The Pope confuted The holy and apostolic Church confuting the Pope. The first action.…The Pope confuted The holy and apostolique Church confuting the Pope. The first action.…

¹Go too, let us compare now the lives and manners of these holy fathers (all whose preachings sound nothing else almost, beat nothing else into the ears of the people, but the only works of the law:) what kind of works do they busy them selves about at the length, what undefiled chastity is in their ly•es, what holiness in their conversation, what humility devoid of all haughtiness is in their hearts, what modesty acquainted with no kind of ambition, what mildness insuffering injuries: how earnest a zeal to prefer the glory of Christ, how who••e a love have they to their neighbours? But it is well, sithence their demeanour such as it is, appeareth manifestly enough, and is known of the whole world. For their open patcheries be not so closely pa•t up in the budget of their confession, but that they be apparent now, and wax ridiculous a•d odious to all men: •ertes they can neither deceive the eyes of the Lord, nor escape his judgement, except the only faith in Christ plead better for them, then any their gay wo•kes. Yet I make not here so great reckoning of their manners. My ⟨p. 67⟩whole discourse at this present is undertaken against them for their erroneous doctrine, and perverse frowardness of corrupt religion. Whereof what others judge I know not: for mine own part when I do considerately behold and pry into those thick and black clouds of darkness, into the trash, chaff, and contagion of their errors, into the grossness of their doctrine, into the poison of their opinions, into their impiety of religion, into the labyrinth of their traditions, and into the monstrous misshapen orders of cloisterers and Regulars: finally when I do throughly consider the lively fountains of Evangelical sincerity and doctrine Apostolical, troubled and defiled in most filthy manner by them, and the chief and only author thereof the Pope of Rome: I become not a little doubtful in mine imagination, whether the tyranny of the Turk have more grievously wounded the Christian common weal, or the doctrine of the Pope hath been more prejudicial too the Gospel of Christ: whether the Turkish •ury, either the Popes flames and fagots, or his crafty conspiracies have swallowed up and devoured more Christians.