University of Virginia Library

Appendix III
"The occasion why the former worke was taken in hand":
Addition from the H MS.

This diplomatic text of B.M. Harl. MS. 1220, ff. 245-248, begins at that point where both FC and NA3 end. An account of the history and textual authority of this section is given above. Corrections and deletions in the manuscript, all of which are in the hand of the copyist, appear in brackets. All expansions of contractions are designated by italics. The transcript is provided with the permission of the British Library Board.

[f. 245r, l. 12] Howe ancient and howe honorable the office of the Bps is in the Church of Christ, it may seeme amonge Christians a needlesse dispute, It is agreed by the entyre consent of all the fathers, all Schoole men, all writers newe and oulde, that Bps are sucessors to the Apostles, and that other mynisters succeeded in the places of the 70 disciples Soe that to call this callinge in question is to call in question the very christian religion for if wee search the scriptures, wee shall there find this office not onlye instituted in the newe testament but figured in the ould, the Iewes had An highe preist a figure of Christ himselfe, They had 24 principall preistes called principes Saserdotum that gouerned the [f. 245v] meaner preistes ['called principes' del.] and Levittes wch levytes were indefinite in number, or ['r' del.] rather almost infinite. All thease lived of the Tithe, wch god peculierlye calleth his inheritance and wholie vnto him and of the daylie sacrifice for sinne, and of the free will offeringes nowe the ould lawe bee done away and the ceremonies abrogated, yett a better is come in place of wch Christ himselfe is the ffounder, our lawmaker our heade, our kinge our highe preist whoe hath promised to establishe his church soe as the gates of hell shall not preuaille against it whoe hath saied, hee wilbee wth the Appostles (and not wth them alone but wth theire successors) even till the worldes end, His last will and testament beinge nowe our onlye rule, to square out all religion, all dewty, and all obedience by: left vs see what that prescribes vs Breiflye this, ['Quee' del.] Quae Caesaris Caesari, quae dei deo Thus hee, to whome all power is given in heaven and earth, and vnder the ['y' del.] earth, to whome all knees bowe caelestium, terrestium, infermorum quies: this rule for temporall and sperituall power. Both thease powers are helde of god. Ecce duo gladij two swordes borne by seuerall persons, not by one man like A case of Rapiers, for both thease are twoe Edged swordes and are not borne in vaine but to [f. 246r] the comfort, of the godlie, and the terror of the wicked. Then lett not theire swordbearers crosse one ['A' del.] *the [interl.] other, but soe as they may blesse one the other./

When the westerne parte of the world, and much of the rest was governed ['by' del.] by one monarcke then god soe advancinge his church by princes fauours, the Cheife Bp: vnder['tooke' del.] the Emperour was obeied ouer the worlde and this Bp aduised and that Emperour executed thinges tendinge to the glory of god and the peace of the Church, Then was the prophesie fulfilled, that kinges should be ffoster ffathers and Queenes nurses: and the world knowes what milke theire bountifull ['b' del.] breastes doe yeilde: But tymes alter, the Empire was deuided ffirst into East and west, the Church soone after ffollowed, the west Emperour lost his Soveraigntye of England, ffrance, Spayne, Divers ffree states of Germanye what marveille then if the westerne Patriarke, or Bp loose much alsoe of his Iurisdicions But if this Bps power bee iustlie excluded shall wee haue noe BBps Is one naught, and strayte must all downe;/

Whille they shune tyrannie they Runne into Anarchy: I admitt the Roman church [f. 246v] was *mother [interl.] Church to the Breittishe Ilandes Hybernii a patricio scoti a palladio Angli ab Augustinio, Roma sacratis Roma missis. Romam venerantibus, fidem Catholicam acceperunt: The first of Saint Patricke the Scottes from St Palladius, the English from St Austine all three consecrated at Rome, sent from Rome doinge homage to Rome receaued the Catholickes faythe. This though A Knt denieth yett seeing['inge' del.] A Kinge hath confessed it I will not seeke to traveille: But if this be soe, that shee is our mother, and gaue vs our ffirst milke, what must wee bee alwayes babes and in a mynoritie, shall wee neuer goe alone, must wee Sucke still, and neuer haue firme foode, and be our owne carvers, haue wee not the Scriptures, haue wee not Languages, is theire noe trewe faith, noe acceptable workes, noe fervent prayers, noe ['devont' del.] devovt fastes, noe charitable Almes but onlye at Rome, haue ['wee' del.] not wee theires in Englishe, or doth not god vnderstand our Language, that is [lacuna] the Searcher of hartes, wee haue all this (god bee glorified therefore) wee haue trewe, and reverend BBps: succedinge by Imposition of handes wee haue the sacramentes, and Ceremonies of the church, we haue prechinge['s' del.] fewe churches, soe good, none more frequent, or more learned: In our Church Christ beinge the trewe head, the [f. 247r] Kinge, A Cheife member the Bp: is his councellor somtyme in temporall matters, but all wayes in spirituall: The Kinge comittes the spirituall matters to them and commends the care ['to them' del.] theireof to them, but himselfe commaundes the temporall, when thease 2 powers happen to bee opposite (as for our sinnes they haue beene somtyme) then I dare affirme, the Bp hath noe temporall authoritye, nor the Kinge noe spirituall In such tymes of persecution the Churches armes are prayers, and teares, wth wch at length they haue euer prevailed: But when they agree, (as I trust in this Ilande they shall ever) then each impartes theire virtue to other, and seeme in A Sorte to bee mixed persons: the Kinge receauinge vnction of the Bp: and the Bp: doeinge homage to the Kinge and receavinge from the Kinge Honor, yea double Honor, as an ancient father calleth it Honor of ministerye and honor of authoritye: both wch will bee but single mainteyned and simply respected as we see dailie, if revenues fayle but (god bee thanked) wee liue in A happy ['e' del.]state, that prouides to mainteine them, and to keepe them from that ruyne was threatned, I will therefore shew in a worde or twoe, howe veyne they are, that labour to ouerthrowe [f. 247v] them: and I will answere some triviall obiections, of those Zealous men, that crye dailie, downe wth Lo: BBps: indeede the quarrell is more to theire Lops then to theire Bprickes theire contience Acknowledge that it is fitt to haue D:rs pastors, prophettes, or preachers, yea superintendentes, and even BBps and Arch BBps: but wthout Lordshippes O Covetous equivicators, that mainteine that mainteine a schisme and rent in the Church, to winne theire rentes from the churchmen, If the word Lord soe offend you is it the Englishe or the Latine dominus, that carries too Lordlye A title, Alasse both the vniuersities giue that name to the first and youngest degree of schooles, inferior to mr and that belowe A Dr: and A Dr: is lesse then a Deane, and a Deane vnder a Bp: and when the Latine was purest about Traiones tyme, his cuntrey man writtes to some Slender Squire in this sorte ffor the Englishe name it is largelie taken and somtymes but meanlye, as Landlorde sometimes temporarie, as the Iudges Itinerantes goeinge their circuites, somtyme by office, wthout Barronyes annexed as the [f. 248r] 2 Lo: Cheife iustices, and Lo Cheiffe Baron In wch reverend degree of A Iudge mee thinkes a Bp doth sort very ffitlye to be called alsoe a lorde: But the true Etimoligie of the word in English (as I haue before elsewhere) noted is of Loafe forde, and Lady of Loaf den both signifinge the Custome of great persons that had good meanes, and Large rentes to distribute store of bread, to the poore, In which kind I wishe theire ['abl' del.] abilityes were as it hath beene, and theire wills as it should and then thease reprehenders would soone bee put to silence, and in this sense it is certaine Hee cannott bee a Right Bp: that is not hospitabilis that is a good hows-keeper, a loafe giver, and consequentlie a Lorde. nowe take away theire demeanes, their parkes and provisions and theire staffe of bread will turne to A staffe and a wallett, and soe live againe vppon Almes, as some heretickes would haue them wch in soe vnharitable an age as ours is given rather to all misdeedes then to almesdeedes, would proue a very slender maintenance trewe it is the Appostles at the first lived on contributions wch saint Paule alsoe refewsed (that I may not say disdayned) and Chose rather to labour wth his handes [f. 248v] But th Appostles had extraordinarye helpes, besides theire ordinary callinges the extraordinarye power of miracles they had they could not leave to there successors, nor the guifte of tounges, wch (as Saint Paule saieth) is for the vnbeleevinge but the ordinarye power and callinge must remayne in the Church to the worlds ende, wch if it be nott vphelde by temporall abilitye, by Lawes, by fauour of princes, it will soone fall into extreame Contempt, and beggerye, wherefore all Christian princes haue hitherto and will doubtlesse vphould them: that as I saied in the begininge and is confirmd by all the Learned, are successors to the Appostles in theire ordinarye power. and I dare confidentlye affirme, that noe inheritance whatsoever, is helde by more sure lawes, by trewe Iustice and equitie, by longe prescription and Custome, by Charter, even the great Charter, by parliament by aecumenicall counsells then is the inheritance of a Bp to him and his successors beinge once trewlye invested in it: and though it is not reasonable to aske evidence or recorde for thinges possessed in one forme 1400 and odde Yeares./