A Confutation of Standishs Treatise, Title page – To the reader
A confutacion of that treatiſe / which one John Standiſh made agaynſt the proteſtacion of D. Barnes in the yeare. M. D. XL.
Wherin / the holy ſcriptures (peruerted and wreſted in his ſayd treatiſe) are reſtored to their owne true vnderſtonding agayne by Myles Couerdale.
Iacobi iij.
Nolite gloriari, & mendaces eſſe aduerſus ueritatem.
To the Reader. To all them that either reade or heare gods holy worde / and geue ouer them ſelues to lyue vnfannedly acording to the ſame / do I hartely wyſſhe the grace / peace and mercy of god the father in and thorow oure lorde and onelyonly Sauioure Ieſus Chriſt.
THe ſeuenth daye of Decembre / was delyuered vntounto me a certayne treatyſe / compoſed by one Iohn Standiſh Felow of Whittington college in londō (ſo is the tytle of it) and prynted by Robert Redeman / Anno M. D. XL. iij. Nonas Octobris. At the reading wherof I mourned ſore within my ſelfe for certayne occaſions offred vntounto me in the ſande treatyſe. Firſt that vnderunder the Kynges priuilege any thing ſhuld be ſet forth / which is either agaynſt the worde and trueth of allmightye god / or agaynſt the Kynges honoure. Secondlye / that good / wholſome / and Chriſten wordes ſhulde be calumpniated and reuyled. Thirdly / that the ſayde Iohn Standiſh pronouncyng Doctoure Barnes to hauehave taught hereſye ſo longe / is not aſhamed all this whyle to hauehave hold his penne / but now firſt to wryte agaynſt him / whan he is deed. et ce.
As touching the firſt / whether I hauehave cauſe to mourne or no / I reporte me to all true Chriſten hertes. for (as I am credibly enfourmed / Diuerſyte amonge wryters.and as I partly hauehave ſene) there is now a wonderful diuerſite in writing bokes and balates in England / one enueyenge agaynſt another / one reuylinge and reprouyng another / one reioyſinge at anothers fall and aduerſite. And not onelyonly this / but alſo at the ende of eueryevery balate or boke in maner (whether it be the better partye or worſe) is ſet the Kynges priuilege. Which as it is agaynſt the glorye of god that one ſhulde reuyle another / Is it not euen ſo agaynſt the Kynges honoure (Yee the ſhame is it of all Englande) that vnderunder his priuilege anye erroneous / contentious / or ſlaunderous boke or papyre ſhulde be prynted? Men wonder in other contrees / that ther is ſo greate negligence of this matter / in a realme where ſo wyſe and prudent a counſail is▪ And they that are moued with godly compaſſiō / do lament Englande. ſory / that ther is ſo great diſcencion in it.Tryfles are prynted with the Kynges priuilege / vnknowing to him. ſory / that blaſphemous ieaſting / and raylinge balates or bokes agaynſt the manifeſt worde of god / ſhulde either be ſuffred or priuilegied. ſory / that gods trueth ſhulde thus ſpitefully be intreated of ſo greate a nombre. Now the reformacion of this and all other defaultes lyeth onelyonly in the hande of god / To whom I referre it / and to the rightfull admyniſtracion of his holy ordinaūce and auctorite in the kynges hyghneſſe. who / whan he knoweth of the ſaide inconuenience (how tryflinge and raylinge bokes and rymes are prynted vnderunder his priuilege) wyll no doubte ſet a redreſſe herein.
Concernyng the ſeconde occaſion aboue rehearced Is it not cauſe ynough forme and all other Chriſten / to be right ſory / to mourne and lamente / that the wordes which are good / wholſome / and acordinge to the holy ſcripture and Chriſies faith / ſhulde be either blaſphemed or taken to the worſt? Yf the Kynges grace / ſhulde put forthe an wholſome proclamacion / iniunction or commaundement (as he doth many) what true ſubiecte louynge gods holy ordinaunce and auctorite in his prynce / wold not be greue to ſe anye man either ſpytt at thoſe his ſoueraignes wordes / or to defye them? Yf we now which are Chriſten / hauehave ſo iuſt occſion (and are bownde) to be thus wiſe mynded in this outward regiment / wherein god hath appoynted us to be obedient to the hyer powers / how much more cauſe hauehave we to water our eyes with ſory hertes / whan the proclamacion / iniunction / Good wordes are blaſphemed.cōmaundement and worde of him which is kyng of all Kynges and lord of all lordes / is thus reuyled and euell ſpoken of? That the wordes of. D. Barnes ſpoken at tbe houre of his death / and here vnderunder written / are good / wholſome / acording to gods holy ſcripture / and not worthy to be euell taken / It ſhalbe euidently ſene / whan we hauehave layed thē to the twych ſtone / and tryed them by gods worde. To the open text wherof yf ye take good hede / ye ſhal ſe the peruerſe doctryne and wycked opynions of Standiſh clerely confuted. And (no doubte) god wyll ſo hauehave it / becauſe that vnderunder the pretence of bearing a zeale toward gods worde / he taketh apon him to be iudge and geuer of ſentence agaynſt gods worde / and to condemne it that gods worde aloweth.
And this (as I ſayde) is another cauſe of the ſoryneſſe of my hert / that he which darre auowe another man to be an opē heretike / is not aſhamed thus longe nether to hauehave written / ner openly preached agaynſt him by name / but now to ſtarte vp whan he is deed. Is it not a greate worſhippe for him to wreſtle with a ſhadow / and to …ll a deed man? Is he not a worthy ſouldyer that all the battayll tyme thruſteth his hand in his boſome / St…ndiſh … …yll a deed man.and whan mē are deed / then draweth out his ſwerde / and fighteth with them that are ſlayne allreadye? Iudge ye (gentle readers) yf Standiſh playeth not ſuch a parte with D. Barnes / To whom alſo he imputeth treaſon / and yet proueth neuer a poynte therof agaynſt him. Yet were it as charitable a dede to confute all treaſon and to geue us warnynge of it by name / as either to eſtabliſhe falſe doctryne / or to enueye agaynſt good ſayenges. Yee a Chriſten and charitable acte were it in reprouyng anye traytoure / to tell the Kynges ſubiectes in what thing he committed the treaſon / that they maye beware of the ſame. But thus doth not Standiſhe here in this his treatiſe / which becauſe it is buylded on ſande and on a falſe foundaciō / I doubte not / but with gods worde (which is the ſwerde of the ſprete / Ephe. vj.and a weapen mighty / to ouerthrow eueryevery ymaginacion that exalteth it ſelfe agaynſt the knowlege of god) To geue it a fall / ij. Corin. x.and with holy ſcripture to ſhewe euydently / that Standiſhe hath farre ouerſhott himſelfe / in condemnynge the ſayenges which gods word doth not diſalowe. He that wolde wryte agaynſt anye man / ſhulde leuell his ordinaunce agaynſt his euell wordes (yf he had ſpoken or written anye) and not agaynſt his good wordes. ffor god is the authoure of all good / which as his holy ſcripture aloweth / ſo will he himſelfe defende the ſame. He that is therfore an enemye to the thinge which is good / or reſiſteth it / is gods aduerſary / and withſtondeth him. Wherfore let Standiſh frō henſforth and all other beware / Let no man take parte agaynſt the trueth.that they take no parte agaynſt gods worde / ner defende any falſe matter / leſt god be the auenger. ffor yf the lyon begynne to roare / he will make all his enemies afrayed.
And yf. D. Barnes dyed a true Chriſten man / be ye ſure / his death ſhalbe a greater ſtroke to ypocriſye / then euer his life coulde hauehave bene. Yf he was falſly accuſed to the Kynges highneſſe / and ſo put to death / woo ſhall come to thoſe accuſers / yf they repent not by tymes. And yf D. Barnes in his hert / mouth and dede / committed no worſe thinge towarde the Kynges highneſſe / then he committed agaynſt god in theſe his wordes at his death / he is like at the later daye to be a iudge ouer them / that were cauſe of his death yf they do not amende.
Now (indifferent reader) to the intent that thou mayeſt the more clearly / diſcerne light frō darkneſſe / and knowe gods true worde from falſe docrine / I ſhall (whan I hauehave ſayde ſomwhat to Standiſh preface) rehearce vntounto the. D. Barnes wordes. Secondly though I rehearce not vntounto the all Standiſh wordes (leſt I ſhuld make to greate a boke) I ſhall poynte the to the begynning of his ſentence / requyring the (yf thou wilt) to reade out the reſt thy ſelfe in his treatiſe. Thirdly though he hath deſſerued to be roughly handled / yet do I purpoſe (by gods onelyonly grace) to deale more gently with him beynge alyue / then he doth with the deed. This interpryſe now as I take in hand agaynſt Standiſhe in this behalfe / ſo am I ready to do the ſame agaynſt the greate graundſire and captaine of falſe teachers / I meane greate Goliath of Rome and his weapen-bearer. That is / agaynſt all ſuch as are enemies to Kynge Dauid oure lorde Ieſus Chriſt / for whoſe mooſt confortable ſprete (gentle reader) I beſeche the to praie with me vntounto our mooſt deare father in heauen / whoſe name be prayſid / whoſe kyngdome come / whoſe onelyonly wyll be fulfilled now and euer Amen.