who followeth neither reason nor argument? except, perad venture, thou wouldst seem to play Parmenio's part in the comedy, that is, to join perfect reason and mad folly together. First, under many glorious and bragging words, they pretend here a great colour of the catholic faith, and yet bring no reason at all to declare the catholic faith. If the catholic faith consist in men's seats, and not in the men; in words and not in deeds, then would I grant that the see of Rome might seem catholic. Next, they pretend here, the authority of the holy synod; and that, in the name of our Lord, when they bring forth no Scripture of our Lord. "Lawfully" say they "congregated together:" I hear it very well! and to the intent that this authority may be of greater force and effect, the consent also of the synod of Rome is annexed and joined unto this council; for these be their words: " As it was decreed," say they, "in the synod of Rome," &c. Which synod of Rome, how lawfully it was gathered together, The council of Rome began by the good sign or token of an owl.the owl did sufficiently declare, which oftentimes (as Clemagis doth witness), flying into the council of Rome where pope John did sit, she could sooner put him out from his catholic seat (and so did), than she could be driven away from him with kind of weapon. Hereof, Christ so willing, more shall be declared, when we come to the place severally to speak of the council of Constance. In this synod, being thus gathered together, the works, and forty-five articles of Wickliff, were condemned, and he himself, forty-one years after his death, was taken out of his grave and burned. And what was the cause? Only for that he, with most firm and strong reasons, enterprised and went about to control and rebuke their life, errors, filthiness, and pride, which was now grown unto that point, that it was not any longer to be suffered. But how much rather ought they in this behalf to have rendered thanks unto Wickliff, for his most godly and wholesome admonition, unto whose good counsel, if they had any thing framed themselves, much more truly had that seat seemed catholic. Now, if it shall be sufficient to condemn men or their books, whatsoever the pope's treasurer, or the four presidents of the four nations shall say, or pleasure is, and so we, standing upon the same, will defend the liberty of sin, that we will neither amend ourselves, nor yet will suffer ourselves to be controlled or corrected by others, to what end then faith, godliness, conscience, learning, or the knowledge of holy Scripture doth serve, I do not greatly perceive. Wherefore, seeing the decree of this council hath nothing in it that can be revinced with argument, beside only bare names and authority of cardinals, archbishops, abbots, masters of divinity, and doctors of the law, we have, on the contrary part, against the witness of these seditious persons, alleged the testimonies of certain good men; first of all the testimonial of the whole university of Oxford, and afterwards the testimony of John Huss, which, if it hath been read, with equal and indifferent ears or the readers, I doubt not, but that it hath made as much for the defence of Wickliff, as these men's witnesses shall do to the contrary.🞼
What Heraclitus would not laugh, or what Democritus would not weep, to see these so sage and reverend Catos occupying their heads to take up a poor man's body, so long dead and buried before, by the space of forty-one years; and yet, peradventure, they were not able to
