VOLUME 3

AN ANSWERE VNTO SIR THOMAS MORES DIALOGE

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KEY Commentary Side Textual Bibliographic Scriptural

And hereby ye se that it is a playne and an evident conclusion as bright as the sonne shyninge that the trueth of gods worde dependeth not of the trueth of the congregacion. And therfore when thou art asked / whi thou beleuest that thou shalt be saved thorow christ and of soch like principles of oure faith / answere thou wottest and felest that it is true. And when he asketh how thou knowest that it is true / answere because it is written in thine herte. And if he aske who wrott it / answere the sprite of God. And if he aske how thou camest first by it / tel him / whether by readynge in bokes or hearynge it preached / as by an outward instrument / but that inwardly thou wast taught by the spirite of God. And if he aske whether thou beleuest it not because it is written in bokes or because the prestes so preach / answere no / not now / but only because it is written in thine hert and because the spirite of god so preacheth and so testifieth vn to thi soule. And saye / though at the begynnynge thou wast moued by readynge or preachynge / as the Samaritanes were by the wordes of the woman / yet now thou beleuest it not therfore any lenger / but only because thou hast herde it of the spirite of God and red it written in thyne herte.

And concerninge outwarde teachynge we allege for vs scripture elder then any church that was this .xiiij. hundred yeres / and old autenticke stories which they had brought a slepe where with we confounde their lies. Remembir ye not how in oure awne tyme / of all that taught grammer in England not one vnderstode the latyne tongue? how came we then by the latyne tongue agayne? not by them / though we lerned certay