VOLUME 3

AN ANSWERE VNTO SIR THOMAS MORES DIALOGE

LOCATION
KEY Commentary Side Textual Bibliographic Scriptural

And of prayer we thynke / that no man can praye but at church / and that it is nothinge else but to saye pater noster vnto a post. Wherewith yet and with other obseruaunces of oure awne imagininge / we beleue / we deserue to be sped of all that oure blinde hertes desyre.

In a nother significacion it is abvsed and mystaken for a multitude of shaven shorn and oyled whych we now calle the spirytualtye and clergye. As when we reade in the chronicles Kinge wyllyam was a great tyrant and a weked man vnto holy church and toke moch landes from them. Kinge Iohan was also a perylouse man and a weked vnto holy church / and wold haue had them punyshed for theft / murther and what soeuer mischeue they did / as though they had not bene people annoynted / but euen of the vile rascall and comen laye people.

And Thomas bekett was a blessed and an holy man for he died for the liberties (to do all mischeue vnpunished) and priuileges of the church. Is he a laye man or a man of the church? Soch is the liuynge of holy church. So saye men of holy church. Ye must beleue in holy church and do as they teach you. Will ye not obeye holy church? will ye not do the penaunce enioyned you by holy church? wyll ye not forswere obedience vnto holy church? Beware lest ye fall in to the indignacion of holy church / lest they curse you and so forth. In which all we vnderstonde but the pope / cardenalles / legates / patriarckes / archbisshopes / bisshopes / abbotes / priours / chauncelers / archedecons / commissaries / officiales / prestes / monkes / freres / blacke / whit / pied / grey / & so forth / by (I trowe) a thousand names of blasphemy & of ypocrisie & as many sundrie facions of disgysinges.