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.…

¹What then (will some one say) will God allow seditious commotions, and uproars of subjects against their natural Princes? No verily, I confess it. But I do utterly •enie, that this defence of the Citizens of R•chel was to be judged a rebellion against their king: forasmuch as neither the Citizens undertook the defence of their lines as against their liege Lord, neither did the king himself deal against them for any their misdemeanour against him, but at the only instigation and commandment of the Pope. Wherefore if in this foreign quarrel, which the Subjects withstood, they had been overthrown, yet ought they not have been deemed rebels for standing in their own defence: neither if the king had vanquished, the victory could have been judged his own, but rather the proper and peculiar conquest of the Pope only. For the contention betwixt them did not grow upon this,² neither the king should bear sovereignty over the French, but that neither king, nor subjects might become vassals to the Pope. Neither did the Subjects put on arms to the end to abridge their liege Lord and king of one dram of his Majesty: nor ⟨p. 23⟩yet to dispossess him of his sovereignty, nor to bereave him of his due honour, not to spoil him of his right of government, nor yet to force him to yield to such conditions as listed them. Nay rather to this end did they maintain their defence, that it might be lawful for them as subjects to obey their own and one only governor on earth, exempt from all other haughty usurpation of foreign power, and yield their humble allegiance to their natural King only, and not to two Monarchs in one kingdom: and that their liege Lord would permit them quietly to enjoy such privileges and laws, which his highness had established amongest them. To this only end tended all that honest and necessary defence of the subjects: so that now may appear manifestly, that their entering into arms was not against their King, but rather altogether for their kings behoof: Yea on such conditions entered into, that they might thereby establish the Majesty of their Prince in perfect freedom delivered clear from the treacherous thraldom of all Romish rakehells. For in all human actions we may not so simply pry into the manner of proceedings what is done: