A second admonition to the parliament

John / be good / but to be put in a tablet of gold / for a sovereign thing to be worn / that use is superstitious and naught / §30and so is the use of this service / for the order must be kept / and that being done / they have served God. And if they allege that that use was not meant / and that it is an abuse. I say and can prove it / that if it be an abuse / it is so settled it will not be reformed / till there be a reformation of prayer. Again / wherelearned they to multiply up many prayers of one effect / so many times Glory be to the Father / so many times the Lord ⟨image 24⟩be with you / so many times let us pray. Whence¹ learned they all those needless repetitions? is it not the popish Gloria patri? their Dominus vobiscum? their Oremus? Lord have mercy upon us / Christ have mercy upon us / is it not kyrie eleeson / Christ eleeson? their many Pater nosters / why use they them? But as though they were at their beads. The words be good / so were they when they were in Latin / but the use is naught / forbidden by our saviour: you when you pray use not vain repetitions as the² heathen do / saith he. And then the Collect for the day to be used at end of matins / what shall I call it? and afore the epistle and gospel as they call it. The book is such a piece of work as it³ is strange we will use it / besides I cannot account it praying as they use it commonly / but only reading or saying of prayers / even as a child that learneth to read / if his lesson be a prayer / he readeth a prayer / he doth not pray / even so is it commonly a saying / and reading prayers and not praying / the child putteth of his cap as well as the minister. For though they have many guises / now to kneel / and now to stand / these b• of course / and not of any prick of conscience / •• purring of the heart most commonly. One he kneeleth on his knees / and this way he looketh / and that way he looketh / another he kneeleth him self a sleep / another kneeleth with such devotion that he is so far in talk / that he forgetteth to arise till his knee ache / or his talk endeth / or service is done. And why is all this? but y there is no such praying as should touch the heart.