The Confutation of the Misshapen Answer to a Wicked Ballad, Part 2 – Part 7
The confutacion.
You enter into your mattier, as though you had bene at schole wyth Tertullus y• ora…our that accused Paule before Felyx the debtie, A faulse christian, you saye, hath made a ballad, a fonde talker, a wrytter of diuillishe doctrine, one that hath spent his tyme wickedlye in writeynge thys ballad. But your maister … had one caste that you lacke. He had substanciall men euen of the auldermen of Ierus… lem to wittynesse wyth hym that all was true that he …ayed. I am a f…ade the auldermen of o…don wyll not do so by you.
Wel you saye he is a false christian, but because you hauehave no recorde I dare not beleue you. For if ye be remembrede, you complayned in your preface of the greate numbre of enimes that the sacamentes of Christ hauehave: and ye… in conclusion it was proued that theyr was none so greate and enimie as your selfe. Euen so … this poynte I will not swere for you. For he that is tried to be an enimie to Christes sacramen…s, is not lyke to be a true Christian.
Come nere the light therfore that we maye deserne whether your heare be naturall or conterfaite. A woulfe maye hauehave a shepes fell one his backe: and so I feare me you hauehave. But we shall not be desce…ued in you, for oure mayster Christe hath appoynted vsus tokens to knowe you By theyr fruites (sayth he) you shal know them, They do the workes of theyr fath…r the diuell who was an homiside or manquellar euen frome the beginninge. The greate desire that you hauehave to shed mans bloude declareth your nature. The name of a christian can not make you aper…it christiā & a shepe of his flock.
No thoughe ye go in companie wyth the shepe of Christe euen to theyr pasture and feadyng: yet so long as ye be ashepebyter, we can not take you for other then a woulfe, though you were lapped in .iiii. sh…pe skynes,
The true christians are in this world as lambes in the middes amonge woulfes, All they therfore that be as woulfes amonge lambes, are false christians. If you therfore do knowe the Authour of this Ballad to be such one: thē may you iustby call hym a false christian, other wise you slaunder hym.
Certayne fruites ther be wherby these false christians be knowne, whych if I fynde in you ye must pardone me thoughe I translate this name from hym to you as to hym that is most worthye to beare it.
The fyrst of these fruites, is delite in outwarde holinesse, whiche Christ reprehended in the phariseis, An other is the faruent zeale to set forth mans doctryne, and to measure the scripture therb…, which was rebuked in them also, The thyrde and last, is the gloriyng in their owne Iustice and merites, sekeynge satisfacions besides Christ, either by thē selues or other Whyche was the cōmune faute of the Iewes
Whether these fruites may be foūde in you (frende Hogarde) let them iudge that knowe your opiniō in al matters, which (I doubt not) as many as shall diligently reade and marke your answere shal▪ doe.
And to make the matt…er more playne I shall vponupon occasiō geuen, some what note in the cō futation of that, that folowethe, And when I hauehave shewed your fruites I shall desyre you not to… stomake the matter▪ thoughe I saye (as the trneth is) that a false christian hath defamed a faythfull brother. As for the scanninge of his mattier (madly as you saye) shal appear in the progresse. In the meane tyme I shall desyre you to cal to yonr remembraunce your Deprofundis, settyng it before your eies as a matier madly scanned, tyll: I hauehave scanned your mysshapen answere, and then if you luste, put of your thymble and take your pen in hande and scane the mattier wyth your learned coū sell (you wot whom I meane) and declare your selfe to be no writter of deuyllishe doctryne, and saye that you were not the father though you beare the name. Yet tell them that dyd it, that if they wryte agayn they shalbe answered.
The ballade.
What meaneth this gyse, I woulde faine here
Straunge sightes in my eies, there do apere▪
Defended wyth lies, boeth farre and nere
Greate ruth it is,
The answere
What this … doeth meane is here straūge to me
For if he be christened then dare I say
That that thinge which he mak…th so straūge to be
Syth he, he came to reason eueryevery day
The sacrament he sawe honoure alwaye
But if he be a panym, than truely
I …lame hym not muche for his greate outcrye
The confutacion
Your answere declareth that to be tru… that … w…itten by Paul to the Romayns, The natur…ll man perceyueth not the thinges that be of the spirite of God, You comp… it no strange syght to se the sacramēt honoured with deuine honour, because in your tyme it hath ben so ho…oured. I dede to the bodilie eie this sight is nothing… strange because it is a continuall obiect and dayelye re…ued Image in that christ…lli… humour: But so manie as hauehave the eies of the inwarde man opened wherewith they s… the true honourers and that honoure God in spirite and trueth, maye well call thy… a strayng sight. For sens the beginning of creatures, th…re was neuer such honour sene to be g…uen to any creatur among the honours that the spirituall eie behouldeth. Wherefore when it chaunceth the spiritual man to behold the abhominacions of thys worlde he maye …ight well cal them strang thoughe they be continually in the eies of hys bodye. Iustly and tru…lye therfore sayeth the authour straynge … in myne eies ther do appeare, yea and th…t defen…ed wyth l…es, For what …rueth can you hauehave to def…nde the thynge that fyghhteth wyth all trueth? All trueth agreeth that the true honourers of God shall honour hym … the spirite and trueth, and not at Ierusal…m nor yet in the hyl of Samaria. That is to say, nother wyth cerimonial worship prescribed by a lawe, nor yet with any outward worship inuented of their owne braynes. If you hauehave any trueth agaynste this truthe then stande vp & declare howe these straūge syghtes be defended therwyth.
¶The balad
Ise men honour, Both breade and wyne
For christ our sauiour, which he left for a sign
To the beleuer, Of hys death deuyne
Lorde amende thys
The answere.
Whoeuer hearde beaste so shamefully ly,
No Christen man doth honour breade or wine
For nether kynds be there thoughe to our eye
They do so apere, yet faye…h doth defyne
Christe hole to be ther by hys power deuine
To whom the godhede is knit there Ioyntlye
Whome we are bounde to honoure of dewtye