find his right bones, but took up some other body, and so of a catholic made a heretic! Albeit herein Wickliff had some cause to give them thanks, that they would at least spare him so long till he was dead, and also give him so long respite after his death, forty-one years to rest in his sepulchre before they ungraved him, and turned him from earth to ashes; which ashes they also took and threw into the river. And so was he resolved into three elements, earth, fire, and water, thinking thereby utterly to extinguish and abolish both the name and doctrine of Wickliff for ever.[1] Not much unlike the example of the old Pharisees and sepulchre-knights, who, when they had brought the Lord unto the grave, thought to make him sure never to rise again. But these and all others must know, that as there is no counsel against the Lord, so there is no keeping down of verity, but it will spring up and come out of dust and ashes, as appeared right well in this man; for though they digged up his body, burnt his bones, and drowned his ashes, yet the word of God, and the truth of his doctrine, with the fruit and success thereof, they could not burn, which yet to this day, for the most part of his articles, doth remain: notwithstanding the transitory body and bones of the man were thus consumed and dispersed, as by this picture here set forth to thine eyes (gentle reader), may appear.
These things thus finished and accomplished, which pertain to the story and time of Wickliff, let us now, by the supportation of the Lord, proceed to treat and write of the rest, who either in his time or after his time, springing out of the same university, and raised up, as ye would say, out of his ashes, were partakers of the same persecution; of whom speaketh Thomas Walden in his book, "{{lang|la|De Sacramentis et Sacramentalibus," cap. liii. where he saith, that after Wickliff many suffered most cruel death, and many more did forsake the realm;Martyrs and exiles. in the number of whom were William Swinderby, Walter Brute, John Purvey, Richard White, William Thorpe, and Reynold Peacock, bishop of St. Asaph, and afterwards of Chichester.
To this catalogue also pertaineth (mentioned in ancient writers) Lawrence Redman, master of arts; David Sautre, a divine; John Ashwarby, vicar, as they call him, of St. Mary's church at Oxford; William James, an excellent young man, well learned; Thomas Brightwell, and William Hawlam, a civilian; Rafe Greenhurst, John Scut, and Philip Norise; who, being excommunicated by pope Eugene IV., a. d. 1446, appealed unto a general or œcumenical council. 🞼Many[2] more did forsake the realm, but what they were, or what kind of punishment they suffered, Walden left no mention. But we will not suffer their names to be blotted out with silence, which we might by any means pick out; but sure we are greatly sorry that there came nothing else into our hands but only their bare names. Would to God that the constant diligence of our prede-- ↑ Upon this subject a modern Romish writer observes, "A spirit of candour, would have led you to the discovery of something like toleration, in the conduct of your illustrious founder Wickeham, and his brethren; who, whilst they condemned Wickliff's errors, left his person unpunished and unmolested during the whole of his life; and an impartial view of the dreadful effects of his doctrine, in this and other countries, would have made you see, in the ordinance of the council against his memory and remains, not an act of vengeance, but a wise and salutary instruction to mankind."— See Letters to a Prebendary; p. 74; by the Rt. Rev. J. Milner, D. D. The reader may judge by these remarks, how far the church of Rome that now is, differs from the church of Rome in 1425.—Ed.
- ↑ See edition 1563, p. 137.—Ed.
