Jhesu for helpe and socoure, with grete haboundance of teares: But specyally when they saw the dethe so hast upon her, and that she must nedes depart from them, and they sholde forgoe so gentyll a Maistris, so tender a Lady, then wept they mervaylously; wept her Ladys and Kyneswomen to whome she was full kinde; wept her poore Gentylwomen whome she had loved so tenderly before; wept her Chamberers to whome she was full deare; wept her Chaplayns and Preests; wept her other true and faythfull Servants. And who wolde not have wept, that there had bene presente? All Englonde for her dethe had cause of wepynge. The poore Creatures that were wonte to receyve her Almes, to whome she was always pyteous and mercyfull; the Studyentes of both the Unyversytees, to whom she was as a Moder; all the Learned Men of Englonde, to whome she was a veray Patroness; all the vertuous and devoute persones, to whome she was as a lovynge Syster; all the good relygyous Men and Women, whome she so often was wonte to vysyte and comforte; all good Preests and Clercks, to whome she was a true defendresse; all the Noblemen and Women, to whome she was a Myrroure and Exampler of honoure; all the comyn people of this Realme, for whome she was in theyr causes a comyn Medyatryce, and toke right grete displeasure for them; and generally the hole Realm hathe cause to complayne and to morne her dethe. And all we, consyderynge her gracyous and charytable mynde so unyversally, and consyderyng the redyness of mercy and pyte in our Savyour Jhe

* In ipsum, MS. Col. Jo.

su, may say, by lamentable complaynt of our unwysedom, unto hym; Ah Domine! si fuisses hic-Ah my Lorde! yf thou had ben presente, and had herde this sorrowfull cryes of her thy Servaunte, with the other lamentable mornynges of her Frendes and Servaunts, thou for thy goodness wolde not have suffred her to dye: But thou wolde have taken pyte and compassion upon her.

It followeth in the Gospell, by the mouthe of Martha, Sed et nunc scio, quia quæcunque poposceris a Deo, dabit tibi Deus: That is to say, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God thy Fader, I know well he will graunte it unto the. Who may doubte, but the Son of God, of whome St. Poule sayth, In diebus carnis suæ, preces et supplicationes offerens, exauditus est pro sua reverentia : That is to say, in the dayes of his mortalyte when he was mortall here in erthe, yet nevertheless he was herde of Almyghtye God in his prayer and askynge his Fader, for his reverente behavioure: Who may doubte, but much rather now he shall be herde, when he is in so gloryous maner above in Heven; and there present before the face of his Fader for our cause, as sayth St. Poule, Introivit *ipse Cœlum, ut appareat vultui Dei pro nobis: He hath entred the Heven, to appere before the vysage of his Fader for us, to shew the wounds, which he dyd suffer for the delyverance of us, from Syn? Yf in this mortall Body, he prayed and asked forgyveness for his Enemyes that crucyfyed hym and cruelly put him unto the dethe, and yet nevertheless he opteyned his petycion for them;

ing MS. Col.

moche rather it is to suppose that he shall opteyne his askynge for her, that had so often compassyon of his blessyd passyon and dyd bere it so often in her remembrance, as dyd this noble Prynces, than for his mortal Enemyes which were many and but vylaynes. He prayed undesyred of ony, he let not so to do by the grevous payns of dethe which he there suffered; now therefore he beyng in so grete glory above and at all lyberte, yf all we call and crye upon hym by prayer for this one Soule of this moost noble Prynces, which was his faythfull and true Ser- True lovvaunt, who may thinke, but that he for his infynyte Jo. goodness will have mercy thereupon? We wyll not crave upon hym that he shall restore the Body agayn to lyfe, as he dyd the body of Lazarus; we must be content with the dethe of it, and lerne thereby to prepare our owne Bodyes to the same poynt wythyn short tyme. But we shall with moost entyer mindes beseche hym to accept that sweete soule to his grete mercy, to be parteyner of the everlastyng life, with hym and with his blessyd Sayntes above in Heven: which I pray you all nowe 'affectually to praye, and for her nowe at this tyme moost devoutly to say one Pater-Noster.

Fyrst ye have herde the goodly condycyons of this noble Prynces, whome we dyd resemble unto the blessyd Woman Martha. Ye have herde also in the second place a pyteous complaynt of the parte of her Soule for the dethe of her body, made unto our Savyour Jhesu. Now will I remember the comfort

1 Effectuall MS. Col. Jo.

able answere of our Mercyfull Savyour agayne unto her, whereof we all may be gretely comforted, and take cause and matere of grete rejoysynge. It followeth in the Gospel, Dixit ei Jhesus, resurget frater tuus, that is to saye in Englyshe; Jhesu sayd unto her, thy Broder shall ryse agayne. I sayd before that, consyderynge the love and amyte that is betwixe the Soule and the Body, they may be thoughte to be, as Broder and Syster. A trouth it is, the Souls that be hens departed out of theyr Bodyes, have nevertheless a natural desyre, and appetyte to be knytte, and joyned with theym agayn; which thyng not onely the Theologyens wytnesse, but the Phylosophers also. A grete comfort then it is unto the Soule, that hath so longynge desire unto the Body, to here that the Body shall ryse agayn; and specyally in the maner and forme of rysynge, whereof St. Poule speketh in this wyse; Seminatur in corruptione, surget in incorruptione, seminatur in ignobilitate, surget in gloria, seminatur in infirmitate, surget in virtute, seminatur corpus animale, surget corpus spirituale. Foure condycyons the Body hathe whan it dyeth and is put into the grounde. Fyrste, it anone begynneth to putrefye, and resolve into foule corruptyon; the ayre dothe aulter it, the grounde dothe moyste it, the wormes doth brede of it, and fede also. Second, It is vyle, and lothely to beholde, and ryghte ungoodly to the syghte. Thyrde, It is unweldy, and not of power to styre it selfe, or to be convayed from place to place. Fourth, It is so grosse that it occupyeth a rowme and kepeth a place,

and letteth other Bodyes to be presente in the same place. Agaynst these foure, the Bodyes' [of them that shall be saved,] shall take at theyr rysynge agayn foure other excellent gyftes.

Agaynst the fyrst, It shall be in the condycyon that neyther the ayre, ne the water, ne fyre, ne knyfe, nor wepen, nor stroke, nor sekeness shall anoy it. Agaynst the second, It shall ryse bryght and gloryous, and in the moost goodly and beauteous manere. Agaynst the thyrde, It shall be more nymble and more redy to be convayed to ony place, where the Soule wolde have it, then is any swalowe. Agaynst the fourthe, It shall be subtyle,that it shall perce thorowe the stone walles, without ony anoyance of them. This shall be a farre dyfference, and a grete dyversyte of her body as she had it before, and as she shall in conclusion receyve it agayn. But yet me thynke,I se what the Soule of this noble Pryncesse may answere agayn, somewhat to lesse and to mynyshe this disconfort, after the same maner that Martha dyde answere unto our Savyour Jhesu, Scio quod resurget in resurrectione in novissimo die: That is to say, I know well, that it shall ryse agayn in the last daye of the generall resurrectyon; but that is farre hens, that is long to come; Et spes quæ differtur, affligit animam, and the hope of a thynge delayed tormenteth the Soule in the meane tyme. Therefore our Savyour more comfortable answereth to her agayn, and sayth in this maner; Ego sum resurrectio et vita, that is, I am, sayth he, the veray

Desunt MS. Col. Joh.