Acts and Monuments Volume 2 Part 2, Book 12 · Account 5
¶The purpose of D. Watsons Sermon against Martin Bucer.
IN the meane tyme that they were a rostyng in the fire, Watson went into the Pulpit in S. Mary Church,Watsons Sermon at the burning of Bucer and Phagius. and there before his audience rayled vppon their doctrine, as wicked and erroneous, saying: that it was the ground of all mischiefe that had happened of a long tyme in the common weale. For beholde (sayd he) as well the prosperitie as the aduersitie of these yeares that hauehave ensued, and ye shall find that all thyngs hauehave chanced vnluckely to them that hauehave followed this new found fayth:As though in these dayes of Queene Mary had bene raysed no subsidies at all. as contrary all thynges hauehave happened fortunately to them that hauehave eschewed it. What robbyng and pollyng (quoth hee) hauehave we seene in this Realme, as long as Religion was defaced with sects, the common treasure (gathered for ye maintenance of the whole publike weale) and the goodes of the Realme shamefully spent in waste for the maintenance of a few folkes lustes, all good order broken, all discipline cast aside, holydayes appointed to the solemnising of ceremonies neglected: and that more is, the places themselues beaten downe, flesh and other kynde of prohibited sustenance eaten eueryevery where vponupon dayes forbidden, without remorse of conscience, the priests had in derision, the masse rayled vponupon, no honour done to the Sacramentes of the church: all estates and degrees geuen to such a licentious liberty without checke, that all things may seeme to draw to their vtter ruine and decay.
And yet in the meane time the name of the gospel was pretended outwardly,Watson sclaunde… …. as though that for it men ought of duetie to geue credite to their erroneous opinions: where as in deed there is nothing more discrepant, or more to the slaunder of Gods worde then the same. For what other thyng taught they to remayne in that most blessed & mysticall Sacrament of the body of our Lorde, then bare vnleauened bread? And what els doe the remnaunt of them teach vntounto this day? Whereas Christ by expresse wordes doth assure it to be his very body. Howe perillous a doctrine is that which concerneth the fatall and absolute necessitie of Predestination? And yet they set it out in suche wyse, that they hauehave left no choise at all in things. As who should say, it skilled not what a man purposed of any matter, sithens he had not the power to determine otherwyse then the matter should come to passe. The which was the peculiar opinion of them, that made God the authour of euill, bringyng men thorough this perswasion into such a carelesse securitie of the euerlastyng eternitie, that in the meane season it made no matter eyther toward saluation, or toward damnation, what a man did in this lyfe. These errors (whiche were not euen among the Heathen men) were defended by them with great stoutnesse.
These and many such other thyngs he slanderously & falsly alledged against Bucer,Watson and Scot had both subscribed to the doctrine of the Gospell in the raigne of K. Edward the 6. The reconciling of the Churches that were interdicted. whose doctrine (in such sort as he himselfe taught it) eyther he would not vnderstand, or els he was mynded to slaunder. And yet he was not ignoraunt, that Bucer taught none other thynges then the very same whereunto both he and Scotte in the raigne of K. Edward the vj. had willingly assented by subscribyng thereto with their owne handes. While hee talked in this wyse before the people, many of them that had writtē verses before, did set vp other new, in the which lyke a sort of waterfrogges, they spued out their venemous malice agaynst Bucer and Phagius. This was the last act of this Enterlude, and yet there remained a few thynges to bee done, among the which was the reconciling of two churches, of our Lady, & of S. Michaell, which we declared to hauehave bene enterdicted before.
This was done the next day followyng, by the aforesayd B. of Chester, with as much ceremoniall solemnitie as the law required. But that impanate God, whom Bucers carcasse had chased from thence, was not yet returned thether agayne: neither was it lawfull for hym to come there any more, but if he were brought thether with great solemnitie. As I suppose, duryng all the tyme of hys absence,A solemne Procession of the Vniuersitye and of the townesmen. he was entertained by the Commissioners at Trinitie Colledge, and there continued as a Soiourner. For thither came al the Graduates of the Uniuersitie, the 8. of February, of gentlenes and curtesie, to bryng hym home agayne. Amongst the which number, the Bish. of Chester (worthy for hys estate to come nearest to hym, because hee was a B.) tooke and caried hym cladde in a long Rochet, and a large Tippet of Sarcenet about hys necke, wherein he wrapped his Idoll also. Ormanet Datarie had geuen the same a little before to the Uniuersitie, for that and such lyke purposes.
When this Idoll should returne home, hee wente not the straightest and nearest way as other folkes are woont to go, but he fetched a compasse about the most part of the towne, and romed through so many of the streetes, that it was a large houre and more, ere he could find the way into his Church agayne. I beleeue the auncient Romaines obserued a custome not much vnlike this in their process… on, when they made supplications at the shrines of al their Gods. The order of which procession was this: the maisters Regents went before singyng with a lowde voyce:The order of Procession in Cambridge. Salue festa dies. &c. Next then followed the B. of Chester, about hym went Ormanet and his fellowe Commissioners, with the maisters of the colledges, bearing eueryevery mā a long Taper light in hys hand. After whom a little space of, followed other degrees of the Uniuersitie. Last behind came the Maior and hys Townesmen. Before them all went the Bedles, crying to such as they mette, that they should bowe themselues humbly before the hoste. If any refused so to doe, they threatned to send hym forthwith to the Tolboth. Their God beyng ledde with this pompe, and pacified with great sacrificed Hostes of Bucer & Phagius, at length setled hymselfe agayne in his accustomed roume.
Scot of Chester prayed with many wordes, that that day might be luckie and fortunate to hymselfe, and to all that were present, and that from that day forward (nowe that Gods wrath was appeased, and all other thyngs set in good order) al men would make themselues conformable to peace & quietnes, namely, in matters appertainyng to Religion. After this they bestowed a few dayes in punishing and amercyng such as they thought had deserued it. Some they suspended from geuyng voyces eyther to their owne preferment, or to the preferment of any other. Some they forbade to hauehave the charge of pupils,… least they should infect the tender youth (being pliable to take what print soeuer should be layd vponupon them) with corrupt doctrine and heresie, others they chastised wrongfully without any desert, and many a one they punished, contrary to all right and reason.
Last of all they set forth certayne statutes, by ye which they would hauehave the vniuersitie hereafter ordered. Wherin they enacted many thynges as concernyng the election of their Officers of the Uniuersitie, of keepyng and administryng the goods of the Uniuersitie,… and of many other thyngs. But especially they handled the matter very circumspectly for religion. In the which they were so scrupulous, that they replenished all thyngs, eyther with opē blasphemy, or with ridiculous superstition. For they prescribed at how many Masses eueryevery man should be day by day, and how many Pater nosters and Auies eueryevery manne should say when he should enter into the Church, and in his entrance, after what sort he should bow hymself to the aultar, and how to the maister of the house, what he shuld do there, and how long he should tary, how many, & what praiers he should say, what, and how he should sing, what meditations other shoulde vse while the Priest is in hys Memento, mumbling secretly to himselfe, what time of the Masse a man should stand, and when he should sit down, when he should make curtesie, when exclusiuely, when inclusiuely, and many other superstitious toyes they decreed that it was a sport then to behold their superstitions, and were tedious now to recite them.
Moreouer, these maisters of good order, for fashions sake, ordained that eueryevery man should put on a surples, not torne nor worne, but cleane, forbiddyng them in any wyse to wipe their noses thereon.
These thyngs thus set at a stay, when the Commissioners were now ready to goe their wayes, the Uniuersitie for so great benefits (which she should not suffer to fal out of remembraunce many yeares after) couetyng to shewe some token of curtesie towardes them agayne,O…manet & C…l… pro…ded Doctours. dignified Ormanet and Cole with the degree of Doctorship for all the residue, sauyng Christopherson, who now, by reason he was elected Bishop, preuentyng that degree, had receyued that order before. Thus at length were sent away these peacemakers that came to pacifie strifes and quarels, who through prouokyng eueryevery mā to accuse one another left such gaps and breaches in mens harts at their departure, that to this day they could neuer be closed nor ioyned together agayne.
These Commissioners, before they departed out of the Uniuersitie,The departing of …he …. gaue commaundement, that the Maisters of eueryevery house should copy out their Statutes, the which beside common Ordinaunces, conteined in them certayne Rules of priuate Order, for euerye House particularly. Swinborne (who as I sayd, was M. of Clarehall) being demaunded whether he would hauehave those thyngs engrossed in parchment or in paper,Swine…nes saying as con…ing the … of … Inqui…rs. aunswered that it made no matter wherein they were written: For the Paper, or a sleighter thing that were of lesse continuance then Paper, would serue the turne well enough: For he sayd, a slenderer thyng then that, would last a great deale longer then those dercees should stand in force. Neither was the man deceiued in his coniecture: For within two yeares after, God beholdyng vsus with mercy, called Queene Mary out of this life, the 17. day of Nouember, an. 1558. After whom her sister ELIZABETH succedyng in ye kingdome, raised to life agayne the true religion. Whereupon as the church of Christ began by little & little to florish. So the memory of Bucer and Phagius (although their bones were burnt by Cardinall Poole) was restored agayne by this godlye Queene ELIZABETH, who gaue then in Commission to Math. Parker then Archbishop of Canterbury, and to Edmund Grindall then Bishop of London, to Maister Gualter Haddon and others: For the performaunce of whiche Commission, the sayd Reuerend Bishoppes addressed their Letters to the Uicechancellor, &c.
❧ The Oration of M. Acworth, Oratour of the Vniuersitie, at the restitution of Martin Bucer, and Paulus Phagius.
I Am in doubt whether I may entreate of the prayse and commendation of so great a Clarke (for the celebratyng whereof,The Oration of Acworth. this assembly and concourse of yours is made this day) or of the vices and calamities, out of the whiche we bee newly deliuered, or of them both, consideryng the one cannot be mentioned without the other. In the which tymes ye felt so much anguish and sorrow (my right dere brethren) that if I should repeat them and bryng them to remembraunce agayne, I feare me, I should not so much worke a iust hatred in vsus towardes them, for the iniuries receyued in them, as renew our olde sorrow and heuines. Agayne, men must needes account me vnaduised and foolish in my doyng, if I should thinke my selfe able to make him which hath lyued before our eyes in prayse and estimation, more famous and notable by my Oration, which he by his liuyng and conuersation hath oftentymes polished. But the wickednes of the tymes which endeuoured to wipe cleane out of remembrance of men the name that was so famous and renoumed in eueryevery mans mouth, did much profite hym. In so much, that both in his life tyme all thyng redounded to hys continuall renowme, and in especially, after hys decease nothing could be deuised more honourable, then wt so solemn furniture & ceremonies, to hauehave gone about to hauehave hurt ye memorial of such a worthy man, & yet could not bryng to passe the thyng that was so sore coueted, but rather broght that thing to passe, which was chiefly sought to be auoyded. For the desire that men hauehave of the dead, hath purchased to many men euerlasting fame, and hath not taken away immortalitie, but rather amplified and increased the same. By meanes whereof it commeth to passe, that he yt wil intreat of those things that pertaine to the prayse of Bucer after hys death, can not chuse but speake of the crabbednesse of the tymes past, vpō the which riseth a great encrease and augmentation of his prayse. But his lyfe so excellently set foorth, not onelye by the writyngs of the learned Clarkes, Cheeke and Carre, and by the liuely voyce of the right famous D. Haddon, vttered in this place to the great admiration of all the hearers, when his body should be layd into his graue to bee buried, and after his buriall by the godly and most holye preachings of the right Reuerend father in Christ ye Archbishop of Caunterbury that now is, and of D. Redman, the which for the worthinesse and excellencie of thē, ought to stick longer in our mynds vnwrittē, then many things that are penned and put in print, but also by the great assembly of all the degrees of the Uniuersitie the same daye, in bringyng hym to his graue, and the nexte day after by the industry of eueryevery man that was endued wt any knowledge in the Greeke or Latine tongs: of the which, there was no man but set vp some Uerses as witnesses of hys iust and vnfeined sorrow, vponupon the wals of the Churche: that neither at that tyme any reuerence or duety which is due to the dead departyng out of this lyfe, was then ouerslipped, or now remayneth vndone that may seeme to pertaine either to the celebratyng of the memoriall of so holy or famous a person, or to the consecrating of hym to euerlastyng memory. We at that tyme saw with our eyes this Uniuersitie flourishyng by his institutions, the louelove of sincere religion, not onelyonly engendred, but also confirmed and strenghthened through his continuall and daily preachyng. In so much that at such tyme as hee was sodainly taken from vsus, there was scarse any man that for sorrow could find in his hart to beare with the present state of this life, but yt either he wished with al his hart to depart out of this lyfe wt Bucer into another, & by dieng to follow hym into immortality, or els endeuoured hymselfe with weepyng and sighyng to call hym agayne, beyng dispatched of all troubles into the prison of this body, out of ye whiche he is escaped, lest he shuld leaue vsus as it were standyng in battaile ray without a Captayne, and he hymselfe as one casshed, depart with hys wages, or as one discharged out of the Campe, withdraw hymselfe to the euerlasting quietnesse and tranquillitie of the soule. Therefore all men euidently declared at that tyme, both how sore they tooke hys death to hart, and also, how hardly they could away with the misture of such a man. As long as the ardēt louelove of his religion (wherewyth we were inflamed) florished, it wrought in our hartes an incredible desire of hys presence among vsus. But after the tyme that the godly man ceased to be any more in our sight, and in our eies, that ardent and burnyng louelove of religion by little and little waxed cold in our myndes, and according to the times yt came after (which were both miserable and to our vtter vndoyng) it began not by little and little to be darkened,Anno 1557. Ianuary. but it altogether vanished away, and turned into nothing. For we tell agayne into the troublesomnesse of the popish doctrine: the old rites & customs of the Romish church, were restored againe, not to the garnishment & beautifieng of the christian Religion (as they surmised) but to the vtter defacing, violating, & defiling of the same. Death was set before the eyes of such as perseuered in the christē doctrine that they had learned before. They were banished ye realm that could not apply themselues to the tyme, & do as other mē did: such as remained, were enforced either to dissēble, or to hide themselues and creepe into corners, or els as it were by drinking of the charmed cup of Circes, to bee turned and altered, not only from the nature of man into the nature of brute beasts, but (that far worse and much more monstrous is) from the likenes of God & his Angels, into the likenes of deuils. And all England was infected wt this malady. But I would to God the corruption of those tymes which ouerwhelmed all the whole realme, had not at least wise yet pierced eueryevery part & member thereof. Of the which there was not one but that (besides the griefe yt it felt, with the residue of the body, by reason of the sicknes & contagion spred into the whole) had some sorrow & calamitie peculiarly by it selfe. And to omit the rest (of the which to entreat, this place is not appointed, nor the time requireth ought to be spoken) this dwelling place of the Muses (which we call the Uniuersitie) may be a sufficient witnes what we may iudge of all the rest of the body. For certes my brethren, the thing is not to be dissembled, that cannot be hidden. We applieng our selues to those most filthy tymes, hauehave most shamefully yelded like faint harted Cowards, which had not the stomackes to sustaine ye aduersities of pouerty, banishment, and death. Which in our liuyng and conuersatiō kept neither the constancy taught vsus by philosophy, nor yet the patience taught vsus by holye scripture, which hauehave done all things at the commaundement of others. And therefore that which the Poete (although in another sence) hath trimly spoken, may well be thought to hauehave bene truly prophesied vponupon vsus.
The tymes and seasons changed be:
And changed in the same are we.
Diuers of them that were of a pure and sincere iudgement as conceruyng religion, beyng driuen from hence & distroubled, the rest that remained tasted and felt of the inhumanity of them in whose hands the authoritie of doing things here consisted: although to say the truth. I hauehave vsed a gentler terme then behooued. For it is not to bee accompted inhumanitie, but rather immanitie & beastly cruelty, the which, when they had spent all kynds of tormēts and punishments vponupon the quicke, when they had cruelly taken from such as constantly perseuered, life, from others riches, honors, and all hope of promotion, yet they coulde not be so satisfied, but that incensed and stirred with a greter fury, it began to outrage euen agaynst the dead. Therfore where as in eueryevery singuler place was executed a singular kynd of cruelty, in so much, that there was no kynd of cruelnes that could be deuised, but it was put in vre in one place or other, this was proper or peculiar to Cambridge, to exercise the cruelty vppon the dead, which in other places was extended but to the quicke. Oxford burnt vp the right reuerend fathers, Cranmer, Ridley, and Latymer, the noble witnesses of the cleare light of the Gospell. Moreouer, at London perished these two lanternes of light, Rogers and Bradford: In whome it is hard to say whether there were more force of eloquence and vtterance in preaching, or more holynes of lyfe and conuersation. Many other without number both here and in other places were consumed to ashes for bearyng record of the truth. For what City is there that hath not flamed, I saye not with burning of houses and buildings, but with burnyng of holy bodies? But Cambridge, after there were no more left alyue vponupon whom they might spue out their bitter poyson, played the mad Bedlem against the dead. The dead men, whose liuyng no man was able to finde faulte with, whose doctrine no man was able to reprooue, were by false and slanderous accusers indited, contrary to the lawes of God and man sued in the law, condemned, their sepulchres violated and broken vp, their carcasses pulled out and burnt with fire. A thyng surely incredible if wee had not seene it with our eyes, and a thing that hath not lightly bene heard of. But the haynousnes of this wicked act, was spred abroad as a common talke in eueryevery mans mouth, and was blowen and dispersed through all Christendome. Bucer by the excellency of hys wit and doctrine knowen to all men, of our countreymen in maner craued, of many others intreated & sent for, to the intent he might instruct our Cambridge men in the sincere doctrine of the christen religion, beyng spent with age, and hys strength vtterly decayed, forsooke his owne countrey, refused not the tediousnesse of the long iourney, was not afrayd to aduenture hymselfe vponupon the sea, but had more regard of the dilatyng and amplifieng of the Church of Christ, than of all other thyngs. So in conclusion he came, eueryevery man receyued and welcommed hym: afterward he liued in such wyse, as it might appeare he came not hither for his owne sake, but for ours. For he sought not to driue away ye sicknesse that he had taken by the troublesome trauaile of his long iourney: and albeit his strength were weakened & appalled, yet he regarded not the recouery of hys health, but put hymselfe to immoderate labour and intollerable payne, onelyonly to teach and instruct vsus. And yet toward this so noble and worthy a person while he lyued, were shewed all the tokens of humanitie and gentlenesse, reuerence and curtesy that could be, and when he was dead, the most horrible crueltie and spight that might be imagined. For what can be so commendable, as to grant vntounto the liuyng house, and a bidyng place, and to the dead burial? Or what is he that will find in his heart to geue entertainement, & to cherish that person in his house with all kynde of gentlenes that he can deuise, vponupon whom he could not vouchsafe to bestow buriall when he is dead? Agayne, what an inconstancy is it, with great solemnity, and with much aduauncement and commendation of his vertues, to bury a man honourably, and anone after to breake vp his tomb, and pull him out spitefully, and wrongfully to slander him beyng deade, who duryng his lyfe tyme alway deserued prayse? All these things hauehave happened vntounto Bucer, who whilest hee lyued, had free accesse into the most gorgeous buildyngs and stately pallaces of the greatest Princes, & when he was dead, could not be suffred to enioy so muche as his poore graue. Who beyng layd in the ground, nobly to his eternall fame, was afterward to hys vtter defacing spightfully taken vp and burned. The which thynges albeit they did no harme to the dead (for the deade carcasses feele no payne, neyther doth the fame of godly persons depend vponupon the report of vulgar people, and the lyght rumours of men, but vponupon the rightfull censure & iust iudgement of God) yet it reprooueth an extreme cruelnesse and vnsatiable desire of reuengemēt, in them which offer such vtter wrong to the dead. These persons therefore whome they hauehave pulled out of their graues and burned, I beleue (if they had bene alyue) they would hauehave cast out of house and home, they would hauehave driuen out of all mens company, and in the ende with most cruell tormentes hauehave torne them in peeces, beyng neuerthelesse Alientes, beyng Straungers, and beyng also fetched hether by vsus oute of such a countrey, where they not onelyonly needed not to feare any punishment, but contrary wise were alwayes had in much reputation, as well among the noble and honourable, as also among the vulgare and common people. But yet how much more gentle then these men, was Byshop Gardiner, otherwyse an earnest defender of the Popishe doctrine. Who agaynst his owne countreymen, let passe no crueltie wherby he might extinguish with f…re & sword the light of the Gospell: and yet he spared Forreiners, because the right of them is so holye, that there was neuer nation so barbarous, that would violate the same. For when he had in his power the renowmed Clearke Peter Martyr then teachyng at Oxford, he would not kepe hym to punish hym, but (as I hauehave heard reported) when hee should go his way, he gaue hym wherewith to beare hys charges. So that the thyng which he thought he might of right do to his owne countreymen, he iudged vnlawfull to do to strangers. And whom the law of God coulde not withhold from the wicked murthering of his owne countreymen, hym did the lawe of man bridle from killyng of straungers, the whiche hath euer appeased all barbarous beastlynesse, and mitigated all cruelty. For it is a poynt of humanitie for man and man to meete together, and one to come to an other, though they be neuer so far separated & set asunder, both by sea & by land, without the which accesse, there can be no entercourse of merchādise, there cā be no conference of wits, which first of al engendred lerning nor any commoditie of societie long to continue. To repulse them that come to vsus, and to prohibite thē our countries, is a poynt of inhumanitie. Now to entreat them euill that by our sufferaunce dwel among vsus, and hauehave encrease of household and household stuffe, it is a poynte of wickednesse. Wherefore this crueltie hath farre surmounted the cruelty of all others, the which to satisfie the vnsatiable greedinesse thereof, drewe to execution, not onelye straungers, brought hether at our entreataunce and sending for, but euen the withered and rotten carcasses digged out of their graues: to the intent that the immeasurable thurst which coulde not be quenched with shedding the bloud of them that were aliue,Anno 1557. Maye. might at the least be satisfied in burning of dead mens bones. These (my bretheren) these I say, are the iust causes which hauehave so sore prouoked the wrath of God agaynst vsus, because that in doing extreme iniury to the dead, we hauehave bene prone and ready: but in putting the same away, we hauehave bene slow and slacke. For verely I beleue (if I may hauehave liberty to saye freely what I thinke) ye shall beare with me (if I chaunce to cast forth any thing vnaduisedly in the heat and hasty discourse of my Oration) that euen this place, in the whiche we hauehave so often times assembled, being defiled with that new kinde of wickednesse, such as man neuer heard of before, is a let and hindraunce vntounto vsus, when we call for the helpe of God, by meanes whereof, our prayers are not accepted, which we make to appease the Godhead, & to win him to be sauorable vntounto vsus agayne.
The bloud of Abell shed by Cain, calleth and crieth frō the earth that sucked it vp: likewise, the vndeserued burning of these bodyes, calleth vponupon God almighty to punish vsus, and cryeth, that not onelyonly the Authours of so greate a wickednesse, but also the Ministers thereof are vnpure, the places defiled, in which these thinges were perpetrated, the ayre infected which we take into our bodyes, to the intent that by sundry diseases and sickenesses we may receiue punishment for so execrable wickednesse. Looke well about ye (my deare brethrē) and consider with your selues the euils that are past: & ye shall see how they tooke theyr beginning at Bucers death, following one in anothers necke euen vntounto this day. First and formost whē we were euen in the chiefest of our mourning and scarcely yet recomforted of our sorrow for his death, the sweating sickenesse lighted vponupon vsus, the whiche passed swiftly thorow all Englande, and as it were in haste dispatched an innumerable company of men: Secondly, the vntimely death of our most noble king Edward the sixt (whose life in vertue surmounted the opinion of all men, and seemed worthy of immortality) happened contrary to mens expectation in that age, in which vnlesse violence be vsed, fewe do dye. The conuersion of Religion, or rather the euersion and turning therof into papistry. The incursiō and domination of straungers, vnderunder whose yoke our neckes were almost subdued. The importunate cruelty of the Byshops agaynst the Christians, which executed that wickednesse, for making satisfaction whereof, we are gathered together this daye. These are the thinges that ensued after his death: but after his burning ensued yet greeuouser thinges. Namely newe kinde of plagues, and contagious diseases, vnknowne to the very Phisitians, whereby eyther euerye mans health was appayred, or els they were brought to theyr graues, or elles very hardly recouered: bloudy battel…es without victory, whereof the profite redounded to the enemy, and to vsus the slaughter with great losse. The which thinges doe euidently declare, that God is turned from vsus, and angry with vsus, and that he geueth no eare to our prayers, and that he is not moued with our cries and sighes, but that he looketh, that this our meeting and assembly shoulde be to this end, that for as muche as we hauehave violated theyr coarses, we should doe them right agayne: so that the memoriall of these most holy men, may be commended to posteritye vnhurted and vndefamed. Wherefore amende yet at length (my brethren) which hytherto by reason of the variablenesse and vnconstancy of the times, hauehave beene wauering and vnstedfast in your hartes: shew your selues chearefull and forwarde in making satisfaction for the iniury you hauehave done to the dead, whome with so greate wickednesse of late ye endomaged and defiled: not by censing them with the perfumes of those odours and spices now worne out of vre, and put to flight, but with a true and vnfained repētance of the hart, and with prayer: to the intent that the heauenly Godhead, prouoked by our doinges to be our enemy may be our hū ble submission be entreated to be fauorable and agreable to all our other requestes.
When Acworth had made an ende of his Oration, M. Iames Pilkinton the Queenes reader of the diuinity lecture,… Sermō … Iames …. going vp into the Pulpite, made a Sermon vponupon the 111. Psalme, the beginning whereof is. Blessed is the mā that feareth the Lord.
Where intending to prooue that the remembraunce of the iust man shall not perishe, and that Bucer is blessed, & that the vngodly shall fret at the sight therof, but yet that all theyr attemptes shall bee to no purpose, to the entent this saying may be verifyed: I will cursse your blessinges, and blesse your curssinges, he tooke his beginning of hys owne person, that albeit he were both ready and willyng to take that matter in hande, partly for the worthinesse of the matter it selfe, and inespecially for certayne singuler vertues, of those persons, for whome that Congregation was called, yet notwithstanding he sayde he was nothing meet to take that charge vponupon him.
For it were more reason that he which before had done Bucer wrong, should now make him amendes for the displeasure. As for his owne part, he was so farre from working any euill agaynst Bucer, eyther in worde or deede that for theyr singular knowledge almost in al kind of learning, he embraced both him and Phagius with all hys harte. But yet hee somewhat more fauoured Bucer, as with whom he had more familiarity and acquayntaunce. In consideration whereof, although that it was scarce conuenient, that he at that time should speake, yet notwt standing he was contented for frendshippe and curtesye sake, not to fayle them in this theyr businesse. Hauyng made this Preface, he entered into the pith of the matter, wherein he blamed greatly the barbarous crueltye of the Court of Rome, so fiercely extended agaynst the dead. He sayd it was a more heynous matter then was to be borne with, to hauehave shewed such extreme cruelnesse to them that were aliue: but for any manne to misbehaue himselfe in such wise towarde the deade, was such a thing as hadde not lightly bene heard of. Sauing that he affirmed this custome of excommunicating and curssing of deade folke, to hauehave come first from Rome. For Euagrius reporteth in his wrytinges, that Eutichius was of the same opinion, induced by the example of Iosias, who slew the Priestes of Baall, and burnt vppe the boanes of them that were deade, euen vppon the Aultars. Whereas, before the time of Eutichius this kinde of punishment was welneare vnknowne, neither afterwarde vsurped of any manne (that euer he heard of) vntill a nine hundreth yeares after Christ. In the latter times (the whiche howe muche the further they were from that golden age of the Apostles, so much the more they were corrupted) this kinde of cruelnesse beganne to creepe further. For it is manifestlye knowne, that Stephen the sixt Pope of Rome, digged vp Formosus, his last Predecssour in that Sea, and spoyling him of hys Popes apparell, buryed him agayne in lay mans apparell (as the call it) hauing first cut off and throwne into Tyber his two fingers, with which, according to theyr accustomed maner, he was woont to blesse and consecrate. The whiche his vnspeakeably tyrannye vsed against Formosus, within sixe yeares after, Sergius the third encreased also agaynst the same Formosus. For taking vp his dead body and setting it in a Popes chayre, hee caused his heade to be smitten of, and his other three fingers to be cut from his hand, and his body to be cast into the ryuer of Tyber, abrogating and disanulling all his decrees, which thinge was neuer done by any man before that daye. The cause why so great crueltye was exercised (by the reporte of Nauclerus) was this: because that Formosus had beene an aduersarye to Stephen and Sergius when they sued to be made Bishops.
This kinde of crueltye vnharde of before, the Popes a while exercised one agaynst an other. But nowe, or euer they had sufficiently felte the smarte thereof themselues, they had turned the same vponupon our neckes. Wherefore it was to be wished, that seeing it began among thē it might hauehave remayned still with the Authors thereof, & not hauehave bene spread ouer thence vntounto vsus. But such was the nature of all euill, that it quickely passeth into example, for others to do the like. For about the yeare of our Lord 1400. Iohn Wicklyfe was in lyke maner digged vp, and burnte into ashes, & throwen into a brooke that runneth by the towne where he was buryed. Of the which selfe same sauce tasted also William Tracye of Gloucester, a man of a worshipfull house, because he had written in his laste will that he shoulde be saued onelyonly by fayth in Iesus Christe, and that there needed not the helpe of any manne thereto, whether he were in heauen or in earth, and therefore bequethed no legacye to that purpose as all other men were accustomed to doe. This deede was done sithens we may remember, aboute the 22. yeare of the raigne of Henry the 8. in the yeare of our Lord. 1530.
Now seeing they extended suche crueltye to the dead, he sayde it was an easye matter to coniecture what they would doe to the liuing. Whereof we had sufficient tryall by the examples of our owne men, these fewe yeares past. And if we woulde take the paynes to peruse thinges done somewhat lenger ago, we might find notable matters out of our owne Chronicles. Howbeit, it was sufficient for ye manifest demonstration of that matter, to declare the beastly butchery of the Frenche King executed vppon the Waldenses, at Cabryer, and the places nere thereabout, by his captayne Miner, aboute the yeare of our Lorde. 1545. then the which there was neuer thing read of more cruelty done,Anno 1557. February. no not euen of the barbarous Paganes. And yet for all that when diuers had shewed theyr vttermost cruelty both agaynste these and many others, they were so farre from theyr purpose in extinguishing the light of the Gospell, which they endeuoured to suppresse, that it increased dayly more and more. The which thing Charles the 5. (then whom all christendome had not a more prudēt Prince, nor the Church of Christ almost a sorer enemy) easily perceiued, and therefore when he had in his hand Luther dead, and Melancthon and Pomeran, with certayne other Preachers of the Gospell aliue, he not onelyonly determined not any thing extreamely agaynst them nor violated theyr graues, but also entreating them gently sent thē away, not so much as once forbidding them to publish openly the doctrine that they professed. For it is the nature of Christes Church, that the more that Tyrauntes spurne agaynst it, the more it encreaseth and florisheth. A notable proofe assuredly of the prouidence and pleasure of God in sowing the Gospell, was that comming of the Bohemians vntounto vsus, to the intent to heare Wickliffe, of whom we spake before, who at that time read openly at Oxford: and also the goyng of our men to the sayde Bohemians, when persecution was raysed agaynste vsus. But muche more notable was it, that we had seene come to passe in these our dayes: that the Spanyardes sent for into thys Realme of purpose to suppresse the Gospell, as soone as they were returned home, replenished many partes of theyr Countrey with the same trueth of Religion, to the which before they were vtter enemyes. By the which examples it might euidently be perceiued, that the Princes of this world labour in vayne to ouerthrowe it, considering how the mercy of GOD hath sowne it abroad, not onelyonly in those Countryes that wee spake of, but also in Fraunce, Poole, Scotland, and almoste all the rest of Europe. For it is sayd, that some partes of Italy, (although it be vnderunder the Popes nose) yet do they of late encline to the knowledge of the heauenly trueth: Wherefore sufficient argument and proofe mighte be taken by the successe and encreasement therof, to make vsus beleue that this doctrine is sent vsus from heauen, vnlesse we will wilfully be blinded. And if there were any that desired to be perswaded more at large in the matter, hee might aduisedlye consider the voyage that the Emperor and the Pope with both theyr powers together, made ioyntly agaynste the Bohemians. In the which the Emperour tooke suche an vnworthy repulse of so small a handfull of his enemyes, that he neuer almost in all his life tooke the like dishonour in any place. Hereof also might bee an especiall example that death of Henry Kyng of Fraunce, who the same day that he had purposed to persecute the Churche of Christe, and to hauehave burned certayne of his Garde, whome he had in prison for Religion, at whose execution he had promised to hauehave bene himselfe in proper person, in the middes of his tryumph at a tourney, was wounded so sore in the head with a Speare by one of his owne Subiectes, that ere it was long after he dyed. In the which behalfe, the dreadfull iudgementes of GOD were no lesse approued in our owne Countreymen▪ For one that was a notable slaughterman of Christes Sayntes rotted aliue,Stephen Gardiner of Winchester. and ere euer he dyed, such a rancke sauour stemed from all his bodye, that none of his frendes were able to come at hym, but that they were ready to vomit. Another being in vtter dispayre well nighe of all health, howled out miserably. The third ranne out of his wittes. And diuers other that were enemyes to the Churche perished miserablye in the end. All the which thinges were most certayne tokens of the fauour and defence of the diuine Maiesty towades his Churche, and of his wrath and vengeance towardes the Tyrauntes. And for as much as he had made mention of the Bohemians, he sayd it was a most apte example that was reported of theyr Capitayne Zisca: who when hee should dye, willed his body to be slayne, and of his skin to make a parchment to couer the head of a drumme. For it should come to passe, that when his enemies hearde the sound of it, they should not be able to stand agaynste them. The like counsell (he sayd) he himselfe nowe gaue them as concerning Bucer. That like as the Bohemians dyd with the skinne of Zisca, the same should they doe with the Argumentes and doctrine of Bucer. For as soone as the Papistes shoulde heare the noyse of hym, theyr Gewgawes would forthwith decay. For sauing that they vsed violence to such as withstoode them, theyr doctrine conteyned nothing that might seeme to any man (hauing but meane vnderstanding in holy Scripture) to be grounded vponupon any reason. As for those thinges that were done by them agaynst such as could not play the madmen as well as they some of them sauoured of open force, and some of ridiculous foolishnes. For what was this first of all? was it not friuolous, that by the space of three yeares together, Masse shoulde be songe in those places where Bucer and Phagius rested in the Lord without any offence at al? and assoone as they tooke it to be an offence, straight waye to be an offence if any were heard there? or that it should not be as good then as it was before? as if that then vppon the soddeyne it had bene a haynous matter to celebrate it in that place, and that the fault that was past, should be counted the greuouser because it was done of lenger time before. Moreuer, this was a matter of none effect, that Bucer and Phagius onelyonly should be digged vppe as who shoulde say,…ande somtyme Maior of the towne. that he alonely had embraced the Religion which they call heresy. It was well knowne howe one of the Burgesses of the Towne had bene minded towarde the Popish Religion. Who when he shoulde dye, willed neither ringing of Belles, Diriges, nor any other such kinde of trifles to be done for him in his anniuersary, as they terme it, but rather that they should go with Instruments of Musicke before the Maior and coūsell of the Citty, to celebrate his memoriall, and also that yearely a Sermon shoulde bee made to the people, bequeathing a piece of money to the Preacher for his labour. Neither might he omit in that place to speak of Ward the paynter, who albeit he wer a man of no reputation, yet was he not to be despised for the religion sake which he diligently folowed. Neyther were diuers other moe to be passed ouer with silence, who were knowne of a certaynety to hauehave continued in the same sect, and to rest in other Churchyardes in Cambridge, and rather through the whole realme, and yet defiled not theyr Masses at all. All the which persons (for as much as they were all of one opinion) ought all to hauehave bene taken vppe, or els all to hauehave bene let lye with the same Religion: vnlesse a man would graūt, that it lyeth in theyr power to make what they list lawfull and vnlawfull at theyr owne pleasure. In the condemnation of Bucer and Phagius (to saye the trueth) they vsed to much cruelty, and to muche violence. For howsoeuer it went with the doctrine of Bucer, certaynely they coulde finde nothing wherof to accuse Phagius, in as much as he wrote nothing that came abroad sauing a few things that he had translated out of the Hebrew and Chaldy tounges, into Latine. After his comming into the Realme, he neuer read, he neuer disputed, he neuer preached, he neuer taught. For he deceased so soone after, that he coulde in that time geue no occasion for his aduersaries to take hold on, whereby to accuse him whome they neuer hearde speake. In that they hated Bucer so deadly, for the allowable maryage of the Cleargy, it was theyr owne malice conceiued agaynste him, and a verye slaunder raysed by themselues. For he had for his defence in that matter, (ouer and besides other helpes) the Testimony of the Pope Pius the second, who in a certayne place sayth that vppon waighty considerations Priestes wiues were taken from them, but for more weighty causes were to be restored agayne. And also the statute of the Emperour, they call it the Interim, by the which it is enacted that such of the cleargye as were maryed shoulde not bee diuorced from theyr wiues.
Thus turning his stile from this matter to the Uniuersity, he reprooued in fewe wordes theyr vnfaythfulnes towardes these men. For if the Lord suffered not the bones of the King of Edome, being a wicked man, to bee taken vppe and burnt without reuengement (as sayth Amos) let vsus assure our selues he will not suffer so notable a wrong done to his godly Preachers, vnreuenged. Afterward, when he came to the condemnation (whiche we tolde you in the former action was pronounced by Perne the Uicechauncellour, in the name of them all) being somewhat more moued at the matter, he admonished thē how much it stoode them in hand, to vse great circumspectnes, what they decreed vponupon any man by theyr voyces, in admitting or reiecting any man to the promotions and degrees of the Uniuersity. For that which should take hys authority from them, should be a great preiudice to all the other multitude, which (for the opinion that it had of theyr doctrine, iudgement, allowance, and knowledge) didde thinke nothing but well of them. For it would come to passe, that if they would bestow theyr promotions vponupon none but meet persons, & let the vnmeet go as they come, both the common wealth should receiue much commodity and profite by them, and besides that they should highly please God. But if they persisted to be negligent in doing thereof, they should grieuously endommage the common weale, and worthely worke theyr owne shame and reproch. Ouer and besides that the should greatly offend the maiesty of God, whose commaundement (not to beare false witnesse) they should in so doing breake and violate. In the meane while that he was speaking these and many other thinges before his audience,Anno 1557. Aprill. many of the vniuersity, to set out and defend Bucer withall, beset the walles of the Church and Church porche on both sides with verses, some in Latine, some in Greeke, and some in English, in the which they made a manifest declaration howe they were minded both toward Bucer and Phagius. Finally, when his Sermon was ended, they made common Supplication and prayers. After thankes rendred to God for many other thinges, but in especially for restoring of the true and sincere religion, eueryevery man departed his way.
For as muche as mention hath beene made of the death of the worthy and famous Clerke, Martin Bucer, & of the burning of his boanes after his death, it shall not be vnfruitful, as the place here serueth, to induce the testimony or Epitaph of Doctor Redman which came not yet in print, vponupon the decease of that man.