Here after ensueth a proper treatise of good worksHere after ensueth a propre treatyse of good workes

LO here might a man do many god works. For the greattest part of men of power, rich men, & our friends, do wrong and exercise violence, & tyranny, in the needy, poor, and adversaries. And the greater a man is, the worse he is commonly. Wherefore there as thou canst not let such violence, & help the truth / yet show it in words, & neither assent nor favour to the unrighteous, ⟨image 56⟩but speak the truth plainly. For what I pray you, profiteth it a man to do all good works, run to Rome, and to all other holy places / to build & found churches and colleges, to purchase all pardons, and yet find him self faulty in the name and honour of god? because that his name being hid / and suppressed they set more by their own goods, honours, and favour of their friends / than they did by the truth / which is the name and very honour of god / yea what man is he / that hath not such good works, daily and hourly coming home to his doors and house? that he needeth not to run farther, or inquire much for good works. For if we would look upon the life of man, and mark with how little ⟨image 57⟩regard all things be done both here / and every where / we should be compelled to cry with the prophet saying / every man is a liar. Of a truth all men be false liars & deceivers / ¹for the chief true & principal work set a part, they garnish & paint them selves / with the lest and vile works / and yet they would be counted good, and climb to heaven with a sure quietness, and rest. But peradventure some man will say, wherefore doth not god help the pore alone, seeing that he knoweth & may help every man? I answer that he knoweth and may help and do it, but he will not do it alone / for he will work together with us / and by us / But albeit we refuse to do him this honour. Yet nevertheless / he will perform it, ⟨image 57⟩helping the pore, & damn such with the unrighteous, as will not help them, but despise the great honour of his work, as men that favoured the unrighteous. And albeit he be blessed alone, yet he giveth us the same honour, because he will not be blessed alone, but will have us blessed together with him. And moreover if god should do all these things alone, his commandments should be given in vain no man having a cause to exercise him self, in the great works of his precepts.