And because the love of God and of his neighbour, which is the spirit and the life of all laws, & wherefore all laws are made, is not written in his hart, therefore in all inferior •awes and in all worldly ordinances is he beetle blind. If he be commanded to abstain from wine, that will he observe unto the death to, as the Charterhouse Mom kes had lever dye then eat flesh: and as for 1the soberness and chastising of the members will he not look for, but will pour male & bear of the strongest without measure, and heat them with spices and so forth. And the holiday will he keep so straight, that if he meet a s•ee in his bed he dare not kill her, & not once regard wherefore the holiday was ordained to seek for Gods word, and so forth in all laws. And in ceremonies and sacraments, there he captivateth his wit & understanding to obey holy Church, without asking what they mean, or desiring to know, but only careth for the keeping, and looketh ever with a pair of narrow eyes, and with all his spectacles upon them, lest ought be left out. For if the priest should say Mass, baptise, or hear confession without a stole about his neck, he would think all were marred, and doubt whether he had power to consecrate, and think that the virtue of the Mass were lost, and the child not well baptised or not baptised at all, and that his absolution were not worth a mite. He had lever that the Bishop should wag two fingers over him, then that an other man should say God save him, and so forth. Wherefore beloved reader, in as much as the holy ghost rebuketh the world for lack of judgement, 2and in as much also as their ignorance is without excuse before whose faces enough is set to judge by, if they would open their eyes to see, and not captivate their understanding to believe lies: and in as much as the spiritual judgeth all thing, even the very bottom of Gods secretes, that is to say, the causes of the things which God commandeth, how much more ought we to judge our holy fathers secretes, & not to be as an Ox or an Ass without understanding.
And because the loue of God and of hys neighbour, which is the spirite and the life of all lawes, & wherfore all lawes are made, is not written in his hart, therefore in all inferiour •awes and in all worldly ordinaunces is he betell blinde. If he be commaunded to absteyne from wine, that will he obserue vnto the death to, as the Charterhouse Mō kes had leuer dye then eate fleshe: and as for 1the sobernesse and chastising of the members will he not looke for, but will poure male & bere of the strongest without measure, and heat them with spices and so forth. And the holyday will he keepe so straight, that if he meete a s•ee in his bed he dare not kill her, & not once regarde wherfore the holyday was ordayned to seeke for Gods worde, and so forth in all lawes. And in ceremonies and sacramentes, there he captiuateth his witte & vnderstanding to obey holy Church, without asking what they meane, or desiring to know, but onely careth for the keeping, and looketh euer wyth a payre of narrow eyes, and wyth all hys spectacles vppon them, lest ought be lefte out. For if the priest shoulde say Masse, baptise, or heare confession without a stole about his necke, he would thinke all were marred, and doubt whether he had power to consecrate, and thinke that the vertue of the Masse were lost, and the childe not well baptised or not baptised at all, and that his absolution were not worth a mite. He had leuer that the Byshop should wag two fingers ouer him, then that an other man should say God saue him, and so forth. Wherfore beloued reader, in as much as the holy ghost rebuketh the worlde for lacke of iudgement, 2and in as much also as their ignoraūce is without excuse before whose faces inough is set to iudge by, if they woulde open their eyes to see, and not captiuate their vnderstanding to beleue lyes: and in as much as the spirituall iudgeth all thing, euen the very bottome of Gods secretes, that is to say, the causes of the thinges which God commaundeth, how much more ought we to iudge our holy fathers secretes, & not to be as an Oxe or an Asse without vnderstanding.
- 1Superstitious observations are rather the breaking of the law then the keeping of the same.Superstitious obseruations are rather the breakyng of the law then the kepyng of the same.
- 2The world is to be rebuked for lack of judgement.The world is to be rebuked for lacke of iudgement.
