not ashamed to tourne again with him from the swil of straungers, to the delicates of the moste benign and louing father, acknoledginge, that you haue sinned against heauen and earth. Against heauen, by stainynge his glorious name, and caused his most cinsere and pure worde to be euil spoken of, through you. Against earth, by offending your so many weak brethren, to whom you haue bene a stomblingblocke throughe your sodaine slidinge.

Be not ashamed to come againe with Marye, and to wepe bitterly with Peter, not only with sheding of teares out of your bodely eyes: but also powring out the streames of your heart, to wash awaye out of the sight of God the filth and mire of your offensive fal. Be not ashamed to saye with the publicane: Lord be merciful to me a sinner. Remember the horrible history of Iulien of old, and the lamentable case of Fraunces Spira of late, whose case (me thyncketh) should be yet so grene in your remembraunce, that, being a thing of our time, you should fear the like inconuenience, seinge that you are fallen into the like offence. Last of al, let the liuely remembraunce of the last day be alwaies afore your eyes, remembring the terrour that suche shal be in at that time, with the runnagates and fugetiues from Christ, whiche setting more by the worlde, then by heauen, more by their life, then bi him, that gaue them their life, did shrink, yea did clean fal away from him that neuer forsoke them. And contrary wise the inestimable ioyes prepared for them that feared no parel, nor, dreading death, haue manfully fought, and victoriouslye triumphed ouer al power of darknes, ouer hel, death, and damnation, through their most redoubted captain Christ, who now stretcheth out his armes to receiue you, ready to fal vpon your necke and kisse you, and last of al to feast you with the deinties and delicates of his own precious bloud, which vndoutedly, if it might stand wyth his determinate purpose, he wold not let to shed againe rather then you should be lost. To whom with the Father and the Holy Ghost, be honoure, prayse, and glorye euerlastingly. Amen.

Be constant, be constant, feare not for payne:
Christ hath redemed the, and heauen is thy gayne.

A certayne commonyeation, betwene the Ladye Iane, and Master Feckenham, in Dayes before her death, euen word for word, her own Hand being put therto,

Feckenham first speaketh.

WHAT thing is required in a Christian?

Iane. To beleue in God the Father, in God the Sonne, in God the Holi Gost, thre persons and one God.

Fecken, Is ther nothing els required in a Christian, but to beleue in God?

Iane. Yes, we must beleue in hym, we must loue hym, with al our hart, with al our soule, and al our minde, and our neyghbour as our selfe, Fecken. Why then faith iustifieth not, nor saueth not.

Iane. Yes verely, faith (as St. Paule saith) only iustifieth.

Fecken. Whi S. Paule saith: If I haue al faith without louc, it is nothing.

Iane. True it is, for howe can I loue hym, in whom I trust not? Or howe can I trust in hym, whom I loue not? Faith and loue agreeth both together, and yet loue is comprehended in faith,

Fecken, Howe shall we loue oure neyghbour?

Iane. To loue oure neyghbour, is to feede the hungri, clothe the naked, and geue drinke to the thirsty, and to do to hym, as we wold do to our sclues.

Fecken. Why then it is necessary to saluation to do good workes, and it is not sufficient to beleue?

Iane. I deny that, and I affirme that faith onlye saueth. But it is mete for Christians, in token that thei folow their master Christ, to do good workes, yet may we not say that thei profit to saluacion, For, although we haue al don al that we can, yet we be vnprofitable seruauntes, and the faith onelye in Christes bloude saueth.

Fecken. Howe many sacramentes be there?

Iane. Two; the one the sacrament of baptisme, and the other the sacrament of oure Lordes Supper.

Fecken. No, ther be vii.

Jane. By what scripture find you that?

Fecken. Well, we will talke ther of hereafter. But what is signifyed by youre two sacramentes ?

Iane. Bi the sacrament of baptisme, I am washed with water, and regenerated bi the Spirite; and that washing is a token to me, that I am the child of God. The sacrament of the Lordes supper is offred vnto me as a sure scale and testimoni, that I am by the bloud of Christe, whiche he shedde for me on the crosse, made partaker of the euerlasting kyngdome.

Fecken. Why, what do you receiue in that bread? Do you not recciue the very body and bloude of Christ?

Iane. No surely, I do not beleue so. I thinck that at that supper I receive neither flesh, nor bloud, but only bread and wine. The which breade when it is broken, and the wine when it is dronke, putteth me in minde, howe that for my sins the body of Christ was broken, and his bloud shed on the crosse, and, with that bread and wine, I receyue the benefites that cam bi breaking of his bodi, and bi the sheddying of his bloud on the crosse for mi sins.

Fecken. Why, doth not Christ speake these wordes: Take, eate, this is my bodi? Require we any plainer wordes? Doth not he say, that it is hys body?

Iane. I graunt he saieth so, and so he saieth: I am the vine, I am the doore, but yet he is neuer the more the vine nor doore. Doth not S. Paule say, that he calleth those thinges that are not, as though thei were? God forbid that I shuld say that I eate the very natural

bodi and bloud of Christ, for then eyther I shuld pluk awai my redemtion, either els ther wer ii. bodies, or ii. Christes or els ii. bodies? the one bodi was tormented on the crosse, and then, if thei did eate another bodi, then either he had ii. bodies, either els, if his bodi were eaten, it was not broken vpon the crosse; or els, if it wer broken vpon the crosse, it was not eaten of his disciples.

Fecken. Whi is it not as possible, that Christ by his power coulde make his bodi both to be eaten and broken, as to be borne of a woman, without the sede of man, and as to walke on the sea, hauing a bodi, and other such like miracles as he wrought by his power onlye? Iane. Yes, vereli, if God wold haue done at his supper a miracle, he might haue don so; but I say he minded no worke, or miracle, but only to breake his bodi, and shed his bloud on the crosse for our sins. But I pray you answer me to thys one question, Wher was Christ when he sayd: Take, eat, this is my bodi? Was not he at the table when he said so? He was at that time aliue, and suffred not, til the next daye. Well what tooke he, but breade? And what brake he, but breade? And what gaue he, but breade? Looke what he toke, he brake; and looke what he brake, he gaue; and looke what he gaue, that did they eate; and yet al this while he hym selfe was at supper before his disciples, or els they were deceiued.

Fecken. You ground your faith vpon suche authors as say and vnsay, both with a breathe, and not vpon the churche, to whom you ought to geue credyt.

Iane. No, I ground my faith vpon Gods word, and not vpon the churche, For, if the churche be a good churche, the faith of the churche must be tried by Gods word, and not Gods word by the churche, neither yet mi faith. Shall I beleue the churche, because of antiquitie? Or shall I geue credit to that churche, that taketh awai from me that half parte of the Lordes supper, and wyl let no lai man receiue it in both kyndes, but them selues? Which thing if they denye to vs, thei denie us part of our saluation; and I say that is an euyl church, and not the spouse of Christ, but the spouse of the diuel, that altreth the Lordes supper, and both taketh from it, and addeth to it. To that churche I saye, God wyl adde plages, and from that churche wyl he take their parte out of the Booke of Lyfe. Do you not learne that of S. Paule, when he ministred it to the Corinthians, in both kyndes? shall I beleue that churche? God forbid.

Fecken. That was done of a good intent of the church to auoide an heresi that sprong on it.

Iane. Whi, shal the churche alter Gods wyl and ordinaunces, for a good intent? How did King Saul the Lord define? With these and such like perswasions, he wolde haue had me to haue leaned to the churche, but it would not be. Ther wer many mo thinges, whereof we reasoned, but these wer the chief.

Be me
Iane Dudley.

These woordes were spoken openlye. After this master Feckenham tooke his leaue, sayinge, that he was sorie for her. For, said he, I am sure we two shal neuer mete. Trothe it is, quoth she, that we shall neuer mete, vnlesse God turne your hart. For I am sure, vnlesse you repeut and turne to God, you ar in an euyl casc, and I pray to God, in the bowels of his mercie, to sende you his holy spirite. For he hath geuen you his great gift of vtteraunce, if it please him to open the eyes of your hart to his truth. And so she departed.

AN EXHORTATION

Written by the Lady Iane, the Night before she suffered, in the Ende of the New Testament, in Greke, which she sent to her Sister,

LADY KATERINE.

J HAUE here sent you, good sister Katerine, a boke, which although it be not outwardly trimmed with gold, yet inwardli it is more worth then precious stones. It is the boke (deare sister) of the lawe of the Lorde. It is his Testament and last Wil, whiche he bequethed vnto vs wretches, whiche shal leade you to the path of eternall ioye. And if you with a good mynde read it, and with an ernest desire folowe it, it shal bring you an immortal and euerlasting life. It will teache you to liue and learne you to dye. It shal winne you more, then you should haue gained by the possession of your woful fathers landes. For, as if God had prospered him you should haue inherited his landes; so, if you appli diligently this boke, seking to direct your life after it, you shal be an inheritour of sutche riches, as neither the couetous shal withdraw from you, neither the theife shal steale, neither yet the mothes corrupte, Desire with Dauid (good sister) to vnderstand the lawe of the Lord your God. Liue stil to dye, that you by death maye purchase eternall life, And trust not that the tendernes of your age shal lengthen your life; for assone (if God cal) goth the yong as the olde. And laboure alwaye to learne to dye. Deny the world, defie the deuil, and dispise the flesh, and delight your selfe only in the Lord. Be penitent for your sinnes, and yet dispaire not; Be strong in faith, and yet presume not; and desire with S. Paule to be dissolued, and to be with Christe, with whom, euen in death ther is life.

Be like the good seruaunt, and euen at midnight be waking: least, when death commeth and steale vpon you, like a theife in the nighte, you be with the deuils seruaunt found sleping; and least for lacke of oyle ye bee founde like the fiue foolishe wemen, and like him that had not on the wedding garment; and then you be cast out from the mari. age. Reioyce in Christ, as I trust ye do. And seinge ye haue the name of a Christian, as nere as ye can, folow the steppes of your master Christ, and take vp, your crosse, lay your sinnes on his backe, and alwaies imbrace him. And, as touching my death, reioyce as I do (good sister) that I shal be deliuered of this corruption, and put on

vncorruption. For I am assured, that I shal, for losing of a mortal life, winne an immortal life. The whiche I praye God graunt you, sende you of his grace to liue in his feare, and to dye in the true Christian faith. From the whiche, in Gods name, I exhorte you that ye neuer swarue, neither for hope of life, nor fear of death. For if ye wil deny his truth, to lengthen your life: God wil deny you, and yet shorten your daies. And, if ye wil cleaue to him, he wil prolonge your daies, to your comforte, and his glory. To the which glory, God bringe me nowe, and you hereafter, whan it shal please God to cal you. Far well, good sister, and put your onlye trust in God, who onely must helpe you. Amen.

Your louing sister,

IANE DUDLEY.

The Lady Janes Wordes vpon the Scaffold.

'GOOD Christen people, I am vnder a lawe, and by a lawe I am condempned to dye, not for ani thing I haue offended the Quenes Maiesti, for I wil wash my hands giltles therof, but only for that I consented to the thing whiche I was inforced vnto. Notwithstanding I haue offended Almyghtie God, for that I haue folowed ouer much the Just of mi flesh, and the pleasure of this wretched world, and I haue not liued according to the knowledge that God hath geuen me; wherfor God hath plaged me nowe wyth thys kinde of death, and that worthelye accordyng to my desertes. Howebeit I thancke him hartelie that he hath geuen me time to repent my syns here in this world. Wherfor, good Christian people, I shal desyre you al to pray with me, and for me, while I am now aliue, that God of his goodnes will forgeue me my sinnes. And I pray you al to beare me witnesse, that I here dye a true Christian woman, and that I truste to be saued by the bloud of Iesus Christ, and bi none other meanes; and now I pray you al, pray for me, and with me, and so saied the Psalm of Miserere mei; that don, she saied, Lorde saue my soule, whyche now I commend into thy handes and so prepared her selfe meckelie to the blocke.”