VOLUME 3

AN ANSWERE VNTO SIR THOMAS MORES DIALOGE

LOCATION
KEY Commentary Side Textual Bibliographic Scriptural
xxvij.

In the .xxvij. he bringeth Paul exhortynge to agre & to tell al one tale in the faith which can not be saith Master More / excepte one beleue by the reason of a nother. Yes verelye we al beleue that the fyre is hotte and yet not by the reason of a nother and that with a moch surer knowlege then if we beleued it the one by the tellynge of a nother. And euen so they that haue the law of god written in their hertes and are taught of the spirite to know synne and to abhorre it / and to fele the power of the resurreccion of christ / beleue moch surer then they that haue no nother certente of their faith / then the popis preachynge confirmed with so godly liuinge.

All beleue in God that haue the law written in their harts.[1573]

And it is not vnknowne to M. More that the churches of late dayes and the churches now beinge haue determined thinges in one case the one contrarye to the other / in soch wyse that he can not denye but the one hath or doth erre: the which case I coulde shewe him if I so were minded. The olde popes / cardinalles and busshopes sayed yee to the thinge that I meane / where vnto these that now raigne saye naye. Now sir if you gather a generall counsell for the matter / the churches of fraunce and Italye will not beleue the churches of spayne & douchlonde because they so saye: but will aske how they proue it. Neyther will Louayne beleue Parise / because they saye that they can not erre / but will heare first their probacion. Also how shal we know that the old pope & his prelates erred / because these that are now so saye? When the old pope liued we were as moch bound to beleue that he coude not erre / as we be now that this can not: wherfore you must graunt me / that god must shew a miracle for the tone parte / or else they must brynge autenticke scripture.

The church must shewe a reason of their doctrine. [1531]

Popes may not be beleued without Scripture.[1573]