Cottagers by the Way-side. "THE Lords of the soil do unite their small occupying, only to increase a greater proportion of rent; and therefore they either remove, or give license to erect small tenements by the high ways' sides and commons ; whereunto in truth, they have no right, and yet out of them also do raise a new commodity." Harrison in the Description of Britain, describes this encroaching upon the way side as "a fault to be found almost in every place, even in the time of our most gracious and sovereign Lady Elizabeth.". HOLINSHED's Chronicles, vol. 1, p. 189. Toleration of the Reformed Churches. “WE find that all Christian Churches kept this rule; they kept themselves and others elose to the Rule of Faith, and peaceably suffered one another to differ in ceremonies, but suffered no difference amongst their own. They gave liberty to other Churches; and gave laws and no liberty to their own subjects. And at this day the Churches of Geneva, France, Switz erland, Germany, Low Countries, tie all their people to their own laws, but tie up no man's conscience: if he be not persuaded as they are, let him charitably dissent, and leave that Government and adhere to his own communion. If you be not of their mind, they will be served by them that are; they will not trouble your conscience, and you shall not disturb their government."JEREMY TAYLOR, Weak Consciences. "As for them who have weak and tender consciences, they are in the state of childhood and minority: but then you know that a child is never happy by having his own humour: if you chuse for him, and make him to use it, he hath but one thing to do but if you put him to please him self, he is troubled with every thing, and satisfied with nothing."-JEREMY TAYLOR. wwww Liberty of Preaching. INDEED," says JEREMY TAYLOR, "if I may freely declare my opinion, I think it were not amiss, if the liberty of making sermons were something more restrained than it is; and that either such persons only were entrusted with the liberty, for whom the church herself may safely be responsive, that is to men learned and pious, and that the other part, the vulgus cleri, should instruct the people out of the fountains of the church and the public stock, till by so long exercise and discipline in the schools of the prophets, they may also be entrusted to minister of their own unto the of the primitive church, when preaching people. This, I am sure, was the practice was as ably and religiously performed as now it is."-Vol. 7, p. 785. Men who would preach. "SUCH a scabbed ytche of vaynglory catche they in theyr prechynge, that though all the worlde were the worse for it, and theyr owne lyfe lye thereon, yet wolde they longe to be pulpetyd."-SIR THOMAS MORE'S Dialoge, ff. 39. Images. "TOUCHYNGE such textes as these heretyques allege agaynst the worshyppyng of Ymages, very sure am I that St. Austyn, St. Hyerome, St. Basyle, St. Gregory, with so many a godly connynge man as hath ben in Crystes chyrche from the begynnyng hytherto, understode those textes as well as dyd those heretyques; namely, havyng as good wyttes, beyng farre better lerned, usynge in study more dylygence, beynge an hepe to an handfull, and (which most is of all) havyng (as God by many myracles bereth wytnes) besyde theyr lernyng, the lyght and clerenes of his espe cyall grace, by whiche they were inwardly taught of his onely Spyryte to perceyve that the wordes spoken in the olde lawe to the Jewys people prone to ydolatry,—and yet not to all them neyther, (for the prestes then had the ymages of the aungell cherubyn in the secret place of the temple) sholde have no place to forbyd ymages among his crysten flocke; where his pleasure wolde be to have the ymage of his blessyd body, hangyng on his holy. crosse, had in honour and reverent remembraunce; where he wolde vouchsafe to sende unto the kyng Abiagarus the ymage of his own face; where he lyked to leve the holy vernacle-the expresse ymage also of his blessyd vysage, as a token to remayne in honour among suche as loved hym, from the tyme of his bytter passion hytherto. Which as it was by the myracle of his blessyd holy hande expressed and lefte in the sudari, so hath it ben by lyke myracle in the thyn corruptable clothe, kepte and preserved uncorrupted this xv.c. yere, fresshe and well perceyved, to the inwarde comforte, spyrytuall rejoysynge, and greate encreace of fervoure and devocyon in the hartes of good crysten people. Cryst also taught his holy evangelyst St. Luke to have another maner mynde towarde ymages, than have these heretyques, whan he put in his mynde to counterfete and expresse in a table the lovely vysage of our blessyd lady his mother." SIR THOMAS MORE'S Dialoge, ff. 7. "I WOLDE also fayne wytte why ther these heretyques wyll be contente that the blessyd name of Jesus be had in honoure and reverence, or not. If not, then nede we no more to shewe what wretches they be, which dare dyspyse that holy name that the devyll trembleth to here of. And on the other syde, yf they agre that the name of Jesus is to be reverenced and had in honoure, then syth that name of Jesus is nothyng els but a worde, which by wrytyng or by voyce representeth unto the herer the person of our savyour Cryste, fayne wolde I wytte of these heretyques, yf they gyve honour to the name of our Lorde, whiche name is but an ymage representynge his person to mannes mynde and ymagynacyon, why and with what reason can they dyspyse a fygure of hym carved or paynted, whiche representeth hym and his actes, farre more playne and more expressely."-SIR THOMAS MORE'S Dialoge, ff. 8. Gold expended on Relics. "LUTHER Wyssheth in a sermon of hys, that he had in his hande all the pecys of the holy crosse, and sayth that yf he so had, he wolde throw them there as never sonne shold shyne on them. And for what worshypfull reason wolde the wretche do suche vylanye to the crosse of Cryste? Bycause, as he sayth, that there is so moche golde nowe bestowed aboute the garnysshynge of the pecys of the crosse, that there is none lefte for pore folke. Is not this an hygh reason? as though all the golde that is now bestowed aboute the pecys of the holy crosse, wolde not have fayled to have ben gyven to pore men, yf they had not ben bestowed about the garnysshynge of the crosse. And as though there were nothing lost, but that is bestowed about Crystys crosse. "Take all the gold that is spent about all the pecys of Crystys crosse, thorowe Crystendome (albe it many a good crysten prynce and other godly people hath honourably garnysshed many pecys thereof) yet yf all the gold were gathered togyder, it wolde appere a pore porcyon in comparyson of the gold that is bestowed upon cuppes; what speke we of cuppes? in which the gold, albe it that it be not gyven to pore men, yet it is saved, and may be gyven in almes whan men wyll,-whiche they never wyll: howe small a porcyon wene we were the golde about all the pecys of crystes crosse, yf it were compared with the gold that is quyte cast away, about the gyltynge of knyves, swordes, sporres, arrace and paynt ed clothes and (as though these thynges | synge the labour and payne to be susteyncoulde not consume gold fast ynoughe,) the gyltyng of postes and hole rofes, not onely in the palaces of prynces and great prelates, but also many ryght mean mennes houses. And yet among all these thynges coulde Luther spye no golde that grevously glyttered in his blered eyes, but onely aboute the crosse of Cryst. For the gold yf it were thens, the wyse man weneth, it' wolde be streyght gyven to pore men; and that where he dayly seeth that suche as have theyr purse full of golde, gyve to the pore not one pece thereof, but yf they gyve❘ ought, they transake the botome amonge all the golde, to seke out here an halfe peny, or in his countrey a brasse peny, whereof foure make a ferthynge. Such goodly causes fynde they that pretende holyness for the colour of theyr cloked heresyes."-SIR THOMAS MORE'S Dialoge, ff. 12. Faith in the Virgin Mary alone at one time. CHRIST showed to St. Peter "that his fayth, that is to wete the fayth by him confessed, sholde never fayle in his chyrch, nor never dyd it, not with standyng his denyeng. For yet stode styll the lyght of fayth in our Lady, without fleyng or flyttyng. And in all other we fynde eyther fleyng from hym one tyme or other, or ellys doute of his resurreccyon after his deth, his dere mother onely excepte: for the sygnyfycacion and remembraunce wherof the Chyrche yerely in the Tenebre lessons levyth her candell burnyng styll, when all the remenaunt, that sygnyfyeth his apostles and dysciples, be one by one put out."SIR THOMAS MORE's Dialoge, ff. 33. Scripture Divines. "I HAVE known," saith SIR THOMAS MORE, "ryght good wyttes that hath set all other lernynge (except the study of scripture) asyde, partely for slowth, refu ed in that lernynge, partly for pryde, by which they could not endure the redargucyon that sholde somtyme fall to their parte in dyspytacyons, whyche affeccyons, theyr inwarde secret favour towards themselvys coveryd and clokyd under the pretext of symplycyte and good Crysten devocyon borne to the love of holy scrypture alone. But in ly tell whyle after the dampnable spyryte of pryde that unware to themself lurked in theyr hartys, hath begonne to put out his hornis and shew hymselfe. For then have they longed, under the prayse of holy scripture, to set out to shew theyr own study. Which bycause they wolde have seme the more to be set by, they have fyrst fallen to the dysprays and derysyon of all other dyscyplynes. And bycause in spekynge or prechyng of such commune thynges as all Crysten men know, they could not seem excellent, nor make it appere and seme that in theyr study they had done any great maystry to shew themselfe, therfore merveylously they set out paradoxis and straunge oppynyons agaynst the commen fayth of Crystis hole Chyrche. And bycause they have therein the olde holy doctors agaynst them, they fall to the contempte and dysprayse of them; eyther preferryng theyr owne fonde gloses agaynst the old connynge and blessyd fathers interpratacyons; or ellys lene to some wordes of holy scrypture, that seme to say for them, agaynst many mo textes that playnly make agaynst them; without receyvyng, or eregyvyng to any reason or authoryte of any man, quycke or dede, or of the hole chyrche of Cryst to the contrary. And thus ones proudly perswaded a wronge waye, they take the brydyll in the tethe, and renne forth lyke an hed stronge horse, that all the worlde can not plucke them backe. But with sowing sedycyon, settynge forth of errours and heresyes, and spycynge theyr prechynge with rebukynge of preesthode and prelacye for the peoples pleasure, they tourne many a man to ruyne, and theirselfe also."-Dialoge, ff. 38. Thirst for Persecution. “ONE of this sorte of this new kynde of prechers beyng demaundyd why that he usyd to saye in his sermons about, that now adayes men prechyd not well the gospell, answered that he thought so, bycause he saw not the prechers persecutyd, nor no stryfe nor busynes aryse upon theyr prechyng. Whiche thynges, he sayd and wrote, was the fruyte of the gospell, bycause Cryste said Non veni pacem mittere sed gladium: I am not come to sende peace into the world, but the sworde. Was not this a worshypfull understandyng, that bycause Cryst wolde make a devycyon amonge infydels, from the remenaunt of them to wynne some, therfore these apostels wolde sowe some cocle of dyssensyon amonge the Crysten peple, wherby Cryst myght lese some of them? For the frute of stryfe amonge the herers, and persecucyon of the precher, can not lyghtly growe amonge Crysten men, but by the prechynge of some straunge neweltyes, and bryngynge up of some new fangell heresyes to the infeccyon of our olde fayth."-SIR THOMAS MORE'S Dialoge, ff. 39, Defiance of Authority. "SOME have I sene whiche when they have for theyr paryllous prechynge ben by theyr prelates prohybyted to preche, have (that notwithstandyng) proceded on styll. And for the mayntenaunce of theyr disobedyence, have amended the matter with an heresy, boldely and stubburnly defendynge, that syth they had connynge to preche, they were by God bounden to preche. And that no man, nor no lawe that was made, or coulde be made, had any authoryte to forbede them, And this they thought suffycyently proved by the wordes of the appostle, Oportet magis obedire Deo quam hominibus. As though these men were appostles now specyally sent by God to preche heresyes and sow sedycyon amonge Crysten men, as the very appostles were in dede sente and commaundyd by God to preche his very faythe to the Jeves."-SIR THOMAS MORE's Dialoge, ff. 38. Scripture not needful. "THE fayth came in to Saynt Peter his harte as to the prynce of the appostles, without herynge, by secrete inspyracyon, and into the remenaunt by his confessyon and Crystes holy mouthe; and by theym in lyke maner, fyrste without wrytynge by onely wordes and prechynge, so was it spredde abrode in the worlde, that his fayth was by the mouthes of his holy mes sengers put in to mennes eres, and by his holy hande wrytten in mennes hartes, or ever any worde therof almost was wryt ten in the boke. And so was it conveny. ent for the laue of lyfe, rather to be wrytten in the lyvely myndes of men, than in the dede skynnes of bestes. And I nothynge doubte, but all had it so ben, that never gospell hadde ben wrytten, yet sholde the substaunce of this fayth never have fallen out of Crysten folkes hartes, but the same spyryte that planted it, the same sholde have watered it, the ame shold have kepte it, the same shold have encreased it."-SIB THOMAS MORE's Dialoge, f. 46. Dinner Hour. “By my trouthe, quod he, I have ano ther tale to tell you, that all thys gere graunted, tournyth us yet into as moche uncertayntye as were in before. Ye, quod I, then have we well walked after the balade, 'the further I go, the more be hynde.' I pray you what thynge is that? For that longe I to here ere yet we go. Nay, quod he, it were better ye dyne fyrste. My lady wyll I wene be angry with me that I kepe you so longe therfro, for I holde it now well towarde twelve. And yet more angry wolde waxe wyth me, yf I sholde make you syt and muse at your mete, as ye wolde I wote well muse on the matter, yf ye wysta what it were. If I were, quod I, lyke my wyfe, I sholde muse more theron nowe, and ete no mete for longynge to knowe. But come on than, and let us dyne fyrst, and ye shall tell us after."-SIR THOMAS MORE's Dialoge, ff. 61. Holiday Sports. Well, quod I, lady, your wife, Popess too. "In some countries they go on hunting commonly on Good Friday in the morning, for a common custom. Will ye break the evil custom, or cast away Good Friday? There be cathedral churches into which the country cometh with procession at Whitsuntide, and the women following the cross with many an unwomanly song, and that such honest wives as out of that procession ye could not hyre to speck one such foul rybaudry word as they there sing for God's sake hole rebaudous songs as loud as their throat can cry. Will you mend that lewde manner, or put away Whitsuntide? Ye speak of lewdness used at pylgrymages; is there, trow ye, none used on holy days? And why do you not then advise us to put them clean away, Sundays and all? Some wax dronke in Lent of wygges and crack-dryven to lyve in such lewd maner, or nels; and yet ye wolde not, I trust, that Lent were fordone."-SIR THOMAS MORE'S Dialoge, ff. 79. A Reforming Itinerant. "MAY ye not tell his name, quod he. Which of them, quod I; for he had mo names than half a lefe can hold. Where dwellyd he, quod your frend. Every where and no where, quod I: for he walked about as an apostle of the Devyll from shyre to shyre and towne to towne, thorowe the realme, and had in every diocyse a dyverse name: by reason whereof he did many years moche harm or he coulde be found out."SIR THOMAS MORE's Dialoge, ff. 90. Too many Priests. Why, worse, there sholde none be admytted unto "WERE I Pope," says SIR THOMAS MORE in his Dialoge with the Messenger. "By my soul, quod he, I wolde ye were, and my | ped."-ff. 103. |