nowe (yf god be pleaſyd) our mayſter Adrian doth at Bruxelles / he hath Adryan the .vi.brente thoſe very ſayntes, Iohn̄ and Henry: & nowe on the other ſyde maketh I wotte not what of Benno a ſaynt, nay rather the very deuyl. For this is the peculyare & propre worke of ye popes / they muſt nedes laboure aboute theſe thyngꝭ, that is to wytte, to rydde the very ſayntes out of the worlde, and to auaūce & lyfte vp on hyghe counterfayte ſayntes / to condempne the worde of god, & to eſtablyſſhe theyr owne doctryne / & than ſaye afterwardes, that this thynge dothe tourne to the honoure and glorye of god & of his ſayntꝭ, lykewyſe as Chriſt dothe ſaye in the .xvi. chapitre of Iohn̄ whan he ſaythe.