An Exclamation Upon the Spirit of Heresy

Anon

TextBaseEarlyTudorEnglish
ESHer10615
2008
STC 10615
Ringler 10615 and TP 1294. Ptd. Hyder E. Rollins, _Old English Ballads_ (Cambridge, 1920), no. 6. See also D. Leades, _Politics, Censorship and the English Reformation_ (London, 1991), pp. 141-42. Single sheet folio.

An Exclamation vpon the erronious and fantasticall sprite of heresy
London: Richard Lant,1553? [STC], 1555? [Ringler].



Composition Date: 1553? [STC].

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folio: [1]
	An Exclamation vpon the erronious and fantasticall sprite of heresy, troubling the vnitie of the Church, deceauing the simple Christian, with her vnperfect, vnprofitable and vayn wordes.
	O Heresy, with frenesy,
	disobedience and pride.
	Hast lead mans mind, with fancies blind
	headlo[n]g runnyng farre wyde,
5	From the path-way, to Christ, I saye
	o fonde folish vayne guyde.
	¶Brought many one, to perdition.
	to play a desperate parte.
	Made deui[s]ion, in eche Region, deuision] deuition 1553
10	a false traitour thou arte,
	To God aboue, the knotte of loue
	to Christ Church to subuert.
	¶The Sacramentes, our regimentes, regimentes ='rules, regulations, ordinances'; see OED s.v. regiment n6.
	of health .vii. giftes of grace,
15	When we doo fall, through synne, to call
	for them, our great solace.
	A remedie, for eche degree,
	Gods f[a]uour to pourchace. fauour] fouour 1553
	¶Babtisme is one: Confirmation: Babtisme: =baptism
20	with trew Penaunce certayne:
	Wedlocke to endure: Presthod most pure:
	Christ body to remay[n]e:
	At our last ende, suche grace God sende.
	Extreme Unction to attayne.
25	¶By whiche all we, membres knitte be
	to Christ, our most chiefe head.
	In vnitie, through his Bodie.
	which dyde for quicke and dead: dyde: =died
	Christs Church likewise, doth Sacrifise
30	the same, in fourme of bread.
	¶Uery flesh and blood, our daily food,
	in vs to byde and dwell,
	Bi whom we moue, liue euer through loue
	in vertew to excell.
35	The other dead be, not in this bodie,
	Shall perish, and burne in hell.
	¶O infidell, darest thou rebell,
	against Christes humane body:
	Th'ymage to graue, pictures to haue,
40	thou calst ydolatry.
	The laye-mans booke, theron to looke,
	to folow their lyues by.
	¶God doth forbed, ydoles in-dede:
	for ydolatry playne,
45	Doth signify, thynges made therby,
	not hauyng life certayne.
	Which represent, a false entent,
	that worke of man is vayne.
	¶The ymage of man, is Gods worke than
50	praise him in his sayntes daily:
	Their ymage to make, for vertew sake,
	no good man can denye.
	His sayntes liuyng, for vs praiyng,
	to haue their memory.
55	¶Whose fame immortall, dye neuer shall:
	the Iust man lyues for euer,
	Where the vniust, is scatred like dust.
	consumed with the wether.
	Whose mortall fame, dyeth with shame,
60	no mention of him neuer.
	¶O Traitour vntrue, to Christ_Iesu.
	his ymage to deface.
	To set at nought, hym that the bought.
	thou arte cleane voide of grace:
65	Whose remembraunce, thou ought t'aduaunce
	with his sayntes in eche place.
	¶Whose life and dayes, in penaunce alwayes
	dyd byde Religiously.
	In praier by night, with the world to fight,
70	and wunne the victory.
	Their vow thei kepte, bi the flesh ne slept
	most chaste Uirgens dyd dye.
	¶Thou counterfaite. o foule disceate,
	a false fayth to entende.
75	To breake thy vowe, for thy lust nowe,
	death needes must be thy ende:
	Dew execution, to thy confusion,
	Christ churche for to defende.
	¶Whose vnitie. by antiquitie.
80	vniuersall is knowne,
	Continewed, from Rome the hed,
	by trew succession,
	By Counsels tride, the truthe out-spide,
	of Gods sprite, longe agone.
85	¶O heresy, thou walkest a_wrye
	abrode to gadde or raunge.
	[L]ike false brethren, deceaue children, Like] Kike 1553
	this Churche, nowe for to chaunge:
	Her praier by night, to banish quight,
90	with new inuentions straunge.
	¶To breake also, thy first faith to,
	through wilfull impietie:
	For thy debate, excommunicate,
	from Christ spousesse holy,
95	Thou canst not accord, with thi spouse and lord
	that liuest in aduoutry.
	¶Runnyng retchlesse. from thy spousesse retchlesse: =reckless
	Christ Churche, most Chatholike, Chatholike: =catholic
	Whose company, God kepes truly.
100	to banish the heretike,
	Her errours all, schismatical.
	out of this churche to strike,
	¶From her ne swerue, lest thou do sterue
	with childer reprobate,
105	Whose parentes be, iniquitie,
	gotte by the sprite debate.
	Th'unlauful spouses, whose workes doutles,
	as hypocrites God doth hate.
	¶Repent and tourne, your liues refourme
110	Come to Christes Church most trew.
	With humilitie, reconsilde to be,
	to the mother of vertew,
	Which night and day, serues God alway,
	whose faith, her childre ensew.
115	¶And doo endure, in one pasture,
	of one folde styll together,
	Both all and some, lest the wolfe co[m]e,
	them for to disceuer,
	From our Pastour, which doth succour,
120	keepe, and defende vs euer.
	¶Imprinted at London in Pater_Noster_R[owe] Rowe] Reaw 1553, by Richarde_Lant.