VOLUME 3

AN ANSWERE VNTO SIR THOMAS MORES DIALOGE

LOCATION
KEY Commentary Side Textual Bibliographic Scriptural

This wise reason is their shoteancre and al their hold / their refuge to flight and chefe stone in their fundacion / wheron they haue bilt all their lies and all their mischeue that they haue wrought this .viij. hundred yeres. And this reason do the Iewes laye vn to oure charge this daye / and this reason doeth chefely blynd them and hold them still in obstinacie. Oure spirites first falsifie the scripture to stablish their lyes. And when the scripture cometh to light and is restored vn to the true vnderstondinge and their iuglinge spied / and they like to sofre shippwracke / then they cast out this ancre / they be the church and can not erre / their auctorite is greater then the scripture / and the scripture is not true / but because they saye so and admitte it. And therfore what soeuer they affirme / is of as greate auctorite as the scripture.

Notwithstondinge / as I saide / the kingdome of heuen stondeth not in wordes of mans wisdome / but in power and spirite. And therfore loke vn to the ensamples of the scripture and so shalt thou vnderstonde. And of an hundred ensamples betwene Moses and Christe / where the Israelites fell from god and were euer restored by one prophete or other / let vs take one: even Ihon the Baptiste. Ihon went before Christ to prepare his waye / that is / to brynge men vn to the knowlege of their sinnes and vn to repentaunce / thorow true expoundynge of the lawe / which is the only waye vn to Christe. For excepte a man knowlege his sinnes and repent of them / he can haue no parte in Christe / of Ihon Christ saith Matt. xvij. that he was Elias that shuld come and restore all thynge. That is / he shuld restore the scripture vn to the right sens agayne / which

MALACHI: 4.5–6: 44/24–25

MATTHEW: 17.11, 13: 44/24–25

Matt. 16.6, 11; Mark 8.15, Luke 12.1: 44/27, 46/17, 92/25–26, 143/27