"the cleansing of the flesh; which flesh is a cloud before "the souls eye, and suffereth it not purely to see the beam of "the heavenly light. Where as is the cleansing of the flesh, "there is the illumination of the Holy Ghost, the end of "all our desires, and the very light whereby the verity of "Scriptures is seen and perceived." This is the mind and almost the words of Gregory Nazianzene, doctor of the Greek church; of whom St. Jerome sayeth, that unto his time the Latin church had no writer able to be compared, and to make an even match with him.

Therefore to conclude this latter part; every man that cometh to the reading of this holy book ought to bring with him first and foremost this fear of Almighty God; and then next, a firm and stable purpose to reform his own self according thereunto; and so to continue, proceed and prosper from time to time, shewing himself to be a sober and fruitful hearer and learner. Which if he do, he shall prove at length well able to teach, though not with his mouth, yet with his living and good example; which is sure the most lively and effectuous form and manner of teaching. He that otherwise intermeddleth with this book, let him be assured that once he shall make account therefore, when he shall have said to him, as it is written in the prophet David, Peccatori dicit Deus, &c. Unto the ungodly said God: Why Psalm 50. dost thou preach my laws, and takest my testament in thy mouth? Whereas thou hatest to be reformed: and hast been partaker with advoutrers. Thou hast let thy mouth speak wickedness: and with thy tongue thou hast set forth deceit. Thou satest, and spakest against thy brother: and hast slandered thine own mother's son. These things hast thou done, and I held my tongue, and thou thoughtest wickedly, that I am even such a one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set before thee the things that thou hast done. O consider this ye that forget God: lest I pluck you away, and there be none to deliver you. Whoso offereth me thanks and praise, he honoureth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation right will I show the salvation of God.

God save the King.

Foxes and

Firebrands,

Strype, Cranmer, p. 144.

[A Speech at the Coronation of Edward VI. Feb. 20. 1547.]a

MOST Dread and Royal Sovereign: The promises your

part ii. p. 2. Highness hath made here at your Coronation to forsake the Devil and all his works, are not to be taken in the Bishop of Rome's sense, when you. commit any thing distasteful to that see, to hit your Majesty in the teeth, as Pope Paul the third, late Bishop of Rome, sent to your royal father, saying, Didst thou not promise, at our permission of thy Co'ronation, to forsake the Devil and all his works, and dost 'thou turn to heresy? for the breach of this thy promise, 'knowest thou not, that it is in our power to dispose of thy 'sword and sceptre to whom we please?' We, your Majesty's clergy, do humbly conceive, that this promise reacheth not at your Highness' sword, spiritual or temporal, or in the least at your Highness swaying the sceptre of this your dominion, as you and your predecessors have had them from God. Neither could your ancestors lawfully resign up their crowns to the Bishops of Rome or his legates, according to their ancient oaths then taken upon that ceremony.

The Bishops of Canterbury for the most part have crowned your predecessors, and anointed them kings of this land: yet it was not in their power to receive or reject them, neither did it give them authority to prescribe them conditions to take or to leave their crowns, although the Bishops of Rome would encroach upon your predecessors by his bi

a [Robert Ware, who first printed this Speech in Foxes and Firebrands part 2. says, that "the collections in this second part are most of them "either out of the memorials of that great minister of state, the lord Ce"cil, or from the testimonies of persons that are still living." Strype, who copied it from thence, writes thus: "At this coronation there was no sermon as I can find, but that was supplied by an excellent Speech, "which was made by the Archbishop. It was found among the inesti"mable collections of Archbishop Usher." It is here printed from the copy in Foxes and Firebrands, search having been made in vain at Dublin for the original.]

shops' act and oil, that in the end they might possess those bishops with an interest to dispose of their crowns at their pleasure. But the wiser sort will look to their claws and clip them.

The solemn rites of Coronation have their ends and utility, yet neither direct force or necessity: they be good admonitions to put kings in mind of their duty to God, but no increasement of their dignity. For they be God's anointed, not in respect of the oil which the bishop useth, but in consideration of their power which is ordained, of their sword which is authorized, of their persons which are elected by God, and indued with the gifts of his Spirit, for the better ruling and guiding of his people. The oil, if added, is but a ceremony; if it be wanting, that king is yet a perfect monarch notwithstanding, and God's anointed, as well as if he was inoiled. Now for the person or bishop that doth anoint a king, it is proper to be done by the chiefest; but if they cannot, or will not, any bishop may perform this ceremony.

To condition with monarchs upon these ceremonies, the Bishop of Rome (or other bishops owning his supremacy) hath no authority: but he may faithfully declare what God requires at the hands of kings and rulers, that is, religion and virtue. Therefore not from the Bishop of Rome, but as a messenger from my Saviour Jesus Christ, I shall most humbly admonish your Royal Majesty, what things your Highness is to perform.

Your Majesty is God's vicegerent and Christ's vicar within your own dominions, and to see, with your predecessor Josiah, God truly worshipped, and idolatry destroyed, the tyranny of the Bishops of Rome banished from your subjects, and images removed. These acts be signs of a second Josiah, who reformed the church of God in his days. You are to reward virtue, to revenge sin, to justify the innocent, to relieve the poor, to procure peace, to repress violence, and to execute justice throughout your realms. For precedents on those kings who performed not these things, the old law shews how the Lord revenged his quarrel; and

on those kings who fulfilled these things, he poured forth his blessings in abundance. For example, it is written of Josiah in the book of the Kings thus; Like unto him there was no king before him, that turned to the Lord with all his heart, according to all the law of Moses, neither after him arose there any like him. This was to that prince a perpetual fame of dignity, to remain to the end of days.

Being bound by my function to lay these things before your Royal Highness, the one as a reward, if you fulfil, the other as a judgment from God, if you neglect them: yet I openly declare, before the living God, and before these nobles of the land, that I have no commission to denounce your Majesty deprived, if your Highness miss in part, or in whole, of these performances; much less to draw up indentures between God and your Majesty, or to say you forfeit your crown with a clause, for the Bishop of Rome, as have been done by your Majesty's predecessors, King John, and his son Henry of this land. The Almighty God of his mercy let the light of his countenance shine upon your Majesty, grant you a prosperous and happy reign, defend you and save you: and let your subjects say, Amen.

God save the King.

[Notes on Justification, with Authorities from Scripture, the Fathers, and the Schoolmen.]"

bSt. Paul saith that we be justified freely by faith without Stillingworks, because no man should glory in his works;

Ephes. ii. "Gratia salvi facti estis per fidem, idque non ex vobis; Dei donum est: non ex operibus, ne quis glorietur."

Titus iii." Apparuit gratia Dei Salvatoris nostri, non ex operibus justitiæ quæ fecimus nos, sed secundum suam misericordiam salvos nos fecit."

Rom. iii. "Omnes peccaverunt, et egent gloria Dei, justificati gratis gratia ipsius per redemptionem quæ est in Christo Jesu." Et mox. "Ubi est ergo gloriatio tua? Exclusa est. Per quam le

a [This short statement of the doctrine of Justification by Faith is taken from a manuscript now at Lambeth, which formerly belonged to Bishop Stillingfleet. It is written, as are nearly the whole of the authorities which accompany it, by Cranmer's own hand, and is conjectured by Dr. Wordsworth to have been the foundation of the three Homilies of Salvation, Faith, and Good Works, which have been usually attributed to the Archbishop.

This conjecture is supported by some remarkable coincidences, both in the mode of expressing the doctrine, and in the authorities adduced to prove it. The document therefore is valuable, not only as a specimen of Cranmer's method of study, and as a concise and undoubted declaration of his tenets on Justification, but as an evidence hitherto not generally known of his contributions to our first book of Homilies.

Burnet mentions it, vol. i. p. 576., and extracts two sentences, "to "let the world see that Cranmer was not at all concerned in those "niceties which have been so much inquired into since that time, about "the instrumentality of faith in justification; all that he then considered "being, that the glory of it might be ascribed only to the death and in"tercession of Jesus Christ." Two of the paragraphs are inserted by Mr. Young in the notes to his Sermon on Justification, having been communicated to him by Dr. Wordsworth. The remainder, as far as the editor is aware, is now printed for the first time.]

b [In the original manuscript the English sentences are written at the top of the page, so as to be read consecutively with ease; the authorities being in each case placed under the propositions which they were intended to support. The difference of type, it is hoped, will here answer the same purpose. A caution must be added against relying on these authorities too implicitly, as some of them are taken from works now held to be spurious.]

[The words printed in Italics are underlined in the original, probably by Cranmer himself.]

fleet MSS Lamb. Libr. 1108. f. 58.