t the
Sacraments of Christ without faith do not once profit these that be
alive; a great deal less do they profit those that be dead.

And as for their brags they are wont to make of their purgatory, though
we know it is not a thing so very late risen amongst them, yet is it no
better than a blockish and an old wives' device. Augustine, indeed,
sometime saith, there is such a certain place: sometime he denieth not,
but there may be such a one; sometime he doubteth; sometime again he
utterly denieth it to be, and thinketh that men are therein deceived by a
certain natural good will they bear their friends departed. But yet of
this one error hath there grown up such a harvest of these mass-mongers,
the masses being sold abroad commonly in every corner, the temples of God
became shops to get money: and silly souls were persuaded that nothing
was more necessary to be bought. Indeed, there was nothing more gainful
for these men to sell.

As touching the multitude of vain and superfluous ceremonies, we know
that Augustine did grievously complain of them in his own time: and
therefore have we cut off a great number of them, because we know that
men's consciences were cumbered about them, and the churches of God
overladen with them.

Nevertheless we keep still, and esteem, not only those ceremonies which
we are sure were delivered us from the Apostles, but some others too
besides, which we thought might be suffered without hurt to the Church of
God: because that we had a desire that all things in the holy
congregation might (as St. Paul commandeth) "be done with comeliness and
in good order." But as for all those things which we saw were either
very superstitious, or wholly unprofitable, or noisome, or mockeries, or
contrary to the Holy Scriptures, or else unseemly for honest or discreet
folks, as there be an infinite number nowadays where papistry is used;
these, I say, we have utterly refused without all manner exception,
because we would not have the right worshipping of God any longer denied
with such follies.

We make our prayers in that tongue which all our people, as meet is, may
understand, to the end they may (as Paul counselleth us) take common
commodity by common prayer, even as all the holy fathers and Catholic
bishops, both in the Old and New Testament, did used to pray themselves,
and taught the people to pray too, lest, as Augustine saith, "like
parrots and ousels we should seem to speak that we understan