w, of verray conscience and by the fear
of our God, compelled to crave at your Grace's feit, remeady
against the most injust tyranny used against your Grace's most
obedient subjectes, by those that be called the Estate
Ecclesiasticall. [SN: CONTROVERSYE IN RELIGIOUN.] Your Grace can
not be ignorant what controversie hath bein, and yit is, concernyng
the trew religioun, and rycht wirschipping of God, and how the
Cleargye (as thei wilbe termed) usurpe to thame selfes suche empyre
above the consciences of men, that whatsoever thei command must be
obeyed, and whatsoever thei forbid must be avoided, without farder
respect had to Godis plesour, commandiment, or will, reveilled till
us in his most holy worde; [SN: THE TYRANNYE OF THE CLEARGIE.] or
ellis thare abydeth nothing for us but faggot, fyre, and sweard, by
the which many of our brethrene, most cruellie and most injustlie,
have bein strickin of laitt yearis within this realme: which now we
fynd to truble and wound our consciences; for we acknowledge it to
have bein our bound dewities befoir God, eyther to haif defended
our brethren from those cruell murtheraris, (seing we ar a parte of
that power which God hath establessed in this realme,) or ellis to
haif gevin open testificatioun of our faith with thame, which now
we offer our selfis to do, least that by our continewall silence we
shall seame to justifie thare cruell tyranny; which doeth not onlie
displease us, but your Grace's wisdome most prudentlie doeth
foirsee, that for the quieting of this intestine dissentioun, a
publict Reformatioun, alsweall in the religioun as in the temporall
governement, war most necessarie; and to the performance thairof,
most gravelie and most godlie, (as we ar informed,) ye have
exhorted alsweall the Cleargy as the Nobilitie, to employ thare
study, diligence, and care. We tharefoir of conscience dar na
langar dissemble in so weighty a mater, which concerneth the glorie
of God and our salvatioun: Neather now dar we withdraw our
presence, nor conceill our petitionis, least that the adversaries
hearefter shall object to us, that place was granted to
Reformatioun, and yit no man suited for the same; and so shall our
silence be prejudiciall unto us in tyme to come. And tharefoir we,
knowing no other order placed in this r