be broken. I have don well in breaking it: and, I thanke God, I am come home againe to our mother the catholick church of Rome, and so I would thou shouldest doe."

Doctor Taylor answered, "should I forsake the Church of Christ, which is founded upon the true foundation of the Apostles and Prophetes, to approove those lies, errours, superstitions and Idolatries, that the popes and their company at this day so blaspheamously do approve? Nay, God forbid.

Let the pope and his returne to our Saviour Christ and his worde, and thrust out of the Churches such abhominable Idolatries as he maintaineth, and then will christian men turn unto him. You wrote truely against him, and were sworne against him."

"I tell thee," quoth the bishop of Winchester, "it was Herods oth, unlawfull, and therefore ought to be broken and not kept: and our holy father the pope hath discharged me of it."

Then said D. Taylor: "but you shall not so be discharged before Christ, who doubtles wil require it at your hands, as a lawful oth made to your liege and soveraigne Lord the king; from whose

Cranmer. I think not." Fox's Acts. p. 1702. And Bradford having pleaded to Gardiner that he had been six times sworn against the admission of any papal jurisdiction or authority in this realm of England, Gardiner says, "Tush! Herods othes a man should make no conscience at.

Bradford. But, my Lord, these were no Herods othes, no unlawful othes, but othes according to Gods word, as you yourself have well affirmed in your booke De vera obedientia.” Fox's Acts. p. 1459. In the progress of our history we shall find the Reformers continually reminding Gardiner of this book, Bonner of his preface prefixed to it, Tonstall of his Sermon preached before Henry 8th. A. D. 1539, and several others of the bishops of like inconsistencies between their doctrines and practices in the two preceding and in the present reigns,

obedience no man can assoile you, neither the Pope nor none of his."

"I see," quoth the Bishop, "thou art an arrogant knave, and a very foole."

My Lord," quoth D. Taylor, "leave your unseemely rayling at me, which is not seemely for such a one in authoritie as you are. For I am a Christian man, and you know that Hee that saith to his brother Racha, is in danger of a Councell; and he that saith thou foole, is in danger of hell fire."

The bishop answered, "Ye are false and lyars all the sort of you." "Nay," quoth Dr. Taylor, "we are true men, and know that it is written, The mouth that lieth slaicth the soule. And againe, Lord God thou shalt destroy all that speake lies. And therefore wee abide by the trueth of Gods worde, which ye contrary to your own consciences deny and forsake."

"Thou art maried" (quoth the Bishop)? "Yea," (quoth Doctor Taylor)" that I thanke God I am, and have had nine children, and all in lawfull matrimony; and blessed bee God that ordained matrimony, and commanded that every man that hath not the gift of continencie should marry a wife of his owne, and not live in adultery, or whoredome."

Then said the Bishop: "thou hast resisted the Queenes proceedinges, and wouldest not suffer the Parson of Aldham a very vertuous and devout Priest, to say masse in Hadley.' Doctor Taylor answered. "My Lord I am parson of Hadley; and it is against all right, conscience and lawes, that any man shall come into my charge, and presume to infect the flock committed unto me, with venome of the Popish Idolatrous Masse."

With that the Bishop waxed very angry, and said: "Thou art a blasphemous hereticke indeede, that blasphemest the blessed sacrament" (and put off his cappe)" and speakest against the holy masse, which is made a sacrifice for the quick and the dead." Doctor Taylour answered, "Nay I blaspheme not the blessed sacrament which Christ instituted, but I reverence it as a true christian man ought to doe, and confesse that Christ ordained the holy communion in the remembrance of his death and passion, which when we keepe according to his ordinance, we (through faith) eat the body of Christ, and drinke his bloud, giving thankes for our redemption, and this is our sacrifice for the quick and the dead, to give God thankes for his mercifull goodnes shewed to us, in that he gave his sonne Christ unto the death for us."

"Thou saiest well" (quoth the Bishop). "It is all that thou hast said, and more too; for it is a propitiatorie sacrifice for the quicke and the dead." Then answered Doctor Taylour: "Christ gave himself to die for our redemption upon the crosse, whose bodie there offered, was the propitiatorie sacrifice, full, perfect, and sufficient unto salvation, for all them that beleeve in him. And this sacrifice did our Saviour Christ offer in his owne person himselfe once for all, neither can any Priest any more offer him, nor we neede no more propitiatorie sacrifice; and therefore I say with Chrysostome, and all the doctors: Our sacrifice is only memorative, in the remembrance of Christes death and passion, a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and therfore the fathers call it Eucharistia: And other sacrifice hath the Church of God none."

"It is true, quoth the bishop, the Sacrament is called Eucharistia, a thanksgiving, because we K k

VOL. II.

there give thankes for our redemption; and it is also a sacrifice propitiatorie for the quicke and the dead, which thou shalt confesse ere thou and I have done." Then called the bishop his men, and said: "have this fellow hence and cary him to the Kings bench, and charge the keeper hee be streitly kept."

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Then kneeled doctor Taylour downe, and helde up both his hands, and said: "Good Lord I thanke thee; and from the tyranny of the Bishop of Rome, and all his detestable errors, Idolatries, and abhominations, good Lord deliver us: And God be praysed for good king Edward." So they caried him to prison, to the kinges Bench, where hee lay prisoner almost two yeares.

This is the summe of that first talke, as I saw it mentioned in a Letter that doctor Taylor wrote to a friende of his, thanking God for his grace, that he had confessed his truth, and was found worthy for trueth to suffer prison and bands, beseeching his friends to pray for him, that hee might persevere constant unto the end.

From the tyranny.] In the English Litany, which was first permitted and published in the year 1544, and in the Primer of King Henry the eighth which came out in the following year, one of the petitions ran in the following words, " From all sedition and privy conspiracy, from the tyranny of the Bishop of Rome, and all his abominable enormities, from all false doctrine and heresy, from all hardnesse of hart, and contempt of thy word and commaundements; Good Lord deliver us." In the two books of King Edward the petition remained, with the change of the word detestable for abominable. To this passage in the Litany no doubt Dr. Taylor had reference in the prayer which he offered up. Comp. Fox's Acts. p. 1438 and p. 1443, where a similar use is made by two other confessors of the same petition. At the beginning of the reign of Q. Elizabeth among some other conciliatory alterations which then took place, the words relating to the Bishop of Rome were omitted, and the petition framed as it now stands.

Being in prison, doctor Taylour spent all his time in praier, reading the holy Scriptures, and writing, and preaching, and exhorting the prisoners and such as resorted to him, to repentance and amendement of life.

Within a fewe dayes after, were diverse other learned and godly men in sundrie countries of England committed to prison for religion, so that almost all the prisons in England were become right christian schooles and churches, so that there was no greater comforte for christian heartes, than to come to the prisons, to behold their vertuous conversation, and to heare their prayers 7, preachinges, most godly exhortations, and consolations.

Now were placed in churches, blinde and ignorant masse-mongers with their Latine babblings and apish ceremonies: who like cruell Wolves spared not to murther all such, as any thing at all, but once whispered against their poperie. As for the godly preachers which were in King Edwardes time, they were either fledde the realme, or else, as the Prophets did in king Achabs dayes, they were privily

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7 To heare their prayers.] "After that" (says George Marsh, the Martyr, in an account which he left behind him of his troubles), they threatened and rebuked mee, for my preaching to the people out of the prison, and for my praying and reading so loud, that the people in the streets might heare. The truth is, I and my prison fellow Warburton, every day kneeling on our knees did read morning and evening prayer, with the English Litany every day twise, both before noone and after, with other prayers more; and also read every day certaine chapters of the Bible, commonly towards night. And we read also these things with so high and loud a voice, that the people without in the streets might heare us; and would oftentimes, namely in the evenings, come and sit downe in our sightes under the windowes and heare us read; wherewith others being offended, complained." Fox's Acts. p. 1421.