CErtain I am ( right honorable audience ) that I am not vnknowen to any one of you , what I am & howe I haue continued my tyme amongest you . But whence I came or whose creature I am I thynke fewe of you do as yet know . The most part of you , I am sure , haue hetherto ben perswaded and in dede I my selfe haue confessed & taught no lesse that I came from God , and had my fyrste beynge of the institution of Christ the onely sonne of the lyuinge God , affirmeynge that he , in that he fasted .xl. dayes and fourtie nightes : gaue vs axexāple to do the same . This is your perswacion , and this haue I heretofore taught , partlye thorowe ignoraunce in that I knew no better , & partly thorowe pride of herte whyche caused me to seke wayes to be had in price & moone estemed amonge you that professe the name of Christ . But now that it hath pleased the Lorde to open mine eyes and humble mine hert that I maye see mine owne estate and contente my selfe therwyth : I am at this presente determined to reuoke , retracte and recante , not onely this erroniouse & false doctrine : but also all other supersticiouse doctrine that I haue at anie tyme taught , and wyll out of the scriptures declare trulye and sincerlye whense I came , whose creature I am , and what abuses I haue mayntened . Fyrst and principalli I acknowledg , that I am no creature of God , nor haue any beynge of hym or hys institucion , but am the mere inuencion & ordinaunce of man fyrst inuented for a polityke ordre euen as other humayne tradicions haue bene . And accordynge to thys purpose of my firste creation : I am nowe by the maiestrates of this realme permitted to continewe so longe as they shal se me to be profitable to the publyke and comme weale . And where I haue taught that the example of Christ in fastynge fourtie dayes , & fourtie nyghtes ought to be folowed of you : I vtterly forsake it , acknowelegynge that for asmuche as the fastynge of Christe was a worke aboue nature , it was a miracle or thynge to be wondered at and not an example to be folowed more than the reste of his miracles and wonderfull workes were . And in verye dede , the way that I haue taught & you haue folowed , is nothinge lyke the example of Christe . For he fasted all the tyme of his faste frome all kindes of sustinaunce , but I haue taught you to fast from fleshe & white meate onely . Christ began hys fast at the fourth daye of Ianuarie whyche is called the feaste of the Epiphanie , or the .xii daye , and I haue alwayes deferred the tyme to Marche or nighther abought . Christe fasted but once in his lyfe tyme not withstandinge he liued .ii. yeres after . But I haue taught you to fast euerie yere duringe your life . Thus you se that as it was not possible for man to aspire to the perfection of christes wonderfull workes so haue you not taken a waye anye thynge lyke to hys waye in the foloweynge ( as you thought ) of hys example . wherfore it is but a fonde perswation of men to thynke that in this ( more supersticious than religious fast they do any thynge at all folowe the exemple of Christ , and I my selfe which haue bene a teacher and setter forth of thys doctrine do nowe acknoweledge and confesse myne ignoraunce and supersticion herein wyllynge al you ( my faythfull fryndes , as well fyshmongers as other ) to do the same , lest of your stubburnes you cause me to be vtterlye banished thys realme , and you lose all the commodities that you haue by me . Ouer and besides thys , I acknoweledge and confesse that supersticiouseli and blindly I haue taught some to fast halfe the time of my raygne , some wensdaye , fridaye , and saturdaye : and some the fridaye from fyshe . Wyth these thynges I haue so entanglede the consciences of men that they haue thought it better to breake all the commaundementes of God then to omitte one of these obseruations of myne . These thynges I vtterlye reuoke exhorteynge you all my fauourers ) to do the same , frelye and frankly as I do without any constrainte or compulsion acknowlegynge and confessinge that no humayne tradicions or lawes can bynde the consciences further then they be founded and buylte vpon the commaundemente of God . Wherefore I confesse & graunte , that all suche as be by the powers licenced to eate fleshe at all tymes maye wyth out grudge of conscience do it . More ouer , if necessitie so require , either thorow pouertie , sickenesse , or otherwise : the faithfull maye at all tymes receiue wyth thankes all such sustinaunce as God of hys bountuouse liberalitie geueth them , with out anie licence at al , so they do it not in the contempe of anie common ordre nor wyth the offence of theyr weeke brother . Yet all thys not wythstanding I exhorte you all to faste and praye , accordynge te the wordes of the prophete , returne you to the Lorde in lamentation and fasteinge . But here you muste be ryght well ware that your prayer be not supersticiouse numbrynge of ladye psaltares or other sette numbres of orisons ( for then they are but lipiaboure ) but your prayer muste be the Lordes prayer , spoken euen with the herte , and wyth the holdynge vp of pure handes vnto heauen , yea handes wythout bloude , that is , that do not oppresse the pore membres of Christe , but helpe them . Your faste also muste be suche as Esay speaketh of in his .lviii. chapiter . You muste not thynke your selues acceptable vnto God , because you forbeare your meate , because you forsake fleshe and eate fishe : but chiefly and principally in the daye of your faste you muste forbeare al maner of sinne , you must release your wicked bargaynes , and vsurie contractes , if the pore & nedie be in your daunger more then he is well able to paye : then must you forgyue hym . You must also refrayne al meates & drinkes that you may feele howe hongre gnaweth the bowelles of the neadie and then distribute to the pore that same meate or the price of the same meate that you were accustomed to feede your bodies wyth all . If you shall knowe where is an impotent creature , whych lacketh necessarie clothynge : geue hym of your superfluouse garmentes , other else sell them and bye hym garmentes mete for hym with the price . If there be any harbour lesse : leade them into your superfluouse fermes ( wherof you haue to manie ) and let them haue dwellynge there that they may labour the earth and lyue . If you do thys : your light shal breake forth euen as the bright morninge ster and your brightnes shal be as the sunne at myddaye . But if you do it not : faste , pray , pippe , sing , tolle , ryng , knocke , & knele , tyl you were your knese to the bones & all wyll not be worth a lousse . Manye other supersticiouse thynges I haue taught , as the coniuring and supersticious taking of ashes , and paulme , fyre and the founte of water wherein infantes be baptised wyth holye oyle and chrisme . I haue also taught the blynde folynge of saynctes Images , the hangeynge vp , draweynge , and cuttynge downe of the veyle , the wasshynge of the aultars , Iudas crosse full of candels , the burieynge of the sacrament , and rayesynge of the same wyth the creapynge to the crosse . All these thynges I confesse to be but vayne & supersticious , & therfore not to be vsed of Christian men . More one I haue stoutly defeded anricular confession & perticular rehersall of all synnes not forgotten in paine of damnation , & the enioyning of penaunce satisfactorie for the sam and that vpon the confidence of these penaunce , the sacramente of the bodye and bloude of Christe shoulde be worthely receyued , otherwise not . But nowe I confesse that it is onely the humble confession of the herte made vnto God that is accepted of God . Notwithstandedynge I wyll that al troubled consciences resorte vnto a discrete and learned counsayloure , to hau● and receiue at hys hande as by an instrument , the confortable absolution of the spirite , by the hearinge of the greate and redie mercies of god towardes the repentante hertes , rehersed vnto them . And where I haue heretofore made daungerouse of the receyuyng of the sacrament in both the kyndes , that is in breade and wine as Christe instituted it : now I thynke it moste necessarie that it be mnistered and receiued aswell in the kinde of wine as breade , for otherwise it were not the institucion of Christe , but to inuencion of man . Thus I make an ende , exhorting al maner of men & in especiallie al such vitayllers as haue & do accustomably make prouision for that kinde of fasteynge that hath bene obserued in forberinge of one kind of meate and feading of an other : that they wyll nowe prouide for al the yere that the people mai haue holsome meat to sustein theyr bodies , vpon a reasonable price . Also I exhorte them that wheras heretofore they haue hertelye desiered of God that a contrarie wind myght kepe backe foren vitayle tyll they hadde solde theyr ware at wyll : they wyll now pray as hertelye that God of his mercie wyll prospere all suche as labour in the conueighinge of anie kynde of vytayle to any parte of thys realme whereby the pore commons are releaued .