Page:The Acts and Monuments of John Foxe Volume 3.djvu/138



IX. Item, That all priests are of like power in all tilings, notwithstanding that some of them in this world are of higher and greater honour, degree, or pre-eminence.

X. Item, That only contrition putteth away sin, if so be that a man shall be duly contrite; and that all auricular and outward confession is superfluous, and not requisite of necessity to salvation.

XI. Item, Inferior curates have not their power of binding and loosing immediately from the pope or bishop, but immediately from Christ: and therefore neither the pope nor bishop can revoke to themselves such kind of power, when they see time and place at their lust and pleasure.

XII. Item, That the pope cannot grant such kind of annual and yearly pardons, because there shall not be so many years to the day of judgment, as are in the pope's bulls or pardons contained: whereby it followeth that the pardons are not of such like value as they speak of, and are praised to be.

XIII. Item, It is not in the pope's power to grant to any person penitent, forgiveness of the punishment or of the fault.

XIV. Item, That person that giveth his alms to any, who in his judgment is not in necessity, doth sin in so giving it.

XV. Item, That it stands not in the power of any prelate, of what religion soever he be, privately to give letters for the benefit of his order, neither doth such benefit granted, profit them, to the salvation of their soul, to whom they be granted.

XVI. Item, That the same William, unmindful of his own salvation, hath, many and oftentimes, come into a certain desert wood, called Dervallwood, of your diocese, and there, in a certain chapel not hallowed, or rather in a profane cottage, hath, in contempt of the keys, presumed of his own rashness to celebrate, nay rather to profanate.

XVII. Item, the same William hath also presumed to do such things in a certain profane chapel, being situate in the park of Newton, nigh to the town of Leintwarden, of the same your diocese.

Upon Friday, being the last of the month of June, in the year above said, about six of the clock, in the said parish church of Bodenham, hath the said William Swinderby personally appeared before us. And he, willing to satisfy the term to him assigned, as before specified, hath read out word by word before all the multitude of faithful christian people, many answers made and placed by the same William (in a certain paper-book of the sheet folded into four parts) to the said articles, and the same answers for sufficient hath he to us exhibited, avouching them to be agreeable to the law of Christ. Which thing being done, the same William (without any more with him) did depart from our presence, because that we, at the instance of certain noble personages, had promised to the same William free access; that is, to wit, on that day for the exhibiting of those answers, and also free departing without prefixing of any term, or without citation, or else any other offence or harm in body or in goods.

As for the tenor of the same answers, exhibited unto them by the same William, as is before specified, we have hereunder annexed it word for word, and in the same old language used at that time, when it was exhibited. And it followeth in.

In the name of God, amen. I William Swinderby, priest, vnworthy, couenting and purposing, wholie with all my hart, to be a true christian man, with open confession knowledging mine owne defaults and vnwise deedes; making openlie this protestation, cleping God to record here before our worshipful bishop John, through the sufferance of God bishop of Hereford, with witnesse of all this people, that it is not mine intent any thing to say or affirme, to maintaine or to defend, that is contrarie to holie writte, against the beliefs of holie church, or that shoulde offend the holie determination of Christe's church, or the true sen-