¶ The copy of Maister Hopers letter deliuered in the Counter at Breadstrete. 

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Foxe includes Hooper's letter to the imprisoned congregation, urging them to be constant unto death (1563, pp. 1021-22; 1570, pp. 1654-55; 1576, pp. 1411-12; 1583, p. 1482; cf. Apology, sigs. C8v-D3v; ECL MS 261, fols. 12v-14r and LM, pp. 121-23. ECL MS 260, fol. 225r-v and Lansdowne MS 389, fols. 3r-4v are copies of this letter).

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THe grace, fauour, consolation, and aide of the holye ghoste be wyth you nowe and euer. So be it.

Dearely beloued in the Lord, euer sithens your imprisonment, I haue bene maruelously moued with great affections and passions, as wel of mirth and gladnes, as of heauynes and sorowe. Of gladnesse in this, that I perceaued how ye be bent and geuen to prayer, and inuocation of Gods help in these darcke and wicked procedinges of men, agaynst Gods glory. I haue bene sorye to perceaue the malyce and wickednesse of men, to be so cruell, diuelishe tirannical, to persecute the people of God, for seruing, saying & hearing of the holy psalmes and the word of eternall lyfe. These cruell doynges do declare, that the papistes churche is more bloudy and tirannical, then euer was the sweorde of the Ethnickes and gentyles. Whē I heard of your taking, and what ye were doynge, wherfore, and by whom ye were taken: I remembred how the Christyans in the prymatyue churche were vsed, by the cruelty of vnchristened Heathens, in the tyme of Traiane the Emperour about. 77. yeares after Christs ascension into heauen: and how the Christiās were persecuted very sore, as though they had bene traytoures & mouers of sedicion. Wher vppon, the gentle Emperour Traiane required to know the true cause of Christian mens trouble. A greate learned man called Plinius wrote vnto him and sayed: it was because the Christians sayed certayn psalmes before day, vnto one called Christ, whom thei worshipped for God. When Traiane the Emperoure vnderstode it was for nothing but for conscience and religion, he caused by hys commaundementes euery wher, that no man shuld be persecuted for seruinge of God. Lo, a gentyle and heathen manne would not haue suche as wer of a contrarye religion punished for seruinge of God: but the Pope and his church hath cast you into prison, beynge taken euen doynge the worke of God, & one of the excellentes works that is required of Christian menne: that is to wit, whiles ye wer in prayer, and not in suche wycked and superstittious prayers, as the papistes vse, but in the same prayer that Christe hath taughte you to praye. And in hys name onely ye gaue God thankes for that ye haue receaued, and for his sake ye asked for suche things, as ye want. O gladde maye ye be that euer ye were borne, to bee apprehended whilest ye were so vertuously occupied. Blessed be they that suffer for ryghteousenesse sake. For if God had suffered them that toke your bodies, then too haue taken your lyfe also: nowe hadde ye bene folowinge the lambe in perpetuall ioyes, away from the companye and assem

blie of wycked men. But the Lord would not haue you soddainely so to depart, but reserueth you, gloriously to speake and maintayne hys truth to the world. Be ye not carefull what you shall saye: for God wil go out and in with you, and will be present in your hartes and in your mouthes, to speake his wysdom, although it seemeth folyshnes to the worlde. He that hath begon this good worke in you, continue you in the same vnto the ende, and praye vnto him, that ye may feare hym onely, that hath power to kill both body and soule, and to cast them into hell fire. Be of good comforte: al the heares of your head bee numbred, and there is not one of them can perish, except your heauenly father suffer it to perish. Now ye be euen in the field, and placed in the forefront of Christes battayle: doubtles it is a singuler fauour of God, and a speciall loue of him towardes you, to geue you this foreward and preheminēce, and a signe that he trusteth you before others of hys people. Wherfore (deare brethren and sisters) continually fighte this fight of the Lord. Your cause is most iust and Godly: ye stand for the true Christ (who is after the fleshe in heauen) and for his true religion and honour, which is amplye, fully, sufficiently, and aboūdantly conteined in the holy Testament, sealed with Christes owne bloud. How much be ye bound to God, to put you in trust with so holy and iust a cause? Remember what lokers vppon you haue, to see and behold you in your fight: God and all hys holy Aūgels, who be ready alway to take you vp into heauen, if ye be slayne in this fighte. Also you haue standing at your backes al the multitude of the faythfull, who shall take courage, strength and desire, to folow such noble and valiant Christians, as you be. Be not a feard of your aduersaries: for he that is in you, is stronger then he that is in them. Shrinke not, although it be payne to you. Your paines be not now so great as hereafter your ioyes shalbe. Reade the comfortable chapters to the Romaines. 8. 10. 15. Hebrues. 11. 12. And vpon your knees thanke God that euer ye were accoumpted worthy to suffer any thing for his names sake. Rede the second chapter of Saint Lukes gospell, and there you shall see howe the shepeheards that watched vpon theyr shepe al night, assone as they heard that Christ was borne at Bethlem, by and by they went to see hym. They dyd not reason, nor debate with them selues, who should kepe the wolfe from the shepe in the meane tyme, but did as they were commaunded, and cōmitted theyr shepe vnto him, whose pleasure they obeyed. So let vs do now we be called, cōmit al other things vnto him that calleth vs. He wil take hede that al things shal be wel. He wil healp the husbād, he will comforte the wife, he wil guide the ser-