by all means that he might to frustrate the death of Christ and the merits of his passion.  And they have devised for that purpose to make us believe in other vain things by his pardons; as to have remission of sins for praying on hallowed beads; for drinking of the bakehouse bowl; as a canon of Waltham Abbey once told me, that whensoever they put their loaves of bread into the oven, as many as drank of the pardon-bowl should have pardon for drinking of it.  A mad thing, to give pardon to a bowl!  Then to pope Alexander’s holy water, to hallowed bells, palms, candles, ashes, and what not?  And of these things, every one hath taken away some part of Christ’s sanctification; every one hath robbed some part of Christ’s passion and cross, and hath mingled Christ’s death, and hath been made to be propitiatory and satisfactory, and to put away sin.  Yea, and Alexander’s holy water yet at this day remaineth in England, and is used for a remedy against spirits and to chase away devils; yea, and I would this had been the worst.  I would this were the worst.  But wo worth thee, O devil, that has prevailed to evacuate Christ’s cross, and to mingle the Lord’s supper.  These be the Italian bishop’s devices, and the devil hath pricked at this mark to frustrate the cross of Christ:  he shot at this mark long before Christ came, he shot at it four thousand years before Christ hanged on the cross, or suffered his passion.

For the brasen serpent was set up in the wilderness, to put men in remembrance of Christ’s coming; that like as they which beheld the brasen serpent were healed of their bodily diseases, so they that looked spiritually upon Christ that was to come, in him should be saved spiritually from the devil.  The serpent was set up in memory of Christ to come; but the devil found means to steal away the memory of Christ’s coining, and brought the people to worship the serpent itself, and to cense him, to honour him, and to offer to him, to worship him, and to make an idol of him.  And this was done by the market-men that I told you of.  And the clerk of the market did it for the lucre and advantage of his master, that thereby his honour might increase; for by Christ’s death he could have but small worldly advantage.  And so even now so hath he certain blanchers belonging to the market, to let and stop the light of the gospel, and to hinder the king’s proceedings in setting forth the word and glory of God.  And when the king’s majesty, with the advice of his honourable council, goeth about to promote God’s word, and to set an order in matters of religion, there shall not lack blanchers that will say, “As for images, whereas they have used to be censed, and to have candles offered unto to them, none be so foolish to do it to the stock or stone, or to the image itself; but it is done to God and his honour before the image.”  And though they should abuse it, these blanchers will be ready to whisper the king in the ear, and to tell him, that this abuse is but a small matter; and that