AN ANSWERE VNTO SIR THOMAS MORES DIALOGE

VOLUME 3

The Independent Works

LOCATION

KEY Commentary Side Textual Bibliographic Scriptural

Greke Latine and Hebrue / and what sorow the scolemastirs that taught the true Latine tonge had with them / some betynge the pulpyt with their fistes for madnesse and roringe out with open and fominge mouth / that if there ware but one tirens or virgill in the world and that same in their sleues and a fire before them / they wold burne them therin / though it shuld cost them their liues / affirmynge that all good lerninge decayed and was vtterly lost sens men gaue them vn to the Latine tonge? ye and I dare saye / that there be .xx. thousand prestes curattes this daye in Englond and not so few / that can not geue you the right English vn to this texte in the pater noster / fiat voluntas tua sicut in celo & in terra and answere therto.

the true Latine tonge. Throughout the medieval period, certain Latin authors were known continuously. Chaucer (c1343–1400) read Ovid, Virgil, Statius, Juvenal, and some Cicero and Seneca (Sandys 2.219). But between 1333 and 1433, major Latin works were recovered by humanists searching through monastery libraries. For example, Poggio Bracciolini (1380–1459) discovered several orations of Cicero and a complete copy of Quintilian's Institutio Oratoria in Transalpine monasteries during recesses of the Council of Constance (1414–18). (Sandys 2.25–27). Whereas Virgil had been the favored classical author of the Middle Ages, e.g. of Dante (1265–1321), Cicero had more influence on the Renaissance. Tyndale praises Virgil as chief of poets, "Tully" as chief of orators (Obedience H6v).

tirens or virgill. In all his writings, Tyndale mentions only three classical poets: Terence (195/85 to 159 BC);Virgil (70–19 BC), and Ovid (43 BC to AD 18). There are general references to Virgil here and in Obedience H6v, to the Trojan Horse from Aeneid 2.58–259 in Prelates G4v, to a proverb from Aeneid 2.354 in Answer 153/3, to avarice from Aeneid 3.56–57 in Testament of Tracy (B2). There is a general reference to Ovid in Obedience R5, to Remedia Amoris in Prologue to Numbers (Mombert 395/27–28;TOT 197), to the mother of Meleager (Metamorphoses 8.451–525) in the Prologue to Jonas (TOT 633). Sidenotes in Matthew's Bible, probably not by Tyndale, contain a reference to Pliny the Elder (AD 23/4–79), Natural History 13.7 pace Judges 9 (TOT 357), to Josephus (AD 37—c100), Jewish Antiquities 7.12 pace 2 Sam. 23 (TOT 456), and a general reference to Josephus pace 2 Kings 8 (TOT 514).

.xx. thousand prestes curattes. Haigh (5) estimates that there were 2.5 million people in England and Wales in the early 1530s. Of these, 50,000 or 2% of the population were ordained, with 40,000 diocesan priests and 10,000 monks and friars. (Haigh's estimate of 10,000 priests in religious communities is close to another tally of 9169 at the end of the period between 1500 and 1534, [A5v, “monkes / freres / blacke / whit / pied / grey” and commentary note]). Tyndale's figure of 20,000 curates who could not translate the PN into English would equal 40% of the clergy.

fiat . . . terra. Matt. 6.10, Luke 11.2.

And assone as the significacion of the ceremonies was lost / and the prestes preached christ no lenger / then the comen people began to wax mad and out of their mindes vppon the ceremonies. And that trust and confidence which the ceremonies preached / to be geuen vn to Gods worde and Christes bloude / that same they turned vn to the ceremonie it selfe as though a man were so mad to forgett that the bosh at the tauern dore did signifie wine to be solde within / but wold beleue that the bosh it selfe wold quench his thirste. And so they became seruantes vn to the ceremonies / asscribynge their iustifienge and saluacion vn to them supposynge that it was nothynge else to be a christen man / then to serue ceremonies / and him most christen that most serued them / and contrary wise him that was not popish & ceremoniall / no christen man at all. For I pray you / for what cause worshepe we our spiritualtie so hiely or wherfore thynke

bosh at the tauern dore. A branch or bunch of ivy (perhaps as a plant sacred to Bacchus) was hung up as a sign of a tavern or the sign-board itself. Cf. Obedience M1v, 1 John E2, and Confutation's "tauerners busshe" (CWM 8/2.633/27–28).