able personages, the easielier to begile simple and innocent wittes.
hand.gif // It is pitie, that those, which haue authoritie and
charge, to allow and dissalow bookes to be printed,
be no more circumspect herein, than they are. Ten Sermons
at Paules Crosse do not so moch good for mouyng men to trewe
doctrine, as one of those bookes do harme, with inticing men
to ill liuing. Yea, I say farder, those bookes, tend not so moch
to corrupt honest liuyng, as they do, to subuert trewe Religion.
Mo Papistes be made, by your mery bookes of _Italie_, than by
your earnest bookes of _Louain_. And bicause our great
Phisicians, do winke at the matter, and make no counte of this
sore, I, though not admitted one of their felowshyp, yet hauyng
bene many yeares a prentice to Gods trewe Religion, and trust
to continewe a poore iorney man therein all dayes of my life,
for the dewtie I owe, & loue I beare, both to trewe doctrine,
and honest liuing, though I haue no authoritie to amend the
sore my selfe, yet I will declare my good will, to discouer the
sore to others.
S. Paul saith, that sectes and ill opinions, be the workes of
Ad Gal. 5. // the flesh, and frutes of sinne, this is spoken, no
more trewlie for the doctrine, than sensiblie for
the reason. And why? For, ill doinges, breed ill thinkinges.
And of corrupted maners, spryng peruerted iudgementes. And
Voluntas} {Bonum. | // how? there be in man two speciall
} Respicit. { | // thinges: Mans will, mans mynde,
Mens } { Verum. | Where will inclineth to goodnes,
the mynde is bent to troth: Where will is caried from goodnes
to vanitie, the mynde is sone drawne from troth to false
opinion. And so, the readiest way to entangle the mynde with
false doctrine, is first to intice the will to wanton liuyng.
Therfore, when the busie and open Papistes abroad, could not,
by their contentious bookes, turne men in England fast enough,
from troth and right iudgement in doctrine, than the sutle and
hand.gif // secrete Papistes at home, procured bawdie bookes
to be translated out of the _Italian_ tonge, whereby
ouer many yong willes and wittes allured to wantonnes, do now
boldly contemne all seuere bookes that sounde to honestie and
godlines. In our forefathers tyme, whan Papistrie, as a standyng
poole, couered and ouerflowed all England, fewe bookes were
read in our tong, sauyng certaine bookes of Cheualrie, as they
_the brynging vp of youth._ 231
sayd, for pastime and pleasure, which, as some say, were made
in Monasteries, by idle Monkes, or wanton Chanons: as one
for example, _Morte Arthure_: the whole pleasure // Morte Ar-
of which booke standeth in two speciall poyntes, // thur.
in open mans slaughter, and bold bawdrye: In which booke
those be counted the noblest Knightes, that do kill most men
without any quarell, and commit fowlest aduoulteries by
sutlest shiftes: as Sir _Launcelote_, with the wife of king _Arthure_
his master: Syr _Tristram_ with the wife of king _Marke_ his
vncle: Syr _Lamerocke_ with the wife of king _Lote_, // hand.gif
that was his own aunte. This is good stuffe, for
wise men to laughe at, or honest men to take pleasure at. Yet
I know, when Gods Bible was banished the Court, and _Morte
Arthure_ receiued into the Princes chamber. What toyes, the
dayly readyng of such a booke, may worke in the will of a yong
ientleman, or a yong mayde, that liueth welthelie and idlelie,
wise men can iudge, and honest men do pitie. And yet ten
_Morte Arthures_ do not the tenth part so much harme, as one of
these bookes, made in _Italie_, and translated in // hand.gif
England. They open, not fond and common
wayes to vice, but such subtle, cunnyng, new, and diuerse
shiftes, to cary yong willes to vanitie, and yong wittes to
mischief, to teach old bawdes new schole poyntes, as the simple
head of an English man is not hable to inuent, nor neuer was
hard of in England before, yea when Papistrie ouerflowed all.
Suffer these bookes to be read, and they shall soone displace all
bookes of godly learnyng. For they, carying the will to
vanitie, and marryng good maners, shall easily // hand.gif
corrupt the mynde with ill opinions, and false
iudgement in doctrine: first, to thinke ill of all trewe Religion,
and at last to thinke nothyng of God hym selfe, one speciall
pointe that is to be learned in _Italie_, and _Italian_ // hand.gif
bookes. And that which is most to be lamented,
and therfore more nedefull to be looked to, there be moe of
these vngratious bookes set out in Printe within these fewe
monethes, than haue bene sene in England many score yeare
before. And bicause our English men made _Italians_, can not
hurt, but certaine persons, and in certaine places, therfore these
_Italian_ bookes are made English, to bryng mischief enough