VOLUME 3

AN ANSWERE VNTO SIR THOMAS MORES DIALOGE

LOCATION
KEY Commentary Side Textual Bibliographic Scriptural

In the .viij. he saith / the saintes be moare charitable now then when they liued. I answere / Abraham was while he liued as charitable as the best. And yet deed / he answered him / that prayed him / they haue Moses and the prophetes / lett them heare them. And so haue we / not Moses and the prophetes only / but a moare clere light / euen Christ and the appostles / vn to whych if we herken we be saintes all ready.

And to proue that they in heuen be better then we in erth / he allegeth a texte of oure sauioure Luke .vij. that the worst in heuen is better then Ihon Baptist. Now the texte is / he that is lesse in the kingdome of god is gretter then he. We that beleue are gods kingedome. And he that is lest (in doenge seruice vn to his brythern) is euer the grettest aftir the doctrine of Christe. Now Christ was lesse then Ihon for he did more seruice then Iohan / and therfore greater then he. And by their awne doctrine there was no sainte in heuen before the resurreccion of Christe / but what care they what they saye / blinded with their awne sophistrie.

164/29. ensample of the hethen. Cf. CWM 6/1.312/1–7.

Morouer cursed is he that trusteth in ought saue god saith the texte and therfore the saintes wold haue no man to trust in them whyle they were a liue. As Paul saith .1. Corin. iij. what is Paul saue youre saruante to preach Christe. Did Paul die for you? were ye baptised in the name of Paul? Did I not marie you to Christ / to put youre trust in him? And againe let noman reioyce or trust in man / saith he. For all are youres whether Paul / or Appollo or Cephas: whether the world / life / deeth / present thynges or thynges to come: all are youres & ye are Christes /

165/8–9 saint Micael weyenge the soules. Late medieval English churches were frequently decorated with paintings of the Archangel Michael holding the scale of justice with devils in one pan and souls in the other. The latter are helped by Mary, who adds her rosary beads for good measure. Tyndale would probably object to this image for depicting justification by works and the intercession of the saints. Cf. Duffy 319 and Plate 122 and Brigden 21n73. In Duffy Plate 121, a devil pulls on one pan while Mary weighs down the other.