Page:The Life of Sir Thomas More (William Roper, ed by Samuel Singer).djvu/16

 his name. His fall into heresy, as he afterward would often say, did first grow of a scruple of his own conscience, for lack of grace and better understanding. For he daily did use immoderate fasting and many prayers; which if discretion and counsel had prescribed, it had been well; but using them of his own head, without order and good consideration, thinking God never to be pleased therewith, he did weary himself usque ad tedium, even unto loathsomeness thereof. Then did he understand of certaine books of Friar Luther's and he was so infected with the poison of them that he believed every thing that Luther said to be most true  and was fully of opinion that only faith doth justify, and that good works do nothing profit; and that if a man would once believe that Christ died for him it was enough; then all the ceremonies, rites, and sacraments used in the church of God were vain and superstitious. And so far he waded in these heresies that he wished he might be suffered publicly to preach; thinking, as we have said, that he should be better able to edify the people than the best Doctor that comes to Paul's Cross. And thus for his open talk, and companying with divers merchants of the Stilyard, and others suspected of heresy, he was convened before Cardinal Wolsey. The merchants abjured at Paul's Cross; yet Master Roper, for some respect the Cardinal bore to Sir Thomas, his father-in-law,