English literature -- Middle English, 1100-1500; Great Britain -- Social life and customs -- 1066-1485 -- Sources
+William.+ And I said to the Archbishop, "Sir, as touching your Letter
of License or other Bishops', which, ye say, we should have to witness
that we were able to be sent for to preach; we know well that neither
you, Sir, nor any other Bishop of this land will grant to us any such
Letters of License but [_except_] we should oblige [_bind_] us to you
and to other Bishops by unlawful oaths for to pass not the bounds and
terms which ye, Sir, or other Bishops will limit to us. And since in
this matter, your terms be some too large, and some too strait; we dare
not oblige us thus to be bound to you for to keep the terms which you
will limit to us, as ye do to Friars and such other preachers: and
therefore, though we have not your Letter, Sir, nor Letters of other
Bishops written with ink upon parchment; we dare not herefore leave the
office of preaching; to which preaching, all priests, after their
cunning and power are bound, by divers testimonies of GOD's Law and of
great Doctors, without any mention making of Bishops' Letters.
=BOTH GOOD AND BAD ARE WITNESSES.=
"For as mickle as we have taken upon us the office of priesthood, though
we are unworthy thereto, we come and purpose to fulfil it, with the help
of GOD, by authority of His own law, and by witness of great Doctors and
Saints according hereto, trusting stedfastly in the mercy of GOD. For
that [_because_] He commandeth us to do the office of priesthood, He
will be our sufficient Letters and witness, if we, by the example of his
living and teaching specially occupy us faithfully to do our office
justly: yea, that people to whom we preach, be they faithful or
unfaithful, shall be our Letters, that is, our witness bearers; for that
Truth where it is sown may not be unwitnessed. For all that are
converted and saved by learning of GOD's Word and by working thereafter
are witness bearers, that the Truth and Soothfastness which they heard
and did after, is cause of their salvation. And again, all unfaithful
men and women which heard the Truth told out to them and would not do
thereafter, also all they that might have heard the Truth and would not
hear it, because that they would not do thereafter, all these shall bear
witness against themselves, and the Truth (which they would not hear, or
else heard it and despised to do thereafter through their
unfaithfulness) is and shall be cause of their damnation.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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