cause of raysynge of the Body, and I am also the veray cause of lyfe unto the Soule; as who say, tho' the rysynge of the Body be delayed for a season, the Soule nevertheless shall for the meane tyme have a pleasaunte and a sweet lyfe; a lyfe full of comforte, a lyfe full of joye and pleasure, a lyfe voyde of all sorrow and encombrance; a lyfe not lyke unto the lyfe of this wretched Worlde which is alway entermelled with moche bitterness, either with sorows, eyther with dredes, or elles with perylles. In hoc mundo non dolere, non timere, non periclitari impossible est, sayth St. Austyn. It is impossible to lyve in this worlde, and not to sorowe, not to drede, not to be in peryl. This same noble Prynces, yf she had contynued in this world, she sholde dayly have herde and sene mater and cause of sorow, as well in her self as in her Frendes peraventure. Her body dayly sholde have waxen more unweldy, her syghte sholde have be derked, and her herynge sholde have dulled more and more, her legges sholde have fayled her by and by, and all the other partys of her body waxe more crased every daye; which thynges sholde have ben mater to her of grete discomforte. And albeyt these thynges had not fallen to her forthwith, yet she sholde have lyved alwaye in a drede,and a fere of theym.

Dare I saye of her, she never yet was in that prosperity, but the greter it was, the more alwaye she dredde the adversyte. For when the Kynge her Son was Crowned, in all that grete tryumphe and glorye,she wept mervaylously; and lykewyse at the

grete tryumphe of the marryage of Prynce Arthur, and at the last Coronacyon, whereyn she had full grete joy, she let not to saye,that some adversyte wolde followe. So that eyther she was in sorowe by reason of the present adversytes; or else whan she was in prosperyte, she was in drede of the adversyte for to come. I pass over the perylles and daungers innumerable, which dayly and hourly myghte have happed unto her, whereof this lyfe is full, and therefore St. Gregory sayth, Vita hæc terrena, æternæ vitæ comparata, mors est potius dicenda, quam vita ; and for that cause, who that ones hath tasted the pleasures of that lyfe, this is unto them a veraye dethe for ever after. Example of Lazarus, which after that he was restored to the myseryes of this lyfe agayn, he never lough, but was in contynuall hevyness and pensyfness.

Now therefore wolde I aske you this one questyon; were it not suppose ye, all thys consydered, a metely thynge for us to desyre to have this noble Prynces here amongst us agayn? To forgo the joyous lyfe above, to wante the presence of the gloryous Trynyte,whome she so longe hath soughte and honoured, to leve that moost noble Kyngdome, to be absente from the moost blessyd company of Saintes and 'Saintesses; and hether to come agayn, to be wrapped and endaungered with the myseres of this wretched Worlde, with the paynfull Dyseases of her Aege, with the other encomberaunces that dayly happeth in this myserable lyfe. Were this a reason1 Deest MS. Col. Jo.

able request of our partye? Were thys a kynde desyre? were this a gentle wyshe? that where she hath bene so kynde and lovynge a Maystresse unto us, all we sholde more regard our own proffytes then her more syngular wele and comforte. The Moder that hath so grete affectyon unto her Sone, that she wyll not suffer hym to departe from her to his promocyon and furtheraunce, but alway kepe him at home, more regardynge her owne pleasure than his wele, were not she an unkynde and ungentyle Moder? Yes verayly. Let us therefore thynke our moost lovynge Maystresse is gone hens for her promocyon, for her grete furtheraunce, for her moost wele and proufyte; and herein comforte us, herein rejoyse our self, and thanke Almyghtye God which of his infynnyte mercy so gracyously hath dysposed for her.

But ye will say unto me, Syr, yf we were sure of this, we wolde not be sory, but be ryght hertely glad and joyous therefore: As for suerte, veray suerte cannot be had,but only by the revelacyon of God Almyghty; nevertheless as far as by Scrypture this thynge can be assured, in the end of thys Gospell, followingly is made by our Savyour a stronge Argument, almost demonstratyve of this same thynge. The Argument is thys, every persone that putteth theyr full truste in Cryst Jhesu, albeit they be deed in theyr Bodyes, yet shall they nevertheless have lyfe in theyr Soules; and that lyfe that never shall have ende. But thys noble Prynces she put her full truste in Cryste Jhesu, verayly beleyvynge that he was the Son of God and came into thys worlde for the re

dempcyon of Synners; wherefor, it must necessaryly folowe that, albeit her Body be deed, her Soule is in the joyous lyfe that never shall cease. The fyrst parte of thys Argument foloweth in the Gospel, Qui credit in me, etiamsi mortuus fuerit, vivet. That is to say, who that fully trusteth in Cryste Jhesu, albeit they be deed in theyr bodyes, they nevertheless shall lyve in theyr Soules. But yet we wante a lytell. I sayd more than thys; I sayd, that lyfe shall never have ende; and for thys also it foloweth, Et omnis qui vivit et credit in me, non morietur in eternum. That is to say, every Persone that hathe thys lyfe and thys full truste in Jhesu, shall never dye: So here appereth well the fyrst part of our Argument. For the seconde parte nowe, that this noble Prynces had full fayth in Jhesu Cryste, It may appere, yf ony wyll demande thys questyon of her, that our Savyour demanded of Martha; he sayd to her, Credis hæc? Bylevist thou this? what is that, that this Gentlewoman wolde not byleve? she that ordeyned two contynuall Reders in both the Unyversytyes to teche the holy Dyvynyte of Jhesu; she that ordeyned Prechers perpetuall, to publysh the Doctrine and faythe of Chryste Jhesu; she that buylded a College Royall to the honour of the name of Cryste Jhesu, and left tyll her Executours another to be buylded, to mayntayn his fayth and doctryne. Besyde all thys, founded in the Monastery of Westmynster, where her body lyeth, thre Prestes to pray for her perpetually. She whome I have many tymes herde saye that yf the Crysten Prynces wolde

have warred upon the Enemyes of his fayth, she
wolde be glad yet to go folowe the Hoost,and helpe
to washe theyr clothes, for the love of Jhesu. She
that openly dyd wytness this same thynge at the
houre of her dethe, which sayinge divers here pre-
sente can recorde; How hertly she answered, whan
the holy Sacrament contaynyng the Blessyd Jhesu
in it was holden before her, and the questyon made
untyll her, whether she byleved that there was
verayly the Son of God, that suffered his blessyd
passyon for her and for all Mankynde upon the
Crosse? Many here can bere recorde, how with all
her herte and soule she raysed her body, to make
answere thereunto, and confessed assuredly,that in
that Sacrament was conteyned Chryst Jhesu, the
Sone of God, that dyed for wretched Synners upon
the Crosse, in whome holly she putte her truste and
confydence. These same wordes almoost, that
Martha confessed in the end of thys Gospell. Ego
credidi, quia tu es Christus filius Dei, qui in mun-
dum venisti, that is to saye, I have byleved that
thou art Cryste the Son of God which came
aleued
thys worlde. And so sone after that she was ane-
led, she departed, and yelded up her Spyryte into
the handes of our Lorde.

Who may not now take evydent lykelyhode and conjecture upon thys, that the soule of thys noble woman,which so studyously in her lyfe was occupyed in good werkes, and with a faste fayth of Cryste and the Sacraments of his Chirche, was defended and MS. Col. in that houre of departynge out from the bodye;

* Hir death

Jo.