Common Places, Letters · Letter 37
To the ſame man into England. 39.
THoſe letters which you ſent vntounto me ye 27. of Auguſt, I receiued about ye end of October. Wherefore if I aunſwere ſomwhat late, the fault is not in me eſpecially ſince for the moſt part we hauehave no truſty cariers at Argētiue. Howbeit as touching al yt matter wherof you now make requeſt, I know I hauehave writtē at large in other of my letters: wherefore either my letters went another way, or elſe when you wrote theſe thinges you had not yet receiued them. Howbeit becauſe you ſhall not be diſappointed herein of my trauel & coūſel, I wil repeat thoſe things which I wrote before. As touching impropriatiōs, Of Impropriations.I ſée not why you ſhold trouble your ſelf. For it belongeth not to you whereof & how the Quéene wil pay ſtipends or liuings vntounto Biſhops or Curats of Churches. But & if they ſhall ſéeme to hunger, you your ſelues may intreate & make meanes for thē, or if you do aboūd you may impart ſomwhat of your alowance. That no contention muſt be had about garmentes worne out of diuine ſeruice.Alſo as touching the round cap or habit to be worne out of ye holy ſeruices, I think ye ought not to ſtriue more than is requiſit: for ſuperſtition ſéemes not properly to take place therein. But of garments, as of holy things to be vſed in ye miniſtery it ſelf, ſéeing they repreſēt the forme of ye maſſe & be méere relicks of popery, Maſter Bullinger iudgeth that they ſhold not be vſed, leaſt by your example ye thing which cauſeth offence ſhoulde be confirmed. Howbeit I although I hauehave béene alwayes againſt ſuch kinde of Ornaments, yet becauſe I ſawe a preſent daunger leaſt you ſhould be depriued from the office of preaching, & that perhaps there wilbe ſome hope that euen as Altars & images are taken away, ſo likewiſe ſhalbe taken away thoſe ſhewes of ye maſſe, if you & others comming to be biſhops, will wholly applie your indeuours therunto: which perhaps would not goe forward, if an other ſhal ſuccéede in your place who not onelie would not care to put away thoſe relicks, but would rather defend them, noriſh them & maintaine them: therefore was I ye ſlower to perſwade that you ſhould rather refuſe a biſhoppricke than receiue the vſe of thoſe garmēts. Howbeit becauſe I ſaw that offences of that kind muſt be vtterlie auoided, therefore did I willinglie yéelde vntounto his opinion. Verily where Altars and Images are preſerued, I my ſelfe of mine owne accord affirme euen as I hauehave written in other letters, that yee muſt not miniſter. This is as much as I can write of the preſent matter. And looke you to this that you doe not any thing againſt your conſcience. But I feare leſt my letters come verie late: whereof neuertheleſſe I am not in fault, ſéeing I ſuffered no oportunitie of writing to ſcape. Finally this I woulde hauehave you to vnderſtande that the queſtions of this kind are alſo hard vntounto vsus, and therefore counſell cannot be ſo eaſilie giuen. My ſelfe when I was at Oxford woulde neuer vſe thoſe white garments in the Quire although I was a Canon. I ſawe a reaſon for mine owne doing: Wherefore I counſel you alſo to take good aduiſe. I knowe that my example ought to be no iuſt confirmation vntounto you. But that which mooued me and yet mooueth me & perhaps may mooue you, is that I ſhould not doe thoſe things which my conſcience alloweth not. You willed me to write briefly. I hauehave briefely written: Take you it in good part, Praie for me, ſalute my friends, M. Bullinger, my wife & Iulius with his wife ſalute you. Fare you well my moſt louing brother and moſt reuerende Lord in Chriſt. From Zurick ye 4. of Nouember, 1559.