A14136:37
The Obedience of a Christian Man
The obedie[n]ce of a Christen man and how Christ[n] rulers ought to govern, where in also (if thou mark diligently) thou shalt find eyes to perceive the crafty conveyance of all jugglers.The obedie[n]ce of a Christen man and how Christe[n] rulers ought to governe, where in also (if thou marke diligently) thou shalt fynde eyes to perceave the crafty conveyance of all iugglers.
At Marlborow in the lande of Hesse i.e. Antwerp : the second day of October. Anno. M.CCCCC.xxviii, by me Hans luft i.e. J. Hoochstraten, 1528At Marlborow in the lande of Hesse i.e. Antwerp : the seconde daye of October. Anno. M.CCCCC.xxviii, by me Hans luft i.e. J. Hoochstraten, 1528
Title page typeset from the transcription.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
Christ saith that there shall come false prophets in his name and say that they them selves are Christ / that is / they shall so preach Christ that men must believe in them in their holiness and things of their imagination without Gods word: ye and that against Christ or Antichrist that ⟨image 15⟩shall come is no thing but such false prophets that shall juggle / with the scripture and beguile the people with false interpretations as all the false prophets / scribes and pharisees did in the old testament. How shall I know whether ye are that against christ or false prophets or no / seeing ye will not let me see how ye allege the scriptures? Christ saith:1 By their deeds ye shall know them. Now when we look on your deeds / we see that ye are all sworn together and have separated your selves from the lay people / & have a several kingdom among your selves and several laws of your own making / where with ye violently bind the lay people that never consented unto the making of them.2 A thousand things forbid ye which christ made free / and dispense with them again for money. Nether is there any exception at all / but lack of money. Ye have a secret counsel by your selves. All other mens counsels and secretes know ye and no man yours. ye seek but honour / riches / promotion / authority and to reign over all / and will obey no man. If the father give you ought of courtesy / ye will compel the son to give it violently whether he will or not by craft of your own laws. These deeds are against Christ. ¶When an hole parish of us hire a schoolmaster to teach our children / what reason is it that we should be compelled ⟨p. xv⟩to pay this schoolmaster his wages / and he should have licence to goo where he will and to dwell in another country and to leave our children on taught? Doeth not the Pope so? Have we not given up our tithes of courtesy unto one for to teach us Gods word? And cometh not the Pope and compelleth us to pay it violently to them that never teach? Maketh he not one 3person which cometh never at us? ye one shall have .v. or .vj. or as many as he can get and wotteth oftentimes where never one of them standeth. Another is made