The Confutation of the Misshapen Answer to a Wicked Ballad, Part 53 – Part 58
☞ The confutacion
This sta…e (you say you hauehave answered before For al is (you say) but the sowne of one string And therefore you wyll answere no more. And then ouercome wyth charitye, ye, brast out in a praier and wish that God wil bring y• authour out of his erroure, not much vnlike to him that hauinge a beame in his owne e…e: goeth aboute to pul a mote out of his brothers eye. And then straight way ye decla…e a shamful errour of my Lord of Winchesters▪ whiche you vse as yours owne concernynge the vnderstandynge of this place of Esay, except thou beleue, thou canst not vnderstand. For the ryght vnderstāding wherof: I could …emyt you to the Answere that Anthony Gylbe hath made to my Lordes Deuelish Dete…tion in the C.x. vii. leafe of the same. But because you should put no lacke in thys confutation: you shall hauehave it here. The wordes you wrest to your purpose, yea you falcify the texte which hath. If you wilnot beleue the cause is y• you are instable. So that here the prophet speaking vntounto the rulers of the people of Israel, ꝓmisynge the deliueraunce frō the force of their enimies, and perceiuing that they dyd not credyt his words: saith, If you wil not beleue this deliueraunce from your enemies: the cause of your vnbeliefe, is none other but that you are vnconstant and wil not be faythful. This is y• interpretation of them that folowe the Hebrue The common translacion giueth an other interpretation, and that is this. If you peryshe or be vanquished of your enemies: knowe y• your vnbelefe is the cause therof And this interpretation … to folowe of that which the prophet had said befor, confor…yng kyng Achaz against his enemyes, who had conspired againste hym. Thus saith the Lord God (said y• prophet) their counsayl shal not stand, their purpose shal not come to passe. And after few wordes he addeth Yf you wil not beleue: you shal not endure▪ As who shuld sai. If you wil not beleue this mi ꝓmes: I wil suffer you to be …o…ed out by your enimies, you shalt not cōtinue though you escap these daūgers y• you be in now. Take it which way you wil therfor, and you shal not make it for your purpose, vnlesse you wrest it to farre oute of tun… (as you doo) by the example of my lorde of Winchester. But nowe for that you say that you hauehave answered this staffe before▪ I wold gladly knowe where. I remember you saye that neuer man taught or helde it, and yet your owne Doctours are full of that opinion. Which you shal find if you cā intreat some of your councelers to expound vntounto you a pece of the boke called Sermones dis. In y•. Cxi. sermō on xiiii. …ōday after Triniti: ar these pretie wordes, cited out of s. Banard, as you call him. O veneranda dignitas sacerdotsi, quorum manibus, tan… in vtero virginis filius dei incarnatur. That is to your lewd vnderstāding. Oh y• dignite of prestes, worthi to be had in reuerēce, in whose hādes (euē as in the v…rgins wōb) the sonne of God is incarnate. And alitle before is said. Octauo deus honorauit sacerdotes in hoc quod sacerdos aliqualiter similis est Marie beatissime virgini. Primo, sicut beatissima vir go Maria cōcepit per quin que verba, verū corpus christi. Luce. i Fiat mihi secūdū verbū t…ū) sic sacerdos cōficit per quin que verba, verū corpus. &c That is, eig…ly god hath exalted priestes in y• the priest, is after some sort lik vntounto Mari the mooste blessed virgin. First, as the moost blessed virgin Mary dyd by .v. wordes, cōceiue the very body of Christ (Luke. … Be it vntounto me accordyng as thou hast sayd) so the preist doth wt .v. wordes make the very body of Christ. &c What should I reherse any more of this blasphemous geare. But in the beginninge of the same sermon in the first dignitie, of pristes, is this more then diuellish affer…ion groūded vpō the first of Ieremy. Ego constitui te hodie super gentes et regna. I hauehave ordained the aboue …acions and kyngdomes. The words are these Unde breuiter, deus exaltauit sacerdotes super omnes homines & super omnes creaturas. Unde quida… doctor dici…. … conditione estis homines, dignitate estis super omnes homines. Thē doctor. Sacerdo… al…ior est regibus, felicror angelis, creator sui creatoris. That is in english Brieffely therfore God hath exalted priestes a bon… al men, and aboue al creatures wherfore a certaine docter saith. If so be y• ye be mē: yet are ye of dignitie aboue al men. And the same docter. A priest is hier then kinges, more happy then angels, and the creatoure of his creatoure. The …okes ar to be had wherin is more therof thē any christian eares cā abide.
¶The ballad
A …etter mynde. The Lorde graunt the
That thou mayst fynd, hys verite
which maketh the blind, In soule to se
what hys w…ll is.
¶The Answere.
I pray God g…ue …yght to tho…e that be blind
Then trust I to se your conuersion
For non… is t…er blynder that I can fynd
Then you … in youre mad opinion
All o…her peopl… y… can crye vponupon
That to bel…ue scripture they shuld agre
And none farther frō it the… you your selfe be
¶The confutatiō.
The words of your, praier, soune wel for your self. What the meaning is, ye know best your self. If god graunt sight to the blind (you say) you trust to se the authours conuersion. And doubtlesse so shall you, for so longe as you be so blinde as you be: It is not possible that you shuld se how y• author was …ōuerted frō your grosse opinion though you mean an other maner of cōuersion for as you say your self,, ther is none blinder then they that wil not se, And here you say you can finde none blynder then the authour is in his opinion, whiche you call mad (as fooles dooe wisedome) vmbradynge him with the criyng vponupon al other people … the scripture, when no man is farther frō it they he is himselfe. Thus you hauehave sayd, but such as hauehave iudgement in …cripture, shal easly perceiue by both your writynges, how falsely you bely hym.
¶The Ballad.
God graunt the, the▪ part, O … Paule to playe
I meane to conuert, From the Rom…she way
And with a meke herte, Gods truth to obaye
Who graunt the this.
The answere.
Your praier dependeth of a godly intent
Which is that ye woulde hauehave al men forsake
There catholyke fayth in the Sacrament
And your errour in the place th…reof to take
But nowe for your par… the better to make
Ye call the truth Romyshe as though that we
Had receiued it of the popyshe see