“ But when the spear on that place lighted, it was great jeopardy of death, insomuch that the face was bare, for the duke's spear broke all to shivers, and bare the king's visor or barbet so far back by the counter buff that all the king's head-piece was full of splinters. The Armourers for this matter were much blamed, and so was the lord Marquis for the delivering of the spear when his face was open, but the king said that none was to blame but himself, for he intended to have saved himself and his sight. ”

“ If you could be content to receive and follow the word of God and favour good preachers, if you could bear to be told of your faults, if you could amend when you hear of them: if you would be glad to reform that is amiss: if I might see any such inclination in you, that leave to be merciless and begin to be charitable, I would then hope well of you, I would then speak well of you. But London was never so ill as it is now. In times past men were full of pity and compassion, but now there is no pity ”

“ Be ye not angry with my words and let it be lawful for me to speak the truth without displeasure; if your Holiness shall be displeased with that we do rehearse, impute no default in us, but in your own deeds, which deeds have so molested and troubled us wrongfully that we speak now unwillingly, and as enforced thereunto. Never was there any prince so handled by a Pope, as your Holiness hath intreated us. ”

“ 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 tradition and his most holy word. ”

“ For truly if we should obey the letters of your Holiness in that they do affirm that we know to be otherwise, we should offend God and our conscience and we should be a great slander to them that do the contrary, which be a great number, as we have before rehearsed. Also, if we should dissent from those things which your Holiness doth pronounce we would account it not lawful, if there were not a cause to defend the fact as we now do, being compelled by necessity, lest we should seem to contemn the Authority of the See Apostolic. ”

“ Albans, his Grace taking with my hearty good will the residue. Remember, good Mr. Secretary, my poor degree, and what service I have done, and how now approaching to death, I must begin the world again. I beseech you therefore, moved with pity and compassion, succour me in this my calamity, and to your power which I know is great, relieve me; and I with all mine shall not only ascribe this my relief unto you, but also pray to God for the increase of your honour, and as my poor shall increase, so I shall not fail to requite your kindness. ”

“ Now what unkindness and unnaturality may be impute to you and all our subjects that be of that mind, that had liefer such an unthrifty sort of vicious persons, should enjoy such possessions, profits and enrolments, as grow of the said houses, to the maintenance of their unthrifty life, than he your natural prince, Sovereign lord and king, which doth and hath spent more in your defences of your own, than six times they be worth. ”

“ And if you will say that you might not do them, have we not then very just cause to mistrust those medicines and remedies with which in your letters you go about to heal our conscience, especially in that we may perceive and see those remedies to be prepared for us, not to relieve the sickness and disease of our mind, but for other means, pleasures and worldly respects? And as it should seem profitable that we should ever continue in hope or despair, so always the remedy is attempted; so that we being always a-healing, and never healed, should be sick still. ”

“ And all though you be permitted to read holy scripture, and to have the word of God in your mother tongue, you must understand that it is licensed you so to do, only to inform your own conscience, and to instruct your children and family, and not to dispute and make scripture a railing and a taunting stock, against Priests and Preachers (as many light persons do) . ”

“ Beseeching Almighty God that such effect may ensue thereof, as may be in his pleasure, the contentation of your highness, the weal and exaltation of your most Royal estate, realm, and affairs, and howsoever the matter shall chance, I shall no less knowledge myself obliged and bounden far above any my deserts unto your Highness, than if I had attained the same, whereunto I would never in thought aspire, but to do honour good and service unto your Noble Person and this your Realm. ”

“ Nevertheless the Scots shot out of their windows and holes of their houses so fast with hand-guns, that our men being so astonied therewith, shot again at adventure, and did more hurt to their own fellows than to the enemys, whereby it chanced that one hit my Lord William with an arrow above the cheek, but the stroke was so faint and weakly shot that, thanked be God, it did him little or no hurt at all. ”

“ As touching the act of uses, we marvel what madness is in your brain, or upon what ground ye would take authority upon you to cause us to break those laws and statutes by which all the noble knights and gentlemen of this realm (whom the same chiefly toucheth) hath been granted and assented to: seeing in no manner it toucheth you the base commons of our realm. ”

“ King Henry supposing that no man would have been so mad as to have attempted any further enterprise in the name of the new found and counterfeit earl, he only studied how to subdue the seditious conspiracy of the Irishmen. But learning that the Earl of Lincoln was fled into Flanders, he was somewhat moved therewith, and caused soldiers to be put in readiness out of every part of his realm, and to bring them into one place assigned, that when his adversaries should appear, he might suddenly set upon them, vanquish and overcome them. ”

“ In times past when any rich man died in London, they were wont to help the poor scholars of the university with exhibition. When any man died, they would bequeathe great sums of money towards the relief of the poor. When I was a scholar at Cambridge myself, I heard very good report of London and knew many that had relief of the rich men of London; but now I can hear no such good report and yet I enquire of it and hearken for it, but now charity is waxed cold, none helpeth the scholar nor yet the poor. ”

“ What should be the cause that we which walk in the broad day should not see as well as they that walked in the night, or that we should not see as well at noon as they did in the twilight? Came Christ to make the world more blind? ”

“ Augustine Packington came to William Tyndale and said, William I know thou art a poor man, and hast a heap of new Testaments and books by thee for the which thou hast both endangered thy friends, and beggared thyself, and I have now gotten thee a Merchant, which with ready money shall dispatch thee of all that thou hast, if you think it so profitable for yourself. Who is the merchant, said Tyndale. The bishop of London, said Packington. O that is because he will burn them, said Tyndale. ”

“ As to the suppression of religious houses, monasteries, we will that ye and all our subjects should well know that this is granted us by all the nobles spiritual and temporal of this our Realm, and by all the Commons in the same by Act of Parliament, and not set forth by any councillor or councillors upon their mere will and phantasy, as ye full falsely would persuade our realm to believe. ”

“ Many they maintained and gave them livings that were very papists and professed the pope's doctrine; and now that the knowledge of God's word is brought to light, and many earnestly study and labour to set it forth, now almost no man helpeth to maintain them. Oh! London! London! repent, repent, for I think God is more displeased with London than ever he was with the city of Nebo. Amend therefore; and ye that be prelates, look well to your office, for right prelating is busy labouring and not lording. ”

“ And husbandmen dare not set them a work, knowing well enough that he is nothing meet to do true and faithful service to a poor man with a spade and a mattock for small wages and hard fare, which being daintily and tenderly pampered up in idleness and pleasure, was wont with a sword and buckler by his side to strut through the street with a bragging look, and to think himself too good to be any man's mate. ”

“ Thus the unreasonable covetousness of a few hath turned that thing to the utter undoing of your land, in the which thing the chief felicity of your realm did consist. For this great dearth of victuals causes men to keep as little houses and as small hospitality as they possible may, and to put away their servants: whither, I pray you, but a begging: or else (which these gentle bloods and stout stomachs will sooner set their minds unto) a stealing?
[7] = conspiracy. ”

“ Besides this hearty kindness, {107} I cannot a little rejoice when I consider the perfect trust and sure confidence which you have put in me, as men having undoubted hope and unfeigned belief in my good doings and just proceedings for you, without my desire or request, have committed to mine order and disposition, all Chantries, Colleges, Hospitals, and other places specified in a certain act, firmly trusting that I will order them to the glory of God, and the profit of the commonwealth. ”

“ Therefore, your Holiness ought to take it in good part though we do somewhat at large and more liberally speak in this cause which does so oppress us, especially forasmuch as we pretend none atrocity, nor use no rhetoric in the exaggerating and increasing the indignity of the matter; but if I speak of anything that toucheth the quick, it proceedeth of the mere verity, which we cannot nor ought not to hide in this cause, for it toucheth not worldly things but divine, not frail but eternal; in which things no feigned, false nor painted reasons, but only the truth shall obtain and take place ”

“ And when ye allege that the service of God is much diminished, the truth thereof is contrary, for there be no houses {73} suppressed where God was well served, but where most vice, mischief, and abomination of living was used, and that doth well appear by their own confessions subscribed with their own hands in the time of their visitations, and yet we suffered a great many of them (more than we needed by the Act) to stand, wherein if they amend not their living, or fear, we have more to answer for than for the suppression of all the rest. ”

“ Where the Devil is resident, that he may prevail, up with all superstition and idolatry, sensing, painting of images, candles, palms, ashes, holy water and new service of men's inventing, as though man could invent a better way to honour God with than God himself hath appointed. ”

“ The whole realm is filled and besieged with hired soldiers in peace time (if that be peace) which be brought in under the same colour and pretence, that hath persuaded you to keep these idle serving men. For these wise fools and very archdolts thought the wealth of the whole country herein to consist, if there were ever in a readiness a strong and sure garrison, specially of old practised soldiers, for they put no trust at all in men unexercised. ”