had been expressed in Scripture, and called them Unwritten Verities. Whereof I shall, as for an example, recite part.

First, That Christ after his Maundy, and after he had washen the feet of his Apostles, taught them to make holy cream, for ministration of the sacraments: and that they have as full authority to do the same, as if it had been contained in Scripture, that Christ had given them power to do it.

That it is a tradition of the Apostles that images ought to

be set up.

That the Apostles ordained that all faithful people should resort to the Church of Rome, as to the most high and principal Church of all other and yet it cannot be proved by Scripture, ne by any other sufficient authority, that they made any such ordinance.

Also, that the Creed, which is commonly and universally used to be said by the common people, was made by the twelve Apostles and though the articles thereof are firmly and stedfastly to be believed of every Christian man, as articles sufficiently proved by Scripture; yet that they were gathered together by the twelve Apostles, and specially that every one of the Apostles made one article, as painters show that they did, cannot be proved by Scripture, ne is it not necessary to be believed for our salvation. And though it were but a small offence in the people to believe that it were an article necessary to be believed for our salvation, because the clergy, which be the lanterns and leaders unto the people, do instruct them that it is so; and it is neither against the law of God nor the law of reason but that it may be so; yet it is a great offence to the clergy to affirm for certain the thing that is to themselves uncertain; and therefore it would be reformed for eschewing of offences unto the clergy.

Also, that the people shall pray into the East is not proved by Scripture. And yet they say, that by the tradition of the Apostles it is to be believed.

Also, that our Lady was not born in original sin.

That she was assumpt into heaven, body and soul.

All these, and many others, divers of the clergy call Unwritten Verities, left in the world by the tradition and relation of the Apostles, which, as they say, the people are bound to believe as well as Scripture; for they say, that sith no man were bound

to believe Scripture, but because the Church saith, This is Scripture; so they say, that in the things before rehearsed, the Church witnesseth them to be true; and that the people have assented to them many years; wherefore it is not lawful to doubt at them, ne to deny them. To this reason it may be answered, that if it can be proved by as good and as high authority, that these things were left in the world by the tradition and relation of the Apostles, as the authorizing of Scripture was, that then they are to be believed as verily as Scripture: but if they be witnessed to be so by some bishops and priests, and some other of the clergy only, or that they be witnessed to be so by decrees and laws made by Bishops of Rome, and by the clergy of Rome, or by opinion of doctors only; then no man is bound to accept them, ne believe them, as they are bound to believe Scripture. For Scripture, as it is said before, was authorized by the whole Church of God, and in the most elect and most gracious time that of likelihood hath been sith the beginning of Christ's Church. And if it be said that many of the said opinions have been affirmed and approved by General Councils, in whom no error may be presumed, it may be answered, that though the Church gathered together in the Holy Ghost may not err in things pertaining to the faith, that yet forasmuch as some General Councils have been gathered, and not by the power of kings and princes that be heads of the Church, and that laws have been also made at such General Councils, of divers things which have not pertained to the faith, but to the maintenance of the authority or profit of the clergy, or of such articles as are before rehearsed, that they call Unwritten Verities, which undoubtedly pertain not merely to the faith, that it may therefore be lawfully doubted whether such Councils were gathered in the Holy Ghost or not; and whether they erred in their judgments or not. And it is no doubt but that in some General Councils they have done so indeed.

And I suppose that there be but few matters more necessary ne more expedient for kings and princes to look upon, than upon these Unwritten Verities, and of making of laws by the clergy. For if they be suffered to maintain that there be any Verities which the people are bound to believe, upon pain of damnation, beside Scripture, it will persuade partly an insufficiency in Scripture; and thereupon might follow great dangers many ways. And if it were admitted that the clergy might be

received to affirm that there be such Verities beside Scripture, yet they could not prove them. For if they would in proof thereof say, that the Apostles first taught those Verities, and that they have so continued from one to another unto this day, and show none other authority thereof but that; then all the saying may as lightly be denied as it was affirmed, and with as high authority. And if they will further attempt to approve it by laws made by the Bishops of Rome, and by the clergy at Rome, yea or by laws and decrees made at General Councils ; yet these laws and decrees may be lawfully doubted at, as before appeareth. So that they cannot by reason thereof drive any necessity of belief into any person.

Wherefore kings and princes, that have received of God the high power and charge over the people, are bound to prohibit such sayings upon great pains; and not to suffer a belief to be grounded upon things uncertain.

But yet if some of the said articles that be called Unwritten Verities, were suffered to continue as things that be more like to be true than otherwise, and no necessity of belief to be derived thereupon, I suppose verily it might well be suffered that they should stand still, not prohibit: as it is of that article, that the twelve Apostles made the Creed: that it is good to pray into the East: that our Lady was not born in original sin: that she was assumpted body and soul. And therefore if it were ordained by kings and princes that no man, upon pain to be taken as a breaker of the quietness of the people, should deny any of the said articles, it were well done to keep unity among the people. But divers realms may order such things diversely, as they shall seem convenient, after the disposition of the people there. For they be but things indifferent to be believed, or not believed, and are nothing like to Scripture, to the Articles of the Faith, the Ten Commandments, ne to such other moral learnings, as are merely derived out of Scripture. For they must of necessity be believed and obeyed of every Christian For, after Saint Paul Ad Ephes. iv, there must be one God, one faith, and one baptism. But to suffer them to stand as Unwritten Verities that may not be denied, and to have their authority only by laws made by the clergy, it seemeth dangerous. For it might cause many of the clergy to esteem more power in the clergy than there is indeed. And that might lift many of them into a higher estimation of themselves

man.

than they ought to have. Whereby might follow great danger unto the people. For as long as there be disorders in the clergy, it will be hard to bring the people to good order.

And all this that I have touched before may be reformed, without any rebuke to the clergy that now is. For the pretence of such Unwritten Verities, ne yet of making of laws, to bind kings and princes and their people, ne yet that both powers, that is to say, spiritual and temporal, were in the clergy, began not in the clergy that now is, but in their prede

cessors.

And as to the said other pretensed Unwritten Verities, that is to say, that all men should resort to Rome, as to the most high and principal Church; and that it is a tradition and Unwritten Verity that images ought to be set up; it were well done that they and such other opinions, whereby pride, covetyse, or vain glory might spring hereafter, were prohibit by authority of the parliament upon great pains. And as to the said Unwritten Verity, that holy cream should be made after the Maundy, it pertaineth only to them that have authority, to judge whether it be an Unwritten Verity or not, and to judge also, what is the very authority of making of that cream. And therefore I will no further speak of that matter at this time.

XXXVI.

с

c 1. Preface to the Book of Common Prayer, 1549. 2. Of Ceremonies. 3. Preface to the Ordination Services, 1550.

1. Preface to the Book of Common Prayer.

THERE was never any thing by the wit of man so well devised, or so surely established, which (in continuance of time) hath not been corrupted; as (among other things) it may plainly appear by the common prayers in the Church, commonly called Divine Service; the first original and ground whereof, if a man would search out by the ancient Fathers, he shall find that the same was not ordained, but of a good pur

[Nos. 1 and 3 have been placed by Bale on the list of Cranmer's works, but, as it seems, without sufficient grounds. See Preface. But together with No. 2, which was printed at the end of the Prayer Book of 1549, they were probably written under his direction, and undoubtedly received his

pose, and for a great advancement of godliness. For they so ordered the matter, that all the whole Bible (or the greatest part thereof) should be read over once in the year, intending thereby, that the clergy, and specially such as were ministers of the congregation, should (by often reading and meditation of God's word) be stirred up to godliness themselves, and be more able also to exhort others by wholesome doctrine, and to confute them that were adversaries to the truth. And further, that the people, by daily hearing of holy Scripture read in the church, should continually profit more and more in the knowledge of God, and be the more inflamed with the love of his true religion. But these many years past, this godly and decent order of the ancient Fathers hath been so altered, broken, and neglected, by planting in uncertain stories, legends, responds, verses, vain repetitions, commemorations, and synodals, that commonly when any book of the Bible was begun, before three or four chapters were read out, all the rest were unread. And in this sort, the book of Esaie was begun in Advent, and the book of Genesis in Septuagesima; but they were only begun, and never read through: after a like sort were other books of holy Scripture used. And moreover, whereas St. Paul would have such language spoken to the people in the Church, as they might understand and have profit by hearing the same; the service in this Church of England, these many years, hath been read in Latin to the people, which they understood not; so that they have heard with their ears only, and their hearts, spirit, and mind have not been edified thereby. And furthermore, notwithstanding that the ancient Fathers had divided the Psalms into seven portions, whereof every one was called a nocturn; now of late time a few of them have been daily said, and oft repeated, and the rest utterly omitted. Moreover, the number and hardness of the rules called the pie, and the manifold changings of the service, was the cause, that to turn the book only, was so hard and intricate a matter, that many times there was more business to find out what should be read, than to read it when it was found out.

These inconveniences therefore considered, here is set forth such an order, whereby the same shall be redressed. And for a readiness in this matter, here is drawn out a Calendar for that purpose, which is plain and easy to be understanded; wherein (so