A67926:5532
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.
what fool, what patch, what ass, what block cannot condemn after this manner? Is not thy whorish face ashamed in the public sight of the church, to dare once to set the trifling vanities ⟨p. 1293⟩only of thy naked and bare words against the thunderbolts of Gods eternal word? O impudent condemnation and right seemly for Antichrist, which hath not one jot or title to bring against such evident scriptures inferred against him, but only with one word cometh and saith, I condemn thee. And why then do we not believe the Turk? Why do we not admit the Jews? Why do we not honour the heretics which also condemn our writings as well as he, if it be enough only to condemn? unless we do not therefore peradventure give place unto them, because they condemn us not utterly without some scriptures and reasons: but these men after a new found fashion, utterly without all scriptures or reason do condemn us. What then shall I think to be the cause why they proceeded against me with this their Bull condemnatory,1 so vain, so ridiculous, so trifling, but only their mere blockishness, whereby they seeing my allegations to be true and not able to abide, nor yet to confute the same, thought to terrify me with the vain rattling of their rotten parchment. But I tell thee Antichrist, that Luther being accustomed to war, will not be terrified with these vain bulls, and hath learned to put a difference between a piece of paper, and the omnipotent word of God. Of the like ignorance proceedeth this also, that they against their own conscience, durst not particularly digest all and singular the Articles in their orders: for they feared least they should note him for an heretic, whom they were not able perhaps to convince either to be erroneous or offensive,2 & therefore they have found out this Adverb respectively: & after the numbering of the articles, then come they & say that some be respectively heretical, some erroneous, and some offensive, which is as much to say, as we suppose some to be heretical, some erroneous, & some slanderous, but we cannot tell qui, quales, quanti. i. Which, what manner, and how great they are. O dastardly ignorance, how slippery and cowardly art thou? how art thou afraid of the light? how doest thou turn and return all things, least thou shouldst be taken like a Proteus: