A67926:4473
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. 2, part 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. 2, part 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
No title page in the transcription: set from the catalogue record.
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.
Then said the Bishop of Salisbury, whose help hadst thou in setting forth this book? Truly my Lord, quoth he, no help at all. How couldest thou, quoth the bishop, invent such a book, or know what a Concordance meant, with out an instructor. I will tell your Lordship, quoth he, what instructor I had to begin it.1 When Thomas Mathews bible came first out in print, I was much desirous to have one of them: and being a poor man not able to buy one of them, determined with my self to borrow one among my friends, & to write it forth. And when I had written out the 5. books of Moses in fair great paper, & was entered into the book of Joshua,2 my friend M. Turner chanced to steal upon me unawares, & seeing me writing out the Bible, asked me what I meant thereby. And when I had told him the cause: Tush, quoth he, thou goest about a vain and tedious labour. But this were a profitable work for thee, to set out a Concordance in English. A Concordance said I? what is that? Then he told me it was a book to find out any word in the whole Bible by the letter, & that there was such a one in Latin already. Then I told him I had no learning to go about such a thing. Enough, quoth he, for that matter, for it requireth not so much learning, as diligence. And seeing thou art so painful a man, and one that cannot be unoccupied, it were a goodly exercise for thee. And this (my Lord) is all the instruction that ever I had before or after, of any man. What is that Turner, quoth the B. of Salis.? Mary, quoth D, May, an honest learned man, and a Bachelor of Divinity, and sometime a fellow in Magdalene college in Oxford. Howe couldest thou, quoth the B. of Salisb. with this instruction, bring it to this order and form, as it is? I borrowed a Latin Concordance, quoth he, and began to practise my wit, and at last with great labour and diligence, brought it into this order, as your lordship doth see. A good wit with diligence, quoth the bysh. of Hereford, may bring hard things to pass. It is great pity quoth the Bish. of Ely, he had not the Latin tongue. So it is, quoth D. May. Yet can not I believe, quoth the Bishop of Salisb. that he hath done any more in this work, then written it out after some other that is learned.
Then sayd the Byshop of Salisbury, whose helpe hadst thou in setting foorth this booke? Truely my Lorde, quoth he, no helpe at al. How couldest thou, quoth the bishop, inuent such a booke, or know what a Concordance meant, wt out an instructer. I wil tell your Lordship, quoth he, what instructer I had to begin it.