sight,) neither yet unto the right hand, (doing that which I manifestly forbid you,) as though he should say, Do that only which I command thee. And where M. More saith, that "he cannot lose the reward of his good will, although his opinion be untrue;" I answer Yes; for it is but chosen holiness, which Paul condemneth, (Colos. ii.) which surely shall rather be imputed unto him for sin than for any good work. And beIt is better cause (as I said before,) it cannot be done through faith, I say that it is utterly reproved of God. And on not to be lieve that which the Scripture alloweth not, than to make a not. the other side, he that believeth it not, since it cannot be proved by Scripture, can catch no harm at all, although his opinion were false, but rather much good faith where and praise, both of God and all good men; because we should he feareth to swerve from the word of God, and had lever not to believe that thing which is true, (be it in case that purgatory were,) and not set forth in Scripture, for so shall he be sure not to sin, than to believe for an article of the faith that thing which is false indeed, for so should he surely sin and transgress against God and his holy word. And so is there great peril to believe a thing for an article of the faith which is not opened nor spoken of in Scripture: but if I believe it not, (although it were true,) yet is there no right nor law that can condemn me. Now may you see, that to believe for an article of the faith that there is a purgatory, since it cannot be proved by Scripture, may condemn a man and make him lie for ever in the pains of hell; whereas the other should but a little longer lie in the pains of purgatory, (if there were one,) and so shall he be sure to catch most harm that believeth there is a purgatory. "Saving" (saith Master More,)" that his heresy shall keep him from thence, and send him down deep into hell." M. More. Frith. What is heresy. Before he supposed that it could not be proved by Scripture. And now (standing the same supposition,) he calleth it an heresy, and an heresy is a stiff-holden opi nion repugnant unto Scripture. If purgatory cannot be proved by Scripture, (as he maketh his supposition,) then cannot the contrary opinion be repugnant to Scripture, and thus of his own supposition he doth evil to call it an heresy. And where he saith, that his opinion M. More is shall send him down deep into hell, verily he steppeth a sore judge too far in God's judgment to conclude and determine so cruelly, and especially in the same argument where he supposeth that it cannot be proved, for if it cannot be proved by Scripture, whereby will ye condemn him so deep that holdeth the contrary? Forsooth, you are a fierce judge. God give you eyes to see! "FINALLY, if ye pity any man in pain, never knew ye pain comparable to ours, whose fire passeth as far in heat all the fires that ever burned upon earth, as the hottest of all those passeth a feigned fire painted on a wall." M. More. The fire of purgatory is a marvel lous hotfire. Behold here the force of the fire of Verily, among all his other poetry it is reason that we Frith. grant him this; yea, and that our fire is but water in comparison to it, for, I ensure you, it hath alone melted more gold and silver, for our spiritualty's profit, out of poor men's purses, than all the goldsmiths' fires with- purgatory. in England, neither yet therewith can the raging heat be assuaged, but it melteth castles, hard stones, lands and tenements innumerable. For all your sects of religion, Monks, Friars, Canons, and Nuns, with other priests regular and secular, by this fire, multiplication and alchymy, have obtained their whole riches and pleasures, even the sweat of England. And so must we grant him that this fire is very hot. Now may you well perceive what a slender foundation their hot purgatory hath; for by this confutation may you easily see that it hath no ground nor authority of Scripture. Notwithstanding, it is the foundation of all religions and cloisters, yea and of all the goods that now are in these spiritualties. Are not they witty work M. More fully answered to men which can build so much on so slender a foundation? howbeit they have made it so top-heavy, that it is surely like to have a fall. Thus hath Master More a full answer, both to his Scriptures, which were too far wrested out of their places, and also to his own apparent reasons. can say for Howbeit if his mastership be not fully pacified, let him more groundly open his mind, and bring for his purpose all that he thinketh to make for it, and I shall by God's grace shortly make him an answer and quiet his all that he purgatory. mind. Thus endeth the Second Book. THE THIRD BOOK, WHICH ANSWERETH UNTO MY LORD OF ROCHES- M. More was the NOW will I address me to the third part, which shall be an answer unto my Lord of Rochester. And all his reasons and arguments, both of the Scriptures and Doctors, which are not before dissolved in the second part, will I clean confute (by God's grace) in this third book. Howbeit, the chiefest of his Scriptures hath M. More Bishop of perused, and hath in a manner nothing but that was Rochester's before written by my Lord of Rochester, saving that he disciple. maketh the silly souls to pule, to help his matter withal. Rochester My Lord of Rochester is the first patron and defender of this fantasy. And even as M. More took his work out of out of my Lord of Rochester's, even so plucked Rastell his book out of M. More's. the first patron of purgatory. My Lord of Rochester, to confirm his sentence, reckoneth up the doctors by heap; M. John, M. William, M. Thomas, et omnes. But as concerning the doctors, that they are not so fully on his side as he would make them seem, is soon proved. And where should I better begin to confute him, than of his own words? for he writeth himself upon the 18th article on this manner : The Bi shop of Rochester's "There is no man now-a-days that doubteth of pur- Rochester. gatory, (saith he,) and yet among the old ancient fathers was there either none, or else very seldom mention made of it. And also among the Grecians, even unto this day, is not purgatory believed. Let him read that will the commentaries of the old Grecians, and as I suppose, he shall find either no words spoken of it, or else very few." own words. These are my Lord's words. I wonder what oblivi- Frith. ousness is come upon him, that he so cleaveth unto the doctors, whom he affirmed before either to make no mention of it, or else very seldom. Notwithstanding, I will declare you somewhat of the doctors, that you may the better know their meaning. retics. To speak of the doctors, and what their mind was in this matter, it were necessary to declare in what time they were, and what condition the world was in their days. St. Austin, Ambrose, and Hierome were in one time, even about four hundred years after Christ; and yet before their time were there arisen infinite heretics Sects of heby whole sects, as the Arians, Domitians, Eunomians, Vigilantians, Pelagians, with infinite other, which had so swerved from the truth, and wrested the Scripture out of frame, that it was not possible for one man, no, nor for one man's age, to restore it again unto the true sense. Among these there were some which not only feigned a purgatory, but also doted so far, that they affirmed that every man, were he never so vicious, should be saved through that fire, and alleged for them the place of Paul, 1 Corinthians iii. These holy doc- 1 Cor. iii. Acts xv. tors perceiving those great errors, thought it not best, by and by, to condemn all things indifferently, but to suffer and dissemble with the less, that they might weed out the opinions which were most noisome, as the Apostles granted unto the Jews, that the Gentiles should keep some of Moses' law, (Acts xv.) that they might the better come to their purpose to save the Jews with the Gentiles. For if they had at the first utterly set off the law, then would the Jews never have given any St. Austin. audience unto the apostles. And even so St. Austin went wisely to work, first condemning by the Scripture that error which was most noisome; and wrote on this manner: Albeit some might be purged through fire, yet not such as the Apostle condemneth, when he saith, that the persons which so do, shall not possess the kingdom of heaven. And where they would have stuck unto Paul's text, (1 Cor. iii.) and affirm that they should be saved through fire, St. Austin answered, that Paul's text was understood of the spiritual fire, which is temptation, affliction, tribulation, &c. This wrote he in the 67th and 68th of his Enchiridion, to subvert that gross error, that all should be saved through the fire of purgatory. Yet in the 69th, he goeth a little near them, and saith, that it may be doubted whether there be any such purgatory or not. He durst not yet openly condemn it, because he thought that men could not at that time bear it. But after in his book which he entitled De vanitate hujus sæculi, there doth he fully St. Austin show his mind in these words: Scitote quòd cum anima avellitur, statim aut pro meritis bonis in Parathought of sido collocatur, aut pro meritis malis in inferni tartara purgatory. præcipitatur; i. e. Wot ye well, that when the soul is departed from the body, either it is by and by put into paradise, according to his good deserts, or else it is thrust headlong into hell for his sins.-Here he clean condemneth purgatory for if this be done by and by, as soon as the soul is departed from the body, then showeth what he à corpore : |