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tranquillity of the commonweal may be confirmed, limiting both ploughs?

But now for the default of unpreaching prelates, methinks I could guess what might be said for excusing of them. They are so troubled with lordly living, they be so placed in palaces, couched in courts, ruffling in their rents, dancing in their dominions, burdened with ambassages, pampering of their paunches, like a monk that maketh his jubilee, munching in their mangers, and moiling in their gay manors and mansions, and so troubled with loitering in their lordships, that they cannot attend it. They are otherwise occupied; some in the king's matters; some are ambassadors; some of the Privy Council; some to furnish the court; some are lords of the Parliament; some are presidents; and some are comptrollers of mints. Well, well!

Is this their duty? Is this their office? Is this their calling? Should we have ministers of the Church to be comptrollers of the mint? Is this a meet office for a priest that hath cure of souls? Is this his charge? I would here ask one question. I would fain know who controlleth the devil at home at his parish while he controlleth the mint? If the apostles might not leave the office of preaching to be deacons, shall one leave it for minting?

I cannot tell you, but the saying is, that since priests have been minters, money hath been worse than it was before. And they say that the evilness of money hath made all things dearer. And in this behalf I must speak to England.

Hear, my country England, as Paul said in his First Epistle to the Corinthians, sixth chapter; for Paul was no sitting bishop, but a walking and a preaching bishop. But, when he went from them, he left there behind him the plough going still, for he wrote unto them and rebuked them for going to law and pleading their causes before heathen judges. "Is there," saith he," utterly among you no wise man to be an arbitrator in matters of judgment? What! not one at all that can judge between brother and brother? But one brother go to law with another, and that under heathen judges." "Constituite contempts qui sunt in ecclesia," etc. ["Set them to judge who are least esteemed in the Church" (1 Cor. vi. 4)]. Appoint them judges that are most abject and vile in the congregation, which he

speaketh in rebuking them; for, saith he, "Ad erubescenciam vestram dico" ["I speak to your shame" (1 Cor. vi. 5)]. I speak it to your shame. So, England, I speak it to thy shame. Is there never a nobleman to be a lord president, but it must be a prelate? Is there never a wise man in the realm to be a comptroller of the mint? I speak it to your shame, I speak it to your shame. If there be never a wise man, make a waterbearer, a tinker, a cobbler, a slave, a page, comptroller of the mint. Make a mean gentleman, a groom, a yeoman, make a poor beggar lord president-thus I speak, not that I would have it so, but to your shame-if there be never a gentleman meet nor able to be lord president. For why are not the noblemen and young gentlemen of England so brought up in knowledge of God and in learning that they may be able to execute offices in the commonwealth? The king hath a great many wards, and I trow there is a court of wards, why is there not a school for the wards, as well as there is a court for their lands? Why are they not set in schools, where they may learn? Or why are they not sent to the universities, that they may be able to serve the king when they come to age? If the wards and young gentlemen were well brought up in learning and in the knowledge of God, they would not when they come of age so much give themselves to other vanities.

And if the nobility be well trained in godly learning, the people would follow the same train. For truly such as the noblemen be, such will the people be. And now the only cause why noblemen be not made lord presidents is because they have not been brought up in learning; therefore, for the love of God, appoint teachers and schoolmasters, you that have charge of youth, and give the teachers stipends worthy their pains, that they may bring them up in grammar, in logic, in rhetoric, in philosophy, in the civil law, and in that which I cannot leave unspoken of, the Word of God. Thanks be unto God, the nobility otherwise is very well brought up in learning and godliness, to the great joy and comfort of England, so that there is now good hope in the youth, that we shall another day have a flourishing commonwealth, considering their godly education. Yea, and there be already noblemen enough (though not so as I would wish) able to be lord presidents, and wise men enough for the mint. And as unmeet a thing it is for bishops to be lord

presidents, or priests to be minters, as it was for the Corinthians to plead matters of variance before heathen judges. It is also a slander to the noblemen, as though they lacked wisdom and learning to be able for such offices, or else were no men of conscience, or else were not meet to be trusted, and able for such offices; and a prelate hath a charge and cure otherwise, and therefore he cannot discharge his duty and be a lord president too. For a presidentship requireth a whole man, and a bishop cannot be two men. A bishop hath his office, a flock to teach, to look unto, and therefore he cannot meddle with another office, which alone requireth a whole man. He should, therefore, give it over to whom it is meet, and labor in his own business, as Paul writeth to the Thessalonians-" Let every man do his own business, and follow his calling." Let the priest preach, and the nobleman handle the temporal matters. Moses was a marvellous man, a good man. Moses was a wonderful fellow, and did his duty, being a married man. We lack such as Moses was. Well, I would all men would look to their duty, as God hath called them, and then we should have a flourishing Christian commonwealth. And now I would ask a strange question. Who is the most diligent bishop and prelate in all England, that passeth all the rest in doing his office? I can tell, for I know him; who it is, I know him well. But now I think I see you listening and hearkening that I should name him. There is one that passeth all the others, and is the most diligent prelate and preacher in all England. And will ye know who it is? I will tell you. It is the devil. He is the most diligent preacher of all others; he is never out of his diocese; he is never from his cure; ye shall never find him unoccupied; he is ever in his parish; he keepeth residence at all times; ye shall never find him out of the way; call for him when you will, he is ever at home; the diligentest preacher in all the realm, he is ever at his plough; no lording nor loitering can hinder him; he is ever applying his business; ye shall never find him idle, I warrant you. And his office is to hinder religion, to maintain superstition, to set up idolatry, to teach all kinds of papistry; he is ready as can be wished for to set forth his plough, to devise as many ways as can be to deface and obscure God's glory. Where the devil is resident and hath his plough going, there away with books and up with candles, away with Bibles and up with beads,

away with the light of the Gospel and up with the light of candles, yea, at noonday. Where the devil is resident, that he may prevail, up with all superstition and idolatry, censing, painting of images, candles, palms, ashes, holy water, and new service of men's inventing, as though man could invent a better way to honor God with than God himself hath appointed. Down with Christ's cross, up with purgatory-pick-purse, up with him-the popish purgatory, I mean. Away with clothing the naked, the poor, and impotent, up with decking of images and gay garnishing of stocks and stones; up with man's traditions and his laws, down with God's traditions and His most holy Word; down with the old honor due to God, and up with the new god's honor. Let all things be done in Latin. There must be nothing but Latin, not as much as "Memento homo quod cinis es, et in cinerem reverteris" ("Remember, man, that thou art ashes, and into ashes thou shalt return "); which be the words that the minister speaketh to the ignorant people, when he giveth them ashes upon Ash-Wednesday, but it must be spoken in Latin. God's Word may in no wise be translated into English. Oh, that our prelates would be as diligent to sow the corn of good doctrine as Satan is to sow cockle and darnel! And this is the devilish ploughing, the which worketh to have things in Latin, and letteth the fruitful edification. But here some man will say to me, "What, sir, are ye so privy of the devil's counsel that ye know all this to be true?" Truly I know him too well, and have obeyed him a little too much in condescending to some follies. And I know him as other men do, yea, that he is ever occupied and ever busy in following his plough. I know by St. Peter, who saith of him, “Sicut leo rugiens circuit querens quem devoret” [“ As a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter v. 8)]. He goeth about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. I would have this text well viewed and examined every word of it. Circuit, he goth about in every corner of his diocese. He goeth on visitation daily. He leaveth no place of his cure unvisited. He walketh round about from place to place, and ceaseth not. Sicut leo, as a lion, that is, strongly, boldly, and proudly, straightly, and fiercely, with high looks, with his proud countenances, with his stately braggings. Rugiens, roaring; for he letteth not slip any occasion to speak or to roar out when

he seeth his time. Querens, he goeth about seeking and not sleeping, as our bishops do, but he seeketh diligently, he searcheth diligently all corners, whereas he may have his prey, he ṛoveth abroad in every place of his diocese, he standeth not still, he is never at rest, but ever in hand with his plough, that it may go forward. But there was never such a preacher in England as he is. Who is able to tell his diligent preaching, who every day and every hour laboreth to sow cockle and darnel, that he may bring out of form and out of estimation and room, the institution of the Lord's Supper and Christ's cross, for there he lost his right, for Christ said—“ Nunc judicium est mundi, princeps seculi hujus ejicietur foras” [“ Now is the judgment of this world, now shall the prince of this world be cast out" (John xii. 31)]; "Et sicut exultavit Moises serpentem in deserto, ita exaltari oportet filium hominis" ["And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up " (John iii. 14)]; "Et cum exaltatus fuero, a terra, omnia traham ad meipsum" [" And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me" (John xii. 32)]. Now is the judgment of this world, and the prince of this world shall be cast out. And as Moses did lift up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up. And when I shall be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all things unto myself. For the devil was disappointed of his purpose, for he thought all to be his own.

And when he had once brought Christ to the cross, he thought all cocksure. But there lost he all his reigning; for Christ said " Omnia traham ad meipsum" ("I will draw all things to myself "). He meaneth drawing of man's soul to salvation. And that He said He would do per semetipsum, by His own self, not by any other body's sacrifice. He meant by His own sacrifice on the cross, where He offered Himself for the redemption of mankind, and not the sacrifice of the mass to be offered by any other. For who can offer Him but Himself? He was both the offerer and the offering. And this is the prick, this is the mark at the which the devil shooteth, to evacuate the cross of Christ, and to mingle the institution of the Lord's Supper, the which, although he cannot bring to pass, yet he goeth about, by his sleight and subtle means, to frustrate

2 Place or office.

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