AN ANSWERE VNTO SIR THOMAS MORES DIALOGE

VOLUME 3

The Independent Works

LOCATION

KEY Commentary Side Textual Bibliographic Scriptural

yeth he / the spirituall iudgeth all thinges and his spirite sercheth the depe secretes of god / so that what so ever god commaundeth him to do / he never leveth serchinge till he come at the botome / the pith / the quycke / the liffe / the spirite / the marye and verye cause why / and iudgeth all thinge. Take an ensample / in the greate commaundement / loue god with all thyne herte / the spirituall sercheth the cause and loketh on the benefites of god and so conceaveth loue in his herte. And when he is commaunded to obeye the powers and rulers of the worlde / he loketh on the benefytes which god sheweth the worlde thorow them and therfore doth it gladlye. And when he is commaunded to loue his neyghboure as him silfe / he sercheth that his neyghboure is created of god and bought with Christes bloude and so forth / and therfore he loveth him out of his harte / and if he be evell forbereth him and with all loue and pacience draweth him to good: as elder brothren wayte on the younger and serve them and sofre them / and when they will not come they speake fayre and flater and geue some gaye thinge and promise fayre and so drawe them and smite them not / but if they maye in no wyse be holpe / referre the punishment to the father and mother and so forth. And by these iudgeth he all other lawes of god and vnderstondeth the true vse and meaninge of them. And by these vnderstondeth he in the lawes of man / which are right and which tirannie.

5/25–26 the spirituall . . . secretes of god. Cf. 1 Cor. 2.15, 10.

5/27–28 serchinge . . . why. Cf. CWM 8/1.261/12–13, 196/7–12, 197/1, 199/13–15; Mammon C1.

5/30 loue god with all thyne herte. Cf. Deut. 6.5, Matt. 22.37, Mark 12.30, Luke 10.27. Altogether, the First Great Commandment occurs five times in Answer.

5/29–32 Take . . . herte. CWM 8/1.49/18–20, slightly paraphrased at CWM 8/1.51/22–24.

5/32–6/1 obeye . . . worlde. Cf. Rom. 13.1–7.

5/32–6/2 And when . . . gladlye. CWM 8/1.55/30–32.

6/3 loue his neyghboure as him silfe. Cf. Lev. 19.18, Matt. 19.19, Matt. 22.39, Mark 12.31, Luke 10.27, Rom. 13.9, Gal. 5.14, Jas. 2.8. Altogether, the Second Great Commandment occurs eighteen times in Answer.

6/2–5 And when . . . forth. CWM 8/1.56/36–38.

6/14 right. This adjective is another one of Tyndale's characteristic words.

6/5–14 and therfore . . . tirannie. CWM 8/1.57/12–22.

6/12–14 iudgeth . . . tirannie. Repeated at CWM 8/1.60/21–23.

If god shulde commaunde him to drinke no wyne / as he commaunded in the olde testament that the preastes shulde not: when they ministred in the temple and forbade diverse meates /

6/15–32 If god . . . in vs. CWM 8/1.60/32–61/10.

6/17 forbade diverse meates. Cf. Ezek. 44.31.