and have lordshupe on her brethern. For, Lorde, this ys more to forsaken the, and go to the worlde.

O Lorde, thou ne tauztest not a man to forsake the worlde, to lyuen in porenesse of begginge by other mennes traueyle, that ben as feble as they ben. Ne, Lorde, thou ne tauztest not a man to lyuen in porenesse of begginge, that were stronge ynouz to traueyle for hys lyfelode. Ne, Lorde, thou ne tauztest not a man to ben a begger, to beghen of men more then hym nedeth; to bylden gret castels, and maken gret festes to thilke that han no nede.

O Lorde, thou ne tauztest not men this porenes, for it ys oute of charite: but thy porenesse that thou tauztest norscheth charite. Lorde, syth Poule saith, That he that forsaketh the charge of thilke that ben homelich with hym, hath forsaken his faith, and ys worse than a misbeleued man: how than mowe these men seggen that they beleuen in Christ, that han forsake her pore feble frendes, and let hem lyue in traveyle, and in disese, that traueyled full sore for hem, when they weren zounge and unmizty to helpen hem self? And they wolen lyue in ese by other mennes trauayle euer more, in begginge with outen schame.

Lorde, thou ne tauztest not this maner porenesse, for it ys oute of charite; and all thy lawe ys charite other thinge that norscheth charite: And these hyridmen these schepherdes sende aboute to kepe thy scheep, and to feden hem other whiles in sorry bareyne lesewes. Lorde, thou ne madest none such schepherdes ne kepers of thy scheep that weren zerners aboute cuntreys, and wolden ones oder twyes a zere fede sorrylich thy scheep, and for so litle traueyle taken a gret hyre, and sythen all the zere afterward do what hem lyketh, and let thy scheep perish for defaute of kepinge.

But thy schepherdes abyden still with her scheep, and feden hem in thy plentuous lesewe of thy techinge, and gone byfore thy scheep, and techen hem the waye in to that plentuous and swete lesewe, and kepen thy flocke from raueninge of the wilde beestes of the feelde.

O Lorde, delyuer thy scheep out of the warde of these sehepherdes, and these hyrid men, that stonden more to kepe her ryches that they robben of thy scheep, than they stonden in kopeing of thy scheep.

O Lorde, when thou come to Ierusalem some tyme, thou droue oute of the temple sellers of becstes and of other chaffare, and saidest, * myne house schulden ben cleped an house of preyers, but they maden a den of theues of it.' O Lorde, thou art the temple in whom we schulden preyen thy Fadur of Heuen; and Salomon's Temple, that was ybelded at lerusalem, was fygure of this temple. But, Lorde, he that clepeth hym selfe thy viker upon erth, and saith that he occupieth thy place here on crth, ys by come a chapman in the temple, and hath his chapmen walkynge in dyuerse cuntreys, to sellen his chaffare, and to maken hym rych. And he saith, thou gave hym so gret a power abouen all other men, that what ever he byndeth ether vnbyndeth in erth, thou bynest ether vnbyndest the same in heuen: and so of grete power he selleth other men forzeuenesse of her synne; and for mach money he will assoyle a man so clene of hys synne, that he be

hoteth men the blisse of heuen, withouten any peyne after that they be deed, that zeven hym much money.

Byschopriches and churches, and such other chaffares, he selleth also for money, and maketh hym self rych; and thus he begileth the puple.

O Lorde Iesu, here ys much vntrueth, and myschefe, and mater of sorow. Lorde, thou saidest some tyme, that thou woldest be with thy seruauntes in to the ende of the world: and thou saidcst also, there as tweyne or thre ben ygadred to gedder in thy name, that thou art in the mydle of hem: and, Lorde, then it was no nede to the to maken a leftenaunte, sith thou wolte be evermore amonges thy seruauntes.

Lorde, thou axedest of thy disciples who they trowed that thou were. And Peter answered and saide, That thou art Christe, God's Sone. And thou saidest to Peter, 'Thou art yblessed, Symon Bariona, for flesh and bloude ne schowed not this to the, but my Fadur that ys in Heuen.

And I say to the, that thou art Peter, and apon this stone ych wole byld my church, and the zates of hell ne schullen nat availen azens it. And to the ych wole geue the keyes of heuen, and what ever thou byndest vpon erth shall be bounde in heuen, and what ever thou vnbyndest on erth schal be vnbounden in heuen.' This power also was graunted vnto the other disciples as well as to Peter, as the gospel opunlych telleth, In this place men seggen, that thou graunted to Peter's successours the selue power that thou zaue to Peter. And therfore the byschop of Rome, that saith he ys Peter's successour, taketh thys power to him to bynden and vnbynden in erth what hym lyketh. But Lorde, ych haue much wondre how he maye for schame clepen hymselfe Peter's successour. For Peter knowledged that thou were Chsist and God, and kepte the hestes of thy law; but these han forsaken the hestes of thy law, and hath y maked a law contrary to thyne hestes of thy lawe.

And so he maked hymselfe a fals Christ and a fals God in erth. And I trouwe thou zaue hym no power to vndo thy law.

And so, in takinge this power vp on him, he maketh hym a fals Christe and Antechrist. For who may be more azens Christ than he that in his wordes maketh hymselfe Christe's viker in erth, and in his werkes vndoth the ordinaunce of Christe, and maketh men byleuen that it ys nedefull to the heale of mennes soules to byleuen that he ys Christe's viker in erth, and what euer he byndeth in erth ys ybounden in heuen? And vnder this coloure he vndoth Christe's lawe, and maketh men on alwise to kepen his lawe, and his hestes. And thus men maye yseen that he ys azens Christ, and therfore he ys Antechrist, that maketh men worshupen hym as a God on erth, as that proude Kynge Nabugodonosor did, sumtyme that was Kynge of Babylone. And therfore we lewed men, that knowen no God but the Iesu Christ, beleuen in the that art oure God, and our Kynge, and our Christ, and thy lawes: and forsaken Antechrist and Nabugodonosor, that ys a fals God, and a fals Christ and his lawes that ben contrary to thy techinge. And, Lorde, strcnzth thou vs azenst oure enemies; for they ben aboute to maken vs forsake the and thy lawe, other ellis to putten vs to deth. O Lorde, onlych in the is our

trust to helpe vs in this myschefe, for thy gret goodnesse that ys with outen end.

Lorde, thou ne tauztest not thy disciples to assoylen men of her synne, and setten hem a penaunce for her synne, in fastinge ne in prayenge, ne othere almous dede; ne thy selfe, ne thy disciples vseden no such power here on erth. For, Lorde, thou forzeue men her synnes, and bede hem synne no more. And thy disciples fulleden men in thy name in forzeuenesse of her synnes. Nor they toke no such power apon hem as oure prestes dare now. And, Lorde, thou ne assoyledest no man both of his synne, and of his peyne that was dewe for his synne, ne thou grauntedst no man such power here on erth.

And, Lorde, me thinketh, that zif ther were a purgatorye, and eny erthlyche man had power to delyueren synfull men from the peynes of purgatorye, he schulde, and he were in charite, sauen everich man that were in waye of saluacion from thilke peynes, syth they make hem gretter than any bodilych peynes of this worlde. Also, zif the hischop of Rome had such a power, he hymselfe schulde never comen in purgatorye, ne in hell. And sith we se well, that he ne hath no power to kepen hymselfe, ne other men, nother out of these bodilich peynes of the worlde, and he maye go to hell for hys synne, as another man maye, I ne byleve nat that he hath so great a power to assoylen men of her synne, as he taketh vp on hym abouen all other men; and I trowe that in thys he hyeth hymselfe aboue God.

As touching the selling of by schopryches and personages, I trow it be a poynte of falshede. For azens God's ordinaunce he robbeth pore men of a porcion of their sustinaunce and selleth it, other zeueth it to fynde proude men in ydlenesse that done the lewed puple litell prophet and much harme as we tolde before. Thus ben thy commaundementes of treweth, of mekenesse and of porenesse, vndone by hym that clepeth hym selfe thy viker here vpon erth.

A Lorde, thou zaue vs a commaundemente of chastite, that ys a forsakynge of fleschliche lustes. For thou brouztest vs to a lyuynge of soul that ys ygouerned by thy worde. For, Lorde, thou ordeynedist woman more frele than man to byn ygouerned by man's rule and his helpe to plese the and kepe thyne hestes. Ne thou ne ordeynedist that a man schuld desyre the company of a woman, and maken her his wyfe, to lyuen with her in his lustys, as a swyne doth or a horse. And hys wife ne lyked hym nat to hys lustes, Lorde, thou ne zaue not a man leue to departen hym from his wife and taken hym a nother.

But, Lorde, the maryage ys a commune acorde between man and woman, to lyuen togeder to her lyues ende, and in thy seruyse eyther the bettur for others helpe; and thilke that ben thus ycome to geder ben ioined by the, and thilke that God ioyneth maye no man departe. But, Lorde, thou saist that zif a man se a woman to coueten her, than he doth with that woman letcherye in his harte. And so, Lorde, zif a man desyre his wife in couetyse of such lustes, and not to flye from whoredome, his weddinge ys letcherye, ne thou ne ioynest hem nat to geder. Thus was Raguls Douzter y wedded to seven husbandes that

the devell strangled. But Tobye toke her to lyue with her in clennesse and bringinge vp of her childern to thy worschyp, and on hym the deuell ne had no power. For the weddinge was ymaked in God, for God, and thorouz God.

A Lorde, the puple ys ferre ygo from this maner of weddinge. For now men wedden her wives for fayrenesse, other for rychesse or some such other fleschlych lustes. And, Lorde, so it preueth by hem for the most parte. For a manne shall not fynde two wedded in a londe, where the husbonde loues the wife, and the wife is buxom to the man, as they shulden after thy law of mariage. But other the man loues not his wife, or the wife is not buxom to her man. And thus, Lorde, ys the rule of prese that neuer faileth to preue whether it be done by the or no. And, Lorde, all this myschefe ys is comen amonge thy puple, for that they knowe not thy worde, but her schepherdes and hyrid men feden hem with her sweuendes and lesynges. And, Lorde, where they schulden gon before vs in the felde, they seggen that her order ys to holy for thy mariage. And, Lorde, he that calleth hymselfe thy viker vp on erth will not suffren prestes to taken hem wyues, for that it ys azcins his law: but, Lorde, he will dispensen with hem to kepen horen for a certen sum of mon. And, Lorde, all horedome y's forfended in thy law. And, Lorde, thou neuer forfendest prestes her wiues ner thy apostles nether. And well I wrote in our londe prestes hadden wiues vntil Anselmus dayes, in the yere of oure Lorde God a leven hundert and twenty and nyne, as Huntindon writes. And, Lorde, this makes puple, for the most parte, leuen that letcherye ys no synne. Therfore, we lewed men preyen the that thou wolt sende vs schepherdes of thyne owne, that wolen feden thy flock in thy lesewe, and gon before hem selfe, and so writen thy lawe in oure hartes, that, from the leest to the mest all they mayen knowen thee. And, Lorde, geue oure kynge, and his lordes, harte to defenden thy trew schepherdes, and thy sheep from oute of the wolues mouthes, and grace to know the, that art the trew Christ, the Sonne of thy heuenly Fader, from the Antechrist, that y's the sonne of pride.

And, Lorde, geue vs, thy poore scheep, pacience and strength to suffer for thy lawe the cruelnes of the myscheuous wolues. And, Lorde, as thou hast promysed, shorten these days. Lorde, we axen this now, for more nede was there neucr.

LOVE-LETTERS

FROM

KING HENRY THE EIGHTH TO ANNE BOLEYN:

And Two Letters from

ANNE BOLEYN TO CARDINAL WOLSEY,

With her last to

HENRY THE EIGHTH.

S these letters, with a few reflexions on them, may give those, that have not leisure to turn over large volumes, just notions of the grounds of King Henry the Eighth's divorce, and arm them against the calumnies of the Papists on that subject; I shall give you a faithful copy of them from the originals, now preserved in the Vatican Library, where they are usually shewn to all strangers, and a true translation of those that were written in French: introducing them with a short view of the most remarkable transactions which preceded, and gave occasion to them. To which end, it may first be observed, that, in King Henry the Seventh's time, his eldest son, Prince Arthur, being † past fifteen years of age, was married to the Princess Catharine of Spain, who was elder than himself; that they lived together as man and wife for several months; and then, Prince Arthur dying ‡, it was resolved, for reasons of state, that Prince Henry should marry his brother's widow. This was opposed by Warham, Archbishop of Canterbury, as absolutely unlawful; but advised by Fox, Bishop of Winchester, who thought all difficulties would be removed by a dispensation from Rome. Accordingly a bull was obtained || to that effect, and they were married, the Prince being yet under age. But Warham had so possessed the king with scruples against this marriage, that, the day § on which the Prince was of age, he, by his father's order, protested against it as null and void; and Henry the Seventh, with his dying breath, persisted in charging his son to break it off intirely. However, when Henry the Eighth came to the crown, it was resolved in council that he should renew his marriage; which was done ‡‡ publickly, and he had several children by the queen, who all died young, except the Lady Mary ††.

After this there appeared no farther disquiet in the king's mind, nor any sign of an intended divorce, till the year 1524; when Cardinal Wolsey, by his legantine mandate, published a bull of the Pope's against those that contracted marriage within the forbidden degrees. This

Hist. Reform. Part I. ↑ November 14, 1501. * April 2, 1502. || December 26, 1503. § June 22, 1505. June 3, 1509. + Afterwards Queen of England.