A67922:31
Acts and monuments of matters most special and memorable, happening in the Church. [vol.…Actes and monuments of matters most speciall and memorable, happenyng in the Church. [vol.…
Acts and monuments of matters most special and memorable, happening in the Church. [vol. 1] with an universal history of the same, wherein is set forth at large the whole race and course of the Church, from the primitive age to these latter times of ours, with the bloody times, horrible troubles, and great persecutions against the true martyrs of Christ, sought and wrought as well by heathen emperors, as now lately practised by Romish prelates, especially in this realm of England and Scotland. Newly revised and recognised, partly also augmented, and now the fourth time again published and recommended to the studious reader, by the author (through the help of Christ our Lord) John Fox, which desireth thee good reader to help him with thy prayer.Actes and monuments of matters most speciall and memorable, happenyng in the Church. [vol. 1] with an vniuersall history of the same, wherein is set forth at large the whole race and course of the Church, from the primitiue age to these latter tymes of ours, with the bloudy times, horrible troubles, and great persecutions agaynst the true martyrs of Christ, sought and wrought as well by heathen emperours, as nowe lately practised by Romish prelates, especially in this realme of England and Scotland. Newly reuised and recognised, partly also augmented, and now the fourth time agayne published and recommended to the studious reader, by the author (through the helpe of Christ our Lord) Iohn Foxe, which desireth thee good reader to helpe him with thy prayer.
London: printed by John Daye, 1583London: printed by Iohn Daye, 1583
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.
With like facing brags these Catholic Phormiones think now to dash out all good books, and amongst others also, these Monuments of Martyrs. Which godly Martyrs as they could not abide being alive, so neither can they now suffer their memories to live after their death, least the acts of them being known, might bring perhaps their wicked acts and cruel murders to detestation: and therefore spurn they so vehemently against this book of histories, with all kind of contumelies and uproars, railing and wondering upon it, much like as I have heard of a company of thieves, who in robbing a certain true man by the high ways side, when they had found a piece of gold or two about him more then he would be acknown of, they cried out of the falsehood of the world, marvelling and complaining what little truth was to be found in men.
With like facing brags these Catholike Phormiones thinke now to dash out all good bookes, and amongst others also, these Monuments of Martyrs. Which godly Martyrs as they could not abide beyng aliue, so neither can they now suffer their memories to lyue after their death, least the acts of them beyng knowne, might bring perhaps their wicked acts and cruell murthers to detestation: and therfore spurne they so vehemently against this booke of histories, with all kind of contumelies and vprores, railing and wondering vpon it, much like as I haue heard of a company of thieues, who in robbing a certaine true man by the high wayes side, when they had found a piece of gold or two about him more then he would be acknown of, they cried out of the falshood of the world, meruailing and complaining what little truth was to be found in men.
Even so these men deal also with me: for when they themselves altogether delight in untruths, and have replenished the whole Church of Christ with feigned fables, lying miracles, false visions, miserable errors contained in their Missals and Portuses, Breviars, and Summaries, and almost no true tale in all their Saints lives and Festivals, as now also no great truths in our Lovanian books, &c. Yet notwithstanding, as though they were a people of much truth, and that the world did not perceive them, they pretend a face and zeal of great verity: And as though there were no histories else in all the world corrupted, but only this history of Acts and Monuments, with tragical voices they exclaim and wonder upon it, sparing no cost of Hyperbolical phrases, to make it appear as full of lies as lines. &c. much after the like sort of impudency as Sophisters use sometimes in their Sophisms to do (and sometimes is used also in Rhetoric) that when an Argument cometh against them which they cannot well resolve in deed, they have a rule to shift of the matter with stout words and tragical admiration, whereby to dash the Opponent out of countenance, bearing the hearers in hand, the same to be the weakest & slenderest argument that ever was heard not worthy to be answered, but utterly to be hissed out of the Schools.