VOLUME 3

AN ANSWERE VNTO SIR THOMAS MORES DIALOGE

LOCATION
KEY Commentary Side Textual Bibliographic Scriptural

and not all faythes one faith / as master More iugleth. We read in the workes of S. Cipriane / that there were marters that sofred marterdom for the name of christ al the yere longe / and were tormented and healed agayne and then brought forth afreshe. Which marters beleued / as ye doo / that the payne of their marterdome shuld be a deseruinge and merite ynough / not only to deserue heuen for them selues / but to make satisfaccion for the synnes of other men therto / and gaue pardons of their merites after the ensample of the popis doctrine and forgaue the synnes of other men which had openly denyed christe / and wrote vn to Cipriane / that he shuld receaue those men that had denied christe in to the congregacion agayne / at the satisfaccion of their merites. For which pride Cipriane wrote to them & called them the deuels marters and not Gods. Those marters had a faith without faith. For had they beleued that all mercy is geuen for christes bloudeshedynge / they whold haue sent other men thither / and wold haue sofered their awne marterdom for loue of their neyboures only / to sarue them and to testifie the trueth of god in oure sauioure Iesu / vnto the worlde / to saue at the least waye some / that is to wete / the electe / for whose sake Paule sofereth al thinge and not to winne heuen. Yf I worke for a worldely purpose / I get no rewarde in heuen: euen so if I worke for heuen or an hier place in heuen I gett there no rewarde. But I must doo my worke for the loue of my neyboure / because he is my brother and the price of Christes bloude and because christe hath deserued it and dysyreth it of me / and then my rewarde is greate in heuen.