BOOK jestie wil nedes procede so severely against hym, that yet, IV. for so moche as he is orderly and lawfully vested in the

pre

possession of the said office, and hath and do set in place of judgment there, his accusers maye bi publike trial prove his insufficiencye. And though it hath bene rarely or never sene, (as I thinke,) that one thus placed, bi the Archbishop of Canterbery, hath ben brought in question, and after long tyme displaced, yet this kynd of justice maye seame to satisfie. Thirdly, If neyther respect of hym nor his cause maye move yowr Hyghnes, that yet yowr Majestie wil have some respect and consideration of me, and of that place wheronto your Highnes hath placed me, and pleased to cal me to. In which, yf I, whom yowr Majestie wil have to possesse jurisdiction over so many other Bishops, shal yet be reproved in the choyce of one of myn own officers, a thing that in the meanest Bishop that is, was never yet impugned; suerly it cannot be but unto the see it selfe a grete derogation, and unto me no smal discredite and rebuke. And yet not so moche discredit to me, as in the end it shalbe judice to yowr Majesties service; I and my doyng being therby brought into contempt, and that bi those which are or should be to me as the fote is to the heede. Wherin suerly yowr Majestie shal gyve too grete an incoragement unto them, and peraventure in gretter matters hereafter, to oppone themselfes against me; and so consequently I shal not be able to serve yowr Majesty as I wold, and as my duetye is. Last of al, If I can by no meanes satisfie yowr Majestie, then must I end with this, that as I do willingly submyt both my self and al that I have to yowr Highnes, as from whom it was first and wholly deryved, so I do likewyse yeld up this cawse unto yowr Highnes to deale, and do therin as yowr good pleasure shalbe; trusting, that your Majestie wil never laye on me so heavi a burden as to make me the instrument of his displacing, whom for good respects I have already placed; or that I shuld remove hym as unworthi, whom in my conscience I do thinke very worthi; and do juge very fewe or none of them, which wold so fayne have me dejected, worthi or mete, as I dare stond to

IV.

the prouf; or that I shuld take that office from hym, which BOOK
by my worde I have faithfully promysed and geven to hym;
or last of al, I to be the doer of his utter discredite and un-
doyng, who in my knowlege both hath dutifully served
yowr Majestie and the realme. Which extremities, as I
cannot consent, neyther for myne own conscyence-sake, be-
fore Almighti God, nor yet with the reasonable credyte of
that place I do possesse; so my humble sute is, that yowr
Majestie wil never require it of me, but rather, yf nedes
yowr Highnes wil in this sorte procede, to assigne the dis-
placing of hym to such other as shal please yowr Majestie.
And so most humbly take my leue of yowr Highnes,
wyshing in my prayer to Almighti God yowr longe and
prosperous raigne over England; and that the grete grace
wherwith Almighti God hath blessed yow, with the good-
nes of
yowr owne nature and conscience, be not drawen to
other mennys several affections. From Lamhith, this xix
of June.

Your Highnes most bounde and obedient Chapleyn,
Matthue Cantuar.

Nicolas Brown, Fellow of Trinity college in Cambridge, to the Chancellor of that University; complaining, that the Vice-Chancellor and Heads had put him upon a public recantation of certain doctrines, that he was falsely charged to have preached.

RARA virtus est, sed tamen omni laude major, (honora- MSS. Cetissime Cecil.) in iis qui magnam authoritatem in rep. obti- cilian, nent, ut aliquid temporis rebus gravioribus tanquam suffurentur, et demittant se ad querelas etiam infimorum audiendas. Nam illa quidem, quæ sunt majora, habent satis argumenti in seipsis, cum procurentur: querelis autem privatorum hominum, quia parum in se momenti continent, aures fere omnium occluduntur. Merito igitur ubique nomen tuum celebre et augustum est, quem cum regiæ Majestatis et reip. gravissima negotia vix respirare sinunt; id

IV.

BOOK temporis, quo esset animo relaxando et quieti indulgendum, ad miserorum injurias mitigandas, et vota promovenda transferas. Atque cum nemini cujuscunque ordinis aditus ad te interclusus sit, tum vero doctis viris et Academiæ alumnis fores latè patent et reserantur. Id cum ab aliis sæpè accepissem, quibuscum tibi aliquando negotium erat, tum in meipso etiam (quod oblivisci non debeo) etsi minus benè cesserit, expertus sum. Jam vero humillimè et supplicissimè rogo Honorem tuum, non ut victui, licet fere nullo, aliquid adjicias, ut prius, sed ne, quod est, auferri sinas, atque id cum dedecore et infamia. Quod quemadmodum fiat, audi, quæso, cum paucissimis. Quinque abhinc elapsis mensibus, cum (officio id urgente) in Academia concionarer, et aliquando acerbius, ut putabar, sed illis tantum, quos tetigeram, in certa quædam vitia inveherer; accersebar ad Procancellarium tuum et collegiorum Præsides: certa quæ dam accusationum capita, (sed accusante nemine,) proponebantur, quæ quum ego mihi vel in mentem venisse, nedum populo proposuisse, pernegarem, advocant ex Academia certos homines, quos interfuisse putabant concioni meæ, atque eos, jure jurando prius dato, compellunt quid ex me audierint enarrare, et subscripta manu in schedula relinquere. Ex quibus inter se collatis, cum si ex lege mecum actum esset, fuissem absolvendus. Alii enim me suspicione prorsus liberabant, alii nihil audiebant, alii hæsitanter sententiam dicebant. Tamen conclusum est, (quo argumento viderint ipsi,) ut eas propositiones, quas reipsa non docueram, sed quidam malè audientes me docuisse somniabant, retrectarem, ea conditione addita, ut si recusarim, non solum è collegio rejicerer, sed etiam Academia exularem, In ista autem, licet odiosa et infami palinodia, tot cautiones sunt, tot insidiarum, ut videtur, recessus, ut necesse sit me in laqueos et retia incidere. Præscribunt non solum verba, sed etiam vocem, vultum, gestum moderantur: in quibus si, quod difficile factu est, imo plane fieri non potest, his judicibus non satisfecero, ejiciar, nihilominus quam si re cusassem, sed cum ignominia et dedecore majore. Atque hæc ut dixi sic gesta sunt; deinceps quid sequatur, nisį

revocare.

IV.

tua aucthoritas intercedat, facile est præsagire. Quod si BOOK mihi de meipso dicenti minus fidei adhibeas, hoc a D. tuâ saltem exorem, inspiciantur testimonia, examinetur decretum, expendatur retrectandi formula, quæ si idem plane non loquantur, tum me H. tuo abusum esse, et tanti viri patrocinio indignum, putato. Sin vero narrationi meæ res ipsæ respondeant, iterum atque iterum mihi rogandus es, ut huic malo prudentia et authoritate tua medearis. Grave est concionatorem, cujus vox per plures regni partes audita est et personuit, ad palinodiam cogere. Detrahit enim multum doctrinæ, quam dispersit, et quam deinceps sparsurus est reddit suspectam. Sed iniquum et prorsus non tolerandum, ut propter suspiciones hominum, minus candide aliorum dicta interpretantium, quod nunquam asseveravit, cogatur Satis sit, insontem coram se sæpius vocasse, examinavisse, in cubiculum suum tanquam in custodiam conclusisse, non amputent cursum studiorum, non privent victu, 126 non spolient fama, non ejiciant in exilium, maximè cum intra regiarum legum cancellos se continuerit, et eisdem etiam coram Vice-Cancellario subscripserit. Quod si mihi effectum dederis opera tua, arbitrabor me beneficium maximum accepisse. Nam et studiorum cursus, (quod unicè cupio,) protrahetur, et fama incolumis servabitur. Argumenta quibus te ad hoc adducam non habeo; quid enim est, in quo homo nihili, viro tam nobili, docto et prudenti, usui esse possit? Confugio igitur ad misericordiam et pietatem tuam, quæ quia multos meæ sortis et conditionis homines ad summam dignitatem extulit; non dubito quin me in eo loco, quem teneo, tutum conservabit. Unum officium non desinam præstare, id est orationem, ut Deus opt. max. spiritu tuo D. T. regat, vitam producat, honoribus quam amplissimis cumulet. Vale.

Honoris tui observantiss.

N. Broune.

BOOK
IV.

dalia

penes

Number LXXXI.

Oratio D. Matthæi Archiepiscopi Cantuar. coram Synodo, 9. Maii, 1572. auspicante.

MSS. Syno- VIRI, Patres et Fratres in Christo charissimi: hanc SynFra. Atter- odum ad salutarem aliquem Ecclesiæ Christianæ finem ac bury, S. T. propositum, ex illustrissimæ Principis nostræ præcepto, et à

P. Decan.

Carliol.

me convocari, et à vobis frequentari, nemini arbitror dubium esse. Quem cœtum, precibus primo ad Divinam Majestatem fusis, deinde fructuosa doctaque eruditi hominis, ut audivistis, exhortatione, hodierno die feliciter inchoavimus. Quæ tam bonis auspiciis, oratione nempe et verbo Dei, incœpta ac sanctificata initio, reliquis nostris laboribus ac conatibus, lætabilem exitum sunt allatura. Et quanquam cæteri suum in Christiana religione propaganda atque conservanda zelum et desiderium variis atque diversis modis exprimunt; nos tamen, habita nostri ordinis atque dignitatis ratione, non modo zelo et vigilantia, sed etiam famæ, bonorum, ipsiusque vitæ discrimine, ac jactura, si opus sit, illos præcellere debemus. Quam quidem ad rem à Deo constituti, ejusque Spiritus instinctu admoniti ad indagandam populoque patefaciendam divinam veritatem sumus. In eoque imitandi majores nostri sunt; non modo hii qui novissimis hiis temporibus nos antecesserunt, quique summis vigiliis hanc veritatem exploraverunt, eandemque martyrio sancto confirmarunt; sed etiam qui prima illa et Apostolis proxima ætate fuerunt, et vetustissima gestorum suorum in hac insula monumenta scripta nobis reliquerunt. Quæ quanquam ab Antichristo partim deleta, partim longa desuetudine inumbrata sunt; plurima tamen ad hanc ætatem, nostraque lucidiora tempora reservata, satis indicant, nostras ordinationes atque ritus ab illorum institutis ac decretis parum dif ferre. Illa vero monumenta, quæ eo nobis chariora esse debent, quo magis sunt nostra domestica atque propria, si divina Providentia nobis non reservasset, sed deleri penitus et auferri ab humana memoria permisisset; extabant tamen totius divinæ scientiæ fontes ipsi, Hebraicis Græcisque literis, Spiritus Sancti gratia, conservati: ad quos, tam lon