In the end Bradford gave his reasons, which he had gathered against transubstantiation, and prayed him to frame his into the form of reasons, and that then he would answer them. Willer. Well, I will do so; but first I will answer yours.*

No. 58.+

ANOTHER LETTER to MRS. ANNE WARCUP.

ALMIGHTY God, our heavenly Father, for his Christ's sake, increase in us faith, by which we may more and more see what glory and honour is reposed, and safely kept in heaven, for all them that believe with the heart, and confess Christ and his truth with the mouth, Amen.

My dearly beloved, I remember that once heretoforeț I wrote unto you a Vale, or a farewell upon conjecture; but now I write my farewell to you in this life indeed, upon certain knowledge. My staff standeth at the door, I continually look for the Sheriff to come for me, and, I thank God, I am ready for him. Now go I to practice that which I have preached. Now am I climbing up the hill: it will cause me to puff and blow before I come to the cliff. The hill is steep and high; my breath is short, and my strength is feeble; pray therefore to the Lord for me, that as I have now through his goodness, even almost come to the top, I may, by his grace, be strengthened, not to rest till I come where I should be.

Oh, loving Lord, put out thy hand and draw me unto thee; for no man cometh, but he whom the Father draweth. See, my dearly beloved, God's loving mercy; he knoweth my short breath and great weakness. As he sent for Elijah a fiery chariot, so sendeth he for me; for by fire my dross must be purified, that I may be fine gold in his sight. O unthankful wretch that I am; Lord, do thou forgive

me mine unthankfulness. Indeed I confess, right dear to me in the Lord, that my sins have deserved hell fire; much more than this fire. But lo! so loving is my Lord, that he converteth the remedy for my sins, the punishment for my transgressions, into a testimonial of his truth, and a testification of his verity, which the prelates do persecute in me, and not my sins; therefore they persecute not me, but Christ in me, who I doubt not will take my part unto the very end. Amen.

Oh, that I had so open an heart, as could so receive as I should do, this great benefit and unspeakable dignity, which God my Father offereth to me. Now pray for me, my dearly beloved, pray for me, that I never shrink. I shall never shrink, I hope; I trust in the Lord, I shall never shrink; for he that always hath taken my part, I am assured will not leave me when I have most need, for his truth and mercy's sake. Oh, Lord, help me; into thy hands I commend me wholly. In the Lord is my trust, I care not what man can do unto me, Amen.

My dearly beloved, say you Amen, also, and come after if God so call you. Be not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, but keep company with him still. He will never leave you; but in the midst of temptation will give you an outscape, to make you able to bear the brunt. Use hearty prayer; reverently read and hear God's Word; put it in practice; look for the cross; lift up your heads, for your redemption draweth nigh. Know that the death of God's saints is precious in his sight; be merry in the Lord; pray for the mitigation of God's heavy displeasure upon our country; God keep us for ever; God bless us with his spirtual blessings in Christ.

And thus I bid you farewell for ever in this present life; pray for me, pray for me, for God's sake, pray for me. God make perfect his good work begun in me, Amen. Out of prison this 7 of February.

Yours in the Lord,

JOHN BRADFORD.

No. 59.*

TO HIS DEAR FATHERS, DR. CRANMER, DR. RIDLEY, AND DR. LATIMER.

JESUS IMMANUEL. My dear Fathers in the Lord, I beseech God our sweet Father, through Christ, to make perfect the good he hath begun in us all, Amen.

I had thought that every of your staves had stood next the door; but now it is otherwise perceived. Our dear brother Rogers hath broken the ice valiantly, and as this day, I think, or to-morrow at the uttermost, hearty Hooper, sincere Saunders, and trusty Taylor, end their course and receive their crown.

The next am I, who hourly look for the porter, to open me the gates after them, to enter into the desired rest. God forgive me mine unthankfulness, for this exceeding great mercy; that amongst so many thousands, it pleased his mercy to choose me, to be, one in whom he will suffer. For although it be most true, that juste patior, for I have been a great hypocrite, and a grievous sinner, the Lord pardon me, yea, he hath done it, he hath done it, indeed, yet, Hic autem quid mali fecit? Christ whom the prelates persecute, his verity which they hate in me, hath done no evil, nor deserveth death.

Therefore ought I most heartily to rejoice of this dignation, and tender kindness of the Lord, towards me, which useth the remedy for my sin, as a testimonial† of his Testament, to his glory, to your everlasting comfort, to the edifying of his Church, and to the overthrowing of antichrist and his kingdom. O what am I, Lord, that thou shouldest thus magnify me, so vile a man and miser as always I have been? Is this thy wont to send for such a wretch and hypocrite as I have been, in a fiery chariot, as thou didst for Elijah?

Fox iii. 321. Cov. 466.

It is a singular mercy of God to have death, which is a due punishment for sin, turned into a demonstration and justification of the Lord's truth.-Cov. 466.

Oh, dear Fathers, be thankful for me, and pray for me, that I still may be found worthy, in whom the Lord would magnify his holy name.

And for your part, make you ready, for we are but your gentlemen ushers. Nuptiæ agni parati sunt, venite ad nuptias. I now go to leave my flesh there, where I received it. I shall be conveyed thither, as Ignatius was to Rome, Leopardis; by whose evil I hope to be made better. God grant, if it be his will that I ask, it may make them better by me, Amen.

In

For my farewell therefore, I write and send this unto you, trusting shortly to see you, where we shall never be separated. the mean season I will not cease, as I have done, to commend you to our Father in heaven. And that ye would do so by me, I most heartily pray every one of you; you know now I have most need. But fidelis Deus, qui nunquam sinet nos tentari, supra id quod possumus. He never did it hitherto, nor now, and I am assured, he will never, Amen.

A dextris est mihi, non movebor. Propter hoc lætabitur cor meum, quia non derelinquet animam meam in inferno, nec dabit me, sanctum suum per gratiam in Christo, videre corruptionem. E carcere raptim, expectans omni momento carnificem. The 8 of February, Anno 1555.

JOHN BRADFORD.

No. 60.+

TO HIS DEAR FRIEND, AND BROTHER IN THE LORD, M. GEORGE EATON.

ALMIGHTY God, our dear Father, give to you daily more and more, the knowledge of his truth, and a love and life to the same for ever in all things, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen.

He meaneth that he should be conveyed by the Queen's guards into Lancashire to be burnt, as the adversaries had once determined; like as Ignatius was by a company of soldiers, conveyed to Rome, and cast to the leopards.-Cov. 467.

+ Cov. 446.

I should begin with thanksgiving to God, and to you as his steward, for the great benefits I have oftentimes received from you, and especially in this time of my most need, far above my expectation; but because thankfulness lieth not in words or letters, and because you look not to hear of your well-doing of man, I am purposed to pass it over with silence, and to give myself presently to that which is more profitable unto you; that is, as God shall lend me his grace, briefly to labour, or at least, to shew my good will, to help you in God's gift to me, as you by your doing the like in God's gift unto you, have, as already done, so occasioned me greatly hereto.

I would gladly have done it heretofore, but I have been discouraged to write unto you, lest hurt thereby might come unto you; which is the only cause I have not hitherto written, nor now would not have done, but that I stand in a doubt, whether ever hereafter I shall have liberty to write unto you. And therefore, whilst I something may, I thought good to do thus much, to declare unto you, how that, as I think myself much bound to God for you, so I desire to gratify the same, as God should enable me.

The days are come, and more and more do approach, in the which trial will be of such, as have unfeignedly read and heard the Gospel; for all others will abide no trial, but as the world will. But of you because I have better hope, I cannot but, as pray to God, in him to confirm you; so to beseech you of the same. I know it will be a dangerous thing indeed to declare that which in word you have confessed, and in heart have believed, especially concerning the papistical mass; but, notwithstanding, we must not for dangers depart from the truth, except we will depart from God; for inasmuch as God is the truth, and the truth is God, he that departeth from the one, departeth from the other.

Now what a thing it is to depart from God, I need not to tell you, because you know it is no less than a departing from all that is good, and not only so, but also a coupling of yourself to all that is evil; for there is no mean, either we depart from God and stick to the devil, or depart from the devil and stick to God.

Some men there be, who for fear of danger and loss of that they must leave, when, where, and to whom, they know not; do deceive themselves after the just judgment of God, to believe the devil,